Highest fields in the Imja valley
Before trekking, Dingboche was a farming and herding settlement used by Sherpa families from lower villages. At this height only hardy crops grow: barley, potatoes and buckwheat, sown in spring and harvested before the frosts. Families built the stone walls, field by field, to keep yaks out and break the wind that funnels up the valley. Many of those walls are still there, giving Dingboche its patchwork look from the hill above.
As trekking grew from the 1970s, Dingboche's position made it a natural stop. It sits about a day's walk above Pangboche and a day below Lobuche, at the point where acclimatisation guidance calls for a rest. Lodges went up along the fields. Today it has dozens of lodges, bakeries and even espresso machines, supplied by yak and porter from Namche, two or three days below.
Dingboche's neighbour Pheriche, just over the ridge, became known for another reason. In 1973 the Himalayan Rescue Association opened an aid post there to treat trekkers and porters suffering from altitude sickness. Staffed by volunteer doctors in the main seasons, it gives daily talks on altitude illness and has saved many lives. Many trekkers walk over from Dingboche to attend.
