Nepal is in the news due to the terrible earthquake that destroyed many buildings and killed over 8,100 people on April 25 this year. The 7.8 rated earthquake also badly damaged many of the world heritage sites in Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur and the other sites in the Kathmandu Valley. A second major earthquake struck on May 12 with a force of 7.3 further damaging the buildings and causing terror for the Nepalese as more deaths and collapsed buildings added to the national damage. For a country with a fragile infrastructure and poor economy, the hardships ahead are daunting.
Read MoreThe country of Nepal is a visual and cultural feast, and is one of the more unique nations of the world. Until recently, Nepal was the world’s last remaining Hindu monarchy, and remained quite resistant to outside influence, as the country was never colonized by invaders. Home to about thirty million people of many distinctive ethnic groups, it remains a tapestry of cultural, geographic, and religious diversity, which only adds to it’s charm. Famous for the spectacular Himalayan Mountains, the worlds highest peaks, Nepal has much to offer to people who are not climbers, and who are interested in its other cultural riches, which it has in abundance.
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