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WHY DO HINDU PILGRIMS GATHER AT VARANASI?

The city of Varanasi is sacred to Hindus, who form 90

per cent of India’s population. Every year, millions of

pilgrims gather on the stone steps called ghats along

the high banks of the Ganges River. Here they pray,

meditate, and purify themselves in the river’s holy

waters. The dead are cremated on funeral pyres and

their ashes are sprinkled onto the surface of the water.

1 FLOODING IN BANGLADESH

Water levels in Bangladesh rise 6 m (20 ft) above

normal during the annual monsoon rains. Flood

waters can destroy animals, crops, and homes,

and spread disease. More than 50 per cent of

Bangladeshis live in extreme poverty and the

country is too poor to invest in large-scale

flood defences, such as dams.

4 HIMALAYAN MOUNTAIN CLIMB

The Sherpa people of Nepal are skilled climbers, who act as guides and

porters for the tourists and mountaineers visiting the Himalayas.

Trekking provides a welcome boost to Nepal’s economy.

Bangladeshi

houses are raised

on stilts above

the flood plain

Stilts are handed

down from

father to son

1 GANGES RIVER, INDIA
Hindus bathe in the sacred Ganges River from one or more of the
40 ghats (stone steps) along the river in Varanasi. Hindus believe that
Varanasi is the earthly home of the god Shiva, creator of the world.

HOW ARE TREKKERS DAMAGING THE HIMALAYAS?

The large number of trekkers visiting the Himalayas

each year are damaging the fragile mountain

environment and threatening its ecology. Every year,

300,000 tourists visit Nepal to walk on the slopes of

Mount Everest and other major peaks. These visitors

erode mountain trails and often leave behind

vast quantities of rubbish.

WHY IS BANGLADESH PRONE TO FLOODING?

Large parts of central and southern Bangladesh are

flat, low-lying river plains, which flood during the

summer monsoon rains. In good years, the floods

water the crops and fertilize the fields. In bad years,

they cause devastation by surging over flood defences

and sweeping away villages, livestock, and crops.

WHICH ISOLATED COUNTRY IS RULED BY

THE DRAGON KING?

Bhutan is a small Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas,

ruled by a monarch called the Dragon King. The

country has little contact with the outside world,

although television was introduced in 1999. Most of

the population makes a living from farming.

Southern Asia, home to over one-fifth

of the world’s population, is bordered by

the sea to the south and the Himalayan

mountains to the north. Dominated by

the Indian subcontinent, a great variety

of landscapes and climates are found

throughout southern Asia, from dry, sandy deserts in the

northwest, to tropical rainforests in the south. In the east,

three major rivers – the Brahmaputra, the Meghna, and

the Ganges – flow together towards the Bay of Bengal

where they form the world’s largest delta.

Southern Asia

southern

Asia