Tengboche is perched on a ridge and ringed by spectacular peaks; its monastery, through which we think the E-line passes, is the cultural and religious centre of the Khumbu region, under the leadership of its abbot, the Tengboche Rinpoche. It is also the largest monastery in the region. It was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1989 but rebuilt on the same site in the same style.
This is the place where Edmund Hillary had his first base camp for the ascent of Everest in 1953.
