The Monastery at Tengboche

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Dingboche 4360m - Tengboche 3870m

Time taken: 2.5 hours

The route leading down from Dingboche is typical beautiful Nepali scenery and we have only seen part of the route before as we have ascended via Pheriche. Much of it is descent, on uneven stone steps which is quite tiring after a while but as we climb down each bend we are rewarded with spectacular views. We reach Tengboche late morning and far from being the freezing, windswept plateau we had encountered on the away up, it is a bright, sunny and mercifully flat town with an enviable backdrop of stunning peaks. The dazzling peak of Ama Dablam at 6812m, is the most beautiful. Ama Dablam means 'mother's necklace' as the unusual shape of the mountain is thought to look like the outstretched arms of a mother protecting her child. The lodge we stay in is located to just to the right of the shop, which is to the right of the bakery seen in the photo below. The teahouse we stay in has a problem with the chimney of it's main fire in the dining hall. It seems blocked so smoke is billowing back into the dining hall, about 20 people assemble to discuss the best way to sort the problem. As we sit drinking tea, Suriya looks on sceptically whilst the consensus seems to be to poke the pipe leading from the oven to the ceiling with a big stick. Something moves which sounds like a large bump on the roof and the problem seems to be temporarily fixed.

We grab some lunch in the form of fried rice and dhal bhat and head off to the monastery. We are shown round by a monk who tells us it was originally built in 1916 after a lama had a vision a monastery would be built there. An earthquake destroyed it in the 1930s and so it was rebuilt, only to be burnt down in 1989. However, it stands today in all its magnificence and is the site where the world famous Mani Rimdu festival of the Sherpa people is held. Inside the outer walls is the courtyard where the festival is held with seating up and around a central pole. Up some steps and through a large doorway is the gompa itself which is lavishly decorated in the usual Buddhist style. The platforms where the monks sit all have large warm looking woven cloaks on them and a large gong sits in the centre. The monk tells us this is a working living monastery, linked with it's sister monastery at Rongbuk on the north Tibetan side of Everest. There are over 50 monks housed in Tengboche monastery currently and I am told places are highly competitive and only open to those from the surrounding Khumbu regions.

After looking around the monastery we head around the town to the back where the porters lodges are and have several cups of tea listening to the radio. The music is starting to sound familiar now. I'm told to head back to the monastery for 3pm to see the monk's meditation. When I do I find literally every tourist/trekker in Tengboche has done the same, there must be 40-50 trekkers to only about 12 monks! We are shown to carpets at the sides where we sit crossed legged and await the monks. They come in smiling shyly and take their seats on the platforms, drawing their extra cloaks around their deep maroon ones. One smaller, younger monk pours them all steaming cups of tea and then takes his position near the gong. Once it is sounded there is silence and then slowly adding from one voice to many, the low hum of the mantras begin with strangely rhythmic pauses. Sometimes there are no pauses as the voices take breaks for breathing in between the others. The word 'drone' sounds unpleasant and the overall effect is far from unpleasant, the best word I can use to describe the sound is monotone but you really have to hear it to understand it's nature. The chanting goes on continuously for approximately 15 minutes and during this time the trekkers fidget with their weary legs, the monks breath and tea steams in front of them and the guides watch the tourists like concerned school teachers during a class outing. It was all rather strange but interesting nonetheless.

As I leave the monastery for the second time that day, the clouds have rolled in and are now obscuring the peaks including Ama Dablam which we could see when we arrived. I head back quickly across the now cold, windy plateau for the teahouse. It has the typical hanging curtains of sherpa houses and when I lift the front door curtain, thick smoke billows out again. It is warm but so smoky my eyes sting. We settle at the tables for dinner alongside several other small groups of trekkers and guides but it just gets worse. We manage to stick it out until dinner but then it gets too much and everyone is heading outside periodically for some fresh air, before getting bitterly cold and heading back inside out of the biting wind! I give up and head to bed early to the sounds of repeated coughing thoughout the night. Come the morning, when I crawl out of my sleeping bag, Suriya tells me the owners also own the bakery next door so breakfast is held there instead. This has the advantage of expanding the menu to various cakes and pastries which is a welcome change from porridge and pancakes so I have a large cinnamon whirl pastry and tea before we head off! Every cloud has a silver lining it seems!

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Photos

Tengboche
Our lodge was just on the right of the bakery