Solukhumbu District

Solukhumbu District

सोलुखुम्बु जिल्ला
Solukhumbu District सोलुखुम्बु जिल्ला
District
	View of Mount Everest from Kala Patthar
	Nickname: Khumbu
	Location of Solukhumbu
	Divisions of Solukhumbu District
	Coordinates: 27°20′39″N 86°0′21″E / 27.34417°N 86.00583°E to 28°6′24″N 87°0′1″E / 28.10667°N 87.00028°E
Country	Nepal
Province	Koshi Province
Established	1962
Admin HQ.	Salleri
Municipality	List Urban; Dudhkunda; Rural; Thulung Dudhkoshi; Necha Salyan; Dudhkoshi; Maha Kulung; Sotang; Khumbu Pasanglhamu; Likhu Pike;
Government
• Type	Coordination committee
• Body	DCC, Solukhumbu
• Head	Bir Kumar Rai (NCP)
• Parliamentary constituencies	1
• Provincial constituencies	2
• Chief District Officer	Anoj Kumar Ghimire
Area
• Total	3,312 km2 (1,279 sq mi)
Highest elevation	8,848 m (29,029 ft)
Lowest elevation	600 m (2,000 ft)
Population (2021)
• Total	104,768
• Density	32/km2 (82/sq mi)
• Households	23,758
Demographics
• Ethnic groups	Rai; Sherpa; Chhetri; Tamang; Kulung Rai; Kami; Magar; Bahun; Nachhiring Rai; Newar; Damai; Thulung Rai;
• Female ♀	52%
Human Development Index
• Income per capita (US dollars)	$1,841 per capita
• Poverty rate	25.7
• Literacy	64%
• Life Expectancy	68.8
Time zone	UTC+05:45 (NPT)
Postal Codes	56000..., 56010
Telephone Code	38
Website	ddcsolukhumbu.gov.np

Solukhumbu District (Nepali: सोलुखुम्बु जिल्ला [solukʰumbu] ^ⓘ, Sherpa: ཤར་ཁུམ་བུ་རྫོང་།, Wylie: shar khum bu dzong) is one of 14 districts of Koshi Province of eastern Nepal. As the name suggests, it consists of the sub-regions Solu and Khumbu. The closest post office to Solukhumbu with a postal code assigned to it is the Sindhuli D.P.O., which has the postal code 56000.

The district, with Salleri as its headquarters, covers an area of 3,312 km² (1,279 sq mi) and had a population 107,686 in 2001 and 105,886 in 2011.^[3]

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).^[4]

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.^[5]

The Solukhumbu district was established in 1962,^[6] out of the old East No. 3 district. Before 1962, present-day Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga and some parts of Khotang previously constitute district "East No. 3".^[7] Solu and Rawa thums (counties) were carved out of East No. 3 to create Solukhumbu District.

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

Geography

Solukhumbu is one of three Himalayan districts within Province No. 1, positioned on the west-by-northwestern corner of the province. It spans a total area of 3,312 square kilometres (1,279 sq mi). It is geographically situated between latitudes 27°20'39" and 28°6'24" North, and longitudes 86°0'21" and 87°0'1" East. Its north border includes the world's highest peak 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) (Mount Everest); and the district's lowest point is at 600 metres (2,000 ft) (Tuintar) above sea level. The district is bordered by Sankhuwasabha in the east, Bhojpur in the south-east, Khotang and Okhaldhunga in the south, Bagmati Province in the west and Tibet (China) in the north.^[4]

The diverse geography of Solukhumbu district is marked by three distinct levels:

Khumbu Himal (Highland mountains)

This region is home to the Mahalangur Himal and other Himalayan mountain ranges. Situated on the northern border with Tibet, it hosts some of the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest (8,848m), Lhotse (8,516m), Makalu (8,485m), Cho Oyu (8,201m), Gyachung Kang (7,952m), among others.

Khumbu region (Highland valley)

Known globally for its trekking and hiking opportunities, the highland Khumbu valley is predominantly inhabited by the Kulung and Sherpa communities. The administrative division of Khumbu Pasanglhamu is located in this region, encompassing the roadless town of Namche Bazaar and villages such as Thame, Khumjung, Pangboche, Pheriche and Kunde. The renowned Buddhist monastery at Tengboche also falls within the Khumbu region.^[8]

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.

Climate

Climate Zone^[9]	Elevation Range	% of Area
Upper Tropical	300 to 1,000 meters 1,000 to 3,300 ft.	0.7%
Subtropical	1,000 to 2,000 meters 3,300 to 6,600 ft.	9.3%
Temperate	2,000 to 3,000 meters 6,400 to 9,800 ft.	20.6%
Subalpine	3,000 to 4,000 meters 9,800 to 13,100 ft.	16.6%
Alpine	4,000 to 5,000 meters 13,100 to 16,400 ft.	28.3%
Nival	above 5,000 meters	24.4%

Climate data for Salleri
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	23.1 (73.6)	25.8 (78.4)	31.0 (87.8)	35.1 (95.2)	35.0 (95.0)	34.9 (94.8)	32.5 (90.5)	32.8 (91.0)	32.5 (90.5)	31.6 (88.9)	29.0 (84.2)	24.8 (76.6)	30.7 (87.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	9.2 (48.6)	11.0 (51.8)	15.1 (59.2)	19.4 (66.9)	21.2 (70.2)	22.9 (73.2)	23.8 (74.8)	24.2 (75.6)	23.8 (74.8)	21.2 (70.2)	15.8 (60.4)	10.6 (51.1)	18.2 (64.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	1 (0.0)	1 (0.0)	1 (0.0)	2 (0.1)	4 (0.2)	7 (0.3)	16 (0.6)	12 (0.5)	10 (0.4)	3 (0.1)	0 (0)	1 (0.0)	58 (2.2)
Source: www.yr.no^[10]

Climate data for Syangboche
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	3.8 (38.8)	4.3 (39.7)	8 (46)	11.7 (53.1)	13.3 (55.9)	14.4 (57.9)	14.2 (57.6)	14.2 (57.6)	13.1 (55.6)	11.6 (52.9)	7.9 (46.2)	5.7 (42.3)	10.2 (50.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−8.9 (16.0)	−8 (18)	−4.7 (23.5)	−2.4 (27.7)	0.2 (32.4)	4.1 (39.4)	5.3 (41.5)	4.7 (40.5)	3.4 (38.1)	−0.5 (31.1)	−5.5 (22.1)	−7.1 (19.2)	−1.6 (29.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	13 (0.5)	17 (0.7)	25 (1.0)	28 (1.1)	38 (1.5)	131 (5.2)	221 (8.7)	206 (8.1)	128 (5.0)	54 (2.1)	5 (0.2)	6 (0.2)	872 (34.3)
Source: www.climate-data.org^[11]

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.

Local units	Nepali	Type	Population (2011)	Area KM²	Website
Solududhkunda	सोलुदूधकुण्ड	urban	20,399	538.09	solududhkundamun.gov.np
Dudhakaushika	दूधकौशिका	rural	19,672	144.6	dudhkaushikamun.gov.np
Necha Salyan	नेचा सल्यान	rural	16,129	94.49	nechasalyanmun.gov.np
Dudhkoshi	दुधकोसी	rural	13,414	167.67	dudhkoshimun.gov.np
Maha Kulung	महाकुलूङ्ग	rural	11,452	648.05	mahakulungmun.gov.np
Sotang	सोतांग	rural	9,530	103	sotangmun.gov.np
Likhu Pike	लिखु पीके	rural	5,534	124.38	likhupikemun.gov.np
Khumbu Pasanglhamu	खुम्बु पासाङल्हामु	rural	8,989	1539.11	khumbupasanglhamumun.gov.np

^[12]

Constituency	Type	MP/MLA
Solukhumbu 1	Parliamentary	Hem Kumar Rai	Nepal Communist Party
Solukhumbu 1(A)	Provincial	Uttam Kumar Basnet	Nepal Communist Party
Solukhumbu 1(B)	Provincial	Buddhi Kumar Rajbhandari	Nepal Communist Party

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:^[13]

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1981	88,245	—
1991	97,200	+0.97%
2001	107,686	+1.03%
2011	105,886	−0.17%
2021	104,768	−0.11%
Sources:^[2]

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, Solukhumbu District had a population of 105,886.

language in Solukhumbu District

Nepali (37%)

Sherpa (17%)

Tamang (9%)

Kulung (9%)

Thulung (9%)

Khaling (9%)

Others (19%)

As their first language, 36.7% spoke Nepali, 16.7% Sherpa, 9.4% Tamang, 9.2% Kulung, 8.8% Thulung, 8.5% Khaling, 3.8% Nachhiring, 2.4% Bahing, 1.5% Magar, 0.7% Maithili, 0.6% Newar, 0.4% Rai, 0.2% Sunuwar, 0.1% Bhujel, 0.1% Gurung, 0.1% Tharu, 0.1% Tibetan and 0.4% other languages.^[14]

Castes/ethnic groups in Solukhumbu district (2011)^[1]

Rai (19.61%)

Sherpa (16.71%)

Chhetri (15.06%)

Tamang (9.90%)

Kulung Rai (8.90%)

Kami (5.59%)

Magar (4.91%)

Bahun (4.62%)

Nachhiring Rai (3.49%)

Newar (2.45%)

Bhujel (1.86%)

Damai (1.50%)

Thulung Rai (1.02%)

Other Janajati (1.70%)

Other Khas (1.27%)

Other (1.41%)

Ethnicity/caste: 19.7% were Rai, 16.6% Sherpa, 15.0% Chhetri, 9.9% Tamang, 8.9% Kulung, 5.6% Kami, 4.9% Magar, 4.6% Hill Brahmin, 3.5% Nachhiring, 2.4% Newar, 1.9% Gharti/Bhujel, 1.5% Damai/Dholi, 1.0% Thulung, 0.7% Gurung, 0.7% Sanyasi/Dasnami, 0.5% Sarki, 0.3% Kalar, 0.3% Khaling, 0.3% Sunuwar, 0.1% Badi, 0.1% Bahing, 0.1% Hajam/Thakur, 0.1% Koiri/Kushwaha, 0.1% Majhi, 0.1% Tharu and 0.5% others.^[15]

Religion in Solukhumbu district (2011)^[16]

Hinduism			40.20%
Kirat Mundhum			30.16%
Buddhism			27.15%
Others			2.33%

Religion: 40.2% were Hindu, 30.2% Kirati, 27.2% Buddhist, 2.2% Christian, 0.1% Prakriti and 0.2% others.^[17]

Literacy: 64.0% could read and write, 3.2% could only read and 32.8% could neither read nor write.^[18]

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
Kami Rita Sherpa - A 28th times Everest summiter on 23 May 2023, breaking his own record set on 17 May 2023.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "NepalMap profile: Bhojpur".
^ ^a ^b "Nepal: Provinces and Districts". www.citypopulation.de.
^ "Districts of Nepal". Statoids.
^ ^a ^b Driem, George van (1993). A grammar of Dumi. ISBN 9783110123517. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
^ Chemjong, Imanshing (15 April 2014). Kirat history and culture. Retrieved 30 March 2020. The fort of Hatuwa Chaudandi of Majh kirat was occupied by the Gorkha force on the fourth day of Srawan in the year 1830 Bikram Sambat which corresponds to 1773 AD.
^ "A Guide to Government in Nepal" (PDF). Retrieved 30 March 2020. In 1961, the country was demarcated into 14 administrative zones with each zone headed by a zone commissioner, a royal appointee whose function, among others, was to assist the palace secretariat in suppressing political opposition. In the districts, now increased in number to 75 from 35, district panchayats were established by amalgamating the former village development blocks, and village and nagar (town) panchayats were also established.
^ "Brief introduction of Okhaldhunga". DCC Okhaldhunga. Retrieved 30 March 2020. Okhaldhunga along with Khotang and Solukhumbu were combined to form East No.3 area among the 32 districts of administrative division of Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa recently after the unification campaign of His Majesty the King Prithvi Narayan Shah. At that time the headquarter of East No.3 area was Okhaldhunga as of today.
^ Bonington, Chris; Everest, The Hard Way; (1977); pp 72-75; Arrow Books editions; ISBN 0-09-915940-6.
^ The Map of Potential Vegetation of Nepal - a forestry/agroecological/biodiversity classification system (PDF), Forest & Landscape Development and Environment Series 2-2005 and CFC-TIS Document Series No.110., 2005, ISBN 87-7903-210-9, retrieved Nov 22, 2013
^ "Climatological Data for Selected Trekking Towns". www.yr.no. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^ "Climatological Data for Selected Trekking Towns". www.en.climate-data.org. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
^ "हेर्नुस तपाई कुन गाउँपालिका वा नगरपालिकामा पर्नुभयो ?". nepalipatra.com. Retrieved Jun 11, 2017.
^ "Digital Himalaya: Nepal Census 2001". digitalhimalaya.com. Retrieved Jun 11, 2017.
^ NepalMap Language
^ NepalMap Caste
^ "C-1 Population By Religious Community" (PDF).
^ NepalMap Religion
^ NepalMap Literacy