Nepal is a land-locked country located at the
foothills of the Himalayas. It lies between 26º 22’
to 30º 27’ North latitudes and 80º 4’ to 88 º 12’ East
longitudes with elevation ranging from 60 to 8,848
meters. The country is bordered by India to the
east, south, west, and China to the north. Nepal is
rectangular in shape and stretches 885 kilometers
in length (east to west) and 193 kilometers in
width (north to south). The total land area of
the country is 147,181 square kilometers. Nepal
is divided into three distinct ecological regions:
Mountainous region, Hilly region and the Terai (or
plains) region (SDINN, 2008) and five development
regions according to its accessibility/remoteness:
Far Western Development Region, Mid-Western
Development Region, Western Development
Region, Central Development Region, and Eastern
Development Region.