Nepal: Place closest to Nature. Let me begin the list.
1. The first thing to start with would be the geography of the place. Nepal has the highest altitude variation in the world. From the plain of Ganges to the peak of Mt. Everest, the altitude varies from almost sea level to 8848m above sea level.
In the map, the green part near the Indian border is plain area. The blackish green areas are the hilly ones and the white areas closer to China is mountain region.
2. Eight of the fourteen eight-thousanders are located in Nepal. I am talking about mountains here. We have eight 8000m tall mountains and all of them are listed in the 10 highest peaks of the world. We occupy 80% of the slot. Beat that!
Mount Everest: (Highest Peak in the world)
Kanchenjunga (3rd Highest peak in the world)
Lhotse(4th Highest)
Makalu(5th highest)
Cho Oyu(6th highest)
Dhaulagiri(7th Highest)
Manasalu(8th Highest)
Annapurna(10th highest) : This is one of the most dangerous mountains to climb.
4. Second richest in water resources after Brazil. And posess potential for production of 83000 MW of clean hydro electricity. Yet, we have electricity shortage and have to bear with an average of 8 hrs of power cut everyday.
5. Kathmandu valley is the capital. It has the densest concentration of World Heritage Sites. Kathmandu valley alone has 7 World Heritage Cultural sites within a radius of 15 kilometers.
6. One of the areas in Kathmandu valley is called "Freak street" (I think this name was given by Jim Morrison after he saw the huge inflow of hippies who came in droves by buses on this street). See: Old Freak Street.
This is an old picture of freak street in 1970's when Nepal was the best destination for hippies for its legal Marijuana selling.
7. Yes, we have a song called "Kathmandu" written by Bob Seger. He wrote it in 1975, at a time when he wanted to disappear from the record business, media and touring. Kathmandu represented a far way land where no one would be able to find you. Also, Jim has some verses of road house blues in Nepali!
8. It's the country with the highest Hindu population. Almost 80% of the people here are Hindu. It was the only Hindu country in the world until 2010 when it went republican and became secular.
9. We have the bravest people in the world, the Gurkhas. We have fought wars alongside Britishers and are most feared warriors. Don't get this wrong though, Nepalese are really peace loving people.
10. Our Sovereignty was never broken. Never ruled by any other country in the world. Britain tried to invade Nepal but could never succeed. Refer Anglo-Nepalese War
11. We have the popular and cheap ‘fast food’ called Momo. Delicious dumplings made from flour and water; and filled with different fillings like chicken, meat or vegetables either fried or steamed and served with a dipping sauce.
12. The deepest gorge in the world named Kali Gandaki Gorge is in Nepal.
13. One of the highest lakes in the world, Tilicho Lake. Situated at the height of 4919m.
14. I can go on and on about the Natural beauty of Nepal. So giving it a stop, I will just mention it briefly. The trekking trails of Nepal are really beautiful. Everest Base camp Trek, Annapurna Trek, Mustang Trek routes are really awesome! Nepal is no less in its flora and fauna. Some of the rarest species are found here. And the mountains are the sources of some highly valued medicinal herbs.
15. There was a massacre in the Royal House in 2001 when our king queen and majority of their family members died. Nepalese royal massacre .
16. Nepal is birthplace of Gautama Buddha, founder of Buddhism. As a consequence, Nepal is home to beautiful Stupas and Gumbas, monuments with round roofs.
17. Despite all this, we are really poor. Don't be surprised if you see small huts in the hills. We have not exploited tourism or even hydro power to its potential. Roads are not much developed. And if you book some flight ticket to travel inside Nepal don't panic if its a small 10-12 seater twin otter with shaky wings :P
18. Lastly, everything I have said lies within an area of 147,181 square km. Yes, my country is really small.
Edit: I have not shared the pics of trekking routes. These are some of the pics taken by my friend when they went trekking. I missed this trip but here is the true experience: