World Heritage sites in Nepal

Lumbani, the birth place of Lord Buddha

Siddharta Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born in 623 B.C. at the famous gardens of Lumbini, which soon became a place of pilgrimage. Among the pilgrims was the Indian Emperor Ashoka, who erected one of his commemorative pillars there.

The site is now being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, where the archaeological remains associated with the birth of the Lord Buddha form a central feature.

Chitwan National Park

At the foot of the Himalayas, Chitwan is one of the few undisturbed areas of the Terai region which formerly extended over the foothills of India and Nepal, with its very rich flora and fauna. One of the last populations of single-horned Asiatic rhinoceros lives in the park, which is also among the last refuges for the Bengal tiger.

"Chitwan National Park" was added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 1984. Chitwan is a rich natural area in the Terai, the subtropical southern part of Nepal. The park is inhabited by the rare Asiatic rhinoceros and Bengal Tiger. Besides these, there are many elephants, birds and butterflies.

Sagarmatha National Park

Sagarmatha National Park is located to the north-east of Kathmandu in the Kumbu region of Nepal. The park includes the highest peak in the world, Mt. Sagarmatha (Everest), and several other well-known peaks such as Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyu, Pumori, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Kwangde, Kangtaiga and Gyachung Kang. The park was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.

The mountains of Sagarmatha National Park are geologically young and broken up by deep gorges and glacial valleys. Vegetation includes pine and hemlock forests at lower altitudes, fir, juniper, birch and rhododendron woods, scrub and alpine plant communities, and bare rock and snow. The famed bloom of rhododendrons occurs during spring (April and May) although other flora is most colorful during the monsoon season (June to August).

Wild animals most likely to seen in the park are the Himalayan tahr, goral, serow and musk deer. The snow leopard and Himalayan black bear are present but rarely sighted. Other mammals rarely seen are the weasel, maren, Himalayan mouse hare (pika), jackal and langur monkey.

The park is populated by approximately 3,000 of the famed Sherpa people whose lives are interwoven with the teachings of Buddhism. The main settlements are Namche Bazar, Khumjung, Khunde, Thame, Thyangboche, Pangboche and Phortse. The economy of the Khumbu Sherpa community has traditionally been heavily based on trade and livestock herding. But with the arrival of international mountaineering expeditions since 1950 and the influx of foreign trekkers, today the Sherpa economy is becoming increasingly dependent of tourism