Kathmandu(;
Nepali pronunciation: ) is the
capital and largest municipality of
Nepal. It also hosts the headquarters of the
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). It is the only city of Nepal with the administrative status of
Mahanagar (Metropolitan City), as compared to
Upa-Mahanagar (Sub-Metropolitan City) or
Nagar (City). Kathmandu is the core of Nepal's largest urban agglomeration located in the
Kathmandu Valley consisting of
Lalitpur,
Kirtipur,
Madhyapur Thimi,
Bhaktapur and a number of smaller communities. Kathmandu is also known informally as "KTM" or the "tri-city". According to the 2011 census, Kathmandu Metropolitan City has a population of 975,453 and measures .
