Short answers, pulled from the story.
Nepal is a landlocked country in South Asia, mainly situated in the Himalayas. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north and India to the south, east, and west. It is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim.
Nepal has eight of the world's ten highest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point above mean sea level on Earth. Seven other eight-thousanders are in Nepal or on its border with Tibet, including Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, and Manaslu.
Nepal was never colonised because it served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. After the Anglo-Nepali War of 1815-16 ended in the Sugauli Treaty, its Rana dynasty of premiers formed an alliance with the British Empire.
Nepal was declared a federal republic on the 28th of May 2008, ending its status as the world's only Hindu kingdom. The Constitution of Nepal, adopted on the 20th of September 2015, divided the country into seven provinces.
Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism and traditionally dated 563-483 BC, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. He arose from the Shakya polity, renouncing his status to lead an ascetic life.
In September 2025, protests over a social media ban and economic inequality erupted into rioting that killed or injured dozens, damaged Parliament and other buildings, and forced the resignation of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. The army assumed control of security, and former chief justice Sushila Karki was selected as interim prime minister.
The Gadhimai festival is a Hindu religious event held every five years at the Gadhimai Temple in Nepal. It has been described as the world's bloodiest festival because of the large-scale slaughter of animals and birds to appease the goddess Gadhimai.