Solukhumbu सोलुखुम्बु

Solukhumbu is the Sherpa homeland and the district that contains the highest mountain on earth. The Khumbu valley above Namche Bazaar carries the Everest Base Camp trail past Tengboche Monastery — the spiritual heart of Sherpa Buddhism, sitting at 3,867 metres with a direct Ama Dablam backdrop — through Dingboche and Lobuche to Base Camp at 5,364 metres inside Sagarmatha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Below the national park, the lower Solu region adds a gentler counterpart: Junbesi, a Sherpa village with a 16th-century monastery, and Phaplu with its small airstrip offer a quieter, lower-altitude entry.

The Khumbu is Nepal's most visited trekking region and among the most regulated: since April 2023, a registered guide is required for the Everest area, a national-park permit and local entry permit are mandatory, and teahouse infrastructure is reliable but prices rise sharply above Namche. During peak season — October and November, March to May — trails are busy and Namche's weekend market swells with supply caravans. Late autumn and late spring give lighter footfall; monsoon closes the high passes. Most trekkers fly to Lukla, and in peak seasons the majority of those flights route via Manthali Airport in Ramechhap.