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Area: 1148 sq. km.
Established: 1976
LOCATION:
Sagarmatha
National Park is located to the north-east of Kathmandu in the Kumbu
region of Nepal. The park includes the highest peak in the world, Mt.
Sagarmatha (Everest), and several other well-known peaks such as
Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyu, Pumori, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Kwangde,
Kangtaiga and Gyachung Kang. The park was added to the list of World
Heritage Sites in 1979.
FEATURES:
The
mountains of Sagarmatha National Park are geologically young and broken
up by deep gorges and glacial valleys. Vegetation includes pine and
hemlock forests at lower altitudes , fir, juniper, birch and
rhododendron woods, scrub and alpine plant communities, and bare rock
and snow. The famed bloom of rhododendrons occurs during spring (April
and May) although other flora is most colorful during the monsoon
season (June to August).
Wild animals most likely to seen in the park are the
Himalayan tahr, goral, serow and musk deer. The snow leopard and
Himalayan black bear are present but rarely sighted. Other mammals
rarely seen are the weasel, maren, Himalayan mouse hare (pika), jackal
and langur monkey.
The park is populated by approximately 3,000 of the famed
Sherpa people whose lives are interwoven with the teachings of
Buddhism. The main settlements are Namche Bazar, Khumjung, Khunde,
Thame, Thyangboche, Pangboche and Phortse. The economy of the Khumbu
Sherpa community has traditionally been heavily based on trade and
livestock herding. But with the arrival of international mountaineering
expeditions since 1950 and the influx of foreign trekkers, today the
Sherpa economy is becoming increasingly dependent of tourism.
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