Annual Tongue Piercing Ceremony at Bode

Nepal . . . What does the name conjure up for you? Probably the awesome expanse of the Himalaya: Or perhaps the dense tropical jungle that is home to rhinoceros and tiger. A mystical centre of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism; or the world's only Hindu kingdom. 

The land of the Gurkhas, 'bravest of the brave', soldiers famed and feared across the globe: Or a peaceful country that is a mosaic of dozens  of distinctive castes and groups with no history of inter-ethnic strife. A magical mediaeval time capsule, hardly touched by modernity: Or one of the least developed nations, struggling to find its feet while beset by all the problems of this modern age.

Nepal is all of this and more. . A land of incredible diversity and seeming contradictions. A small, land-locked realm that encompasses eight of the world's ten highest peaks and plunges to the flaming heat of the Gangetic plains, inhabited by a remarkable variety of peoples and cultures. For Nepal is a natural border, a transitional area.

The Himalaya, 'Abode of Snow', marks the northern bounds of South Asia and the Indian subcontinent while Nepal's territory edges beyond this mighty range to reach into the Tibetan plateau and Central Asia . . .