Trekking

A large number of visitors to a remote, sparsely populated and ecologically fragile place like Tengboche does create a tremendous challenge but can create many opportunities too. Sustainable tourism comes through skilful management of precious resources and increased awareness of positive behaviour patterns. In turn this depends on the education of visitors, local people and trekking companies. If tourists check their agency is behaving in a responsible manner and pay accordingly the message will quickly spread through the industry. Moreover, if individual trekkers are aware of the impact of their demands on the environment they will make responsible decisions, which will in turn influence local businesses.

There is further information on the Sherpas and their environment under the chapter Ecology. Some advice ensuring that your visit will have a positive impact is given in the chapter Eco-Trek. Commonly asked questions are addressed in the chapter Tourist Information.

Number of visitors

Tengboche receives a huge number of visitors in comparison to a tiny community of 50 monks and 5 family households. It is estimated that in 1999 in the short tourist season lasting 5 months, over 25,000 tourists visited the Sagarmatha National Park. Most visitors will spend at least 2 days in Tengboche in order to acclimatize to the high altitude. In addition a high proportion of visitors then travel with a group supported by a large number of Nepali staff and porters. With tourism on the increase and more and more people seeking a wilderness experience it can be expected that that figure will increase. To make matters worse the periods of highest demand on the facilities are in the periods of lowest supply, in particular water is extremely scarce during the cold winter months when the views are almost guaranteed to be clear and the visitors pour in. The Projects established in Tengboche aim to minimize the negative impact and promote sustainable tourism.