Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) is one of the most popular and famous tourist hubs in the foothills of the world’s highest mountains. Namche Bazaar is also the gateway to the high mountains like Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam, and many more of the highest peaks in the world. This town is mostly popular for the acclimatization place for the popular Everest Base Camp trek along with stunning mountain views, an amazing landscape, and rich Sherpa culture, hospitality, and practices. Furthermore, the ambulant hotels and lodges, several cafes and bakeries, bars, monasteries, stupas, viewpoints, and many more attractive things are the best part of this beautiful settlement.
History of Namche Bazaar
Namche Bazaar is an ancient traditional market hub. This place becomes an important stop on the trade routes of the region. After the first successful ascent of Mt. Everest, this place becomes more commercial and popular for tourists. The hub for the market, where Tibetan, Indian, and local sherpa used to trade local handicrafts with salt and other necessary goods that come from Tibet. This palace became even more popular after the honorary visit from US President Jimmy Carter in 1985.
Where is Namche Bazaar?
Namche Bazaar lies in the Solukhumbu District of Province -1 in the northeast of Nepal. It is located in the Khumbu region around 3,440 m altitude. This town is also one of the major settlements of Khumbu Pasanglhamu Municipality. This sherpa inhabitant is one of the major towns in the Everest Region.
How to get to Namche Bazaar?
Namche Bazaar is still untouched by any means of road vehicles, not even Lukla yet. So, to get to Namche Bazaar, either you should take a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla and trek to Namche or directly fly by Helicopter from Kathmandu to Namche. Besides this, you can trek from Salleri as well if you don’t want to fly to Lukla Airport.
On the Lukla flight, it takes 30 minutes to reach Lukla from Kathmandu, and from Lukla, a half-day normal hike would be enough to reach Namche Bazaar. Likewise, the Helicopter took 40 to 45-minute flights to reach Lukla and from Lukla, it took 5 minutes to get to Namche. But, it’s an expensive way but worth it for the unforgettable memories of flying above the mountains.
Namche Bazaar as an acclimatization point for Everest Base Camp?
Namche is more popular as an acclimatization place for the most popular Everest Base Camp trek and the entire Everest Region trek. This amazing Sherpa town offers amazing hospitality and services to thousands of climbers and trekkers. People normally hike to Everest viewpoint (3,880 m) and explore Everest View Hotel, Khumjung village, and nearby places during the acclimatization period.
Namche Bazaar has modern communications like the Internet and mobile networks. Food, cafes, bars, and so many other activities can be done while resting in Namche Bazaar.
When is the best time to visit Namche Bazaar?
Just to get to Namche, there is no specific time for travel. So, you can go and explore Namche throughout the year. Hotels, lodges, restaurants, checkpoints, and everything else are open throughout the year. But, normally, you can see more people during the peak trekking season, which is spring (March–June) and autumn (September–November). This season offers the best mountain views, pleasant weather, and beautiful landscapes.
So, mostly all the trekking and expeditions happen during these two seasons. The main reason is a flight to Lukla if you can get good weather in Luka during the off-season, like the monsoon and winter. You can see the different landscapes and peaceful trails. During the monsoon, the trails might be slippery and have chances of rainfall, but a green environment, colorful nature, and waterfalls amaze you in another way. Similarly, during the winter, the temperature might fall to negative, but you can experience the clean sky, snowy peaks, white landscapes, and sunset on mountains most of the day.
What are the best things to do & explore in Namche Bazaar?
Namche Bazaar has the Sagarmatha National Park Museum and the Sherpa Museum at the top of the town, where you can get ideas about Sherpa culture, their practices, traditions, and the history of mountaineering and flora and fauna in Sagarmatha National Park.
- There are numerous trekking and mountaineering gear shops, along with medical shops, souvenir shops, and grocery shops.
- Namche Bazaar is full of fancy restaurants, cafes, bars, and hotels for local, national, international, and continental foods and drinks.
- Namche Bazaar offers stunning views of mountains such as Kondge Ri, Thamserku, Kusum Khangaru, and many more snowy peaks.
- Experience the first glimpse of Mt. Everest from the top of the Namche Bazaar, along with Mt. Lhotse and Ama Dablam.
- Namche Bazaar is also a popular place for the Sherpa people, their culture, practices, and traditions.
- You can explore the Namche Monastery, small stupas, and correspondence of Buddhism in Namche Bazaar.
- If you are in Namche on Saturday, it’s worth exploring the weekly market where traders from different villages come to sell/exchange their products. This is the legacy of an ancient market hub where people from Tibet and India come to buy/sell their products in Namche Bazaar.
At last, Namche Bazar is one of the “most go” places for the adventure seeker. There are many more things to explore while visiting Namche Bazaar. Feel free to contact us for any kind of travel or tour package in the Everest Region.
