Things to do
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Everest Base Camp
Trekkers reach the foot of the Khumbu Icefall at about 5,364 metres after roughly eight days of walking from Lukla, through Namche, Tengboche and Lobuche. The camp itself is a moraine of tents in the spring climbing season and bare rock the rest of the year, with no view of the summit from the ground. Gaining height slowly is what decides who arrives.
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Kala Patthar
Above Gorak Shep, a black rock shoulder at 5,545 metres gives the view of Everest that base camp cannot: the whole southwest face, with Nuptse and Lhotse alongside. The climb takes two to three hours of slow breathing on loose ground. Sunset gives the warmer light, sunrise the clearer air and a colder start in the dark.
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Khumjung
Stone walled fields and blue roofs sit under the wall of Khumbila, in a Sherpa village half a day above Namche and a common acclimatisation walk. The monastery keeps a relic said to be a yeti scalp, shown for a donation, and the school founded by Edmund Hillary still teaches here. The route back over the Syangboche ridge opens the Everest view.
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Lukla Airport
Flights from Kathmandu or Ramechhap land on a short sloping runway cut into a hillside at 2,845 metres, ending at a wall, which makes this the gateway to the Khumbu and a small ordeal in itself. Cloud and wind cancel flights for days at a stretch, mostly in the afternoon. Building a spare day into the return is standard practice.
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Park
Sagarmatha National Park
A UNESCO listed park covers the Nepali side of Everest, from pine and birch forest at the entry gate to glaciers and the peaks above them, and it holds Himalayan tahr, musk deer and the occasional snow leopard track. Entry permits are issued at Monjo and checked on the trail. Drones need permission and open fires are banned, and litter is carried out.
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Tengboche Monastery
The largest gompa in the Khumbu stands on a saddle at 3,867 metres, with Ama Dablam filling the gap behind it and Everest showing over the ridge. Monks hold prayers morning and late afternoon, and visitors may sit in at the back. The Mani Rimdu festival in autumn brings masked dances over several days and fills every lodge on the saddle.
