Nepal is a famous country all over the world for its magnificent Himalayas. The largest sovereign Himalayan state in the southeast of Asia, Nepal houses eight of the ten tallest mountains in the world- including Mount Everest, the highest mountain peak in the world. The country is also famous for its multiculturalism and multi-ethnicity. Nepal occupies different people who follow other religions and have their practices and believes. With most of the country's Hindu population, Nepal has also developed distinct art and architectural skill. The country's prominent Newa and Tibetan style architecture is on many old buildings and temples reminiscent of medieval times. The country's cultural diversity led to numerous religious construction at various locations throughout the country.
Nepal has several natural and artificial religious areas that are famous worldwide among Hindu and Buddhist people. Likewise, the Tengboche Monastery is also a prominent monastery of the Khumbu region. The Everest region, also known as the Khumbu region, is one of the most famous trekking regions in the country. The Khumbu region is renowned for its Mahalangur Himalayan range and famous mountain villages like Namche and Tengboche. The area sees an inflow of thousands of trekkers every year. Among the various trekking journeys in the Khumbu, the Everest Base Camp Trek is perhaps the most popular. The trekking journey to the Base Camp of Everest is famous in Nepal and renowned throughout the world. It is one of the most beautiful and adventurous trekking journeys on the planet. The Khumbu region includes terrific sights of the mountain peaks and many splendid mountain villages like Dingboche, Namche, and Tengboche, making Everest Base Camp Trek on everyone's wishlist.
As Namche Bazaar is famous as the commercial hub of the Khumbu, Tengboche is notorious as the region's spiritual center. The renowned Tengboche Monastery is the key attraction of the Tengboche. Tengboche proffers the panoramic views of the Himalayan giants like Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Taboche, and Thamserku. Prominently a Sherpa settlement, Tengboche is situated on a hill at the confluence of the Dudh Koshi and the Imja Khola rivers. It is accessible through a mountain trail from Namche and is a famous acclimatization destination during most Everest Base Camp Trek journeys. During the winter, the snowy peaks of Ama Dablam and the tip of Mount Everest seem to glow from the Nuptse ridge at Tengboche, and several other peaks form a picturesque landscape. During the spring, the hills around Tengboche look splendid with rhododendron and azalea flowers all over.
The Tengboche Monastery
The Tengboche Monastery strategically lies on the way to Everest Base Camp and attracts many tourists worldwide. The monastery is the spiritual center of the region and is the largest Gompa in the area. It is also one of the highlights of the trekking journeys in the Everest region. The trekkers stop at the monastery to receive blessings from the monks there for a successful trip. Also known as Dawa Choling Gompa, the Tengboche Monastery sits at 3,867 meters above sea level. The monastery is amidst the Sagarmatha National Park, with the peaceful surrounding which endures mesmerizing Himalayan sights. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, the companion of Sir Edmund Hillary, was once sent to the Tengboche Monastery at a young age to be a monk, which obviously didn't work out. He went on to become one of the first two people to climb the summit of Mount Everest along with Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.
Considered one of the oldest single monasteries of the region, it played an essential part in developing and strengthening the social and cultural values of the Sherpa people. Trekkers come across many Mani Stone Wall carvings while trekking in the Khumbu, and the monastery is also no exception. The flat stones inscribed with the Buddhist mantra and decorated with colorful prayer flags are stunning to see, and they provide religious ambiance to the surroundings. The monastery also houses many ancient Thanka paintings, murals, statues, and scriptures. A giant statue of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha extending two floors is also present in the monastery. Constructed with absolutely beguiling stone masonry and decorated with intricate stone carvings and pandemonium of colors, the Tengboche Monastery is a beautiful piece of Buddhist architecture. The surrounding majestic Himalayas of the Everest region magnifies the beauty of this place even more. The lighting of the candles and prayers offered by the trekkers who visit the monastery, along with the monks who reside there, makes it one of the most heavenly and holy places in the Khumbu region.
People also celebrate the Mani Rimdu festival every year in Tengboche Monastery. Mani Rimdu is one of the fascinating Buddhist festivals of the Everest Region, which usually falls in November. During the tenth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar, the festival celebrates everything good in the world. Lamas and Sherpa people gather at the monastery for five days and celebrate the festivity with beautiful costumes and rituals. They make a subtle art of a Mandala design made with colored sand. One can witness different kinds of acts, plays, masked dances, prayers, and feasts. Demons are defeated, and the pious are honored during the celebration. It is a tradition passed on from its mother monastery, the Rongbuk from Tibet. The monks perform prayer rituals for all sentient beings and to dispel harmful and evil auras away. The festival is very colorful and ideal to combine with a trekking expedition in the Everest region.
