A day or two spent at Namche for acclimatization can be used to hike to nearby Sherpa villages like Khunde and Khumjung. The hikes will be rewarding with a chance to meet the local Sherpas, experience their culture and warmth, taste their cuisine, and see the mountains from different angles.
The traditional villages of Khunde and Khumjung are further up from Namche. These two towns with stony fields divided by rock walls have beautiful vistas on all sides. Kunde Hospital, built in 1966 by Sir Edmund Hillary and maintained by the Himalayan Trust, is at the top of the village. Its mission: to treat local people, but it also provides emergency care to trekkers. Khumjung is the largest village in the Khumbu at the foot of the sacred peak Khumbila. Another place worth a visit is Khumjung School which was built by Sir Hillary’s Himalayan Trust in 1960.
