This article is about general overview of Kathmandu city. For other uses, see Kathmandu (disambiguation).
| Kathmandu काठमांडौ | |
|---|---|
| — Capital City — | |
 | |
| Motto: My legacy, my pride, my Kathmandu | |
 | |
  Kathmandu | |
| Coordinates: 27°42′N 85°20′E / 27.7°N 85.333°ECoordinates: 27°42′N 85°20′E / 27.7°N 85.333°E | |
| Country |  Nepal |
| Development Region | Central |
| Zone | Bagmati Zone |
| District | Kathmandu District |
| HDI |  0.458 low[1] |
| Established | 900s AD[2] |
| Government | |
| • Chief Executive Officer | Kedar Bhahadur Adhikari |
| Area | |
| • Total | 50.67 km2 (19.56 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,400 m (4,600 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 1,006,656[3] |
| census | |
| Time zone | Nepal Time (UTC+5:45) |
| Postal Code | 44600 (GPO), 44601, 44602, 44604, 44605, 44606, 44608, 44609, 44610, 44611, 44613, 44614, 44615, 44616, 44617, 44618, 44619, 44620, 44621 |
| Area code(s) | +1 |
| Website | kathmandu.gov.np |
The city stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) in the bowl-shaped valley in central Nepal surrounded by four major hills: Shivapuri, Phulchowki, Nagarjun and Chandragiri. Kathmandu valley is part of three districts, Kathmandu District, Lalitpur District and Bhaktapur District, with the highest population density in the country and accounting for about 1/15 of its population.
Historically, only the Kathmandu Valley was referred to as "Nepal" by people who lived outside the valley. After the annexation of the valley by the Gorkha kingdom, and subsequent conversion of the valley as the capital of their empire, this designation of "Nepal" was extended to every land they conquered. The valley itself was referred to as "Nepal Proper" by the contemporary British historians. Today Kathmandu is not only the capital of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal but also the headquarters of the Central Region (Madhyamanchal) among the five development regions constituted by the 14 administrative zones of Nepal located at the central part of the country. The Central region has three zones: Bagmati, Narayani and Janakpur. Kathmandu is located in the Bagmati Zone.[8]
Kathmandu, as the gateway to Nepal Tourism, is the nerve centre of the country’s economy. With the most advanced infrastructure among urban areas in Nepal, Kathmandu's economy is tourism centric accounting for 3.8% of the GDP in 1995–96 (had declined since then due to political unrest but has picked up again).
The city’s rich history is nearly 2000 years old, as inferred from an inscription in the valley. Most of Kathmandu's people follow Hinduism followed by Buddhism. People of other religious beliefs also live in Kathmandu giving it a cosmopolitan culture. Nepali is the most common language of the city. Nepal Bhasa is the indigenous language spoken by older residents as it is the center of the Newar people and culture. English is understood by the educated population of the city. The literacy rate is 98% in the city.[9]
From the point of view of tourism, economy and cultural heritage, the sister cities of Lalitpur (Patan) and Bhaktapur are integral to Kathmandu. The cultural heritage recognition under the World Heritage list of the UNESCO has recognized all the monuments in the three cities as one unit under the title “Kathmandu Valley-UNESCO World Heritage Site".[10][11]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Toponymy
The medieval era name of Kathmandu was Kantipur (कान्तिपुर), which is sometimes used to denote the city. This name derives from two Sanskrit words- Kanti and pur. "Kanti" is an alternate name of the Goddess Lakshmi, and "pur" means place.
The name "Yen", was given to it by the indigenous Newar people. The meaning and significance of it is still unknown and under debate.
[edit] History
Main article: History of Kathmandu
[edit] Ancient history
The ancient history of Kathmandu is based in mythology. According to Swayambhu Purana, the present day Kathmandu was once a lake called Nagdaha. The lake was drained by Manjushree, who established a city called Manjupattan and made Dharmakar the ruler of the land.[14][15][16]Gopalraj Vansawali, a genealogy of Nepalese monarchs, states that Gopalas, Mahispalas, Aabhirs and Kiratas had ruled Kathmandu valley before Lichchavis ruled it.[16][17] Very few historic records of this era exist.
[edit] Medieval history
Lichchavi era was followed by Malla era. During late Malla era, the valley of Kathmandu consisted of four fortified cities, namely Kantipur, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kirtipur, which served as the capitals of Malla confederation of Nepal. These states competed with each other on arts, architecture, aesthetics and trade which resulted in massive development. The Newar people—the indigenous inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley— came to characterize most forms of artistry during this time both within the valley and throughout the greater Himalayas. Highly sought after, they traveled extensively throughout Asia, creating religious art for their neighbors, as in the case of Araniko and the group of artists he led to Tibet and China. The kings themselves were directly involved or influenced construction of public buildings, squares, temples, water spourts, institutionalization of trusts (called guthis), codification of laws, writing of dramas, orchestration of plays in city squares. Influx of ideas from India, Tibet, China, Persia, Europe among others can be found in a stone inscription of king Pratap Malla. Various books related to tantric tradition (e.g. Tantrakhyan), medicine (e.g. Haramekhala), religion (e.g.Mooldevshashidev) , dictionary (e.g. Amarkosh), law, morals, history etc have been found from this era. Prominent architectural buildings of this era are Kathmandu Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, former durbar of Kirtipur, Nyatapola, Kumbheshwar, Krishna temple etc.
[edit] Modern era
The termination of Malla confederation by the Gorkha kingdom marks the beginning of modern era. Kathmandu was adopted as the capital of their Gorkha empire, and the empire itself was dubbed as Nepal. During early phase of this era, Kathmandu saw a continuation of its culture. New buildings in Nepali architecture such as the nine story tower of Basantapur was built during this era. Trade declined during this era because of continuous wars with neighboring nations. The alliance of Bhimsen Thapa with France against Great Britain led to the development of modern military structures in Kathmandu such as modern barracks. The change in policy from anti-British to pro-British during Rana regime saw the first development of western architecture in Kathmandu. The most prominent buildings of this era are Singha Durbar, Kaisar Mahal, Shital Niwas, old Narayanhiti palace etc. New Road was the first modern commercial road built during this era.[edit] Geography
Eight rivers flow through the city of which the Bagmati, Bishnumati, Dhobikhola, Manohara, Hanumant and Tukucha rivers are predominant. The mountains from where these rivers originate are in the elevation range of 1,500–3,000 metres (4,900–9,800 ft) and have passes, which provide access to and from Kathmandu and its valley. It falls in the central development region and it is the headquarters of the region.[7][20][21]
The Bagmati river originates at Bagdwaar, also known as Bag Tiger or Dwar Gate.[22] The water flows out through a gargoyle shaped like a tiger's mouth in the northern hills of Kathmandu valley about fifteen kilometres northeast of Kathmandu where three steams come together.[23] The mountain streams that cascaded over boulders become a wide, swiftly flowing river, with a high load of suspended solids, giving the river a grey appearance and coating the bottom with a grey silt of glacial flour.[23] The Bagmati flows southwesterly for about ten kilometres along the Kathmandu Valley which is predominately rice-patties in terraces up the slopes.[23] A number of resistant rock strata interrupt the flow down the valley, among these is the outcrop that the Pashupatinath Temple is built upon.[23] Afer passing the temple, the river flows south across the plain where it is joined by the larger Manohara River and turns westward. After entering the city the Bagmati is joined by a number of tributaries, notably the Dhobi Khola[24] and the sewage-laden Tukucha Khola.[23][25]
The natural vegetation is dictated by the climatic conditions and accordingly five vegetation zones have been defined for Nepal, out of which Kathmandu and its valley fall under the Deciduous Monsoon Forest Zone (altitude range of 1,200–2,100 metres (3,900–6,900 ft)). The dominant tree species under this zone comprises oak, elm, beech, maple and so forth with coniferous trees at higher elevation.[26]
[edit] Climate
Climatic conditions vary to a large extent in view of several geographical factors (topography and altitude). Five major climatic regions have been deciphered in Nepal, out of which Kathmandu valley falls under the Warm Temperate Zone (elevation ranging from 1,200–2,300 metres (3,900–7,500 ft)) where the climate is fairly pleasant, atypical of the region. This zone is followed by the Cool Temperate Zone with elevation varying between 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) and 3,300 metres (10,800 ft). Under Koppen’s climate classification, portions of the city with lower elevations features a mild form of a humid subtropical climate while portions of the city with higher elevations generally feature a subtropical highland climate. In the Kathmandu valley, which is representative of its valley’s climate the average temperature during the summer season varies from 28–30 °C (82–86 °F). During the winter season the average temperature is 10.1 °C (50.2 °F).The city generally has a salubrious climate with comfortable warm days followed by the cool mornings and nights. Unpredictability of weather is expected as during winter, temperatures during the winter months have dropped to 3 °C (37 °F). The rainfall which is mostly monsoon based (about 65% of the total concentrated during the monsoon months of June to August), which decreases (100 cm to 200 cm) substantially from eastern Nepal to western Nepal, has been recorded as about 1,400 millimetres (55 in) for the Kathmandu valley and an average of 1,407 millimetres (55.4 in) specifically for the Kathmandu city. On an average Humidity is 75%.[7][27][28]
No comments:
Post a Comment