Nepal, one of the most beautiful countries in the world, draped along the greatest heights of the Himalaya, is where the ice-cold of the mountains meets the steamy heat of the Indian plains. It's a land of yaks and yetis, stupas and Sherpas and some of the best trekking on earth. The Himalaya's most sophisticated urban cultures took shape here, in the three great minikingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur - home to a world-class artistic and architectural heritage.
Nepal has several ancient pilgrimage sites. Each temple is attached to a legend or belief that glorifies the miraculous powers of its deity.
Nepal is one of the poorest countries on earth; however, many visitors, drawn to Nepal by the promise of adventure, leave equally enchanted by the friendliness and openness of the Nepali people. Over the last decade Nepal has made considerable progress toward reducing poverty but there are wide discrepancies depending on geographic location, ethnicity, caste and gender. Policies to achieve these ends have helped all citizens of Nepal—including groups that have been traditionally excluded—but such policies will not be sufficient to improve the well-being of disadvantaged groups.
Nepal's weather is generally predictable and pleasant. There are four climatic seasons:
Spring : March-May
Summer : June-August
Autumn : September-November
Winter : December-February.
*In 2010, based on an estimate from the US Bureau of the Census on statistics from population censuses, Nepal's population was 28,951,852.
(http://www.indexmundi.com/nepal/population.html)