Page 8 - Nepal Destination Guide - Alluring Asia

RELIGION LANGUAGE The overwhelming majority of the Nepalese The official language is Dzongkha and chhokey (Tibetan population follows Hinduism. Shiva is regarded as the script) is used for written expression. Ngalopkha (on guardian deity of the country. Nepal is home to the which Dzongkha is based) is spoken in the west; famous Lord Shiva temple, the Pashupatinath Temple, Sharchopkha in the east and Nepali in the south. Bhotes where Hindus from all over the world come for speak various Tibetan dialects. The Nepalese speak pilgrimage. According to mythology, Sita Devi of the various Nepalese dialects. epic Ramayana, was born in the Mithila Kingdom of King Janaka Raja. English is spoken in the larger cities and in hotels, shops and most restaurants. Near the Indian border, Lumbini is a Buddhist pilgrimage site and UNESCO World Heritage Site in CULTURE the Kapilavastu district. Traditionally it is held to be Nepal has always been a dividing line between the birthplace in about 563 B.C. of Siddhartha civilizations and cultures, and a crossroads for the flow Gautama, a Kshatriya caste prince of the Sakya clan, of commerce and culture. Here the plains of the who, as the Buddha Gautama, gave birth to the subcontinent climb up to the high plateau of Tibet, the Buddhist tradition. languages and people of India give way to those of the China and the Hindu religion blends into Buddhism. Nepal, the land at the margin, is often a complex blend of the two influences and this variation is further complicated by the diversity of ethnic groups within the country.