From the streets of Kathmandu to the glaciers of Aoraki: The filming locations of Tenzing

On May 6, 2025, a wave of excitement swept through the streets of Kathmandu as Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe were spotted filming in the city. Nepal has long attracted international film productions – Everest (2015) and Marvel's Doctor Strange (2016) both shot in Kathmandu, helping establish the country's global cinematic profile. For Tenzing, the Kathmandu Valley provided the urban world of 1950s Nepal: its street life, its temples and its particular atmosphere of a city at the foot of the world's most famous mountains.

Production moved through Bhaktapur and Patan – the ancient medieval cities of the Kathmandu Valley whose UNESCO-listed Durbar Squares, carved wooden temples and brick-paved streets give the production the most intact 1950s Nepalese urban environment available. 

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One of the production's most specific confirmed locations is Bandipur – the perfectly preserved hilltop trading town in Gandaki Province, two hours east of Pokhara. The crew recreated a mini Darjeeling in Bandipur for the shoot, using the town's colonial-era architecture and hill station atmosphere to stand in for the Himalayan cultural crossroads that shaped Tenzing Norgay's early life.

Production extended to the Everest region itself – Khumjung, the Sherpa village in the Khumbu Valley near Base Camp, and the ancient kingdom of Mustang, the remote high-altitude enclave near the Tibetan border whose landscape and cultural heritage are deeply embedded in the Himalayan world the film depicts. Tom Hiddleston reached Lukla less than 24 hours after arriving in Kathmandu and walked with Phuntsok for almost two days before filming began. Kanchha Sherpa – the last surviving member of the 1953 Everest expedition – met both actors during preparation. He died in 2025.

Observers noted that projects like Tenzing not only highlight the Sherpa community's pivotal role in mountaineering history but also reinforce Nepal's status as a destination for adventure tourism and cultural storytelling.

After Nepal, the production relocated to Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand. The Department of Conservation approved filming on Malte Brun Pass near the Tasman Glacier and near the Hochstetter Icefall on the eastern side of Aoraki/Mount Cook – the two locations doubling as Everest Base Camp and the Hillary Step, the famous final challenge for Everest climbers that was destroyed by a 2015 earthquake.

"These sites have been used for filming Everest-related documentaries and films before," DOC Ranger Ray Bellringer said. "All filming activities are subject to strict environmental conditions to ensure the protection of the natural landscape. DOC staff will be onsite daily to monitor compliance. This is an incredibly special place and it's our role to protect it." The production brought a significant economic boost to the local area, with a large crew and cast staying in the village and surrounding area throughout the New Zealand shoot.

Tenzing opens in select theatres October 9, 2026. On Apple TV+ from October 16.