Sagarmatha National Park

Sagarmatha National Park encompasses the upper catchment of the Dudh Koshi River in Nepal's Solukhumbu district, incorporating Everest and several of the world's highest peaks including Lhotse (8,516 m), Cho Oyu (8,188 m), and Ama Dablam (6,812 m). The park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 under natural criterion (vii) for outstanding natural beauty and superlative natural phenomena.

The park covers 1,148 sq km of mountainous terrain, with a 275 sq km buffer zone designated in January 2002 (UNESCO's property record lists the inscribed area as 124,400 ha). Elevation ranges from 2,845 m at Monjo to 8,848.86 m at the Everest summit.

Approximately 4,000 Sherpa people live within and around the park, maintaining unique high-altitude Buddhist culture. Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) is the main market town and entry point.

The park contains the Ngozumpa Glacier (35 km, Nepal's largest) and 19 named glaciers that are rapidly retreating due to climate change - an average of 38 m/year according to ICIMOD (2021).

First climbed on 29 May 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary (New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa (Nepal/India), Mount Everest had been summited 13,737 times by 7,563 individuals through December 2025 (Himalayan Database).

The Department of Tourism issues climbing permits. From 1 September 2025 the Everest spring royalty is USD 15,000 per foreign climber (autumn USD 7,500; winter/monsoon USD 3,750), with a certified Nepali guide mandatory and solo climbs banned.