For a small country, Nepal is incredibly
diverse. It has the greatest range of altitudes of any nation on earth,
ranging from the earth's highest mountains to subtropical river plains.
And as the trading ground and meeting place among several cultures,
dozens of different languages are spoken by even more ethnic groups. In
general, Nepali parks are not"untouched" environments, but have a long
history of use by humans. Many national parks incorporate grazing,
farming, wood gathering, survival hunting, and human habitation into
their boundaries, as well as tourism and trekking. These uses are not
without their tensions and their environmental stresses. But there's
also something wonderful about this close association of humans and the
natural environment; a trip to a Nepali national park always involves
interacting with other cultures as well as with the raw stuff of
nature.
|
