In 1961 Sir Edmund Hillary asked the Sherpa people of the Khumbu what he could do to thank them for their help on Everest. The answer, from a village elder, became famous: “Our children have eyes, but they cannot see.” They wanted a school. The result was the Khumjung School, known everywhere as the Hillary School, the first school in the Everest region. It still stands in the Sherpa village of Khumjung at about 3,790 metres, a short walk above Namche Bazaar.

Hillary School at a glance

• Official name: Khumjung School (Khumjung Secondary School)
• Opened: 1961
• Founder: Sir Edmund Hillary, through the Himalayan Trust
• Altitude: about 3,790 m (12,430 ft)
• Location: Khumjung village, above Namche Bazaar
• Today: educates hundreds of children from across the Khumbu, from primary to higher secondary level
• Nearby: Khumjung Monastery, Khunde and Hotel Everest View

The story of the Hillary School

Eight years after climbing Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, Hillary was back in the Khumbu with the Silver Hut scientific expedition. He and his team built a simple aluminium schoolhouse in Khumjung, flying materials in and carrying them up from the valley. The school opened with a single classroom and a handful of pupils. It was the start of a lifetime of work: the Himalayan Trust, founded in 1960, went on to build dozens of schools, Khunde Hospital, health posts, bridges and the airstrip at Lukla.

Many of the Khumbu’s doctors, teachers, pilots, lodge owners and mountain guides learned to read and write at Khumjung. The school changed the region’s future, and Hillary is still remembered with great affection here. You will see his photograph in lodges all along the trail.

Visiting the school respectfully

• The Hillary School is a working school, not a tourist attraction. View it from the outside unless you are invited in.
• Do not enter classrooms or photograph children without permission from a teacher.
• Do not hand out sweets, pens or money to children; it encourages begging.
• If you want to help, donate through the school office or the Himalayan Trust rather than to individuals.
• School holidays fall in winter, so in December to February the school may be closed.

How to get to the Hillary School

From Namche Bazaar it is about 1.5 to 2 hours’ walk uphill. The most popular route goes via the Syangboche airstrip and Hotel Everest View, then drops into Khumjung, where the school stands at the top of the village. Combine it with the monastery and its yeti scalp, and return to Namche by the direct trail for a 4 to 5 hour acclimatisation loop.

The Hillary School on the 14-day Everest Base Camp Trek

On Day 4, the acclimatisation day in Namche, your guide can include Khumjung and the Hillary School on the walk to Hotel Everest View. It is one of the most meaningful places on the Everest Base Camp Trek, a reminder that the story of Everest is also the story of the Sherpa people.