Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch
April 28, 2010 – Our Hike to Pangboche
This is Leila Silveira reporting from Pangboche. Today was a long day with lots of ups and downs . The Tengboche hill itself is a 2000 feet/610 meter elevation gain. When we reached the top we came to the Tengboche Monastery, a cultural and religious centre for the region. When the weather is clear, the monastery is literally framed with a view of Everest in the background.
Tengboche monastery is also where the famous Mani Rimdu festival happens in the fall. Many families send their children to study here to learn Buddhism. They can’t get married during the time they are studying at the monastery but once they leave, they are free to marry.
The monastery was built in 1916 and has been through a few disasters, including an earthquake in 1934 and a big fire in 1989 in which the entire monastery was burned to the ground. Luckily the library was rescued and their book collection was saved.
After visiting the Tengboche monastery we made a quick stop at the Nunnery retirement home where we saw the room where a nun has been living since she was 24 years old and spent over 50 years without seeing a single person. Even her food was delivered discreetly. Eight years ago, at the age of 78, she was asked by the Tengboche Rinpoche to start allowing the locals to share her holiness. Since then she has occasionally appeared at her window and talked with the locals.
Tomorrow the team has a scheduled visit with Lama Geshe from the Pangboche monastery and one of the most well educated lamas in the region. We are all looking forward to that!