The Epic Trek: Lukla through Namche Bazaar

Matt in our little plane just before take-off

We slept fitfully, part due to excitement and part due to nerves, before the alarm went off at 0345.  We finished our packing and loaded anything we didn't need for the trek into our big airport bags to be stored at the hotel while we were gone.  At 0515 our taxi arrived and we whizzed along the nearly empty Kathmandu streets toward the airport.  The city was already coming to life as dogs were walking about, a few shops and tea stalls were open and full of people getting ready for work, and daylight was just breaking.  We arrived in a large parking lot outside the airport, and our driver motioned for us to head down a covered walkway to the very obscure and poorly signed entrance to the domestic terminal.  There were at least a dozen folks with large backpacks and terrified/excited expressions on their faces and we felt an instant kinship with them – they were obviously on their way to a trek somewhere as well.  

Coming in for the landing at Lukla -- essentially front row seats!  =)

The airport finally opened around 0545 and then it was controlled chaos as everyone tried to find their respective airline counter, some with guides, porters and tour group leaders shoving ahead, others (like us) shoving right along with them (the concept of "forming a line" seems to disintegrate the further east you go).  We wedged ourselves into what passes for a queue in Nepal and produced our printed tickets and passports, weighed our bags and watched as they were wheeled off into the recesses of the endearing, but somewhat grubby, terminal.  

After landing in Lukla (our plane in the background)

After security (a pretty perfunctory affair), we waited impatiently for the airline (Tara Air, a part of Yeti Airlines) to call the numbers scribbled onto our boarding passes, which simply said "Lukla" on them.  I bought one last Sprite and shortly after 0615 we filed through the gate onto another rickety bus.  We sped past the big planes, past the medium sized planes, and past the small planes to an area of tarmac that was full of little tiny twin engine planes.  We saw our bags (yay!!!) and filed onto the plane.  I had never seen bench seating on a plane before, so this was a first.  We did, however, have a very smartly dressed flight attendant who instructed us to fasten our seatbelts and then handed us some candy.  The pilots were busy with their pre-flight paper checklists and how to shield their eyes from the sunrise (we could see all this because there was no door to the cockpit.)  =)  

Another view of the runway at Lukla

Within minutes the engine and propellers were roaring, and we found ourselves catapulted into the perfectly clear blue sky.  The flight was only 40 minutes long, but it was so incredible.  We passed the beautiful foothills full of villages and farms and then entered the mighty Himalayas.  The view from the top was simply stunning as white-capped peaks came into clearer view.  And then there was the landing.  Lukla is the town where most Everest treks begin, and it's famous (or infamous) for its runway.  It is short, uphill into the side of a mountain, and incredibly dangerous.  And we got to see the whole thing through the cockpit's window.  It was a textbook landing and the dozen of us on board breathed a collective sigh of relief.  We had made it.
 

One last look back toward Lukla -- trekking, here we come!

We collected our bags, sorted out a few of our things and then set off into town.  Lukla is the kind of place that you can get a fair amount of things (they have a couple of bakeries, some restaurants, loads of lodges and trekking shops, and internet), but it really has only one main path that runs through it so at least at this stage, we weren't in danger of getting lost.  =)  After about 20 minutes of wandering and taking in the place, we found ourselves at the entrance to the trail.  It was finally time to begin!

One of the bridges en route to Phakding

Some early glimpses of extraordinary Himalayan peaks

The first day of trekking took us from Lukla to a village called Phakding, only about 2.5 to 3 hours up the trail and mostly downhill actually.  It was a nice way to ease into trekking with full packs on again (15 kg for me and 18 kg for Matt).  Ugh.  Let me just point out that water weighs a lot.  The weather was outstanding and it was still early – about 0900 when we officially started.  

Matt spinning a prayer wheel near Phakding

Clear skies and a faint cool breeze made for a perfect day in t-shirts (with lots of sunscreen on because from here on out we would only be getting closer to the sun!)  =)  This lower part of the trail is very well travelled as anyone heading anywhere in the Khumbu region (area in NE Nepal that contains the famous peaks of Mt. Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablum and is home to the Sherpa people) must traverse this part of the terrain.  It is beautifully forested and as you progress, you begin to catch glimpses of the extraordinarily tall Himalayan peaks.  We were loving it!
 

Enjoying a masala tea in Phakding

Once in Phakding, we secured a spot in one of the trekking lodges, checked our feet for blisters (none, thankfully), and set about meeting some of our fellow trekkers.  We met a wonderful fellow from NZ who had been traveling for months and a great gentleman in the Army from the states.  All the talk was, of course, about where everyone was heading, how the lodges were so far, what we all thought about the food, and how everyone was dealing with the altitude.  At this point, we were at 2,652 meters, having come down from Lukla at 2,800 meters.  Altitude would soon play a much bigger role for all of us as it is the most dangerous part of the hike if one isn't careful.  So far, so good. 
 

Beautiful landscape near Monjo

We slept well, awoke early with the sun (around 0600), and had a great big breakfast.  The objective on day 2 was to get from Phakding to the main town of Namche Bazaar at 3,440 meters.  If you do that math (3,440 minus 2,652 equals 788) it results in A LOT of meters of ascent.  The morning was lovely, a few tougher sections but mostly easy walking.  We took a break for lunch at Monjo, a village just before the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park, and then we simply just kept heading up.  And up, and up, and up.  It was remarkably brutal, and we began to feel the effects of the altitude (and our full packs.)  Several hours later we arrived in Namche Bazaar.  I have scarcely been more pleased to arrive at a destination, and we made it just as the rain was starting to fall.

About to begin our ascent to Namche Bazaar -- check out these suspension bridges!  =)

View from our window in Namche

We had planned to splurge a bit in Namche (people tend to leave the "Bazaar" part off at the end) as it was likely the last place we could get a big room (that was not partitioned off with plywood) and a shower.  We would be staying in Namche for 3 nights in order to better acclimatize to the altitude before beginning the ascent toward our next big objective, Gokyo.  The next morning we awoke to beautiful big blue skies, and realized what a view there was out our window!  It had been clouded over in the rain the previous day.
 

Spectacular view of Namche on our way to Khumjung

We spent the day trekking to and from Khumjung, one of the two villages above Namche, both because we wanted to check it out and because it lies at 3790 meters (over 300 meters higher than Namche), making it a great day trek to aid in acclimatization.  One of the altitude adages is "climb high, sleep low."  You essentially push your body higher during the day for a few hours and then return to a safer altitude to sleep.  I definitely felt the effects of the altitude during this hike and was happy to return to ~3400 meters at the end of the day.  =)  

Matt entering Khumjung; Hillary School on the right

Along the way, we visited the Hillary School in Khumjung, which was built by Sir Edmund Hillary of first-summit-of-Everest fame along with Tenzing Norgay.  Both of their names are ubiquitous in the area, and they have done so much for the good of the region.  Of note, Sir Edmund Hillary was the first person knighted by Queen Elizabeth many years ago!  The history of the race to summit Everest is incredibly interesting and long, so I won't even try to touch it except to say that the milestone was finally achieved by Hillary and Norgay on May 29th, 1953.

Looking back toward Lukla from above Namche

After visiting the Sir Edmund Hillary memorial stupa, we were briefly misplaced (Matt's words for almost lost) until we miraculously ended up right behind the building where we wanted to be – the Everest View Hotel.  By that time the clouds had rolled in, and Everest was nowhere to be seen, but we were treated to a spectacularly lovely hike back down to Namche instead.  Exhausted but exhilarated, we filled up on lots of carbs (this would become a theme on this trek) and treated ourselves to hot showers (this would not become a theme on this trek).  =)
 
On our last acclimatization day, we headed up in altitude again, this time to the Sagarmatha National Park Office and museum where we were treated to a rarity – beautiful views of Mt. Everest and Lhotse that would last for hours!  We sat, mesmerized, and took WAY too many photos.  It was an out-of-this-world feeling to be sitting so close (and yet so incredibly far from) to a truly one of a kind wonder.  I count myself extremely lucky to have taken in this view, as one can hike for weeks and never get a glimpse if the weather does not cooperate.  Though we didn't know it at the time, we would get this lucky several times during our three weeks in the Himalayas, and every time it was as amazing as the first glimpse.

Self pic with Lhotse (middle) and Everest (just to the left)

Some epic skies at Sagarmatha National Park Office

 

Inside the Sherpa Cultural Museum

Another great stop we made in Namche was a trip to the excellent Sherpa Cultural Museum.  It was divided into two parts, a traditional Sherpa house and rooms of memorabilia and photos dedicated to the Sherpa lifestyle and their integral part in the Himalayan trekking world.  The Sherpas are an ethnic group believed to have migrated from Tibet to the Khumbu region hundreds of years ago.  Many of the Sherpa people now make their livelihoods as porters, guides, etc.  There was a room chock full of photos of all the Sherpa who had been part of trekking and summit expeditions including facts such has how many summits each had made, etc.  It was awe-inspiring to witness these feats of physiology and human spirit.

Typical street scene in Namche =)

We were also fortunate to be in Namche Bazaar on a Saturday, enabling us to visit the large market from which the town derives its name (get it?  Bazaar?).  =)  We picked up a few bananas and quickly devoured them (they didn't even make it 10 feet), as fruit is a tough commodity to come by on the trek as it needs to be physically carried up (by a person, usually) from lower altitudes.  The logistics of being in this place were remarkable.  There are no roads, only trails, and if you need something, someone or something (usually yaks or oxen) has to carry it up.  The only other options are to bring it in yourself (partly why our bags where so heavy – mine was stuffed with toilet paper as the trek is totally B.Y.O.T.P.) or get a helicopter to bring it in.  This also illustrates the fact that you are totally on your own out there.  If you get hurt, you either have to walk out (could take days), have someone carry you out, or find a lodge with a phone (not all villages have this) to call a helicopter to fly you out.  So, the moral of the story is to enjoy, but be careful!  =)  We typically saw several medevac helicopters every day, usually transporting patients with altitude sickness back to Kathmandu.  It was a constant reminder that we were in a place where the mountains made the rules.

Photos from the Sherpa Cultural Museum -- examples of incredible feats!

As our minds swirled with thoughts of Hillary and Tenzing's conquest of Everest, the dangers we might face and the rewards we surely would find as we ascended into the incredible beauty of this surreal landscape, we turned our electric blanket on high and drifted off to sleep in our comfy double bed.  In the morning, we would say goodbye to the hustle and bustle of luxurious Namche Bazaar and head up into the Himalayas on our own quest to trek in the footsteps of these great early explorers.  If our first 5 days in this hallowed region were anything to go by, we were in for a real treat.  We couldn't wait.


 Click below for more trekking and exploring pics!