Khumbila or Khumbu Yül-Lha, roughly translated as "God of Khumbu" is one of the high Himalayan peaks in the

Khumbu Khumbu (also known as the Everest Region) is a region of northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of Province No. 1.Bradley, Mayhew; "Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya"; ( ...

region of Eastern

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

within the boundaries of

Sagarmatha National Park Sagarmāthā National Park is a national park in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal that is dominated by Mount Everest. It encompasses an area of in the Solukhumbu District and ranges in elevation from at the summit of Mount Everest. In the north, ...

. Considered too sacred to be climbed by most local

Sherpa Sherpa may refer to: Ethnography * Sherpa people, an ethnic group in north eastern Nepal * Sherpa language Organizations and companies * Sherpa (association), a French network of jurists dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility * ...

people, the mountain is considered home to the patron God of the local area.Bjønness, Ing-Marie "Mountain Hazard Perception and Risk-Avoiding Strategies among the Sherpa of Khumbu Himal, Nepal" in ''Mountain Research and Development'' Vol. 6, No. 4 (Nov., 1986), pp. 277-292 Rising 5,761m above sea level, the mountain overlooks the famous southern approaches to its larger neighbours including

Ama Dablam Ama Dablam is a mountain in the eastern Himalayan range of Province No. 1, Nepal. The main peak is , the lower western peak is . Ama Dablam means "Mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (''ama'') protecting her ...

and

Mount Everest Mount Everest (; Tibetic languages, Tibetan: ''Chomolungma'' ; ) is List of highest mountains on Earth, Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border ru ...

. Khumbila has never been climbed; one attempt prior to the 1980s ended when climbers were killed in an avalanche, and there have been no subsequent attempts.

Religious importance

Khumbila is said to be a god, and an old one. The prayers for Khumbila are believed to date back to the time when the ancestors of the Sherpas were still in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

(more than 500 years ago). Khumbila is said to have been subdued and converted to Buddhism by

Guru Rimpoche Padmasambhava ("Born from a Lotus"), also known as Guru Rinpoche (Precious Guru) and the Lotus from Oḍḍiyāna, was a tantric Buddhist Vajra master from India who may have taught Vajrayana in Tibet (circa 8th – 9th centuries)... According ...

, the 8th-century saint who spread Buddhism throughout the Himalaya. In fact, Guru Rimpoche is said to have spent some time meditating in a cave above Khunde, perhaps on the mountain Khumbila itself. Local buildings often have

prayer flag A Tibetan prayer flag is a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. They are used to bless the surrounding countryside and for other purposes. Prayer flags are believed to have originated withi ...

s on bamboo wands to honour Khumbila. File:Khumbila 1.JPG, Khumbila from south File:Khumbila 2.JPG, Khumbila above the Khumjung and Kunde villages File:Khumbila 3.JPG, Khumbila from the east

References

Khumbila Five-thousanders of the Himalayas k {{Nepal-mountain-stub