An hour’s climb above Namche, the twin villages of Khumjung and Khunde spread across a broad, sheltered valley at about 3,790–3,840 m beneath Khumbila (5,761 m), the sacred mountain of the Khumbu that has never been climbed. With their green roofs, drystone walls and potato fields, they show village life in the park more clearly than busy Namche does.
They are also where Sir Edmund Hillary’s long partnership with the Sherpa people began. The school he helped build in Khumjung in 1961 and the hospital opened in Khunde in 1966 are still running, supported by the Himalayan Trust and its sister foundations.
What to see and do: Khumjung & Khunde
See the Hillary school
Khumjung School started as a single aluminium classroom in 1961 and now teaches children up to secondary level. Visitors are welcome to look around the grounds outside lesson time; a statue of Hillary stands in the yard.
Visit Khumjung gompa
The village monastery keeps, in a locked box, a conical piece of hide long presented as the scalp of a yeti. Scientists who examined it during Hillary’s 1960–61 expedition concluded it was made from the skin of a serow, a Himalayan goat-antelope — but it remains a treasured ritual object. A donation is expected to view it.
Walk to Khunde hospital
Twenty minutes west across the fields, the small hospital founded in 1966 serves the whole upper Khumbu. A hill above it has memorials to Hillary and his family, and a broad view of Ama Dablam and Thamserku.
Make the classic loop
Combine both villages with Hotel Everest View in a four-to-six-hour circuit from Namche: up via Syangboche, across to the hotel, down to Khumjung, over to Khunde and back.
Getting to Khumjung & Khunde
- From Namche Bazaar: a steep 60–90 minute climb via Syangboche, or a gentler approach via the Everest View ridge.
- From the Gokyo and Tengboche trails: a path links Khumjung with Sanasa and Mong La, so you can pass through on the way to or from Gokyo.
- Staying overnight: both villages have lodges, quieter than those in Namche and a good choice for a second acclimatisation night.
Visitor tips
- Ask before photographing people, and do not photograph inside the gompa without permission.
- Walk clockwise around the long mani wall at the entrance to Khumjung.
- Khumjung is about 350 m higher than Namche: “climb high, sleep low” by visiting for the day, or sleep here only on your second or third night.
- A bakery and several teashops make this an easy lunch stop.
Treks & tours that include Khumjung & Khunde
These guided experiences are the easiest way to reach Khumjung & Khunde:
Short guided trek from €1083 Everest View Trek: 5 Days with Flights
The short way into the park: fly to Lukla, walk up the Dudh Koshi to Namche Bazaar and climb to the Everest View ridge at about 3,880 m, where Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam line up across the valley. Back in Kathmandu in five days.
- Fly to Lukla and walk to Namche Bazaar
- Everest panorama from the 3,880 m viewpoint
- Stays below 4,000 m — gentler on altitude
Guided trek from €1781 Gokyo Valley: 10-Day Lakes Trek with Gokyo Ri Sunrise
A compact ten-day trek to the Gokyo Lakes with the pre-dawn climb of Gokyo Ri as its high point. Check the day-by-day plan before booking: ten days is a brisk schedule for this altitude, and an extra acclimatisation night is never wasted.
- The chain of Gokyo Lakes at about 4,700–5,000 m
- Sunrise from Gokyo Ri
- Return through Sherpa villages
Short guided trek from €445 Kathmandu: 7-Day Everest Panorama Trek
A week in the lower park: Lukla to Namche Bazaar, then on to Tengboche Monastery with Everest and Ama Dablam on the skyline, and back the same way. Check exactly what the price includes — flights are often extra on budget packages.
- Namche Bazaar and the Everest View ridge
- Tengboche Monastery (3,867 m)
- One week, without going above 4,000 m
