Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa were the first persons to set foot on the top of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953 and have opened the mystery of the world’s tallest peak to the world.

Even after Sir Edmund Hillary’s ascent to Everest, he has come to visit the Everest region and had much more opportunity to acquaint with the mountains and the Sherpa people of the area. During that time, Everest region was very isolated from the world outside and the Sherpas living in the area were deprived of basic human needs such as education, health care and other facilities. Sir Edmund Hillary however was very impressed with the fine qualities of the Sherpa people with their hard work, hospitality and great sense of humour. Admiring the Sherpas for their fine qualities and grateful for their loyal and courageous service, Hillary pledged to leave behind something more lasting than just a memory of friendship.

During one of the adventurous journey of Sir Edmund Hillary with his Sherpa friends across a mountain pass in early 1960s, Sir Edmund Hillary asked to one Sherpa “If there is anything I can do for the Sherpa people, what do you think that would be?” The Sherpa friend did not wait for his answer and immediately replied, “Burra Sahib (big Sahib), our children have eyes but they are blind and can not see. Therefore, we want you to open their eyes by building a school in our village of Khumjung.” This has touched the heart of Sir Edmund Hillary and he immediately organized to raise funds and built the first school in Khumjung village in 1961 and has sown the seed of the Himalayan Trust work in the land of Everest region.

Since then, the Himalayan Trust has been involved in education, health services, reforestation, building airports, trails, bridges, water supplies and preservation of local cultural monuments. In summary, the work of the Himalayan Trust can be categorized into four main areas.