“Lofty abode of the gods, Himalayan peaks rise more than 23,000 feet [7,010 meters] above sea level some forty miles [sixty-four kilometers] north of the Kathmandu Valley. The productive basin—4,400 feet [1,341 meters] in elevation and at the same latitude as central Florida—basks in December sunshine. During the summer, monsoon clouds bring heavy rainfall that permits extensive irrigation.”

—From "Kathmandu's Remarkable Newars," February 1979, National Geographic magazine