Viva
el Viaje
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Journals
- Lonely Planet Information
- CIA World Factbook
- Sagarmatha National Park--from
Outside Magazine Online
- This park's literal highpoint certainly gets enough attention, but the parkland surrounding Everest should not be overshadowed. In the heart of the Himalayan highlands, Sagarmatha National Park contains three out of the world's ten highest peaks (Everest, Lhotse, and Cho Oyu) and unfolds from a relatively measely 9,335 feet to the world-topping 29,035-foot tip of Everest. Two- to three-mile-long retreating glaciers and deep, vibrant valleys complete the picture. The rugged terrain and high altitude limit the park's visitors to mostly experienced trekkers, and this relative inaccessibility makes the views and summits all the more rewarding. UNESCO granted the park World Heritage status in 1979 for its wilderness (the park protects rare animals like snow leopards and the Himalayan red panda), as well as its Sherpa culture. Sherpas, revered as some of the strongest and most agile climbers in the world, view these great mountains as the realm of gods and goddesses; ascents were considered blasphemous, but these days superstition is infused with an equal dose of enterprising pragmatism.
- Gateway City: From Kathmandu fly to Lukla. Then it's a two-day
walk.
Size/Acreage: 283,680 acres
When to Go: Sagarmatha is warmest and driest in the spring; monsoon season makes travel difficult from June through September.
Accessibility: Difficult
Prime Activities: Trekking, climbing, camping
Inside Scoop: Tengboche monks perform the Dumje Festival (late June to early July) in Namche Bazaar and Khumjung (a monastery that also offers resplendent views of Everest on clear days).
More on Sagarmatha:
Trek to Everest Base Camp (from Away.com)
Everything Everest (from Outside Online)
Nepal's Dept. of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation
- Mosa Tamang - trekking
David P. Landis & Eric S. Kennel
July18, 2004