Nepal
Nepal is a country located in the Himalayan mountains in south Asia. It is bordered by Tibet (currently an autonomous region of China) to the north, and India to the east, south, and west. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city.
Eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth, are located in Nepal.
Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal in the first millennium BC. The Himalayan branch of the Silk Road ran through the Kathmandu valley, leading the area to develope a distinct traditional art and architecture. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British. The country was never colonised, serving as a buffer state between China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War lead to the establishment of a secular republic in 2008.
