Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar
नाम्चे बजार
Village Development Committee
Namche Bazaar

Location in Nepal

Coordinates: 27°49′N 86°43′E / 27.817°N 86.717°E / 27.817; 86.717Coordinates: 27°49′N 86°43′E / 27.817°N 86.717°E / 27.817; 86.717
Country Nepal
Zone Sagarmatha Zone
District Solukhumbu District
Elevation 3,440 m (11,290 ft)
Population (1991)
 • Total 1,647
Time zone NST (UTC+5:45)
Postal code 56002
Area code(s) 038

Namche Bazaar (also Nemche Bazaar or Namche Baza; Nepali: नाम्चे बजार listen ) is a village and Village Development Committee (Namche) in Solukhumbu District in the Sagarmatha Zone of north-eastern Nepal. It is located within the Khumbu area at 3,440 metres (11,286 ft) at its low point, populating the sides of a hill. Most Sherpa who are in the tourism business are specifically from the Namche area. Namche is the main trading center and hub for the Khumbu region with many Nepalese officials, a police check, post and a bank. Namche is the most expensive place in Nepal, at least thrice as expensive as the capital city Kathmandu.

At the time of the 2001 Nepal census, it had a population of 1647 people residing in 397 individual households.[1]

Geography

Immediately west of Namche is Kongde Ri at 6,187 metres (20,299 ft) and to the east is Thamserku at 6,623 metres (21,729 ft).

Transport

On a hill overlooking Namche Bazaar is the Syangboche Airport (3,750 m / 12,303 ft). It is no longer used for passenger flights. Russian helicopters make occasional cargo flights. Nearest open airport is Tenzing–Hillary Airport, located 13 km south to the Namche.

Tourism

Namche Bazaar is popular with trekkers in the Khumbu region, especially for altitude acclimatization, and is the gateway to the high Himalaya. The town has a number of lodgings and stores catering to the needs of visitors as well as a number of internet cafés.

On Saturday mornings, a weekly market is held in the center of the village. There may also be a daily Tibetan market where clothing and cheap Chinese consumer goods tend to be the main articles for sale.

Namche has electricity from nearby Thame-Namche small hydropower plant (600 kW), opened in October 1995 near Thame.[2][3][4][5]

Climate

Namche has cool, wet summers and chilly, dry winters mainly affected by its altitude and the summer monsoon season. The average precipitation is 1110mm and has an average temperature of 6.1 celsius.

Climate data for Namche Bazaar
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 7
(45)		 6
(43)		 9
(48)		 12
(54)		 14
(57)		 15
(59)		 16
(61)		 16
(61)		 15
(59)		 12
(54)		 9
(48)		 7
(45)		 11.5
(52.8)
Average low °C (°F) −8
(18)		 −6
(21)		 −3
(27)		 1
(34)		 4
(39)		 6
(43)		 8
(46)		 8
(46)		 6
(43)		 2
(36)		 −3
(27)		 −6
(21)		 0.8
(33.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 26
(1.02)		 23
(0.91)		 34
(1.34)		 26
(1.02)		 41
(1.61)		 140
(5.51)		 243
(9.57)		 243
(9.57)		 165
(6.5)		 78
(3.07)		 9
(0.35)		 39
(1.54)		 1,067
(42.01)
Source: thamel.com[6]

Pop culture references

"Namche Bazaar" is the name of a song by Nathan Rogers on his album The Gauntlet. The song was inspired by the mixing of culture along the silk road.

References

  1. ↑ "Nepal Census 2001". Nepal's Village Development Committees. Digital Himalaya. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  2. ↑ SMALL HYDROPOWER PLANT NAMCHE BAZAR, Posch & Partner GmbH "Project period: 1985 - 1993"
  3. ↑ Kleinwasserkraftwerk Thame - Namche Bazar im Sagarmatha Nationalpark
  4. ↑ Khumbu Bijuli Company
  5. ↑ Small Hydropower Plant Thame-Namche Bazar, Nepal / Energy from the top of the world. Austrian Development Co-operation, ed. Dieter Rachbauer, Eco Himal, 2001
  6. ↑ "Climatological Data for Selected Trekking Towns". thamel.com. Retrieved November 13, 2003.
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