๐ณ๐ต Nepal ยท เคจเฅเคชเคพเคฒ (Nepฤl)
Nepal packs the Buddha's birthplace, three rival royal cities in one valley and the highest mountain on earth into a country the size of England. Newar temple carpentry is the single richest visual tradition in the Himalaya.
Nepal's collection needs 3 more rounds before it opens. These are live today.
Nepal is three bands: hot flat Terai along the Indian border, middle hills with terraced farms and towns, and the high Himalaya. The Kathmandu valley is its own visual world โ brick, carved wood and stepped pagoda roofs, packed tight.
Architecture
Multi-tiered pagoda temples in brick with carved wooden struts and gilt finials are Newar, 1400โ1800. Whitewashed stupas with painted eyes on a square harmika are Buddhist and much older in form. Stone-and-timber flat-roofed houses with prayer flags are Tibetan-influenced, above 3,000 m.
Landscape
Terraced hillsides in step after step with scattered clusters of houses are the middle hills. Sal forest, grassland and rhinoceros country is the Terai at Chitwan. Bare rock, moraine and blue ice mean the high valleys of Khumbu, Annapurna or Mustang.
Period tells
Scaffolding of lashed bamboo and timber around temples is 2015 or later reconstruction. Rana-era palaces in white neoclassical stucco are 1850โ1950 and completely unlike the Newar city around them. Trekking gear and fixed ropes place a mountain scene after 1950, when Nepal opened to foreigners.
A starting shortlist, oldest first. Every one of these makes a round that Nepalis can nail and everyone else has to work out.
Lumbini, RupandehiAncient world
An emperor marked the Buddha's birthplace with an inscribed column and exempted the village from tax.
Taumadhi Square, BhaktapurEarly modern
Five tiered roofs on a five-stage plinth, guarded by paired figures each said to be ten times stronger than the pair below.
Kathmandu Durbar SquareEarly modern
The Gorkha king seized the city during the Indra Jatra festival and unified Nepal from three warring valley kingdoms.
South Col route, SagarmathaModern era
Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached 8,849 m on 29 May and spent about fifteen minutes at the top.
Kathmandu valleyModern era
Nine thousand dead and centuries of temple carpentry down in ninety seconds; the rebuilding used the original joinery.
Nepali history touches ancient & classical, exploration & revolution and the 20th century. Each of those eras has a timed round of its own โ the same centuries, but questions drawn from every country in the library, so you find out whether you can date the rest of the period as confidently as you can date Nepal.
Ancient & classical
Nepali moment here: Ashoka's pillar at Lumbini (249 BC).
Exploration & revolution
Nepali moments here: The Nyatapola temple raised (1702), Prithvi Narayan Shah takes Kathmandu (1768).
20th century
Nepali moment here: The first ascent of Everest (1953).
Dates, order and places from the moments above. Answers are printed underneath โ cover them with a hand if you want to test yourself, or read them out for a quiz round.
1.Ashoka's pillar at Lumbini โ what year?
Answer249 BC
An emperor marked the Buddha's birthplace with an inscribed column and exempted the village from tax.
2.The Nyatapola temple raised โ what year?
Answer1702
Five tiered roofs on a five-stage plinth, guarded by paired figures each said to be ten times stronger than the pair below.
3.Prithvi Narayan Shah takes Kathmandu โ what year?
Answer1768
The Gorkha king seized the city during the Indra Jatra festival and unified Nepal from three warring valley kingdoms.
4.The first ascent of Everest โ what year?
Answer1953
Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached 8,849 m on 29 May and spent about fifteen minutes at the top.
5.The Gorkha earthquake โ what year?
Answer2015
Nine thousand dead and centuries of temple carpentry down in ninety seconds; the rebuilding used the original joinery.
6.Which came first in Nepal โ Ashoka's pillar at Lumbini or the Nyatapola temple raised?
AnswerAshoka's pillar at Lumbini, in 249 BC.
The Nyatapola temple raised follows in 1702, 1951 years later.
7.Which came first in Nepal โ Prithvi Narayan Shah takes Kathmandu or the first ascent of Everest?
AnswerPrithvi Narayan Shah takes Kathmandu, in 1768.
The first ascent of Everest follows in 1953, 185 years later.
8.Where in Nepal would you drop the pin for Ashoka's pillar at Lumbini?
AnswerLumbini, Rupandehi
An emperor marked the Buddha's birthplace with an inscribed column and exempted the village from tax.
9.Where in Nepal would you drop the pin for the Nyatapola temple raised?
AnswerTaumadhi Square, Bhaktapur
Five tiered roofs on a five-stage plinth, guarded by paired figures each said to be ten times stronger than the pair below.
10.How far apart are the oldest and newest Nepali moments in this collection?
Answer2,264 years
From Ashoka's pillar at Lumbini in 249 BC to the Gorkha earthquake in 2015.
You don't need a photograph or a map reference. Name a moment โ "Ashoka's pillar at Lumbini, Lumbini, Rupandehi" โ and the builder fills in the year, drops the pin, writes the factoid and paints a 360ยฐ scene you can stand inside. Publish it and it joins this collection for everyone.
Step 1
One line is enough โ an event, a place, a year you half-remember. Or let the AI draft five moments around a theme.
Step 2
The year, the exact coordinates and a one-sentence factoid come back filled in. Everything stays editable.
Step 3
A 4K 360ยฐ panorama of that place in that year, ready to spin around inside the game.
๐ณ๐ต Put your own scene on /play/nepal
Credits cover the AI: 1 to auto-fill a moment, 3 to draft five at once, 25 for each 4K panorama. Your map stays yours โ you choose whether it's public, unlisted or private.
Moments Nepalis want to see in the game. Vote them up โ the top of this list gets built next.
Each round drops you into a 360ยฐ scene from Nepal's past. Look around for clues โ architecture, clothing, technology, landscape โ then place the scene on the world map and pick the year. You score up to 5,000 points a round: closer in distance and closer in time both pay. Five rounds make a game.
No. You can play Nepali rounds straight away with no sign-up. Signing in saves your XP, keeps your character progressing through history, and puts you on the leaderboards.
The collection spans 249 BC to 2015 โ from ashoka's pillar at lumbini through to the gorkha earthquake. New moments are added as the community suggests them.
Yes, completely free. There is no paywall on rounds, the daily challenge, or the leaderboards.
Yes โ that's how the collection grows. Suggest any moment Nepalis would recognise instantly, like ashoka's pillar at lumbini. Approved suggestions get built into playable 360ยฐ rounds and credited on the page.
Daily Challenge
Five fresh rounds every day, same for everyone.
History quizzes
Short quizzes across eras, empires and events.
Community maps
Panorama collections built by other players.
All game modes
Every free history game on the site, in one list.