Nepal trivia: 46 questions and answers

Kathmandu. Kathmandu, in the Kathmandu Valley at about 1,300 m, is the capital and largest city.

China and India. China and India are Nepal's only neighbours: China (Tibet) to the north and India on the other three sides. Bangladesh and Bhutan are close but do not touch Nepal.

Nepalese rupee. The currency is the Nepalese rupee (NPR), introduced in 1932. The taka, ngultrum and kyat are the currencies of Bangladesh, Bhutan and Myanmar.

False. False. Nepal is landlocked. The nearest sea, the Bay of Bengal, is several hundred kilometres away across India or Bangladesh.

True. True. Nepal drives on the left, like its neighbour India.

Prithvi Narayan Shah. Prithvi Narayan Shah entered Kathmandu on 25 September 1768, during the Indra Jatra festival, and went on to unite many small states into one kingdom.

2008. On 28 May 2008 the elected Constituent Assembly abolished the monarchy, about 240 years after the kingdom was founded.

Treaty of Sugauli. The Treaty of Sugauli, ratified in March 1816, ended the war with the East India Company. Nepal gave up recently conquered lands.

False. False. Nepal was never colonised. It fought a war with the British East India Company in 1814 to 1816 but stayed independent.

True. True. The earthquake of 25 April 2015, magnitude 7.8, killed nearly 9,000 people and badly damaged the valley's historic squares.

Dal bhat. Dal bhat is rice (bhat) with lentil soup (dal), usually served with vegetable curry and pickle, twice a day.

A stiff porridge of buckwheat, millet or maize flour. Dhindo is a stiff porridge of buckwheat, millet or maize flour, stirred into boiling water and eaten in small balls dipped in soup.

Bhaktapur. Juju dhau comes from Bhaktapur. It is a thick, creamy buffalo-milk yoghurt set in clay pots.

Nine kinds of sprouted beans. Kwati is made from nine kinds of sprouted beans, soaked for three or four days and cooked with spices. It is eaten at Janai Purnima, usually in August.

Beaten rice (chiura). Samay baji is built around beaten rice (chiura), with roasted soybeans, choila, bara, egg, ginger, greens and pickle.

True. True. Mustard, radish and cauliflower leaves are fermented for about a week, then sun-dried, so they keep through the winter.

False. False. Sel roti is a sweet, ring-shaped bread made from rice-flour batter and fried in oil, above all for Dashain and Tihar.

Patan. Lalitpur is also called Patan, and Yala in the Newar language. Bhadgaon is the old name of Bhaktapur, Kantipur of Kathmandu, and Bhairahawa of Siddharthanagar.

True. True. Birgunj is joined to the Indian town of Raxaul, and most of Nepal's trade with India crosses the border there.

Swayambhunath. Swayambhunath, on a hill west of Kathmandu, is home to troops of monkeys. The Buddha's eyes are painted on all four sides of its tower.

Shiva. Pashupatinath is dedicated to Shiva as Pashupati, lord of the animals. It is the holiest Hindu temple in Nepal.

The Buddha. The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was born at Lumbini according to tradition, often dated around 563 BC. Hindus honour Janakpur as the birthplace of Sita.

True. True. Chitwan, Nepal's first national park, holds most of the country's greater one-horned rhinos, as well as Bengal tigers.

False. False. As of September 2026, Nepal's four World Heritage Sites are the Kathmandu Valley, Lumbini, Sagarmatha National Park and Chitwan National Park.

Two stacked triangular pennants. Nepal's flag is two stacked triangular pennants, crimson with a blue border. As of 2026 it is the only national flag that is not rectangular.

5 hours 45 minutes. Nepal Standard Time is 5 hours 45 minutes ahead of UTC, 15 minutes ahead of India.

8,848.86 m. The joint survey gave 8,848.86 m. The other figures are the heights of K2, Kangchenjunga and Annapurna I.

57. Bikram Sambat runs about 57 years ahead. Its year 2083 began in April 2026.

True. True. Everest, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Annapurna are all in Nepal or on its borders. Kangchenjunga is on the border with India, and Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu on the border with China.

True. True. The Royal Kumari of Kathmandu lives in the Kumari Ghar on Durbar Square, and there are other Kumaris in Patan and Bhaktapur.

False. False. Since 2007 the banknotes have shown Mount Everest instead of the king, and Nepal became a republic in 2008.

Beijing. Araniko (1245 to 1306) designed the White Stupa of the Miaoying Temple in Beijing for the court of Kublai Khan.

Thank you. Dhanyabad means thank you. For hello, Nepalis say namaste.

pani. Pani means water. Chiya is tea, bhat is cooked rice and masu is meat.

Snow mountain. Himal means snow mountain. The northern mountain belt of Nepal is called the Himal, and a lake is a tal.

True. True. Tal means lake, so Phewa Lake is Phewa Tal in Nepali.

Pugyo. Pugyo means enough, I am full. Namaste is hello, maaf garnus is excuse me and pheri bhetaula is see you again.

Yesko kati parchha?. Yesko kati parchha? asks the price. The others mean 'My name is', 'Please give me some water' and 'I am fine'.

Namaskar. Namaskar is the formal form of namaste, said with palms pressed together.

True. True. Pheri bhetaula means see you again, and Nepalis use it when saying goodbye.

100. The police emergency number in Nepal is 100.

Autumn, October to December. Autumn, October to December, has little dust in the air and is the best season for mountain views. The monsoon brings rain and clouds from June to September.

Keeping the stupa on your right. Walk clockwise, keeping the stupa on your right. The same goes for prayer walls and monasteries.

True. True. Once you are above about 3,000 m, climbing slowly and taking rest days helps prevent altitude sickness.

False. False. Drink sealed bottled water, boiled water or water you treat yourself.

True. True. The Nepal Tourism Board introduced the rule in April 2023. The Everest region has had its own local rules, so check before you book.