Advertisement
Published: April 18th 2013
Edit Blog Post
Lukla
disembarking from the plane after the flight from Kathmandu We arrived in Namche Bazaar about 3:30 this afternoon after walking from Phakding. Two days trekking now completed and today was supposed to be the hardest.
On Sunday (yesterday) we were all up before 6pm in order to pack, have breakfast and get to the domestic airport in time for a 7:45am flight to Lukla. In fact it was about 8:15 when we actually took off. The domestic airport in Kathmandu was fairly chaotic but we managed to get checked in without much trouble. The plane was an 18-seater propeller-driven type and the flight to Lukla took just 30 minutes. The flight itself was fine with good views of villages, rice terraces etc. below, and views of snow-covered peaks out to the left as we were flying east. The landing at Lukla was everything it had been hyped up to be. The airport has a solid rock wall at one end and a drop off the cliff face at the other. The runway slopes significantly (upwards for landing) at about 15 degrees. If the pilot overshoots on landing, the plane crashes into the rock face at the upper end. If he doesn't have enough speed or power when taking off,
Lukla Airport
showing the shortness and steepness of the runway the plane just falls off the edge of the cliff at the lower end. In the event our landing was textbook correct!
After leaving the airport we went to the Paradise Cafe to have a hot drink and the opportunity to sort out what we were going to carry on our own backs and what the porters would carry. The are 13 trekkers in our party; two Nepalese came with us from Kathmandu (the sirdar who organises everything and the guide who leads the trek). At Lukla we were joined by 8 more locals who will act as porters carrying the rest of our gear. At the end of each day we will then have access to the rest of our gear which we must pack again before leaving the next morning.
We finally set off on the actual trek at 10:10am and walked steadily until 11:40 when we stopped for an early lunch at Thado Koshigaon. All the way there was a constant stream of trekkers, sherpa porters and luggage-carrying donkeys/mules or yak-cows in both directions. However this heavy foot traffic did not in way detract from the enjoyment of the walk. The scenery is fantastic all
Lukla
The main (only?) street the time and the tiny Sherpa villages we pass through look wonderful. This walk is already turning out to be everything I imagined it would and wanted it to be. After a very leisurely lunch we set off again at 13:20 and again walked steadily to our destination for the day at Phakding. This first day of walking was always intended to be an easy introductory day. The lodge we stayed at was very comfortable and I slept very well.
Today (Monday) we had to be packed for 7:00am so that the porters could get off. We then had breakfast and set off again at 7:40am. We walked steadily until a stop for lemon tea at Monjo at 10:10, where we entered the Everest National Park area, and then lunch at Jorsalle at 11:15. That was the easy part of the day done. After lunch we had the hard climb up to Namche Bazaar, which we finally reached at about 3:30pm. Namche is a fascinating village, built completely into the hillside. Again our lodge for two nights (we will have an acclimatisation day here tomorrow) is excellent with tremendous views from our rooms across to snow-capped peaks opposite.
Lukla
The start of the Everest Base Camp trek Well, that's it for today as I'm due back at the lodge soon for our evening meal.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.14s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 13; qc: 53; dbt: 0.0638s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb