History of Nepal is quite long and intriguing one. It can be broadly divided into three periods namely Ancient, Medieval and Modern. Though Monarchy in Nepal has been at the core of the history of this country but there is still much more than just monarchy. Nepal is associated with Hindu Vedas.

Nepal history is about 11000 years old. There are evidences of pre-Aryan settlement in Nepal. These people belonged to Bhutanese-Mongoloid race. Most holy epic of Hindus, Ramayana mentions Nepal. Janakpur in Nepal is said to be the birthplace of Goddess Sita. Again in Mahabharata, another important Hindu Epic, Kirat Pradesh is mentioned at many places. King of Kirat Pradesh helped Kauravas in the war against Pandavas. Shakyas of Kapilvaastu was the most powerful kingdom around 500 B.C. among many smaller ones. Gautam Siddhartha took birth in one of the kings of Shakya clan. After enlightenment, he got the name of Lord Buddha. Then after, it was ruled by Maurya and name of Ashoka can be found on many relics. Licchhavis of Bihar also ruled Nepal later.

Medieval history of Nepal is quite peaceful. There were not of much disturbance at that time. Mallas were peaceful, limited their own regions. In the Sultanate period, there were few attempts of assault on Nepal. It was in 14th century, that Nepal was brought under one reign during the period of king Jaisthimalla. Soon, Nepal got divided into three kingdoms; Kathmandu, Bhadgoan and Patan. Many historical sites in Nepal were developed during this period. Apart from these minor disturbances, there was peace in Nepal in that period. But this was a lull before a severe storm that was imminent.

Modern history of Nepal started during 18th century. King Prithvi Narayan Shah established Gorkha kingdom in that period. He started uniting various battling kingdoms of Nepal. He attached and captured many parts of Bhutan and Tibet. Later in 19th century, British East India understood the policies of Gorkha kingdom and defeated them. They had to give away entire region of Kumaon and Gadhwal to British India. Later during same decade, a general of Shahs, Jung Bahadur tried to topple the kingdom. It led to bloody massacre. It led to a century old conflict between Shahs and Ranas (successos of Jung Bahadur). Later during 20th century, they developed matrimonial relations among them and ruled the country jointly.

Everest Base Camp
Famous historical sites in Nepal include Pashupatinath temple, Boudhanath, Swyambhunath, Kathmandu Durbar square, Patan Durbar square, Bhaktapur Durbar square, Lumbini and Changunarayan temple.