Home > Nepal Info > Geography of Nepal

Nepal rises from as low as 59 meters (194 ft) elevation in the tropical Terai the northern rim of the Gangetic Plain, beyond the perpetual snow line to some 90 peaks over 7,000 meters (22,966 ft) including Earth’s highest 8,848 meters (29,029 ft) Mount Everest or Sagarmatha. Nepal consists of three major region Terai, Hilly and Himalayan region.


The Terai stretches over 33,998.8 km2 (13,127.0 sq mi), about 23.1% of Nepal’s land area, and lies at an altitude of between 67 and 300 m (220 and 984 ft). The Terai ends and the Hilly region begin at a higher range of foothills called the Mahabharat Range.


This region begins at the Mahabharat Range (Lesser Himalaya) where a fault system called the Main Boundary Thrust creates a hill 1,000 to 1,500 meters (3,000 to 5,000 ft) high, to a crest between 1,500 and 2,700 meters (5,000 and 9,000 ft).


The Mountain or Himalayan Region begins where high ridges begin substantially rising above 3,000 meters (10,000 ft) into the subalpine and alpine zone whichare mainly used for seasonal pasturage. A few tens kilometers further north the high Himalaya abruptly rise along the Main Central Thrust fault zone above the snow line at 5,000 to 5,500 meters (16,400 to 18,000 ft). Some 90 of Nepal’s peaks exceed 7,000 meters (23,000 ft) and eight exceed 8,000 meters (26,247 ft) including Mount Everest at 8,848 meters (29,029 ft) and Kanchenjunga at 8,598 meters (28,209 ft).