Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until his death in 1972, which was due to heart attack as told in an interview by his personal physician Dr. Mrigendra Raj Pandey. Following the 1960 coup d'état, he established the partyless Panchayat system which governed the country for 28 years until the introduction of multiparty democracy in 1990. During his reign, Nepal experienced a period of industrial, political and economic change that opened it to the rest of the world for the first time after the 104-year-long reign of the Rana rulers, who had kept the country under an isolationist policy, came to an end in 1951.
Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev was King of Nepal from 1972 until his assassination in 2001. He was the eldest son of King Mahendra.
Newar or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Newars form a linguistic and cultural community of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities following Hinduism and Buddhism with Nepal Bhasa as their common language. Newars have developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilisation not seen elsewhere in the Himalayan foothills. Newars have continued their age-old traditions and practices and pride themselves as the true custodians of the religion, culture and civilisation of Nepal. Newars are known for their contributions to culture, art and literature, trade, agriculture and cuisine. Today, they consistently rank as the most economically and socially advanced community in Nepal, according to the annual Human Development Index published by UNDP. Newars are ranked the 8th largest ethnic group in Nepal according to the 2021 Nepal census numbering 1,341,363 people constituting 4.6% of the total population.
Pokhara is a metropolitan city in central Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. It is the second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, with 599,504 inhabitants living in 120,594 households in 2021. It is the country's largest metropolitan city in terms of area. The city also serves as the headquarters of Kaski District. Pokhara is located 200 kilometres west of the capital, Kathmandu. The city is on the shore of Phewa Lake, and sits at an elevation of approximately 822m. The Annapurna Range, with three out of the ten highest peaks in the world—Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu—is within 15–35 mi (24–56 km) of the valley. The current mayor of Pokhara is Dhana Raj Acharya from CPN.
A dhunge dhara or hiti is a traditional stone drinking fountain found in Nepal. It is an intricately carved stone waterway through which water flows uninterrupted from underground sources. Dhunge dharas are part of a comprehensive drinking water supply system, commissioned by various rulers of Ancient and Medieval Nepal. The system is supported by numerous ponds and canals that form an elaborate network of water bodies, created as a water resource during the dry season and to help alleviate the water pressure caused by the monsoon rains. After the introduction of modern, piped water systems, starting in the late 19th century, this old system has fallen into disrepair and some parts of it are lost forever. Nevertheless, many people of Nepal still rely on the old dhunge dharas on a daily basis.
Bharatpur is a city in southern central Nepal. It is the third most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu and Pokhara with 369,377 inhabitants in 2021. It is also the second largest metropolitan city in Nepal by area. It is the district headquarter of the Chitwan District.
Ghorahi is the largest city of Nepal and largest sub-metropolitan city by area and population of Lumbini Province. The city lies in Lumbini Province in the Mid-Western part of Nepal. It is the largest city of Dang Deukhuri District of southwest Nepal. Located in the Inner Terai region, it lies 413 kilometres (257 mi) south-west of Nepal's capital Kathmandu and is one of the Counter Magnets being developed as an alternative centre of growth to help ease the migration and population explosion in the Kathmandu metropolitan area. It is the largest city of the Rapti Zone and is surrounded by the Sivalik Hills to the south and Mahabharata Range to the north.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Nepal:
Lumbini Province is a province in western Nepal. The third largest province by area and the third largest by population, Lumbini province is home to the World Heritage Site of Lumbini, where according to the Buddhist tradition, the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Buddha was born.
