Part of the country series of articles.
TRAVEL ADVISORY: NORMAL PRECAUTIONSThe Commonwealth advises travellers to exercise normal precautions when travelling in this country. Travellers should familiarise themselves with local laws and customs and consular availability.
| Confederation of the Himalayas | |
|---|---|
| Confederation of Kingdoms | |
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| Capital | Kathmandu |
| Languages | Nepali, Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Naga, and many other languages |
| Population | 12,400,000 |
The Confederation of the Himalayas is a federal union of mountain kingdoms occupying the high ranges and foothills between India and China, comprising Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and the northeastern hill states of Kumeng, Subansiri, Siang, Lohit, Tirap and Nagaland. Like Kashmir, the Himalayas are a product of the collapse of the British Raj and the subsequent Eastern Emergency. Unlike Kashmir, its independence was hard won through a long insurgency that lasted well into the 1990s and was secured only through the direct intervention of China, leveraging its own invasion of Tibet. Also like Kashmir, the Himalayas both benefit from and are constrained by competing Chinese and Indian interest.
The Himalayas are poorly industrialised and most of its income derives from tourism, managed with varying degrees of restriction by its constituent kingdoms. The richest parts of the country are also the most open, in Nepal and Bhutan, which see many pilgrims and adventurers visit each year. The country also produces fine tea, which is exported around the world. Kathmandu of Nepal is the federal capital, while each kingdom retains its own courts and customs. The confederation’s federal institutions are of slight character and many parts of the country have divergent political traditions, compounded by the poor roads and ageing railways connecting them.