Kathmandu valley is located in the flat land of Nepal’s midhill region at an altitude of 1337 m above the sea level. Temperate climate is found here. Being the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu has the high pressure of population. Kathmandu should be taken as the place carrying the history of ancient age, the place full of the temples and the place of superfluity of festivals rather than the place merely having the capital city of the country.
There has been a traditional hearsay that Mahamanjushree from Tibet came to Kathmandu, established two powers; Barada and Mokshyada in the place where there lay a large lake, drained the water out from Chobhar by cutting a gorge and created a beautiful city and established Kathmandu city. Many renowned historical places such as Kathmandu Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, Swayambhu Stupa, Baudha Stupa and Changu Narayan Temple located in this valley are enlisted in the World Heritage Sites.
Kathmandu Valley can be taken as an open Museum. There lie seven heritages enlisted in World Heritage Sites within the distance of 20 km in Kathmandu. These heritages have established Kathmandu valley a world famous place. Nepal where Living Goddess Kumari in worshiped. The proper conservation of these heritages can carry the possibility of making the valley a famous and an important tourist destination forever.
According to geographical division, Kathmandu almost lies in the mid-hill section of Nepal. The major rivers of the valley are the Bagmati and the Bishnumati. The major pilgrimages located in Kathmandu are; Pashupatinath, Guheshwori, Swayambhu, Boudha, Budhanilkantha, Dakshinkali, Hanumandhoka, Gokarna, Shalinadi etc. Besides being the capital city, Kathmandu is also the repository of ancient arts, skills, culture, civilization and history as well.
In addition to this, the major educational institutions, hospitals equipped with modern human resources and equipment, and even the only international airport lie here. This has thus become the centre of attraction among the Nepalese and the foreigners. Surrounded by the beautiful mountains like, Nagarkot, Nagarjun, Shivapuri, Chandragiri and Phulchoki, the presence of these mountains has added to the beauty of the valley.
Kathmandu is also one of the 77 districts of Nepal. The low flat land surrounded by the mountains and having 3 districts namely; Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur is known by the name Kathmandu valley. People residing out of the valley mainly know the same valley by the name Kathmandu. It has been mentioned in the article 288 of the Constitution of Nepal that the capital of Nepal shall be situated in Kathmandu.
The area of this district is 395 sq. km. The scholars have the view that Kathmandu is named after an ancient pavilion made of wooden, Kashthamandap located near the historical Hanumandhoka palace. The historical building, Singhadurbar is the major administrative centre. SAARC secretariat, different foreign embassies, Nepal Rastra Bank and other central offices also lie in Kathmandu.
Thus, Kathmandu is not only the political capital of Nepal; it is also the financial, educational, judicial, religious and diplomatic capital. Nepal’s large and well equipped hospitals like Bir Hosptial and TU Teaching Hospital also lie in here. Tribhuvan Highway, Kodari (Araniko) Highway and Prithivi Highway and Bardibas-Dhulikhel highway have linked Kathmndu to the outer parts of the country.
Kathmandu has the air links with different places like, Bhairahawa; which is located near Lumbinin, the Birthplace of Lord Buddha and Tialurakot, the capital of Suddhodan’s Kapilbastu; Pokhara, the important tourist destination of the country, and Namche, the place located on the lap of Mt. Everest. The daily night buses are operating regularly from Kathmandu to the major cities from Mechi to Mahakali.
Kathmandu can also be called the capital of communication of Nepal because the central offices and stations of radios and televisions including the central office of Nepal Telecom lie in Kathmandu and because more than half of the daily and weekly newspapers and magazines published from Nepal are published from Kathmandu alone.
The five star hotels like; Soaltee, Annapurna, Yak and Yeti, Hyatt also lie in this metropolitan city. The popular economic paper of Asia published from Hongkong has stated that Kathmandu has occupied 27th in the rank amongst top 40 cities of Asia suitable for living.
Source: Government of Nepal Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Department of Information and Broadcasting.
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