Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal and its largest city, situated in the Kathmandu Valley in the central hilly region of the country at an elevation of roughly 1,400 metres. It serves as the seat of the federal government, houses the offices of the President and Prime Minister, and is the historic and cultural heart of the Kathmandu Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed area containing numerous palace squares (Durbar Squares), temples and stupas reflecting centuries of Newar architectural tradition under the former Malla and Shah dynasties. It is the correct answer because no other Nepali city holds national administrative capital status. Pokhara, located west of Kathmandu near the Annapurna range, is incorrect because although it is Nepal's second-largest city and its most popular base for trekking and lakeside tourism, it has never served as the seat of national government. Lalitpur, also called Patan, is a tempting distractor because it lies immediately adjacent to Kathmandu within the same valley and was itself an independent royal capital of the Malla kingdom of Patan before Nepal's unification in the 18th century under Prithvi Narayan Shah; today it is a separate municipality known for its own Durbar Square and metalcraft traditions, but it is not the national capital. Biratnagar, in the eastern Terai plains bordering India, is incorrect because it is primarily an industrial and commercial hub, Nepal's major eastern gateway for trade, without any historic or current claim to capital status. A common exam confusion arises from the fact that Kathmandu, Lalitpur (Patan) and Bhaktapur together formed three rival Malla kingdoms within the same valley before unification, so students sometimes assume any of the valley's historic cities could be the capital.
