Ashley Wells, Seven, Wisdom Quarterly (Wikipedia edit); photographer Frank Kehren
Tengboche Monastery with sacred chortens in foreground (Frank Kehren/flickr.com)
Buddha, Tengboche Monastery (Frank Kehren/flickr)
MT. EVEREST BASE CAMP, Nepal - Visiting Tengboche Monastery along the Everest trekking route (12,687 feet/3867 meter) is an elevating experience.
Thyangboche, or Dawa Choling Gompa, is located in Tengboche village, Khumjung, in the Khumbu region of eastern Nepal.
It is a Vajrayana or Tibetan Buddhist monastery for the local Sherpa mountain people. The monastic complex is the largest gompa in the Khumbu region.
Rongbuk, Everest in background (wiki)
The complex was built in 1916 by Lama Gulu with strong links to its Tibetan mother monastery, Rongbuk (Dzarong) on the north side of Mt. Everest.
However, it was destroyed in 1934 by an earthquake and subsequently rebuilt. Then in 1989 it was again destroyed by fire. It has since been rebuilt with the help of local and international volunteers.
Yeti (yakshi) scalp (wiki)
Tengboche Monastery is situated in Abominable Snowman (Yeti) territory within the Sagarmatha [Everest] National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site of "outstanding universal value"). So it enjoys a panoramic view of the Himalayan mountain range, including well known peaks like: Everest, Tawache, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku.
Tengboche is also the terminus point of Sagarmatha National Park's "Sacred Sites Trail
Project," which attracts large numbers of spiritual
tourists, trekkers, and mountaineers. The circular trail covers ten Buddhist monastic complexes going clockwise. More