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As one of the most loved and respected New Zealanders was farewelled across the country, tributes also flowed in the country that made him a household name.
To the people of Nepal, especially the Sherpa community, Sir Edmund Hillary was more than the man who first climbed to the top of Mt Everest. He was considered a father and the man who introduced the country to the outside world.
ONE News reporter Lisa Owen was in the Nepalese capital where Sir Edmund Hillary's presence was apparent despite the lack of bronze statues in his honour.
"I am of course so grateful...he stuck with us for so long," former student lhakpa Norbu Sherpa said.
In Kathmandu many believe the tourists are a living monument to the mountaineer who put Nepal on the map but they say Sir Ed did not take credit for himself.
"That is a very good thing he has done for Nepal," says book shop owner Ananda Ram Maharjan who has been selling a legend for 25 years.
Ang Tsering Sherpa said Nepal would not be famous if Hillary had not come to the country.
The Sherpa children who followed Sir Edmund like the Pied Piper while he helped build schools and health centres with his own hands have grown up to be doctors and successful businessmen.
"If Hillary had not built that school I would be one of those porter guides," lhakpa Norbu Sherpa said. "But now all my credit goes to Sir Edmund Hillary."
A lama from the Sherpa Monastery says Sir Edmund was a hero and they may yet need another. He told ONE News: "We are very sad and very worried that there are still a lot of poor people in the region...and we don't know whether his work will be continued."
A Sherpa delegation at the state funeral for Hillary draped his casket in cream-coloured Nepali prayer scarves while Ang Rita Sherpa told the congregation that the adventurer's death is a big loss to the people of Nepal.
"His loss to us is bigger and heavier than Mount Everest," Ang Rita Sherpa told the service. "He is our true guardian and our second father, but he has left us behind today," he said.
Among those attending the funeral was the son of Tenzing Norgay, the Nepali Sherpa who accompanied Hillary to Everest's 8,850 metre summit.
"While we mourn his loss, his spirit will forever live and protect the great mountain and the people he loved so much," said Norbu Tenzing Norgay.
In Nepal the Sherpa community has gathered to pray for Sir Edmund's soul to make sure the man who gave them a better life is well looked after in his next one. The Buddhist community will go to a holy site to pray for his soul and will continue to do this every week for seven weeks after his death.
