Tengboche is famous for its Monastery, and Dirge is happy to take a few of us to it for a look around. It is an impressive building, but very cold. As is the custom, we take our boots/shoes off at the door and quietly proceed into the building. The cold of the stone floor is immediately underfoot. We creep into the corner of the room, where about 20 or so trekkers are watching the 3 Buddhist Monks who are quietly chanting away to themselves. The only other noise to be heard are the rustle of gortex jackets and the occasional stiffled cough. After about 20 minutes of listening to the monks chanting, and being impressed with their dedication in such a cold environment, I was about to get up off the cold stone floor and leave. ... read more

After a few hours of trekking downhill we reach Phungi Thanga, a small village at the foot of the valley and our crossing point for the Dudh Kosi River for last time on the journey to EBC. It was a good point to stop for lunch, albeit a little earlier than usual, as it gave us time to prepare ourselves for the 2-3 hours of solid uphill climb ahead of us to reach Tengboche. Lunch was fairly uninspiring, as was the teahouse it was served from, and was particularly cold. I think we all were glad to get our rucksacks on and start walking again after lunch to warm - something which 20 mins later we probably disagreed with given the arduous nature of the climb we were already on. Given how warm Namche was, the ... read more

We catch up with out first large group or groups of trekkers - ahead on the trail is snake of some 30-40 trekkers, which much also be going to Tengboche or further. Also on the trail are the usual porters carrying impossibly heavy loads and lots more Yaks - some of which seem to be a bit on the unruly side. One of the early lessons imparted to us from our Guide Leader, is when Yaks, Donkeys or other 4 legged beasts of burden are coming to pass, stand to the inside of the mountain and wait. Given some of the large drops down the valley on the other side, it is sound advice taken by all of us. Better a wooly Yak rolls of the cliff edge than some unfortunate Gortex clad trekker.... read more

The climb out of the village takes up from around 3450m to about 3800m, only about 100m below the height of Tengboche which we are due to reach in about 4 hours time. There are great views of Ama Dablam and Mt Everest on our way to and at our first rest stop. However, everyone is a bit blaze about these magnificent views today given the day before we saw such an awesome panorama of Himalayan mountains including these two - amazing what a day makes!... read more

Probably is. After a long drink, we reluctlantly headed back down into Namche. We would be seeing Ana Dablam and Everest again soon. After leaving Namche in the morning I dont expect to be back here for another week - a week of no showers, no internet, lots of hard walks and I am hoping even better views. This is my last blog until then....... read more