Namche Bazaar

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

[edit] 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, stores and internet cafés catering to the needs of visitors. There are German bakeries, little cafes and many restaurants. There is also an Irish pub, said to be the highest and most remote Irish pub in the world. A popular local meal is yak steak. On Saturday mornings, a weekly market is held in the centre of the town. There may also be a daily Tibet market where clothing and cheap Chinese consumer goods tend to be the main articles for sale. Namche has electricity from the nearby Thame-Namche hydropower plant (600 kW), opened in October 1995 near Thame.

[edit] Namche has either a relatively cold dry-winter subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification Cwb) or an unusually mild dry-winter warm-summer humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dwb), depending on if you use the 0 °C (32 °F) isotherm or the −3 °C (26.6 °F) isotherm. The town features pleasant, wet summers and chilly, dry winters mainly affected by its altitude and the summer monsoon season. The average precipitation is 1,110 millimetres or 44 inches, and the average temperature is 6.1 °C or 43.0 °F. Climate data for Namche Bazaar, elevation 3,450 m (11,320 ft) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.9(44.4) 6.4(43.5) 9.6(49.3) 12.8(55.0) 14.3(57.7) 15.6(60.1) 15.8(60.4) 16.2(61.2) 14.6(58.3) 12.5(54.5) 9.1(48.4) 7.6(45.7) 11.8(53.2) Daily mean °C (°F) −0.9(30.4) 0.0(32.0) 3.2(37.8) 6.8(44.2) 9.0(48.2) 10.6(51.1) 11.8(53.2) 11.8(53.2) 10.3(50.5) 6.9(44.4) 2.7(36.9) 0.3(32.5) 6.0(42.9) Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −8.5(16.7) −6.5(20.3) −3.0(26.6) 0.8(33.4) 3.7(38.7) 5.9(42.6) 7.8(46.0) 7.5(45.5) 5.9(42.6) 1.2(34.2) −3.8(25.2) −7.1(19.2) 0.3(32.6) Average precipitation mm (inches) 43(1.7) 20(0.8) 31(1.2) 26(1.0) 39(1.5) 129(5.1) 226(8.9) 206(8.1) 140(5.5) 57(2.2) 11(0.4) 24(0.9) 952(37.3) Source: FAO

[edit] "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.