Kathmandu | |
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Kathmandu (; Nepali: काठमाडौँ, Nepali pronunciation: [ˈkaʈʰmaɳɖu]) is the capital and largest city of Nepal, with a population of around 1 million. Also known as the city of temples, the city stands at an elevation of approximately 1,400 metres (4,600 feet) above sea level in the bowl-shaped Kathmandu valley in central Nepal. The valley was historically referred to as the"Nepal Mandala" and has been the home of the Newar people, a cosmopolitan urban culture in the Himalayan foothills. The town was the royal capital of the Kingdom of Nepal and hosts palaces, mansions and gardens of the Nepalese aristocracy. It has been home to the headquarters of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) since 1985. Today, it's the seat of government of the Nepalese republic, based in 2008, and is a part of the Bagmati Pradesh.
Kathmandu is and has been for many years the center of Nepal's history, art, culture, and economy. It has a multi-ethnic population within a Hindu and Buddhist majority.
Rotorua | |
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Rotorua [ˌɾɔtɔˈɾʉa] (Māori: Te Rotorua-nui-a-Kahumatamomoe "The second great lake of Kahumatamomoe") is a city on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua from which the city takes its name, located in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompassing Rotorua and several other nearby towns. The majority of the Rotorua District is in the Bay of Plenty Region, but a sizeable southern section and a small western section are in the Waikato region. Rotorua is in the heart of the North Island, 60 kilometres (37 miles) south of Tauranga, 80 km (50 mi) north of Taupō, 105 km (65 mi) east of Hamilton, and 230 km (140 mi) southeast of the nation's most populous city, Auckland.