KHUMBU REGION

Khumbu (also known as the Everest Region) is a region of northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. The remote Khumbu valley lies directly below Mount Everest in Nepal. The Nepali word for Everest is Sagarmatha but the Sherpa people who live here call the highest mountain in the world Chongolongma, which translates as “Mother Goddess of the Earth.”

The Khumbu’s elevation ranges from 3,300 metres (11,000 feet) to the 8,848 m (29,029 ft) summit of Mount Everest, the highest place on Earth.

The Sherpa people moved into the Khumbu region from neighbouring Tibet some 400 years ago. The Sherpa religion came through the oldest sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the Nyingmapa, which was established about 1,240 years ago. They have their own language, which is different to Nepalese and is related to their Tibetan origins. Until the advent of mountain tourism their primary activities were trading with Tibet and farming.

There are roughly 6,000 Sherpas living in the region, spread out amongst about 20 villages. As Tibetan Buddhists their traditional cultural and religious practices include the restriction of animal hunting and slaughtering as well as reverence of all living beings. Consequently there is an abundance of wildlife in the Khumbu, such as the rarely seen snow leopard, bears, musk deer and bearded vultures.