Namche Bazaar at night, Nepal 04 Aug 2016

Posted on 04 Aug 2016

Colour night of the Sherpa village Namche Bazar with milky way over the mountain - Nepal Himalaya

About this photo

It's en-route to Namche Bazaar that you will most likely enjoy your first glimpses of Mount Everest.

The prosperous town of Namche Bazaar (a Sherpa village with two- and three-storey houses-cum-lodges, a bank and post office), sits in a U-shaped, west-facing valley, with the sacred mountain Khumbila (5,761 metres/18,900ft) to the north, Thamserku (6,608 metres/ 21,680ft) to the east and Kwangde Ri (6,187 metres/20,298ft) to the west. Stone-paved lanes are lined with shops filled with an amazing selection of mountaineering equipment and gourmet expedition food. Swiss chocolate and French pâté stand alongside Russian sardines and Italian sausage; other shops rent crampons, mountaineering boots, and sleeping bags, or sell paperbacks and Tibetan jewellery imported via Kathmandu.There are multiple mountain lodges to choose from for accommodation here too.

To experience Nepal and Namche Bazaar, you can customise your own trip with Insight Guides. See our Exclusive Everest trip for inspiration.

For some pre-planning, pick up a copy of Insight Guides: Nepal, available in printed guidebook or eBook format.

About photographer

saimai saelim/Shutterstock

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I was 8 years old when I went to Nepal and it was a fantastic holiday. My Mum and Dad thought it was brilliant too. We went white water rafting, elephant riding, elephant washing, trekking, on a jeep and canoe safari. We even tried our hand at pottery and met a Sherpa who had been to the top of Everest. The Nepalese people are so friendly. I especially loved playing football with the porters and guides on our trek, we were on the top of a mountain. It was great fun and I wanted to do it over and over again. I loved everything there was nothing wrong with this holiday, except maybe curry for breakfast. I got to meet tons and tons of Nepalese children too. We played football, cricket and running races. One of them even gave me a puppy but mum and dad wouldn’t let me keep it. Our guide was the best guide ever. I really liked him, he looked after us. He was nice and treat us as a friend. We had lots of planned activities but had free time to explore on our own too, it was just right. The trekking was just right because we had a few breaks, although I was red hot and sweating at the end. The guides showed us how pop leafs. At camp I played football with the porters, we learned how to whistle with a leaf and got to explore the area. We had tea under the stars and got up really early to see the sun rise. We ate cake and drank a lot of hot chocolate. The places we stayed at were all very cosy and nice. We went to a lovely hotel, cool guest houses and had two nights camping. My fave was the camping because I like sleeping outdoors in tents. It was different because England is richer and more developed and their religion is different. The food is very different and the views are spectacular. I felt very, very safe in Nepal. The roads are very exciting to travel on. It was the best holiday I have ever been on, it was great. I like trying new things and Nepal was different to anywhere I’d ever been before. This one had loads of action in it and lots of adventure in it and it was so different to what I’m used to. I would definitely love to go again and I’d like to feed the elephants that would be awesome and visit a school. I’d like to do a longer trek. It was a great experience and I’ll remember it forever, I’d love to do it again.

Rita Oct 2019