The Sherpa are a warm and friendly people, ingrained with kindness and generosity. Most Sherpa live in the Solu-Khumbu region in the northern part of the Sagarmatha district. However, several thousand Sherpa live in colonies in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu, in the city of Darjeeling, and in Indian hill towns. Most Sherpa villages are located on the southern slopes of the Himalayan range around the base of Mount Everest. The Sherpa are skilled guides and porters.
Sherpa villages range anywhere from a few households to more than one hundred houses.
A Sherpa family unit consists of the nuclear family living in a single household and sharing a joint economy. Houses are at least two stories, the upper story being a one-room living quarter and the lower story serving as an animal shed and storage area. When the youngest son marries, he inherits the farmhouse and half of the fields. He also must take care of his parents. The older sons receive the remaining fields as their inheritance.