Namche Bazaar is a village and Village Development Committee (Namche) in
Solukhumbu DistrictSolukhumbu District of 107,686.Mount Everest is located in the northern part of this district, within Sagarmatha National Park.Indigenous ethnic Rai and hill Caste Chhetri are the main groups living in the mid-hills, while Sherpas occupy high mountains....
in the
Sagarmatha ZoneSagarmāthā zone in the north, hill districts in the center, and valley districts of the Terai in the south. The borders of this zone are China to the north, India to the south, the Koshi Zone to the east and the Janakpur Zone to the west....
of north-eastern
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. It is located within the
KhumbuKhumbu is located in northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of the Sagarmatha Zone. Khumbu is one of three subregions of the main Khambu and Sherpa settlement of the Himalaya, the other two being Solu and Pharak...
area at 3440 metres (11,286 ft) (the low point that is), populating the sides of a hill. Namche is the main trading center for the Khumbu region with many
NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
ese officials, a police check, post and a bank.
At the time of the
2001 Nepal censusNepal conducted a widespread national census in 2001 by the Nepal Central Bureau of Statistics.Working with Nepal's Village Development Committees at a district level, they recorded data from all the main towns and villages of each district of the country...
it had a population of 1647 people residing in 397 individual households.
Geography
Immediately west of Namche is
Kongde RiKongde Ri is a mountain in the Himalaya of eastern Nepal. The mountain is located four km west of Namche Bazaar.The mountain is classified as a trekking peak, but it is considered one of the more difficult to climb. A climbing permit costs $350 USD for up to 4 climbers....
at 6187 metres (20,299 ft) and to the east is
ThamserkuThamserku is a mountain in the Himalaya of eastern Nepal. The mountain is connected by a ridge leading eastward to Kangtega. Thamserku is a prominent mountain to the east of Namche Bazaar and lies just north of Kusum Kangguru.-External links:*...
at 6623 metres (21,729 ft). Namche has a permanent population of around 800.
Transport
On a hill overlooking Namche Bazaar is the
Syanboche Airport (3,750m / 12,303 ft). This airstrip is still in use, but mainly in the mornings when the weather conditions are more stable. Pilatus PC-6 Porter planes can be chartered to
LuklaLukla is a town in the Khumbu area of the Solukhumbu District in the Sagarmatha Zone of north-eastern Nepal. Situated at , it is a popular place for visitors to the Himalayas near Mount Everest to arrive...
, a 5 minute flight, for around $US500.
Tourism
Namche Bazaar is popular with trekkers in the Khumbu region, especially for altitude acclimatization, and is the gateway to the high Himalaya. The town has a number of lodgings and stores catering to the needs of visitors as well as a number of internet cafés, making it one of the few places in the region where trekkers can access the internet.
On Saturday mornings, a weekly market is held in the center of the village while there may also be a daily
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an market where clothing and cheap Chinese consumer goods tend to be the main articles for sale.
Climate
Namche has cool, wet summers and chilly, dry winters mainly affected by its altitude and the summer
monsoonMonsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
season.
External links