Let’s not move on from Pangboche just yet, there’s a little bit of history to uncover for the village. Our source for background information and creative story telling is Pema Dorje again. This village is one of the most significant places for him in the region and he makes a point of visiting the Lama Gyeshi often for counsel in making decisions and receiving blessings in carrying out his somewhat risky line of work as a trekking guide. Pema explained to me that Pangboche is one of the oldest Sherpa villages in the Khumbu region, so it has hundreds of years of history. I’ll have to check some more detailed accounts of the Sherpa history to verify whether Pema means Pangboche is the first Sherpa village of what is now eastern Nepal, or if the fact is that the original Tibetan settlers first founded other villages to the east or the west from Solu Khumbu. Regardless, Pangboche has a heritage reaching far back in the history of the region, so there was time to develop some interesting stories, fact or myth as yet undetermined.