On top of the world at Namche Bazaar in Nepal

NAMCHE BAZAAR, Nepal (JP): After an exhausting trip from Lukla and a night stop at Phakding we arrived at Namche Bazaar, the main Sherpa settlement. Sitting at an altitude of 3,446 meters, Namche Bazaar is the most densely populated village in the Khumbu area, and is a supply depot for mountaineering equipment -- from socks to headlamps -- and food -- from eggs to high-calorie dehydrated food. There is also a bank, a post office and souvenir shops.

Namche Bazaar is the heart of Khumbu. It is also called the home of the Sherpa. Silk prayer flags flutter in the wind from the roofs of every house. Each flag carries five colors, blue, white, red, green and yellow, which symbolize the sky, the wind, fire, water and the earth.

A chorten (stupa) is found at the entrance to the village.

Further down the settlement, a row of mani wheels stretches 100 meters along the right side of the village road. When passing the mani people turn the wheels clockwise. The wheels denote the cycle of life.

Legend has it that Namche Bazaar got the suffix che from the first priest, Rinpoche, to begin missionary work in the region. The ample supply of clean water attracted many settlers to the village.

Hundreds of traders, including the Tamang and Rai ethnic groups from the valley of Dudh Kosi in Solu Khumbu region, participate in the cheerful Saturday market. More than 500 Sherpa come from the surrounding areas of Khumjung, Khumde, Thame, Tengboche, Phortse and Pangboche, to sell commodities lugged in on their backs in bamboo baskets called roko. Their roko are filled with rice, flour, maize, tea, sugar and oil from Kathmandu. The market is the busiest, and the most charming, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Another attraction is the annual Sherpa dance festival in October to welcome the arrival of fall. The fa-ngi festival lasts for four days in its eastern hilly area.

Namche Bazaar, a transit village for trekkers, is a small exotic place that sees a continuous flow of tourists from all over the world. The place is often used to acclimatize to avoid mountain sickness. Here, a trekker is able to allow his or her body to adapt itself to the altitude. During the respite, adventurers can trek to the neighboring towns of Syangboche, Khumjung or Khumde.

It takes one-and-a-half hours to climb from Namche Bazaar to the airstrip in Syangboche. Here, a Twin Otter plane or a MI-17 helicopter flies to Kathmandu. The trip from Syangboche to Kathmandu takes 45 minutes. Another one-and-a-half hours of walking distance from the airstrip is the second highest hotel in the world, the magnificent Everest View Hotel. The hotel stands 3,850-meters above sea level.

The hotel was taken over by a Japanese contractor in 1989. The view from the hotel is enchanting. A double room costs US$150, substantially higher than other hotels in Khumbu.

Airstrip

It takes three hours by foot to get to Khumjung (3,790 m) on the vast plateau south of the sacred Sherpa mountain of Khumbila (5,761 m).

Another half-day trip can be made from Namche Bazaar to Khumde, the home of the largest hospital in Khumbu. The hospital is funded by the Himalaya Trust and patients' donations. Many trekkers leave their unused medicines with the Khumde hospital. Tourists at the hospital are usually suffering from diarrhea and altitude or mountain sickness. Over 5,000 local patients visit the hospital each year. They generally suffer from dysentery, and skin and eye problems.

Each visitor entering Namche Bazaar must report to the police station located 200 meters above the village. Their trekking permits are then checked and stamped.

Up from the police station is a museum displaying household articles used by the Sherpa, data and information on the Sagarmatha National Garden, and pictures of the flora and fauna of the park.

Close to the museum, under a tripod, the magnificent mountains of the Himalayas can be seen. In the north are Everest and Lhotse (over 8,000m), Nuptse (7,855m), Ama Dablam (6,812m) and Kang Talga (6,685m), and Thamserku (6,608m). To the east lies Kyajo Ri (6,186m). Far to the north is the holy mountain Khumbila (5,761m).

After two nights at Namche Bazaar, we descended to Khumjung (3,790 metres) on the following day. Still in the Khumbu region, the village is built on a vast plateau to the south of Mt. Khumbila.

Khumjung, made up of 80 cottages, is slightly smaller than Namche Bazaar. It has a school named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the first climber to conquer Everest. He and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgey, reached the top in 1953. Sir Hillary also built a hospital in the region.

Khumjung is surrounded by Mt. Ama Dablam and Mt. Kang Taiga (6,685 metres) in the east and the Rolwaling Mountains in the west. Ama dablam means "mother of a star-shaped pendant", an accessory Sherpa women wear with their formal clothing. Kang taiga means "saddle of snow".

The holy Mt. Khumbila is visible to the north.

Khumjung is the only village with the largest number of chorten (stupas). The biggest and most attractive among them wear metal enameled tops.