Tengboche in the context of "Ama Dablam"

The Sherpa people (Standard Tibetan: ཤར་པ།, romanized: shar pa) are a Tibetan ethnic group native to the mountainous regions of Nepal, India, and the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.Most Sherpas live in eastern Nepal: the provinces of Bagmati (mainly in the districts of Dolakha, Sindhupalchok and Rasuwa) and Koshi (mainly in the districts of Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha and Taplejung). Some live north of Kathmandu, in the Bigu and Helambu regions. They can also be found in Tingri County, Bhutan, and the Indian states of Sikkim and northern West Bengal (the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts). Sherpas establish monasteries known as gompas in these regions, where they follow their local traditions. Tengboche was the first celibate monastery in Solu-Khumbu.

The Sherpa language is part of the southern branch of the Tibeto-Burman languages, mixed with eastern (Khams Tibetan) and central Tibetan dialects. This language is separate from Lhasa Tibetan, and is unintelligible to Lhasa speakers.

Khumbu (also known as the Everest Region) is a region of northeastern Nepal on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest. It is part of the Solukhumbu District, which in turn is part of Koshi Pradesh. Khumbu is one of three subregions of the main kirat Rai (Khambu) and Sherpa settlement of the Himalaya, the other two being Solu and Pharak. It includes the town of Namche Bazaar as well as the villages of Thame, Khumjung, Pangboche, Pheriche and Kunde. The famous Buddhist monastery at Tengboche is also located in Khumbu.

Khumbu's elevation ranges from 3,300 metres (11,000 feet) to the 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft) summit of Mount Everest, the highest place on Earth. In total, Khumbu region has the population of 3,456 people with 912 houses (As per population census of 2011). Also, there are 347 registered hotel and tea houses in 13 villages of Khumbu. The Khumbu region includes both Sagarmatha National Park (above Monju) and the Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone, between Lukla and Monju.