Nepal is a land-locked country with an estimated population of 23 million. It is located between two powerful neighbours: China and India.

The topography in Nepal is varied and diverse, and its altitude ranges from 60 metres to 8,848 metres above sea level. This gives Nepal a geography that is unique, and that parallels very few countries in the world. Nepal's altitude is diverse, and so is its climate. Climate ranges from hot tropical in the Terai to moderate sub-tropical in the hill and to tundra in the mountain. Though it's not shown here, Nepal is split in to 75 administrative districts that make up the country and are further grouped into 14 zones and five development regions.

The country extends 885 km in average length and 193 km average width, set in an area of 147,181 sq. km. Ecologically, the country has three strips of land, each extending from east to west. They are called Mountain, Hill and Terai which contain 35, 42 and 23 percent of total area, and 7, 46 and 47 percent of total population, respectively, reflecting a very uneven distribution of population, ranging as low as 4 persons per sq. km in Dolpa district of Mountain to as high as 2,270 persons per sq. km in Kathmandu district of hills.

Follow this link to view the latest advice from the Foreign Office regarding visiting Nepal: Travelling to Nepal

For those of you travelling to Nepal, needing information on health issue recommendations, the following UK Government DoH site has useful information: Government Health Information

DEFRA have asked us to include a link providing information regarding what food and plants may/may not be imported back into the UK from Nepal:  Import Information

This link will take you to the latest news updates on the region from the BBC: BBC News for South Asia