Culture of Nepal

: 2023-06-17

Last Updated : 2023-12-10

The rich culture of Nepal influences and somehow connects the daily lives of people. Having a good history of conquest, trade, and a few migrations, the culture in this country is diverse. If you are planning to take a tour around Nepal, you will experience the richness and uniqueness of culture and tradition. The multi-lingual and multi-ethnic Nepali culture represents a fusion of Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Mongolian influences.
Despite being a small country in size, Nepal has a lot to offer when it comes to the richness of culture and cultural heritage of Nepal.
Travelers usually enjoy being part of the traditions of the locals and celebrate Nepali festivals with a lot of excitement. A major reason behind this is our warm and welcoming hospitality which we consider our culture.

Cultural Diversity of Nepal

Nepali culture, for us, means ‘the way of life to the point where this holds for the entire society. Once you are in Nepal, you will witness that the culture of Nepal incorporates religion, music and dance, art and architecture, literature, festivals, and so on. The Nepalese people are culturally guided when it comes to the aspect of clothing, food, language, behavior, belief system, and even occupation.
Nepal was officially declared a secular country in 2006 by the Parliament of Nepal. Kathmandu has served as the umbrella under which a diverse group of people resides in harmony since the unification of Nepal in the 18th century. Although the culture and traditions of Nepal differ from one place to another, this blend forms a national identity. ‘Unity in Diversity is one of the special attributes of the Nepalese.

Culture and Traditions of Nepal

With changing times, the traditions in Nepal keep evolving in the form of music, dance, architecture, and literature. Nepal is considered a garland with hundreds of flowers representing national unity among cultural diversity.
On a national level, this is as important to the people as the national symbols. These include Rhododendron (National Flower), Danfe (National Bird), our unique flag, and the crossed Khukuris of the Gurkhas.

Religious diversity in the culture of Nepal

Even though the majority of people are Hindus and Buddhists, Nepal is home to various other religions. These include Islam, Christianity, Jainism, Baha’i, Sikhism, and others. The harmony of all these religious groups co-existing under the same roof is quite remarkable. This has been the case for Hindus and Buddhists for centuries.
The light of Asia, Gautam Buddha was born in Lumbini of Nepal. One of the holiest and biggest temples of Lord Shiva, Pashupatinath, is located in the capital city of Nepal. Similarly, we can find so many temples, shrines, monasteries, churches, mosques, and other worshipping places devoted to each religious belief.

Custom diversity in the culture of Nepal

The diversity in custom comes directly from the religious traditions since every religion has some things in common yet is different in its way. For example, the custom of marriage differs from religion to religion. There are traditional marriages that still exist in society but the approaches can vary. There are systems of arranged marriages, caste marriage systems, and other such traditional customs.
Some other customs include taking off shoes before entering a place of worship and fasting for a whole day to worship. Hindus don’t eat beef concerning the cow as a Universal Mother. Eating with the right hand is considered pure. Therefore, there are plenty of examples of the traditional customs prevailing at the root of the Nepalese society.
We admit that we have stepped into a modernized concept of lifestyle, yet we still follow some of our customs as a way to preserve them.

Food diversity in the culture of Nepal

Like different cuisines of food in the world, the variety of foods served by people of different cultures in Nepal is no different than delicacies. You can enjoy these food items across cultural and regional boundaries. You will be amazed by how they taste.
However, the daily meal of Nepalese is influenced by the Indian and Tibetan styles of cooking. Newari and Thakali cuisines are the most authentic tastes of Nepali food items. Dal (lentils), bhaat (cooked rice), and tarkari (vegetables) are part of the regular Nepali meal. Besides these, momos (dumplings), pickles, curried meat, roti (flatbread), and dhedo (boiled flour) are also popular in Nepali kitchens.

Other Cultural diversity Factors

Likewise, you will be able to hear different languages like Nepali, Maithili, Tharu, Newari, Bhojpuri, Tamang, Magar, and so on. If you’re lucky enough, you might get to witness and celebrate important festivals of Nepal such as Buddha Jayanti, Dashain, Tihar, Holi, Mani Rimdu, and others.

Cultural Heritage of Nepal

Amazingly enough, Nepal consists of several World Heritage Sites out of which 7 are termed cultural by UNESCO. These cultural heritages of Nepal are the nation’s pride and greatest gift from our ancestors. During your time in Nepal, you will be able to visit many of the Nepal Heritage Sites including:

  • Kathmandu Durbar Square
  • Bhaktapur Durbar Square
  • Patan Durbar Square
  • Changu Narayan Temple
  • Pashupatinath temple (Holy temple of Lord Shiva)
  • Swayambhunath Temple (Monkey Temple)
  • Lumbini (Birthplace of Lord Buddha)
  • Bouddhanath Stupa

We offer a variety of cultural tour packages that best suit your requirements. Apart from these sites, there are a lot of pilgrimage sites that you can explore in Nepal. The culture and traditions of Nepal are limitless and would take a lifetime to learn about all of them.
You can get in touch using contact no: +977-9851032316 to get more information about how you can proceed with the cultural and heritage tour around Nepal.

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