Tengboche - Geography and Climate

Geography and Climate

Tengboche is located on a hill at the confluence of the Dudh Kosi and the Imja Khola rivers. It lies in Khumbu district to the north east of Kathmandu on the Nepal – Tibet border. It is inhabited by sherpas ('sherpa' literally means the easterner) who migrated from Tibet six hundred years ago. It is approached by a mountain trail from Namche, via the nearest airport in Lukla (2,800 metres (9,200 ft)) connecting to Kathmandu. Its approach is by a hard three days of trekking from Lukla. However, considering acclimatization needs for the high altitude climbing, a four day trekking is generally preferred. This trail crosses initially the Dudh Kosi (3,250 metres (10,660 ft)) river and a further climb leads to the Tengboche monastery at 3,870 metres (12,700 ft) altitude. However, a down hill trek leads to Devouche, the nunnery. During the winter, the snow peaks of Ama Dablam, the tip of the Everest that glows from the Lotse ridge and several other peaks form a picturesque landscape.

Tengboche is a midway station on the trail to the base camp for the mountain climbers of Mount Everest and other peaks of over 8,000 metres (26,000 ft) elevation; all these areas form part of the entire Khumbu region up to Tibet border with an area of 1,148 square kilometres (443 sq mi) encompassing the Sagarmatha National park. In the Khumbu region of Nepal, the monastery is strategically placed on the way to Everest base camp and thus attracts large number of tourists from all parts of the world. During the spring season, hill slopes around Tengboche are covered with flowering rhododendrons.

Tengboche, which is located in the hidden Khumbu valley, is surrounded by high Himalayan ranges where the climate varies from temperate to arctic, dependent on the altitude and aspect. However, the area, to some degree, is protected from the worst extreme climatic conditions due to a wall of ridges of the Himalayas that encircles the valley. It becomes a partially a rain shadow area and as a result the fury of monsoon precipitation and cold winds is reduced. The low altitude also results in less snowfall in the area. However, the winter temperatures are still in the freezing zone. During the monsoon season, the temperature is reported to be about 20 C.