The Top of the World

As the evening twilight develops in the World Heritage Sagarmatha National Park of Nepal, spectacular view of Himalaya under the starry sky emerges. On the left stars of Auriga rise over Mt. Everest, the top of the world. The scene was recorded in late November from altitude of 3600 meters near Namche Bazaar, Nepal, gateway to the Himalayan mountain range. While the red lights of deep twilight still visible on the high peaks, moonlight illuminates the landscape, from Everest (8848 meters), to Lhotse (the world’s 4th highest at 8516 meters), and the outstanding Ama Dablam (6812 m) at right, where the Pleiades or the Seven Sister Star Cluster, rises in the autumn sky. A stupa (a Buddhist religious monument) is also visible in the foreground, along the main trail to the Everest Base Camp. The light in the valley is from the Tengboche Monastery, an important religious center for Sherpa community, which is also along the trail at about 4000 meters. Sagarmatha National Park contains a magnificent part of Himalayas and the southern half of Mount Everest. In fact the park varies in altitude from lowest point of 2845 m to 8848 m at the summit of Everest. Sagarmatha is a Sanskrit word, from sagar = “sky” and māthā = “head”.