Namche Bazaar (Nepal)
Namche Bazaar is a small village located at an altitude of 3440 m above sea level in the Himalayas east of Kathmandu. It is known primarily for the fact that it is located on the way to the highest peak in the world, Everest (8848 m). You can get to Namche Bazaar on foot from Lukla, where a small local airport is located, in 8-10 hours. In principle, this distance can be covered in a day, but due to the difference in altitude (Lukla is located at an altitude of 2860 m), trekkers prefer to stretch the path for 2 days. This contributes to the acclimatization necessary to avoid or reduce the manifestations of altitude sickness, the symptoms of which can also appear in perfectly healthy people. For the same reason, many guidebooks recommend spending a day or even two in Namche Bazaar to consolidate acclimatization. In extreme cases, helicopters can fly up to Namche Bazaar and a little higher, usually this happens during rescue operations in the mountains.
Some trekkers, in order to acclimatize well and at the same time explore the surroundings, go from Jiri to Lukla on foot. Jiri can be reached by bus from Kathmandu. The trek takes 7-8 days, and Edmund Hillary, the first conqueror of Everest, walked this route.
According to Thereligionfaqs, Namche Bazaar is built on terraces on a gently sloping ledge, separated from the main valley by 400 m of a steep ascent. From two sides it is surrounded by two peaks: Kongde Ri (6187 m) from the west and Tamserku (6623 m) from the east. To facilitate subsequent acclimatization, day trips can be made from Namche Bazaar to the villages of Thame or Khumyung. The road to Thame is gentler and longer, while there are steep sections along the road to Khumyung. The largest school in the area, opened by Edmund Hillary, is located in this village. From the hotel with the name “View of Everest” offers a good view of the highest peak of the planet. In Khumyung there is a monastery of the same name, and in the rocks above it there is a cave, in which, according to legend, Guru Rinpoche stayed for several days, but the ascent there is quite difficult.
In Namche Bazaar itself, you can visit the center of Sagarmatha National Park, which is located at the very top of the village. The center provides information about the park’s wildlife and has interesting photographs in its collection. It offers a good view of the main peaks of the region: Everest, Lhotse, Tamaserka and Ama Dablam. Nearby is the museum of life of the Sherpa people, representing the daily life of the people, as well as the flora and fauna of the area. In addition, the Tibetan Medicine Center has a small museum that tells about the basics of Tibetan medicine and medicinal herbs. The museum has a shop where you can buy gifts. As in many surrounding settlements, Namche Bazaar has its own small and tidy Buddhist monastery.
One of the main places on the way to the Everest base camp is Tengboche Monastery, located at an altitude of 3867 m, 5-6 hours from Namche Bazaar. This is one of the largest monasteries in the Khumbu region. It was founded at the beginning of the 20th century and has already survived an earthquake and a fire that destroyed its buildings twice. In the monastery you can get acquainted with the life of monks and Buddhist relics. The surrounding forests are full of living creatures and birds, as Buddhists revere the life of animals as sacred. The monastery offers an excellent view of Everest and other peaks of the ridge. The main point of the track to the base camp of Everest, many, oddly enough, consider not the camp itself, but the peak of Kala Pattar (5545 m), from where at dawn a beautiful view of Everest and the Khumbu icefall opens. The base camp itself is located at an altitude of 5380 on the Khumbu glacier at the foot of Everest. But, if you are not going to storm one of the highest peaks in the world or you are not waiting for your friends who went to storm, there will be nothing to do there, besides, at such an altitude the temperature rarely rises above 0 o C.
