Khumjung Monastery and Khumjung Hillary School: Highlights of the Everest Region

The Everest region is popular for more reasons than just being home to the world’s highest peak. For years, it has held the sacred secrets of Everest and its inhabitants, the Sherpas. Among them, the Khumjung monastery and Khumjung Hillary School are some of the unmissable highlights.

Beholding the history and religious significance of the Sherpas, these landmarks of the Khumjung village are hard to miss. While the monastery is adorned with mystical energies and intricate artworks, the Khumjung school tells the story of the collaboration of climbers with the locals.

Let’s explore the blog to learn more about Khumjung Monastery and Khumjung Hillary School.

Khumjung Village: The Highlight of the Everest Region

If you plan to spend a few days near Everest, you should be aware of a few places that have witnessed the history of Everest’s conquerors and the mountain itself. The Khumjung village is one such charming stop on the way to Everest, situated atop Namche Bazaar and encircled by the mighty mountains of the Everest region.

It stands right beneath the Khumbila peak, which has an elevation of 5761 meters above sea level. Since it falls within the perimeter of Sagarmatha National Park, you need to have a permit for entering the village.

Khumjung Monastery: The Sacred Sherpa Sanctuary

The Khumjung monastery is the sacred pilgrimage of Tibetan Buddhists who live in the shadow of the goddess Chomolungma, a.k.a Mount Everest. It is a center of faith of people of the Everest region.

The sherpa architecture of the monastery, colorful prayer flags, the intricate murals and ancient scriptures on the walls of the pilgrimage make it a unique cultural center. You can fid walls painted with prayer wheels and ritual objects that aids to develop religious atmosphere around the gompa.

In addition, the monastery apparently has a well-preserved artifact that represents the scalp of a yeti. This rare item enclosed inside a glass cabinet in the periphery of the monastery has made the monastery even more popular destination for visitors. As per the legends of sherpa folklore, the mythical creature does exist in the Himalayas and the yeti-scalp in the monastery proves it.

Significance of Khumjung Monastery

Apart from being an important landmark, the Khumjung monastery beholds a lot of religious and spiritual significance among the residents. The local residents visit the monastery for worshipping their god as well as to witness the monks performing daily rituals. If you visit during the morning or evening hours, you could also be a part of the daily rituals and listen to the rhythms of prayers to soak into the sacred atmosphere.

Khumjung Hillary School

Apart from the monastery, the Khumjung Hillary School which is also known as the Edmund Hillary school is another important landmark of the Khumjung village. It isn’t just normal school but a learning center that was built by Sir Edmund Hillary for the welfare of kids living in the lap of Himalayas.

Who Built the School?

After achieving his mountaineering dream, Hillary returned to Khumjung village with an intent to give back to Sherpa community for their assistance in completing his endeavors. When he asked the local, what they needed, the locals mentioned the lack of education because of remoteness of the village. Thus, Edmund founded a Himalayan trust under his name and established a school with prefabricate aluminum foundation in 1961. Initially the school was referred to as “schoolhouse in the clouds”.

Current Status of Khumjung School

For decades, the school served as a preliminary education center that introduced the Sherpa kids to formal education. Since the primary education wasn’t enough and kids had to move out for further education, the school was expanded to incorporate more students.

Currently, one can receive formal education up to 10th grade in this school. And the original aluminum structure has also been changed to a more stable concrete structure to facilitate more students. In recent times, the original aluminum school building has been transformed to a visitor center.

It is called the Sir Edmund Hillary Visitor Center as a symbol of praising Edmund Hillary’s work. And you can find a number of photos and wall murals displaying the history of the school as well as the praiseworthy work done by Hillary Visitor center.

Facilities offered at the School

With time, the school was modified to meet the needs to modern times indifferent to its remoteness at around 3800 meters from sea level. Now, the curriculum is revised to English-medium to make the kids competent enough to adjust in modern world. In addition, the kids are also taught Nepali and local Sherpa language to keep them connected to their motherland,

You will also find modern infrastructures like earthquake-resistant classrooms, computer lab equipped with latest gadgets, a science laboratory, and library. It also offer hostel services to facilitate the kids who have to travel far for attending the school.

Education in the Everest Region

It is pretty evident that education in the Everest region wasn’t a easily achievable task until Hillary made the initiative to establish a school in such high altitude. If time and your health permits, make some time to visit the school to learn the history of Everest and see how education in Himalayas work.

In case you want to take pictures, make sure to take a permission from the school authority. It is also a good idea to donate a small amount if you can for the welfare of the school and the community. And also make sure to visit the nearby Khumjung monastery on the way to seek blessings for a successful journey of Everest.

Keep adventuring!