Nepal Guide: Culture, People, Religion, Food and Wildlife

1. Origins of Nepal and the Nepali People

Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia, wedged between two giants, China (Tibet Autonomous Region) to the north and India on the east, west, and south. The word “Nepal” is believed by many scholars to derive from “Nepa,” a name used in ancient times for the Kathmandu Valley, though its exact etymology is debated. Some trace it to the sage Ne, said to have protected the valley, combined with “pala” (protector); others connect it to the Newar civilization that has lived in the Kathmandu Valley for over two thousand years.

Nepal’s human history stretches back to prehistoric times, with evidence of Stone Age settlements in the Siwalik hills. The Kathmandu Valley itself was a lake in ancient geological history; Nepali legend holds that the Bodhisattva Manjushri cut a gorge at Chobhar with his sword to drain the lake and create the fertile valley, after which the Newar civilization flourished there. Historically, Nepal was shaped by successive dynasties:

The Kirat Dynasty (circa 800 BCE–300 CE) is considered one of the earliest ruling groups of the Kathmandu Valley, predating well-documented Hindu dynasties. The Kirat people are ancestors of many of today’s Rai and Limbu communities in eastern Nepal.
The Licchavi Dynasty (circa 400–750 CE) brought stone and metal artistry, Sanskrit inscriptions, and strong trade and cultural links with India and Tibet.
The Malla Dynasty (circa 1200–1768 CE) is responsible for much of the architectural and artistic heritage still visible today, the pagoda-style temples, the durbar squares (royal palace complexes) of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur, and a flourishing of Newar art, woodcarving, and metalwork.
The Shah Dynasty, founded when King Prithvi Narayan Shah of the small hill kingdom of Gorkha conquered the Kathmandu Valley in 1768–69, unified dozens of small principalities into a single Nepali state for the first time. This unification is considered the founding moment of modern Nepal.
The Rana regime (1846–1951) then took effective power as hereditary prime ministers, keeping the Shah kings as figureheads and isolating Nepal from much of the outside world for a century.
Nepal became a democracy (with interruptions) after 1951, was declared a secular federal democratic republic in 2008 after the abolition of the 240-year-old monarchy, and adopted its current constitution in 2015, formally becoming the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal with seven provinces.

The Nepali people themselves are not a single ethnic group but a mosaic of dozens of communities that arrived over millennia from different directions, with Indo-Aryan groups migrating from the Gangetic plains and hills of India and Tibeto-Burman groups migrating from the Tibetan plateau and the Himalayan passes. This is why Nepal today recognizes over 125 caste and ethnic groups and more than 120 languages, even though the country is smaller than the U.S. state of Illinois. Nepali (a Sanskrit-derived Indo-Aryan language, also historically called “Khas Kura” or “Gorkhali”) is the official and most widely spoken language, acting as the lingua franca that unites this diversity. In contrast, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tamang, Newar (Nepal Bhasa), Bajjika, Magar, Doteli, and many others are spoken as mother tongues across the country.

2. Religion and Culture of Nepal

Nepal is often called the only country in the world (historically) to have been an officially Hindu kingdom, and today it remains overwhelmingly Hindu by population, with Buddhism as the second-largest religion, but the lived reality is far less separated than the census categories suggest.

Hindu-Buddhist Syncretism

Unlike in many other parts of the world, Hinduism and Buddhism in Nepal have blended together over centuries into a shared cultural fabric. It is entirely common to see Hindus worshipping at Buddhist stupas and Buddhists praying at Hindu temples. The Kathmandu Valley’s Newar community, for instance, has its own unique form of Vajrayana Buddhism intertwined with Hindu deity worship, temple architecture, and caste-like guthi (social/religious trust) systems. Many Nepali Hindus consider the Buddha to be an incarnation (avatar) of the Hindu god Vishnu, further blurring any hard line between the two traditions.

Major Religious Sites

Pashupatinath Temple (Kathmandu), one of the holiest Shiva temples in the world, on the banks of the Bagmati River, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Hindus travel from across South Asia for pilgrimage, and it is also the site of traditional open-air cremation ghats.
Boudhanath Stupa: one of the largest stupas in the world, a spiritual center for Tibetan Buddhists and home to a large Tibetan refugee community in Kathmandu.
Swayambhunath (the “Monkey Temple”): an ancient stupa atop a hill overlooking Kathmandu, sacred to both Buddhists and Hindus, believed to be over 1,500 years old.
Lumbini: in the Terai lowlands, the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, and one of the most significant Buddhist pilgrimage sites on Earth, marked by the Maya Devi Temple and the Ashoka Pillar erected around 249 BCE.
Muktinath: high in the Mustang region, sacred to both Hindus (as a Vishnu shrine) and Buddhists (as a dakini site), visited by pilgrims from both traditions.
Janaki Mandir (Janakpur): dedicated to Sita of the Ramayana, an important pilgrimage site for the Maithili-speaking community of the eastern Terai.

Festivals

Nepali culture is deeply festival-driven, with the lunar calendar (Bikram Sambat) governing the timing of most celebrations:

Dashain: the longest and most important Hindu festival in Nepal, lasting up to 15 days in September/October, celebrating the goddess Durga’s victory over the demon Mahishasura. Families reunite, elders bless younger relatives with tika (a mix of rice, yogurt, and vermilion) and jamara (barley shoots) on the forehead, and it is a major occasion for gift-giving, feasting, and kite-flying.
Tihar (also called Deepawali or the “festival of lights”): a five-day festival honoring different beings each day: crows, dogs, cows, oxen, and finally brothers and sisters on Bhai Tika, the last and most emotionally significant day.
Losar: the Tibetan/Sherpa/Tamang New Year, celebrated with masked dances, prayer flags, and family gatherings, especially in the high Himalayan and northern regions.
Hol: the festival of colors, celebrated with water balloons and colored powder thrown joyously in the streets.
Buddha Jayanti: marking the birth (and, in tradition, the enlightenment and death) of the Buddha, celebrated with processions especially in Lumbini and Kathmandu.
Indra Jatra: a Newar festival in Kathmandu honoring Indra, the god of rain, featuring the appearance of the Kumari (Living Goddess) in her chariot procession.
Teej: a festival primarily observed by women, involving fasting, singing, dancing, and prayers for marital happiness and the well-being of husbands and family.
Chhath: an important festival in the Terai, especially among Maithili and Bhojpuri communities, honoring the sun god with rituals performed at riverbanks.

The Living Goddess (Kumari)

A uniquely Nepali religious institution is the Kumari, a young pre-pubescent girl from the Newar Shakya caste selected through an elaborate process to be worshipped as a living manifestation of the goddess Taleju. The Royal Kumari of Kathmandu lives in the Kumari Ghar near Durbar Square and appears publicly during Indra Jatra.

Caste System

Nepal’s traditional Hindu caste hierarchy, though now legally abolished as a basis for discrimination, still shapes social identity in many communities. Broadly, groups include Bahun (Brahmin) and Chhetri (the traditional priestly and warrior/ruling castes of the hill Hindu community), Newars (with their own internal caste structure), various Janajati (indigenous ethnic) groups such as Tamang, Gurung, Magar, Rai, Limbu, and Sherpa, Dalit communities historically subjected to untouchability, and Madhesi and Tharu communities of the Terai plains. Modern Nepal has made significant legal strides toward caste equality, and intercaste marriage and urban mixing are increasingly common, though rural areas may still show traditional patterns.

3. Lifestyle of Nepali People

Nepali lifestyle varies enormously by geography, the country spans from tropical Terai plains barely 60 meters above sea level to the summit of Mount Everest at 8,849 meters, all within about 200 kilometers of north-south distance.

Family and Social Structure

The joint family system remains common, especially in rural areas, where multiple generations, grandparents, parents, children, and sometimes uncles and their families, live under one roof or in the same household compound. Elders are treated with deep respect; touching the feet of elders during festivals like Dashain is a common gesture of reverence. Urban migration and overseas labor migration (especially to the Gulf countries, Malaysia, and increasingly Europe, Australia, Japan, and Korea) have begun to shift this pattern, with many nuclear families now living apart from extended relatives, and remittances forming a huge part of the national economy.

Rural Life

The majority of Nepalis still live in rural hill and mountain villages where life is closely tied to agriculture and the seasons. A typical day in a hill village begins before sunrise: fetching water (often carried in copper or plastic vessels or via a “doko” basket carried with a forehead strap called a “namlo”), feeding livestock, and preparing the morning meal. Farming, of rice, maize, millet, wheat, potatoes, and vegetables depending on altitude is done largely by hand or with oxen-drawn ploughs on famously terraced hillsides that Nepal is well known for. Community labor-sharing systems (“parma”) are still practiced, where neighbors help each other during planting and harvest seasons in turn.

Urban Life

Kathmandu, Pokhara, and other growing cities have a rapidly modernizing lifestyle traffic, smartphones, cafés, malls, and a young population increasingly connected to global culture through social media, while still observing traditional festivals and family obligations. Kathmandu in particular faces challenges of congestion, air pollution, and rapid unplanned urbanization even as it retains extraordinary historic architecture in its old core.

Himalayan and High-Altitude Life

Communities in the high Himalayas, such as the Sherpa of the Everest (Khumbu) region, the Dolpo-pa of Dolpa, and other Bhotia (Tibetan-origin) groups, have a lifestyle shaped by extreme altitude, cold, and thin air. Their economy has traditionally relied on yak and cattle herding, trade across Himalayan passes with Tibet, barley and buckwheat farming (rice does not grow at these altitudes), and in the last seventy years, increasingly on mountaineering, trekking guiding, and tourism-related work. Homes are built of stone with flat or slightly sloped roofs, often housing livestock on the ground floor for warmth, with the family living above.

Clothing

Traditional Nepali dress differs by ethnicity and gender. The daura-suruwal (a wrap-style shirt and trousers) with a dhaka topi (a distinctive diamond-patterned cap) is the traditional male attire, particularly for hill Hindu men, and the daura-suruwal is recognized as a national dress. Women traditionally wear the gunyu-cholo, a wraparound skirt with a fitted blouse, or more commonly today, the sari or the kurta-suruwal (a long tunic over trousers). Newar women have their own distinctive haku patasi (a black sari with a red border). Sherpa and other Himalayan women often wear the chuba, a Tibetan-style wrap dress, along with a colorful striped apron called a pangden that indicates a married woman.

Daily Household and Useable Goods

Across hill and Himalayan Nepal, certain everyday items are near-universal: the doko (a conical bamboo basket carried on the back with a namlo headstrap) for carrying firewood, fodder, or crops; the khukuri, the iconic curved Nepali knife used for everything from farm work to ceremonial and historical military purposes (famously carried by Gurkha soldiers); brass and copper vessels such as the gagri (water pot) and karuwa; the madal and damaha drums used in folk music; hand-woven wool blankets called radi-pakhi in the hills; and prayer wheels, prayer flags (lung ta), and singing bowls in Buddhist Himalayan households. Tea, particularly Tibetan-style butter tea (po cha) in the high mountains and sweet milk tea (chiya) elsewhere, is a daily staple poured for guests as a basic gesture of hospitality nearly everywhere in the country.

4. Nepali Food Culture

Dal Bhat Tarkari: The National Meal

The staple of everyday Nepali life is dal bhat tarkari: lentil soup (dal), steamed rice (bhat), and a vegetable curry (tarkari), often accompanied by achar (pickle), saag (leafy greens), and sometimes meat or fish curry. It is eaten typically twice a day, once in the late morning and again in the evening, and is famous for the trekking-trail phrase “Dal Bhat Power, 24 Hour” among hikers, referencing its ability to sustain a full day of walking in the mountains. Traditionally, it is eaten with the right hand, mixing rice, dal, and curry on a plate called a “thali.”

Momo

Momo: steamed or fried dumplings filled with minced meat (buffalo, chicken, or pork) or vegetables, wrapped in a thin flour dough and served with a spicy tomato-based achar (dipping sauce), has become arguably Nepal’s most internationally recognized dish and a beloved street food and restaurant staple across the country. Momo has roots in Tibetan and Newar cuisine but has become a pan-Nepali comfort food.

Newari Cuisine

The Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley has one of the most elaborate culinary traditions in the country, featuring dishes such as:

Bara: a savory lentil-flour pancake, sometimes topped with a fried egg or minced meat.
Chatamari: often called “Newari pizza,” a rice-flour crepe topped with minced meat, egg, or vegetables.
Yomari: a steamed rice-flour dumpling filled with molasses (chaku) and sesame seeds, traditionally made during the Yomari Punhi festival.
Choila: spicy grilled or smoked buffalo meat, a popular accompaniment to alcohol during gatherings.
Sukuti: dried, spiced meat (usually buffalo or goat), similar to jerky.

Himalayan and Tibetan-Influenced Food

In the high mountains, where rice does not grow well, staples shift to tsampa (roasted barley or buckwheat flour, often mixed with butter tea), thukpa (a noodle soup with vegetables and meat), dhido (a thick porridge-like dish made of buckwheat, millet, or maize flour, especially common in the hills of eastern and far-western Nepal), and gundruk (fermented, dried leafy greens), a distinctively Nepali fermented food often turned into a soup or pickle and considered a delicacy tied to hill subsistence farming through the winter months.

Terai (Plains) Cuisine

The southern Terai plains, culturally closer to neighboring parts of India, have their own cuisine shaped by Maithili, Bhojpuri, and Tharu communities: rice remains central, along with dishes like litti chokha, fish curries (the Tharu community traditionally relies heavily on fish from rivers and ponds), and a wide range of lentils and vegetable preparations distinct in spicing from the hill regions.

Drinks

Traditional alcoholic beverages include raksi (a distilled spirit typically made from rice, millet, or other grains, common across many ethnic communities) and tongba (a warm, fermented millet drink sipped through a bamboo straw from a wooden vessel, especially associated with the Limbu and other eastern hill communities). Non-alcoholic staples include sweet milk tea (chiya), often sold at small roadside tea stalls that double as informal community gathering spots, and in the mountains, salty Tibetan-style butter tea.

Sel Roti

A traditional homemade, ring-shaped, semi-sweet rice-flour donut called sel roti is prepared especially during Dashain and Tihar festivals, deep-fried and often served alongside meat curries or eaten on its own as a festival snack.

5. Wildlife of Nepal

Despite its small size, Nepal is one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth because of its extraordinary elevation range, from steamy subtropical jungle in the Terai to the icy high Himalaya. It has established a strong network of national parks and conservation areas including Chitwan National Park, Bardia National Park, Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park, and the Annapurna Conservation Area that protect this range of habitats.

Mammals

Royal Bengal Tiger: found in the lowland Terai jungles, especially Chitwan and Bardia National Parks; Nepal has been globally praised for its tiger conservation success, having nearly tripled its wild tiger population in recent years through strong anti-poaching efforts.
Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros: one of Nepal’s flagship conservation species, found almost exclusively in Chitwan and Bardia National Parks, having been brought back from the brink of extinction through decades of protection.
Asian Elephant: found wild in the Terai lowlands, particularly around Chitwan, Bardia, and the far-western regions, and also domesticated historically for jungle patrols and, in the past, tourist rides (now increasingly phased out in favor of ethical, walking-based safaris).
Snow Leopard: an elusive high-altitude predator found in the Himalayan regions above the tree line, including Sagarmatha, Annapurna, Manaslu, and Kanchenjunga areas; extremely rare to spot but a major symbol of Himalayan conservation.
Red Panda: Nepal’s national animal alongside the cow, found in the temperate forests of the mid-hills and eastern Himalaya, feeding primarily on bamboo.
Himalayan Black Bear (Asiatic Black Bear): found in the mid-hill forests.
Musk Deer: a small, high-altitude deer prized (and historically poached) for its musk gland, found in alpine and subalpine forests.
Himalayan Tahr and Blue Sheep (Bharal): mountain-dwelling wild goats and sheep found at high altitude, an important prey base for snow leopards.
Gharial and Marsh Mugger Crocodiles: found in the rivers of the Terai, particularly along the Narayani and Rapti rivers in Chitwan; the gharial is critically endangered and a focus of a dedicated breeding center.
Wild Water Buffalo, Sloth Bear, Leopard, Gaur (Indian Bison), Four-horned Antelope, and Barking Deer are also found across various Terai and mid-hill habitats.
Langur and Rhesus Macaque monkeys are common and widely seen, including around temple complexes such as Swayambhunath.
Gangetic River Dolphin: a rare freshwater dolphin found in parts of the Karnali River system in far-western Nepal.

Birds

Nepal is a globally renowned destination for birdwatchers, with over 900 recorded bird species remarkable for such a small country.

Himalayan Monal (Danphe): Nepal’s vividly colored national bird, found in the high-altitude forests of the Himalaya, prized for its iridescent multicolored plumage.
Sarus Crane: the world’s tallest flying bird, found in the wetlands of the Terai.
Bengal Florican: a critically endangered grassland bird found in a few protected Terai grasslands.
Various vultures, including the White-rumped Vulture and Himalayan Griffon Vulture, both important scavengers, some critically endangered due to veterinary drug poisoning, with dedicated “vulture restaurants” (safe feeding sites) established for their protection.
Great Hornbill: found in the lowland forests.
Kingfishers, egrets, storks (including the Lesser Adjutant and endangered Greater Adjutant), and countless migratory waterfowl populate the wetlands and river systems of the Terai, especially around Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, one of Nepal’s premier birding sites.
Impeyan pheasant, blood pheasant, and various species of laughingthrush, sunbird, and flycatcher inhabit the mid-hill and Himalayan forests.

Other Wildlife

Butterflies: Nepal hosts an extraordinary number of butterfly species due to its habitat diversity, including large and colorful swallowtail species.
Reptiles and amphibians: including several species of cobra, python, and a variety of frogs adapted to different altitudes.
Rhododendron forests (the rhododendron is Nepal’s national flower) support unique insect and bird ecosystems, especially spectacular during the spring blooming season in the mid-hills.

6. Must-Visit Places and Things Tourists Should Know

Kathmandu Valley

Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, and Bhaktapur Durbar Square: three separate UNESCO World Heritage-listed royal palace complexes, each showcasing centuries of Newar temple architecture, wood and stone carving, and living urban life woven around ancient monuments.
Pashupatinath, Boudhanath, and Swayambhunath: described above, essential religious and cultural sites.
Thamel: Kathmandu’s famous tourist and backpacker district, filled with trekking gear shops, restaurants, and nightlife.

Pokhara

A lakeside city framed by the Annapurna range, with Phewa Lake, Sarangkot (a popular sunrise viewpoint over the Annapurna and Machapuchare/”Fishtail” peaks), the World Peace Pagoda, and easy access to paragliding, boating, and the start of several major trekking routes.

Trekking and Mountain Regions

Everest (Sagarmatha) region: home to the world’s highest peak and the classic trek to Everest Base Camp through Sherpa villages like Namche Bazaar and Tengboche.
Annapurna region: one of the world’s most popular trekking areas, including the Annapurna Circuit and Annapurna Base Camp treks, passing through hugely varied climate zones and ethnic villages.
Langtang, Manaslu, and Upper Mustang: increasingly popular for travelers seeking less crowded alternatives, with Upper Mustang offering a preserved slice of traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture behind the rain-shadow of the Himalaya.

Chitwan National Park

A UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Terai lowlands, offering jungle safaris (jeep and canoe-based, with walking-based tours replacing traditional elephant rides in many lodges today) to see rhinos, potentially tigers, crocodiles, and a huge range of birdlife, alongside visits to Tharu indigenous villages.

Lumbini

The birthplace of the Buddha, a major pilgrimage and heritage site in the Terai with monasteries built by many different Buddhist nations from around the world.

Bandipur

A beautifully preserved Newar hill town offering a quieter, more traditional alternative to busier tourist hubs, with mountain views and old-world architecture.

Practical Notes for Tourists

Visas are available on arrival for most nationalities at Kathmandu’s international airport and major land border crossings. A Trekkers’ Information Management System (TIMS) card and/or national park permits are required for most organized treks. Altitude sickness is a real risk on high-altitude treks (Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Circuit, etc.), and proper acclimatization days are strongly recommended. Nepal’s currency is the Nepali Rupee, and while Kathmandu and Pokhara are increasingly digital-payment friendly, cash is still essential in rural and mountain areas. Tipping guides and porters is customary and forms a meaningful part of their income. Modest dress is appropriate when visiting temples and rural communities.

7. Core Ethnic and Indigenous Communities: Lifestyle and Everyday Life

Nepal’s ethnic landscape is genuinely vast, but a few of the most prominent communities include:

Chhetri

The largest single ethnic/caste group in Nepal by population, traditionally associated with the Kshatriya (warrior/ruling) varna in the Hindu caste system. Chhetris have historically dominated the military, political, and civil service leadership of Nepal, including the royal Shah dynasty itself, which was Chhetri. Chhetri households traditionally practice Hindu rituals, celebrate Dashain and Tihar as their most important festivals, and are found across the hill regions of Nepal in agrarian communities, though today they are present in every profession and region. “Dhital,” “Thapa,” “Khadka,” “Basnyat,” “Kunwar,” and similar surnames are common Chhetri family names, “Dhital” itself being a well-known Chhetri clan/surname historically concentrated in the mid-western hill districts.

Bahun (Brahmin)

The traditional priestly caste, historically responsible for religious rituals, Sanskrit scholarship, and Hindu temple priesthood, and, alongside Chhetris, heavily represented in Nepal’s civil service, education, journalism, and politics historically. Bahun households often maintain strict vegetarianism (though this varies by family) and place high value on formal education and religious learning.

Newar

The indigenous community of the Kathmandu Valley, with their own language (Nepal Bhasa), a rich urban civilization of trade, craft guilds, farming, and religious art going back over a thousand years. Newars are unusual in having their own internal caste hierarchy that spans both Hindu and Buddhist religious identities within the same ethnic community, and they are especially known for exceptional metalwork, wood carving, thangka and paubha painting, and the elaborate Newari cuisine described above.

Sherpa

An ethnically Tibetan-origin community concentrated in the Solu-Khumbu (Everest) region and other high-altitude valleys of eastern Nepal, practicing Tibetan Buddhism. Traditionally herders, traders, and farmers of barley, buckwheat, and potatoes at high altitude, Sherpas became globally famous through mountaineering, especially after Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary made the first confirmed ascent of Everest in 1953. Today, Sherpa guides, climbers, and expedition staff form the backbone of the entire Everest and high-Himalayan climbing industry, and Sherpa hospitality (tea houses, lodges) supports most trekking tourism in the Khumbu.

Tamang

One of the largest Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups, traditionally settled in the hills surrounding the Kathmandu Valley, historically working as porters, farmers, and traders, practicing a blend of Tibetan Buddhism and shamanistic traditions, with their own language and distinctive music (notably associated with the Damphu hand-drum).

Gurung and Magar

Two large ethnic groups of the western and central hill regions, both with a long and famous history as the backbone of the Gurkha regiments in the British and Indian armies, renowned worldwide for military service and the khukuri knife. Gurung communities are especially associated with the Annapurna region, sheep and cattle herding, and their own animist-Buddhist religious traditions, while Magars are one of the largest indigenous groups overall, spread across much of western and mid-western Nepal.

Rai and Limbu

Indigenous communities of eastern Nepal descended from the ancient Kirat civilization, practicing their own Kirat religious traditions (Kirat Mundhum) alongside Hinduism and Buddhism in varying degrees, known for their own languages, the tongba millet drink, and historically also strong representation in Gurkha regiments.

Tharu

The indigenous community of the Terai lowlands, with a distinct culture adapted to the once-malarial jungle lowlands (to which they had natural genetic resistance long before modern medicine), known for stilted mud-and-thatch houses, distinctive dance forms (such as the stick dance, “sakhiya” and “jhumra”), fishing traditions, and a close historical relationship with the forests and wildlife of Chitwan and Bardia.

Everyday Goods Across These Communities

While each group has its own distinct traditions, dress, and cuisine as described above, certain material culture threads run across nearly all of them: the doko carrying basket, the khukuri knife, hand-woven wool or cotton textiles, brass/copper household vessels, and communal tea-drinking customs are shared across almost every hill and mountain community in Nepal, even as the specific patterns, langauges, deities, and recipes differ meaningfully from one group to the next.

Closing Note

Nepal packs an extraordinary range of geography, ethnicity, religion, and history into a country roughly the size of a mid-sized U.S. state. Its identity is built less on a single unifying culture than on the coexistence of dozens of distinct peoples, Hindu and Buddhist, hill and plains, high Himalaya and dense jungle, bound together by shared festivals, a common language of communication, and a long, layered history from the Kirat and Licchavi kingdoms through the Malla artistic golden age, the Shah unification, and into its present life as a federal democratic republic..