Geographical Location
Sagarmatha National Park (27°45'-28°07'N, 86°28'-87°07'E) is a World Heritage Site which lies in the Solu-Khumbu District of the north-eastern region of Nepal. The park encompasses the upper catchment of the Dudh Kosi River system, which is fan-shaped and forms a distinct geographical unit enclosed on all sides by high mountain ranges. The northern boundary is defined by the main divide of the Great Himalayan Range, which follows the international border with the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. In the south, the boundary extends almost as far as Monjo on the Dudh Kosi. The 63 settlements within the park are technically excluded as enclaves.
Date and History of Establishment
Created a national park on 19 July 1976 and inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979.
This is a dramatic area of high, geologically young mountains and glaciers. The deeply-incised valleys cut through sedimentary rocks and underlying granites to drain southwards into the Dudh Kosi and its tributaries, which form part of the Ganges River system. The upper catchments of these rivers are fed by glaciers at the head of four main valleys, Chhukhung, Khumbu, Gokyo and Nangpa La. Lakes occur in the upper reaches, notably in the Gokyo Valley, where a number are impounded by the lateral moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier (at 20 kilometers (km) the longest glacier in the park). There are seven peaks over 7,000 m. The mountains have a granite core flanked by metamorphosed sediments and owe their dominating height to two consecutive phases of upthrust. The main uplift occurred during human history, some 500,000-800,000 years ago. Evidence indicates that the upliftis still continuing at a slower rate, but natural erosion processes counteract this to an unknown degree.
Climate
On average, 80% of the annual precipitation occurs in the monsoon season from June to September and the remainder of the year is fairly dry. Precipitation is low as the park is in the rain shadow of the Karyalung-Kangtega range to the south. Annual precipitation is 984 millimeters (mm) in Namche Bazar, 733 mm in Khumjung and 1043mm in Tengboche. The climate of Namche Bazar can be classified as humid and tropical, based on the seasonal occurrence of rains, range in annual precipitation, number of rainy days per year and the length of the dry season. The mean temperature of the coldest month, January, is -0.4°C. Some 56% of years experience a tropical regime (summer rain), 35% are bixeric (two dry periods) and 1% are trixeric (three dry periods) or irregular.
Vegetation
Most of the park (69%) comprises barren land above 5,000 m, 28% is grazing land and nearly 3% is forested. Six of the 11 vegetation zones described by Dobremez for the Nepal Himalaya are represented in the park: lower subalpine, above 3,000 m, with
forests of blue pine
Pinus wallichiana, fir
Abies spectabilis and fir-juniper
Juniperus recurva; upper subalpine, above 3,600 m, with birch-rhododendron forest (
Betula utilis,
Rhododendron campanulatum and
R. campylocarpum); lower alpine, above the timber-line at 3,800-4,000 m, with scrub (
Juniperus spp.,
Rhododendron anthopogon and
R. lepidotum); upper alpine, above 4,500 m, with
grassland and dwarf shrubs; and sub-nival zone with cushion plants from 5,500 m to 6,000 m. Oak
Quercus semecarpifolia used to be the dominant species in the upper montane zone but former stands of this species and
Abies spectabilis have been colonised by
Pinus sp.
Rhododendron arboreum,
R. triflorum, and yew
Taxus baccata wallichiana are associated with pine at lower altitudes and shrubs include
Pieris formosa,
Cotoneaster microphyllus and
R. lepidotum. Vine
Parthenocissus himalayana and clematis
Clematis montana are also common and other low altitude trees include maple
Acer campbellii and whitebeam
Sorbus cuspidata.
Abies spectabilis occupies medium to good sites above 3,000 m and forms stands with
Rhododendron campanulatum or
Betula utilis. Towards the tree line,
R. campanulatum is generally dominant.
Juniperus indica occurs above 4,000 m, where conditions are drier, along with dwarf rhododendrons and cotoneasters, shrubby cinquefoil
Potentilla fruticosa var.
rigida, willow
Salix sikkimensis and
Cassiope fastigiata. In association with the shrub complex are a variety of herbs such as
Gentiana prolata,
G. stellata, edelweiss
Leontopodium stracheyi,
Codonopsis thalictrifolia,
Thalictrum chelidonii, lilies
Lilium nepalense and
Notholirion macrophyllum,
Fritillaria cirrhosa and primroses,
Primula denticulata,
P. atrodentata,
P. wollastonii and
P. sikkimensis. The shrub layer diminishes as conditions become cooler and above 5,000 m
Rhododendron nivale is the sole representative of its genus. Other dwarf shrubs in the dry valley uplands include buckthorn
Hippophae tibetana, horsetail
Ephedra gerardiana, juniper
J. indica and cinquefoil
Potentilla fruticosa. Associated herbs are gentians,
Gentiana ornata and
G. algida var.
przewalskii, edelweiss
Leontopodium jacotianum and Himalayan blue poppy
Meconopsis horridula. Above this and up to the permanent snow line at about 5,750 m, plant life is restricted to
lichens, mosses, dwarf grasses and sedges and alpines, such as
Arenaria polytrichoides and
Tanacetum gossypinum.
Fauna
Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus. (Source: Stephen Sumithran)
In common with the rest of the Nepal Himalaya, the park has a comparatively low number (28) of mammalian species, apparently due to the geologically recent origin of the Himalaya and other evolutionary factors. The low density of mammal populations is almost certainly the result of human activities. Larger mammals include common langur
Presbytis entellus, jackal
Canis aureus, a small number of grey wolf
Canis lupus (V), Himalayan black bear
Selenarctos thibetanus (V), lesser panda
Ailurus fulgens (V), yellow-throated marten
Martes flavigula, Himalayan weasel
Mustela sibirica, masked palm civet
Paguma larvata, snow leopard
Panthera uncia (E), Himalayan musk deer
Moschus chrysogaster, Indian muntjac
Muntiacus muntjak, mainland serow
Capricornis sumatraensis (I), Himalayan tahr
Hemitragus jemlahicus (K) and goral
Nemorhaedus goral. Sambar
Cervus unicolor has also been recorded. The tahr population is estimated to total at least 300 individuals. Both goral and serow appear to be uncommon. Results from recent surveys suggest that populations of both tahr and musk deer have increased substantially since the park was gazetted and could lead to a recovery in the snow leopard population, probable signs of which were seen in the Gokyo Valley. Smaller mammals include short-tailed mole
Talpa micrura, Tibetan water shrew
Nectogale elegans, Himalayan water shrew
Chimarrogale himalayica, bobak marmot
Marmota bobak, Royle's pika
Ochotona roylei, woolly hare
Lepus oiostolus, rat
Rattus sp. and house mouse
Mus musculus.
Additionally, there are 152 species of birds, 36 of which are breeding species for which Nepal may hold internationally significant populations. The park is important for a number of species breeding at high altitudes, such as blood pheasant
Ithaginis cruentus, robin accentor
Prunella rubeculoides, white-throated redstart
Phoenicurus schisticeps, grandala
Grandala coelicolor and several rosefinches. The park's small lakes, especially those at Gokyo, are used as staging points for migrants and at least 19 water bird species have been recorded.
A total of six amphibians and seven reptiles occur or probably occur in the park. Documentation of the invertebrate fauna is limited to common species of butterfly. Of the 30 species recorded, orange and silver mountain hopper
Carterocephalus avanti has not been recorded elsewhere in Nepal, and the common red apollo
Parnassius epaphus is rare
Cultural Heritage
The Sherpas are of great cultural interest, having originated from Salmo Gang in the eastern Tibetan province of Kham, some 2,000 km from their present homeland. They probably left their original home in the late 1400s or early 1500s, to escape political and military pressures, and later crossed the Nangpa La into Nepal in the early 1530s. They separated into two groups, some settling in Khumbu and others proceeding to Solu. The two clans (Minyagpa and Thimmi) remaining in Khumbu are divided into 12 subclans. The introduction of the potato to Khumbu in about 1850 revolutionized the economic life of the Sherpas. Until then, the high-altitude Sherpas had lived mainly on barley. Both the
population and the growth of the monasteries took a dramatic upturn soon after that time. Another significant influence on Sherpa life has been mountaineering expeditions, which have been a feature of life in the Khumbu since the area was first opened to westerners in 1950. The Sherpas belong to the Nyingmapa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which was founded by the revered Guru Rimpoche who was legendarily born of a lotus in the middle of a lake. It is to him that the ever-present prayers and mani wall inscriptions are addressed: "Om mani padme hum" - "hail to the jewel of the lotus." There are several monasteries in the park, the most important being Tengpoche. However, on 19 January 1989 the main building and courtyard of Tengpoche was burned to the ground. A Reconstruction Committee has been formed and it is planned to commence reconstruction work in 1990.
Hotels
Many hotels are established here for the services of the tourists and visitors
