The Himalayan Mountaineering Institute was founded in 1954 on the initiative of Jawaharlal Nehru, partly inspired by Tenzing Norgay's Everest ascent the year before. The institute trains mountaineers and maintains a museum documenting the history of Himalayan climbing, with a focus on the 1953 expedition and Tenzing Norgay's personal story. Among the exhibits are the boots he wore on the summit, equipment from the early expeditions, and photographs from the Indian mountaineering tradition.
The museum is small but well-curated, and the boots exhibit alone is worth the entry fee. The institute also displays Tenzing Norgay's personal effects and awards, and traces his life from childhood in the hills to his death in Darjeeling in 1986. The adjacent Everest Museum covers all major Himalayan expeditions chronologically.