Solu Khumbu

Solukhumbu District ( ne, सोलुखुम्बु जिल्ला , Sherpa: , Wylie: shar khum bu dzong) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. As the name suggests, it consists of the subregions Solu and Khumbu.

The district, with Salleri as its headquarters, covers an area of and had a population 107,686 in 2001 and 105,886 in 2011.

Mount Everest is in the northern part of this district, within Sagarmatha National Park.

History

Historically, Solukhumbu was part of Kirata Kingdoms in early and medieval era. It was a part of Majh Kirat Khambuwan (central province or region of Kirat Kingdoms).

Before the unification of Nepal by king of Gorkha, what is now Solukhumbu district was part of Chaudandi of Majh Kirat (Khambuwan). In 1773 AD the King of Gorkha attacked and absorbed it into Nepal.

The Solukhumbu district was established in 1962 carving out the old East No. 3 district. Before 1962 present Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga and some parts of Khotang previously were one district "East No. 3". Solu and Rawa thums (counties) were carved out from East No. 3 to create Solukhumbu District.

East No. 3.png, East No. 3, a district of Nepal before 1962.
NepalSolukhumbuDistrictmap.png, VDCs of Solukhumbu before 2015.

Geography and climate

Solukhumbu is a Himalayan district of Province No. 1 of Nepal, situated on the north-west corner of the province. It is one of three Himalayan districts of Province No. 1. The total area of the district is . It is situated between Lat. 27°20'39" to 28°6'24" North and Long. 86°0'21" to 87°0'1" East. The highest elevation of the district is ( Mount Everest) and the lowest elevation is (Tuintar) above sea level. The district is surrounded by Sankhuwasabha in east, Bhojpur in south-east, Khotang and Okhaldhunga in south, Bagmati Province in west and Tibet (China) in north.

The extremely diverse geography of Solukhumbu district can be categorized in three levels:

Khumbu Himal (Highland mountains)

Mahalangur and other Himalayan mountain ranges are located in this section. This section is located on the northern border with Tibet. Mount Everest (8,848m), Lhotse (8,516m), Makalu (8,485m), Cho Oyu (8,201m), Gyachung Kang (7,952m) etc. are some of the world's highest mountains in this range.

Khumbu region (Highland valley)

Khumbu valley is the highland region which is famous worldwide for trekking and hiking. Kulung and Sherpa are the main inhabitants in this region. Khumbu Pasanglhamu is the administrative division in this region. It includes the town of Namche Bazaar as well as the villages of Thame, Khumjung, Pangboche, Pheriche and Kunde. The famous Buddhist monastery at Tengboche is also located in the Khumbu.Bonington, Chris; Everest, The Hard Way; (1977); pp 72-75; Arrow Books editions; .

Solu region (Mid-hills)

Lower Solukhumbu (lower parts of Solukhumbu District) is part of the Mid-hills region. It is less famous for trekking, however new trails such as the Mundhum trail are being developed. Rais are the main inhabitants in this region.

Administrative divisions

Solukhumbu is divided into 8 local level units, 1 unit is urban and 7 are rural. They are further divided into wards. Solukhumbu is single-seat constituency for parliamentary constituency and double seat for provincial constituency. Solukhumbu district coordination committee coordinates between local and provincial governments. Solukhumbu district administration office co-operates with Solukhumbu DCC to maintain peace, order and security in the district. The officer of District Administration office called CDO.

Former divisions (1990–2016)

Formerly, Solukhumbu district was divided into many Village development committees. In 2014 Dudhkunda municipality was established merging some Village development committees. In 2016 all other Village development committee nullified and introduced rural municipality thus all former Village development committees grouped into 7 units and announced 7 rural municipality.

There were 35 Village Development Committees in Solukhumbu District:

Demographics

Total population of Solukhumbu district according to the (2011 Nepal census) is 105,886 individuals living in 23,758 households, in which 54686 (51.7%) are female.

19.6% of the population was Rai, 16.7% Sherpa, 15.1% Chhetri, 9.9% Tamang, 8.9% Kulung, 5.6% Kami, 4.9% Magar, 4.6% Bahun, 3.5% Nachhiring, 2.4% Newar, 1.9% Bhujel, 1.5% Damai and 1% Thulung.

Languages

According to the (2011 Nepal census), 37% of the population in the district spoke Nepali, 17% Sherpa, 9% Tamang, 9% Kulung, 9% Thulung, 9% Kaling, and 19% spoke other languages as their first language.

Notable people

* Tenzing Norgay- First ascent of Mount Everest
* Pasang Lhamu Sherpa - First Nepalese female ascent
* Babu Chiri Sherpa - 10 times ascent Mount Everest
* Ang Dorje Sherpa - 19 times ascent Mount Everest
* Apa Sherpa - 21 times ascent Mount Everest
* Nawang Sherpa - First person to climb Mount Everest with a prosthetic leg

See also

* Zones of Nepal

References

{{Coord, 27, 30, N, 86, 35, E, type:adm2nd_region:NP_source:enwiki, display=title

Districts of Nepal established in 1962
Districts of Province No. 1
Tibetan Buddhist places