Heritage of Nepal Enlisted in World Heritage

World Heritage Sites

The small mountain kingdom of Nepal is blessed with such astonishing and unique sites that within the area of 140,800 sq km Nepal holds a considerably high number of places recognized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation) as 'World Heritage Sites'. There are altogether ten World Heritage Sites in Nepal, seven of which are in Kathmandu itself. The list includes both natural as well as cultural sites.

Cultural Sites
The cultural heritage of the Kathmandu Valley is illustrated by seven groups of monuments and buildings which display the full range of historic and artistic achievements for which the Kathmandu Valley is world famous. The seven sites include the Durbar Squares of Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu), Patan and Bhaktapur, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath, and the Hindu temples of Pashupati and Changu Narayan. Click on the following links to get detailed information about the individual sites.

» Kathmandu Durbar Square
» Patan Durbar Square
» Bhaktapur Durbar Square
» Changu Narayan Temple
» Swayambhunath Stupa
» Pashupatinath Temple
»Lumbini
»Bouddhanath Stupa

Natural Sites
Nepal's national parks included in the World Heritage Sites List are exceptional areas with dramatic mountains, glaciers, deep valleys and undisturbed vestiges of the 'Terai' region. Several rare species, such as the snow leopard, lesser panda, single-horned Asiatic rhinoceros and the Bengal tiger are found in these park.

» Chitwan National Park
» Sagarmatha National Park

UNESCO World Heritage Sites
The World Heritage List includes 830 properties forming part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having outstanding universal value.These include 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed properties. Out of these 10 sites are from Nepal itself. Seven out of these are cultural and two natural.

Some Nepal Sites/Properties submitted on the Tentative List of UNESCO
» The early medieval architectural complex of Panauti (1996)
» Tilaurakot, the archaeological remains of ancient Shakya Kingdom (1996)
» Cave architecture of Muktinath Valley of Mustang (1996)
» The medieval palace complex of Gorkha (1996)
» Ramagrama, the relic stupa of Lord Buddha (1996)
» Khokana, the vernacular village and its mustard-oil seed industrial heritage (1996)

Mountains of Nepal

Nepal contains part of the Himalaya, the highest mountain range in the world. Eight of the fourteen eight-thousand are located in the country, either in whole or shared across a border with Tibet or India.

Mountain/Peak	metres	feet	notes
Mount Everest	8,848	29,028	Highest mountain in the world
Kanchenjunga	8,586	28,169	#3 in the world
Lhotse	8,516	27,939	#4 in the world
Makalu	8,462	27,765	#5 in the world
Cho Oyo	8,201	26,906	#6 in the world
Dhaulagiri	8,167	26,794	#7 in the world
Manaslu	8,156	26,758	#8 in the world
Annapurna	8,091	26,545	#10 in the world
Gyachung kang	7,952	26,089
Ngadi Chuli	7,871	25,823
Nuptse	7,861	25,790
Chamlang	7,319	24,152
Langtang Lirung	7,227	23,711
Baruntse	7,220	23,688
Chamar	7,187	23,326
Melungtse	7,181	23,555
Pumori	7,161	23,494
Gauri Sankar	7,134	23,405
Api	7,132	23,399
Tilicho Peak	7,134	23,405
Salasungo	7,110	23,326
Machapuchare	6,993	22,943	Sacred mountain, unclimbed
Kang Guru	6,981	22,904	2005 avalanche kills 18
Dorie Lakpa	6,966	22,854
Kanjiroba	6,883	22,580
Ama Dablam	6,812	22,349	"Mother and her necklace"
Cho Polu	6,735	22,096
Num Ri	6,677	21,906
Thamserku	6,623	21,729
Khumbutse	6,640	21,725	First mountain west of Everest
Taboche	6,501	21,329
Mera Peak	6,476	21,246	Trekking peak
Hiunchuli	6,441	21,132	Difficult treakking peak
Cholatse	6,440	21,128
Kusum Kangguru	6,367	20,888	Difficult trekking peak
Kongde Ri	6,187	20,298	Trekking peak
Imia Tse	6,160	20,210	Popular trekking peak
Pokalde	5,745	18,848
Kala Pattar	5,545	18,192	Popular hiking peak below Pumori
Nirekha	6,069	19 911	New trekking peak
Baden-Powell Peak	5,825	19,111	Formerly known as Urkema Peak

National Anthem - Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka

"Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka Hami" is the national anthenm of Nepal. It was officially declared as the national anthem of Nepal on August 3, 2007 amid a ceremony held at the conference hall of National Planning Commission, inside Singha Durbar. Speaker of interim parliament Mr. Subhash Nemwang played the CD of national anthem amid a ceremony.

The lyrics of the National Anthem were written by poet Pradeep Kumar Rai, alias Byakul Maila. The music has been composed by Ambar Gurung. The national anthem is simply worded, praising Nepalese sovereignty, unity, courage, pride, scenic beauty, progress, peace, cultural and biological diversity, and respect.

Text of the National Anthem

Nepali lyrics

सयौं थुँगा फूलका हामी, एउटै माला नेपाली

सार्वभौम भई फैलिएका, मेची-महाकाली।

प्रकृतिका कोटी-कोटी सम्पदाको आंचल

वीरहरूका रगतले, स्वतन्त्र र अटल।

ज्ञानभूमि, शान्तिभूमि तराई, पहाड, हिमाल

अखण्ड यो प्यारो हाम्रो मातृभूमि नेपाल।

बहुल जाति, भाषा, धर्म, संस्कृति छन् विशाल

अग्रगामी राष्ट्र हाम्रो, जय जय नेपाल।

Transliteration

Sayaű thűgā phūlkā hāmī, euṭai mālā nepālī

Sārwabhaum bhai phailiekā, Mechi-Mahākālī

Prakṛtikā koṭī-koṭī sampadāko ā̃chal,

Vīrharūkā ragata le, swatantra ra aṭal

Gyānabhūmi, śhāntibhūmi Tarāī, pahād, himāl

Akhaṇḍa yo pyāro hāmro mātṛibhūmi Nepāl

Bahul jāti, bhāṣhā, dharma, sãnskṛti chan biśhāl

Agragāmī rāṣhṭra hāmro, jaya jaya Nepāl

Byakul Maila

Translation

We are hundreds of flowers, the one garland - Nepali

Sovereign, spread out from Mechi to Mahakali.

Amassing nature's millions of resources

By the blood of heroes, independent and immovable.

Land of knowledge, land of peace, Terai, hills, mountains

Indivisible this beloved, our motherland Nepal.

The diverse races, languages, faiths, and cultures are so extensive

Our progressive nation, long live Nepal.

History

After the unanimous decision in May 19, 2006 by the House of Representatives (Pratinidhi Sabha) of the Kingdom of Nepal, the old national anthem was suspended. The National Anthem Selection Task Team (NASTT) on 30 November 2006, selected poet Byakul Maila's (real name: Pradeep Kumar Rai) song as the new national anthem of Nepal. The new national anthem was selected from a total of 1272 submissions made from across the country. It was officially approved on 20 April 2007.^[3]

On August 3, 2007, Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka was officially declared as Nepal's national anthem by the House of Representatives

Former national anthem

"Shree man gambhira" was the national anthem of Nepal till May 19, 2006, when the century-old national anthem was suspended by the House of Representatives. It was adopted in 1962, as a homage to the ruler of Nepal and the country's national anthem. In English it may be named "May Glory Crown You, Courageous Sovereign" or "May Glory Crown Our Illustrious Sovereign." The music was composed by Bakhat Bahadur Budhapirthi in 1899, and the lyrics were written by Chakra Pani Chalise in 1924. The composer of national anthem of Nepal is Amber Gurung.