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Kathmandu

Capital of NepalKathmandu sits in central Nepal, in the northwest part of the Kathmandu Valley and north of the Bagmati River, about 1,320 m above sea level.

Why it's the capital

In 1768 Prithvi Narayan Shah, king of Gorkha, entered Kathmandu unopposed while the city was celebrating the Indra Jatra festival. He made it the royal capital of the unified Kingdom of Nepal, which he founded.

Fun facts

  1. The name comes from Kasthamandap, a wooden pavilion in Durbar Square that collapsed in the April 2015 earthquake; in Sanskrit, kastha means 'wood' and mandapa means 'pavilion'.
  2. Swayambhunath, a hilltop temple complex west of the city, is nicknamed the Monkey Temple because families of monkeys live there.
  3. Boudhanath, inside the city, is the largest spherical stupa in Nepal and part of the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Finding it on the globe

Nepal is the long, narrow country between India and China. Kathmandu is a little east of its middle, about halfway between the Indian and Chinese borders.

Sources: Wikipedia: Kathmandu, Wikipedia: Prithvi Narayan Shah, Wikipedia: Kasthamandap, Wikipedia: Swayambhunath, Wikipedia: Boudhanath