Upper Pangboche and the yak pastures

Above the gompa the paths of Upper Pangboche lead out between stone walls into pasture. Here you meet the animals that make Khumbu work. Yaks are the long-haired bulls and bullocks that carry loads to Base Camp; nak are the females, milked for butter and the cheese sold as yak cheese; dzo, the hybrids of yak and lowland cattle, work lower down and rarely come this high.

Families move their herds through the year: up to summer grazing at hamlets such as Dingboche, Pheriche and the Imja valley pastures in the monsoon, down to village fields in winter, where the animals eat potato stubble and dried grass stored in the upper floor of the house. Yak dung, dried in neat cakes on walls, is the main fuel above the tree line.

Walk in the late afternoon, when herders bring animals in and the light on Ama Dablam turns gold. Keep a respectful distance; yaks are usually calm but have sharp horns and dislike being crowded, especially mothers with calves. Always pass loaded animals on the uphill side of the trail. Ask your guide to introduce you to a herding family if they are willing.