Solukhumbu District ( ,

Sherpa SHERPA (Securing a Hybrid Environment for Research Preservation and Access) is an organisation originally set up in 2002 to run and manage the SHERPA Project. History SHERPA began as an endeavour to support the establishment of a number of open ...

: , Wylie: shar khum bu dzong) is one of 14 districts of

Koshi Province Koshi Province () is an autonomous Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal adopted by the Constitution of Nepal on 20 September 2015. It covers an area of , about 17.5% of the country's total area. With the industrial city of Biratnagar as its cap ...

of eastern

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. As the name suggests, it consists of the sub-regions Solu and

Khumbu Khumbu (also known as the Everest Region) is a region of northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of Koshi Pradesh.Bradley, Mayhew; "Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya"; ...

. The closest post office to Solukhumbu with a postal code assigned to it is the Sindhuli D.P.O., which has the postal code 56000. The district, with Salleri as its headquarters, covers an area of and had a population 107,686 in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and 105,886 in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

Mount Everest Mount Everest (), known locally as Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet, is Earth's highest mountain above sea level. It lies in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas and marks part of the China–Nepal border at it ...

is in the northern part of this district, within Sagarmatha National Park.

History

Historically, Solukhumbu was part of Kirata Kingdoms in early and medieval era. It was a part of Majh Kirat Khambuwan (central province or region of Kirat Kingdoms). Before the unification of Nepal by king of Gorkha, what is now Solukhumbu district was part of Chaudandi of Majh Kirat (Khambuwan). In 1773 AD the King of Gorkha attacked and absorbed it into Nepal. The Solukhumbu district was established in 1962, out of the old East No. 3 district. Before 1962, present-day Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga and some parts of Khotang previously constitute district "East No. 3". Solu and Rawa thums (counties) were carved out of East No. 3 to create Solukhumbu District. East No. 3.png, East No. 3, a district of Nepal before 1962. NepalSolukhumbuDistrictmap.png, VDCs of Solukhumbu before 2015.

Geography

Solukhumbu is one of three Himalayan districts within Province No. 1, positioned on the west-by-northwestern corner of the province. It spans a total area of . It is geographically situated between latitudes 27°20'39" and 28°6'24" North, and longitudes 86°0'21" and 87°0'1" East. Its north border includes the world's highest peak (Mount Everest); and the district's lowest point is at (Tuintar) above sea level. The district is bordered by Sankhuwasabha in the east, Bhojpur in the south-east, Khotang and Okhaldhunga in the south,

Bagmati Province Bagmati Province (, ''Bāgmatī pradēśa'') is one of the seven Provinces of Nepal, provinces of Nepal established by the constitution of Nepal. Bagmati is Nepal's second-most populous province and fifth largest province by area. It is bordered ...

in the west and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

(China) in the north. The diverse geography of Solukhumbu district is marked by three distinct levels:

Khumbu Himal (Highland mountains)

This region is home to the Mahalangur Himal and other Himalayan mountain ranges. Situated on the northern border with Tibet, it hosts some of the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest (8,848m),

Lhotse Lhotse ( ; ; ) is the List of highest mountains#List, fourth-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. At an elevation of above sea level, the main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of Chin ...

(8,516m),

Makalu Makalu (; ) is the fifth-highest mountain on Earth, with a summit at an elevation of AMSL. It is located in the Mahalangur Himalayas southeast of Mount Everest, on the China–Nepal border. One of the eight-thousanders, Makalu is an isolat ...

(8,485m),

Cho Oyu Cho Oyu ( Nepali: चोयु; ; ) is the sixth-highest mountain in the world at above sea level. Cho Oyu means " Turquoise Goddess" in Tibetan. The mountain is the westernmost major peak of the '' Khumbu'' sub-section of the Mahalangur Him ...

(8,201m), Gyachung Kang (7,952m), among others.

Khumbu region (Highland valley)

Known globally for its trekking and hiking opportunities, the highland Khumbu valley is predominantly inhabited by the Kulung and

communities. The administrative division of Khumbu Pasanglhamu is located in this region, encompassing the roadless town of Namche Bazaar and villages such as

Thame Thame is a market town and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms part of the ...

, Khumjung, Pangboche, Pheriche and Kunde. The renowned

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Tengboche Tengboche (or Thyangboche) is a village in Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality in the Khumbu subregion of Province No. 1 in Nepal, located at . Within the village is an important Buddhist monastery, Tengboche Monastery, which is the largest gomp ...

also falls within the Khumbu region.

Solu region (Mid-hills)

Lower Solukhumbu (lower parts of Solukhumbu District) is part of the Mid-hills region. It is less famous for trekking, however new trails such as the Mundhum trail are being developed. Rais are the main inhabitants in this region.

Climate

Administrative divisions

Solukhumbu is divided into 8 local level units, 1 unit is urban and 7 are rural. They are further divided into wards. Solukhumbu is single-seat constituency for

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

and double seat for provincial constituency. Solukhumbu

district coordination committee The District Coordination Committee (, abbreviation: DCC) was formed on March 14, 2017, to replace the existing district development committee. Each of the 77 districts in Nepal have their own district coordination committees in. The Head of ...

coordinates between local and provincial governments. Solukhumbu district administration office co-operates with Solukhumbu DCC to maintain peace, order and security in the district. The officer of District Administration office called CDO. Divisions of Solukhumbu

Former divisions (1990–2016)

Formerly, Solukhumbu district was divided into many Village development committees. In 2014 Dudhkunda municipality was established merging some Village development committees. In 2016 all other Village development committee nullified and introduced

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

thus all former Village development committees grouped into 7 units and announced 7 rural municipality. NepalSolukhumbuDistrictmap

There were 35 Village Development Committees in Solukhumbu District: * Bapha *

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

* Basa * Beni * Bhakanje *

Bung A stopper, bung, or cork is a cylindrical or conical closure used to seal a container, such as a bottle, tube, or barrel. Description Unlike a lid or bottle cap, which encloses a container from the outside without displacing the inner v ...

* Chaulakharka *

Chaurikharka Chaurikharka is a Village development committee (Nepal), village development committee in Solukhumbu District in the Sagarmatha Zone of northeastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 2422 people living in 502 ind ...

* Chheskam * Deusa * Garma * Goli * Gorakhani * Gudel * Jubing * Jubu * Kaku * Kangel * Kerung * Khumjung * Loding Tamakhani * Lokhim * Mabe * Mukali * Namche * Necha Batase * Necha Bedghari * Nele * Panchan * Salleri * Salyan * Sotang * Takasindu * Tapting * Tingla

Demographics

At the

2021 Nepal census The 2021 Nepal Census was the twelfth nationwide census of Nepal conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics. The census was originally scheduled from 8 June to 22 June 2021, but was postponed to November 2021 due to a surge in COVID-19 case ...

, Solukhumbu District had 26319 households and a population of 104,851. 7.94% of the population was under 5 years of age. Solukhumbu had a literacy rate of 77.45% and a sex ratio of 988 females per 1,000 males. 6,744 (6.43%) lived in urban areas. Ethnicity/caste: Janjatis make up the majority in the district at 70%. The district has many Rai peoples such as the Kulung, Khaling, Thulung, Nachhiring and Bahing. Sherpas and Tamang people make up the second largest bloc of Janjatis and live mainly in the high mountains.

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...

are 13%,

Bahun Bahun (), also known as Hill Brahmins, are a Brahmin varna among the Khas of Nepal. They are a sub-caste of the Kanyakubja Brahmin while their origins are from Kannauj and the Himalayan belt of South Asia. According to the 2011 Nepal censu ...

4% and Khas Dalit groups are 8% of the population. Religion: 40.42% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 28.84% Kirati, 26.74%

, 3.21%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.45%

Bon Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

and 0.07% others. As their first language, 34.65% of the population spoke Nepali, 17.00%

, 10.77% Kulung, 10.06% Tamang, 8.53% Khaling, 8.48% Thulung, 3.09% Nachhiring, 2.09% Bahing, 1.51% Magar Dhut and 1.34% Rai as their first language. In 2011, 36.7% of the population spoke Nepali as their first language.

Notable people

Tenzing Norgay Tenzing Norgay (; ''tendzin norgyé''; May 1914 – 9 May 1986), born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. On 29 May 1953, he and Edmund Hillary were the first confirmed to ...

- First ascent of Mount Everest * Pasang Lhamu Sherpa - First Nepalese female ascent * Babu Chiri Sherpa - 10 times ascent Mount Everest * Ang Dorje Sherpa - 19 times ascent Mount Everest * Apa Sherpa - 21 times ascent Mount Everest * Nawang Sherpa - First person to climb Mount Everest with a prosthetic leg * Kami Rita Sherpa - A 28th times Everest summiter on 23 May 2023, breaking his own record set on 17 May 2023.

References

Districts of Nepal established in 1962 Districts of Koshi Province Tibetan Buddhist places {{Coord, 27, 30, N, 86, 35, E, type:adm2nd_region:NP_source:enwiki, display=title