Image number: 07NEP-1170

Two women sell vegetables on the street in Kathmandu (sometimes called "Kantipur"), the largest city in Nepal (population 700,000). The original inhabitants are Newars, who speak the language Nepal Bhasa. However, Nepali is the lingua franca of the valley and is the most widely spoken language in this country of diverse ethnic groups, who speak somewhere between 24 to 100 different languages and dialects. The city stands at an elevation of 6235 feet / 2230 meters.