Thame and its neighbouring Thameteng (upper Thame) are small
Sherpa villages in Namche VDC of the
Solukhumbu District in
Nepal. These were the last year-round villages on the
salt trading route that existed between
Tibet, Nepal and
India. It is the home to many famous Sherpa mountaineers, including
Apa Sherpa, who holds the world record for summiting Everest 21 times. It was also a childhood home of
Tenzing Norgay, who was (with Sir
Edmund Hillary) one of the first men to climb
Mt Everest. It is also where the famous
Lama Zopa Rinpoche, the Lawudo Lama, head of the
FPMT] was born. The Thame monastery is one of the oldest in the
Khumbu region, and is famous for the annual Mani Rimdu festival.