After the 1953 ascent of Everest, Edmund Hillary asked Sherpas what he could do in return. The answer, by his own account, was a school. In 1961 Khumjung School opened with a single small building and a few dozen pupils, funded by the newly formed Himalayan Trust. Today the school campus has classrooms, a library and a playing field and teaches several hundred children from Khumjung, Kunde, Namche and further afield, up to grade 12. A statue of Hillary stands in the courtyard.
Visitors can walk around the outside of the school and look in from the gate, but classes are in session most days, so please do not enter buildings or photograph children without permission. If you want to support education in the Khumbu, the school and the Himalayan Trust accept donations through official channels rather than cash handed to pupils. Sweets and pens handed out on the trail encourage begging and are better not given.
From the school, a level path crosses walled fields west to Kunde, about 20 minutes away. Kunde Hospital, built by Hillary's trust in 1966, still provides care for villagers and trekkers. Walk through Kunde past its chortens, then climb gently back to the Syangboche ridge and descend to Namche. The full loop with Hotel Everest View takes about 4–5 hours and gives a rounded picture of Sherpa village life above the trekking trail.
Good for
- Families
- Seniors
- Groups
- First-timers
Questions travellers ask
Can tourists visit Khumjung School?
You can see it from outside and walk along the boundary, but it is a working school. Do not enter classrooms or photograph children without permission. Weekends (Saturday in Nepal) and holidays are quieter. Donations should go through the school office or the Himalayan Trust.
When did Edmund Hillary build Khumjung School?
Khumjung School opened in 1961, the first project of the Himalayan Trust that Hillary founded. It was followed by more schools across the Khumbu and Solu, Kunde Hospital in 1966 and the Lukla airstrip in 1964.
Should I bring gifts for children in Khumjung?
Please do not hand out sweets, pens or money to children on the trail, as it encourages begging and dental problems. If you want to help, donate to the school or to established organisations working in the Khumbu.
