Nepal  is a landlocked country in Southern Asia, between the
Tibet autonomous region of China and India. It contains eight of
the world's 10 highest peaks, including Mount Everest - the
world's tallest - on the border with Tibet, and Lumbini, the
birth place of Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. Nepal
recently was declared a republic and has abolished the monarchy.
Nepal has been divided into elevation zones, south to north: are
also important geographic divisions. The Mahabharat Range is a
major hydrologic barrier in Nepal and other parts of the
Himalaya. South-flowing rivers converge in candelabra shapes to
break through this range in a few narrow gorges. Travel is
usually easier within these candelabra drainage systems than
between them, so high divides between river systems became
historically important political, linguistic and cultural
boundaries. The Karnali system in the far west is the birthplace
of Pahari ('hill') culture. It was settled by people called Khas
speaking an indo-european language