Sagarmatha

Declared in 1976, its Nepali name — Sagarmatha, forehead of the sky — is the name of Everest, the highest mountain on Earth (8,849 m), which dominates the park alongside seven other peaks above 7,000 metres. It was the first national park in the Himalaya, and its management actively involves the Sherpa communities, whose Buddhist villages and monasteries such as Tengboche lie within the park's own boundaries, an unusual arrangement among high-mountain protected areas. The pressure of mountaineering tourism — several hundred Everest expeditions each season — has for years fuelled debate over the rubbish and human waste piling up at the base camps, which has prompted periodic high-altitude clean-up campaigns.