Khumbu (also known as the Everest Region) [1] is a region of northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of Koshi Pradesh. [2] Khumbu is one of three subregions of the main Kirat Kulung and Sherpa settlement of the Himalaya, the other two being Solu and Pharak. It includes the town of Namche Bazaar as well as the villages of Thame, Khumjung, Pangboche, Pheriche and Kunde. The famous Buddhist monastery at Tengboche is also located in Khumbu. [3]
Khumbu's elevation ranges from 3,300 metres (11,000 feet) to the 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft) summit of Mount Everest, the highest place on Earth. [4] In total, Khumbu region has the population of 3,456 people with 912 houses (As per population census of 2011). Also, there are 347 registered hotel and tea houses in 13 villages of Khumbu. [5] The Khumbu region includes both Sagarmatha National Park (above Monju) and the Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone, between Lukla and Monju. [2]
Khumbu is a glacier believed to be the result of the last great Ice Age, ~500,000 years ago.
Lonely Planet has ranked Khumbu region in sixth best region in the world to travel. [6]
Sherpa clans in Khumbu Region are Salakha, Murminso, Thaktok, Garza, Lhakshindo, Chusherwa or Ngonba , Luakpa or Chawa, Sakhya, Shyango
The Himalayan Trust is an international non-profit humanitarian organisation first established in the 1960s by Sir Edmund Hillary, who led the trust until his death in 2008. The Himalayan Trust aims to improve the health, education and general wellbeing of people living in the Solukhumbu District.
Namche Bazaar is a town in Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality in Solukhumbu District of Koshi Province in northeastern Nepal. It is located within the Khumbu area at 3,440 metres (11,286 ft) at its low point, populating the sides of a hill. Most Sherpa in the tourism business hail from the Namche area. Namche is the main trading center and hub for the Khumbu region.
Lukla is a small town in the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality of the Solukhumbu District in the Province No. 1 of northeastern Nepal. Situated at 2,860 metres (9,383 ft) above sea level, it is a popular place for visitors to the Himalayas near Mount Everest to arrive. Although Lukla means "place with many goats and sheep", few are found in the area nowadays.
Tengboche is a village in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality in the Khumbu subregion of Province No. 1 in Nepal, located at 3,867 metres (12,687 ft). Within the village is an important Buddhist monastery, Tengboche Monastery, which is the largest gompa in the Khumbu region. The structure was built in 1923. In 1934, it was destroyed by an earthquake but subsequently rebuilt. It was destroyed again by a fire in 1989, and again rebuilt with the help of volunteers and the provision of foreign aid. Tengboche has a panoramic view of the Himalayan mountains, including the well-known peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku. Tenzing Norgay, the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary, was born in the area in the village of Thani and was once sent to Tengboche Monastery to be a monk.
Khumjung is a village in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality of Solukhumbu District in Province No. 1 of north-eastern Nepal. It is located in the Khumbu sub-region inside Sagarmatha National Park, a world heritage site. The village lies at an elevation of 3,790 metres above sea level, near Mount Khumbila.
Gorak Shep, also spelled Gorakshep, is a settlement nestled on the periphery of a frozen lakebed blanketed with sand in Nepal, sharing its name with the locale. Situated at an elevation of 5,164 meters near Mount Everest, it remains uninhabited for most of the year, reopening only for the Mount Everest trekking season.
Solukhumbu District (Nepali: सोलुखुम्बु जिल्ला, Sherpa: ཤར་ཁུམ་བུ་རྫོང་།, Wylie: shar khum bu dzong) is one of 14 districts of Koshi Province of eastern Nepal. As the name suggests, it consists of the sub-regions Solu and Khumbu. The closest post office to Solukhumbu with a postal code assigned to it is the Sindhuli D.P.O., which has the postal code 56000.
Thame and its neighbouring Thameteng are small Sherpa villages in Namche VDC of the Solukhumbu District in Nepal. These were the last year-round villages on the salt trading route that existed between Tibet, Nepal and India. Thame is home to many famous Sherpa mountaineers, including Apa Sherpa.
There are two base camps on Mount Everest, on opposite sides of the mountains: South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of 5,364 metres (17,598 ft), while North Base Camp is in Tibet at 5,150 metres (16,900 ft).
Everest Marathon is an annual marathon event, held in the district of Solukhumbu, Nepal, around the vicinity of Mount Everest in May. With its starting point at 5401m Meter from where the Climbing of Mount Everest Peak starts through the Ice Fall, the marathon is considered to be one of the highest and toughest races in the world. The marathon starts at the Mt. Everest Base Camp, and moves through the traditionally used high Sherpa trails of Khumbu Valley.
Khumbila or Khumbu Yül-Lha, roughly translated as "God of Khumbu village" is one of the high Himalayan peaks in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal within the Sagarmatha National Park. Considered too sacred to be climbed by most local Sherpa people, the mountain is considered home to the patron God of the local area. Rising 5,761m above sea level, the mountain overlooks the famous southern approaches to its larger neighbours including Ama Dablam and Mount Everest.
Tengboche Monastery, also known as Dawa Choling Gompa, in the Tengboche village in Khumjung in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Sherpa community. Situated at 3,867 metres (12,687 ft), the monastery is the largest gompa in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It was built in 1916 by Lama Gulu with strong links to its mother monastery known as the Rongbuk Monastery in Tibet. In 1934, it was destroyed by an earthquake and was subsequently rebuilt. In 1989, it was destroyed for a second time by a fire and then rebuilt with the help of volunteers and international assistance.
The Imja Khola is a tributary of the Dudh Kosi river in eastern Nepal. It drains the slopes of Mount Everest. The Khumbu Glacier melts into the Lobujya (Lobuche) River, which flows southward as the Imja Khola to its confluence with the Dudh Kosi at Tengboche.
Khunde is a village in the Khumbu region of Nepal within the Sagarmatha National Park. It is directly adjacent to Khumjung village in the valley at the foot of Khumbu Yül-Lha, the sacred mountain of the Sherpas. The Khumjung Valley is located between 3,800 m and 4,000 m above sea level. Khunde is located in the western part of the valley and slightly higher than Khumjung. It is the site of Kunde Hospital, founded by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1966. Khunde is located less than 25 km from Mount Everest and is situated in the Himalayas near the Nepal-China border.
Pangboche or Panboche is a village in Khumjung Village Development Committee of Solukhumbu District in Province No. 1 of Nepal at an altitude of 13,074 feet (3,985 m). It is located high in the Himalayas in the Imja Khole valley, about 3 kilometres northeast of Tengboche and is a base camp for climbing the nearby Ama Dablam and trekking. It contains a monastery, famed for its purported yeti scalp and hand, the latter of which was stolen. The village is inhabited mainly by Sherpas, and Sungdare Sherpa, a native of the village, held the record for summiting Everest five times in the Sherpa climbing history and in the world history of mountaineering in 1989. The Pangboche school was built by Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust in 1963. North of the village is the Dughla lake and pass.
Monjo is a small village in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It lies in the Dudh Kosi river valley just north of Phakding and south of Jorsale, at an altitude of 2,835 m, just below the Sagarmatha National Park entrance gate and check-point, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. As per the census of 2011, Monjo village has a population of 114 people. All of them are followers of Buddhism and engaged in the tourism business.
Phakding is a small village in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It lies in the Dudh Kosi river valley just north of Lukla and south of Monjo, at an altitude of 2,610 m. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Phakding has a population of 550 locals, mostly Sherpa and Tamang. All of these people belong to Tibetan Buddhism and pray in a small Gompa at the centre of the village.
Jorsale is a small village in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It lies on the west side of the Dudh Kosi river, just north of Monjo and south of Namche Bazaar, at an altitude of 2,740 m.
Pertemba, also known as Pertemba Sherpa, is a professional Nepalese mountaineer, trek leader and businessman. He reached the summit of Mount Everest by the Southwest Face during the first successful expedition on that route in 1975.
Khumbu Pasanglhamu is one of 7 rural municipalities (Gaunpalika) in Solukhumbu district of Province No. 1 of Nepal. Khumjung, Namche & Jubing and Chaurikharka were incorporated while creating it. It has the total population of 9,133 according to the 2011 Nepal census and area of 1,539.11 square kilometres (594.25 sq mi). The admin centre of this gaunpalika is that of the Chaurikharka.