ABSTRACT
In 1951, when the Rana control of Nepal ceased, there were 376 km of roads, 82 km of railway and one aerial ropeway to serve the whole country. All other transport used human or animal power. This limited development can be partly explained by the deliberate exclusion of outside influences, but also by formidable practical difficulties, some of which still exist. Much of the Terai and inner Terai were malarial jungles and swamps; to the north of the Terai steep hill ranges are broken in only a few places by steep-sided valleys; two-thirds of the country is mountainous, with gorges thousands of metres deep offering little room for transport routes; torrential rivers wash out bridges each year; landslides threaten roads and tracks; and monsoon rains erode tracks or make them impassable for three months of the year. Quite apart from the effects of high altitude, snow and ice make travel extremely difficult in the High Himalaya. Most of the people live in small, largely self-sufficient villages and there are few towns outside the Terai and midland valleys to act as foci for routes.
