Nepal, is the home of Mount Everest at an oxygen starved 29k elevation and hosts seven other mountains well over 14K feet! It’s the birthplace of Buddha (Lumbini, Nepal). It’s a landlock country surrounded by China and Tibet to its northern border and India on its other 3 sides. Nepal’s entire country, 30.9 million people, would squeeze into an area about the third of the size of California. Over 80% of the population is Hindu, a little over 10% Buddhist. Christianity is unknown though believed to be as high as 3%. Nepal has the only double pennant flag. The symbols are of the moon and sun. The primary diet in Nepal is dhal-bhat (in Nepali) दाल भात which is lentil beans (dhal) and bhat (cooked rice). Still today, 60 per cent of the total population depends on agricultural lands for their livelihoods. Though there are metropolitan cities, just a few miles outside these cities, you will quickly find the quieter and slower rural life that’s made Nepal.

All photos copyright © Mark Avery | Learning Seed.org