Himalayan Leaders offer a trek that includes the Mani Rimdu festival. This hike is for people who want to learn about the culture of Nepal. We start our climb after a 45-minute flight from Kathmandu. We spent many days in the mountains before we got to Tengboche for the festival. The noise is louder by the mountain air.
The conversation breaks down, and everyone looks at the entrance to the temple, where a line of solemn-faced monks is coming out. First, they put on orange silk robes and yellow crescent-shaped hats that looked like they might fall off. After that, they carry a variety of instruments, such as bugles made from human bones, giant conch shells, and long brass horns.
But in the area, the horns are called dun Chen because they make deep, hoarse sounds that announce the festival. Every year, the monks of Tengboche Monastery in the Khumbu area of Nepal put on this Buddhist Dance Drama. The temple, or gompa, inside the monastery is where these high-altitude events take place. This place is on a large plateau that is almost 4,000 meters above sea level. Some of the tallest mountains in the world are on top of the gompa. Like Thamserku (6608m), Kangteiga (6779m), and Taboche (6542m), the top of Mount Everest (8848m) can be seen above the Lhotse-Nuptse Wall. It is about two kilometers away.
About 36 monks and 25 students live in Tengboche Gompa. The Abbot Ngawang Tenzin Zangbu is in charge of this group. In the same way, the Abbot lived in Namche Bazaar when he was young. In the Khumbu Valley, Namche Bazaar is a busy place to buy and sell things. When he was a small child, he said he wanted to go back to his home in Tengboche. A wish that came at the same time as the death of the last Abbot, Lama Gulu. It thinks that the child could be the Lama coming back to life.
Also, monks from Tengboche brought a lot of things to Namche Bazaar to test him. Then, he chose all of the ones that had been Lama Gulu’s. Since he was five years old, he has been raised at Tengboche as the Reincarnate and Guru Rinpoche of the monastery.
The name Tengboche means “sacred bowl,” and the view from the gompa is of a clearing surrounded by dwarf firs and rhododendrons. Mani Rimdu is a festival that lasts for three days. It takes place right after the full moon in October. So, both Sherpas and tourists go to the scene to have fun and learn about the basics of Buddhism, which is an act that the Sherpas of Nepal started. The trek is a lasting experience of beautiful nature, amazing geology, and deep cross-cultural discovery.
Also, the Sherpa people who live in Khumbu, the big valley below Mount Everest, think that everything is holy, including mountains, plants, and animals. After seeing the festival for three days in Tengboche, we fly back to Kathmandu. Please keep in mind that there are several options for these Mani Rimdu festival treks.
