Tourism and sacred landscape in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal

Tourism in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park is significantly altering local Sherpa spiritual values and religious practices, despite their efforts to maintain cultural identity. The study reveals that while the Khumbu region remains sacred to the Sherpa community, who view it as a beyul or hidden valley with landscapes inhabited by deities, tourism's growing influence is diminishing traditional religious routines and human-environment relationships. Conducted through 33 interviews with ethnic Sherpas over four months of fieldwork in 2014–2015, this research highlights the tension between tourism development and the preservation of sacred landscape values.

Mu, Y., Nepal, S. K., & Lai, P.-H. (2019). Tourism and sacred landscape in Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal. Tourism Geographies, 21(3), 442–459. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2018.1558454