Everest Region Trekking

There are so many reasons to visit the Everest region, or Solu-Khumbu, or just Khumbu, as the Nepali name for the disrtict goes. There is, of course, Mt Everest. But equally, there is a collection of some of the most wonderful views, landscapes and people in the world here. You can see, very up close and personal, some of the highest mountains in the world, beautiful glaciers and glacial lakes, in conjunction with stunningly lush alpine forests and skies so blue, you'll learn the word cerulean - and also that words are ineffectual in this landscape. You'll be among Sherpa people, with their unique Tibetan-influenced culture, dress, food, and habits, all overlaid with the hardiness and oneness with nature that comes of living in some of the most difficult terrain in the world. You'll see Tibetan Buddhist monasteries, complete with multicoloured murals and monks with horns and gongs, that seem to echo with the thousands of soundless prayers sent out everyday.

In terms of geology and flora and fauna, too, the Everest region has something for enthusiasts. Looking at the massive peaks of ice and snow, the scores of seracs, gorges, moraines, flutes and ravines, noticing the famous 'yellow band' on Everest, the result of the seismic collision that produced the Himalaya, you have to wonder at the forces of nature - and of people who live in such a difficult landscape year in, year out. You'll also see lots of fresh, green - silver fir, varieties of pine, and the fragrant juniper are common, as are bright poppies, primroses, gentians and wildflowers. Lower down you see the Nepali national flower, the rhododendron, as well as magnolias. Here too are the endangered (and well-conserved) snow leopard, the Himalayan tahr (a kind of mountain goat), musk deer, different kinds of pheasants, lammergeier, griffons, and golden eagles.