Sagarmatha National Park extends over an area of 1,148 square kilometers of the Himalayan ecological zone in Khumbu region of Nepal. The Park includes the upper catchments areas of the Dudhkoshi and Bhotehoshi Rivers and is largely composed of rugged terrain and gorges of the high Himalayas, ranging from 2,845m at Monjo to the top of the world's highest peak- Sagarmatha at 8,848m above the sea level. Other peaks above 6,000m are Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Thamserku, Nuptse, Amadablam and Pumori. For its superlative natural characteristics, UNESCO has enlisted SNP as a World Heritage Site in 1979.
The Park’s core area covers the upper headwaters of the Bhote Kosi, Dudh Kosi and Imja Khola rivers which fan out under the crest of the Himalaya Mountains on the Tibetan border and meet near the area’s main settlement, Namche Bazar. The buffer area reaches down the Dodh Kosi valley to Lukla 18 km south of Namche. The Park is enclosed by high mountain ranges and lies over extremely rugged terrain, deeply incised valleys and glaciers culminating in Sagarmatha / Mt.Everest, the world’s highest mountain. The catchments are ringed by 25 or more peaks over 6,000m, and seven - Baruntse, Lhotse, Nuptse, Pumo Ri, Guachung Kang, Cho-Oyu, and Nangpai Gosum - over 7,000m high. The rivers are fed by the long glaciers at the head of each valley: Nangpa Glacier on the Bhote Kosi, Ngozumpa Glacier on the Dodh Kosi, Khumbu Glacier on the Lobuje Khola and the Imja Glacier, one of eight which feed the Imja Khola under Sagarmatha.
In comparison to other parts of Nepal, the Park has a comparatively low number of mammals, probably due in part to the geologically recent origin of the range. Larger mammals include northern plains grey langur Semnopithecus entellus, jackal Canis aureus, grey wolf Canis lupus (but not seen since 1980), Himalayan black bear Ursus thibetanus (VU), red panda Ailurus fulgens (VU), yellow-throated marten Martes flavigula, Siberian weasel Mustela sibirica, snow leopard Panthera uncia (EN), masked palm civet Paguma larvata, sambar Rusa unicolor (VU), Himalayan musk deer Moschus leucogaster (EN), southern red muntjac Muntiacus muntjak, Sumatran serow Capricornis sumatraensis (VU), Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus (300) and Himalayan goral Naemorhedus goral (Jefferies & Clarbrough,1986; Lovari,1990).
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