NEPAL, my motherland - ATTRACTIONS (sagarmatha)

The park is located to the north-east of Kathmandu in the Khumbu region of Nepal. Mt. Sagarmatha (Everest), and several other well-known peaks such as the Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyu, Pumori, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Kwangde, Kangtaiga and Gyachung Kang situate themselves within the park vicinity. Sagarmatha National Park was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1979.

This geologically young mountain range is broken into deep gorges and glacial valleys. Lower altitudes allow pine and hemlock forests to grow. Other areas house fir, juniper, birch, rhododendron woods, scrub and alpine plant types. The best time to go to there is during the spring (April and May) as blooming rhododenrons color up the environment.

The Himalayan tahr, goral, serow and musk deer are wild animals one might most likely see. Rarely sighted are the snow leopard and the Himalayan black bear. The park is also home to a large collection of mammals such as : the weasel, maren, Himalayan mouse, hare (pika), jackal, langur monkey, wild yak, red panda, deer, mountain foxes, martens, and Himalayan wolves.

The dominant ethnic group living in the area are the famed Sherpas. Tradionally traders and livestock herders, the arrival of international mountaineering expeditions since 1950 have made the Sherpas more actively involved in tourism.

Paraphrased from : http://www.south-asia.com/showcase/Tour