The Sacred Land of Tengboche Monastery 

Traditionally medical herbs grow best where the elements are brought together in harmony and the local spirits are peaceful. Medicines made from plants grown in these places posses a special quality that is very helpful for the people taking them. Tengboche Rinpoche has said that Khumbu is such a harmonious, pure place and will benefit many people all over the world.

The source of the Sacred Land Projects is the spectacular and diverse mountain landscape of the Solu-Khumbu district of North East Nepal. Solu is the southern part of the district whereas Khumbu refers to the upper area that reaches up to Mount Everest itself. The main work is undertaken in Khumbu which is a sparsely populated area covering over 11,000 sq. kilometres with altitudes from 2800 metres to some of the highest mountains in the world. More than 95 % of this region is above 4000m.

In Tibetan Mt. Everest is known as Chomolungma, which refers to Miyo-Langsangma, the Sister Goddess of the Earth who provides nourishment. In Nepali, it is known as Sagamatha or Mother goddess of the world. The Sagamatha National Park was created in 1976 in order to protect this fragile mountain ecology. This area has been recognized as an UNESCO World Heritage Site for “outstanding universal value” giving great importance to the people, the flora, and the fauna of the region.

Most of Khumbu is high alpine country, an area of ice, alpine tundra and lichen. The snow line is at 6000m on southern slopes and 5800m on northern aspects. Only 2% of Khumbu is forested. The lower valleys are conifer country; higher up are fir, pine, birch, rhododendron and juniper, but the trees thin out and growth rate slows down. Above 4000m come the highly scented dwarf rhododendrons, alpine shrubs, herbs and grasses. It is in the pristine alpine meadows that many of the herbs used in Tibetan medicine grow.

The climate in Khumbu varies considerably and in each small pocket of the landscape has its own special microclimate. In monsoon is eerily misty with heavy rain and temperatures up to a warm 20 degree Celsius. In winter, the climate can be extremely hard, dropping below minus 20 degrees and snowfall is frequent. However, Khumbu is somewhat protected from the worst extremes of the weather by a surrounding wall of mountainous ridges. This gives it its hidden valley quality and creates partial rain shadow conditions that keeps out the worst of the torrential monsoon rains coming up from India and the icy winds that blow across the Tibetan plateau from the north.

This Sacred Land is based at an altitude of 3,880m on the trail to the Base camp of Mount Everest. Near Namche Bazaar which is a colourful trading town a meeting place of Tibetan traders from Tingri, traders from the southern valleys of Nepal and trekkers and climbers from all over the world.

Tengboche Monastery is about four hours walk from Namche at an altitude of 3880m. The inspiration behind Sacred Land Initiatives, Tengboche Rinpoche is the abbot of Tengboche and he encouraged the first plantation to be established just below Tengboche at Devoche, close to a small nunnery. Later, approximately 3 acres of land were bought in Techo at an altitude of 3,400m it is about 30 minutes walk from Namche Bazaar. Since Techo is located away from the primary trekking trail in a more quiet and secluded neighbouring valley, it is an ideal place for the expansion of the medical plantation and the pharmacy for the making of medicines, herbal tea and incense. However, sadly due to lack of funds these gardens could not be sustained or developed, there is still hope that this may change in the future.