Today I went for a walk....
Phakding to Namche
Sleep disturbed by rain, rodents and roosters!
6.00 am alarm for a 6.30 breakfast.
Overcast with clouds hanging low in the valley
Packed up and on the trail by 7.15 am.
Passed through villages with earthquake and landslide damage, scars on the hillsides from the slips.
Some villages appeared relatively unscathed and then others with evidence of major destruction.
Houses being repaired or demolished and reconstructed depending on the severity of the damage. Stone walls being rebuilt by hand, hard manual labour, with the men splitting the rocks and then using chisels to carve the stones to the right size and angles. We passed many porters carrying sheets of plywood for the interior walls, window frames and sheets of iron for roofing.
Another checkpoint for permits at Monjo where you officially enter the Sagarmatha National Park. Interpretative displays and information boards tell the story of how tourism has impacted on the park. 30,000 people visit the park annually, 10% of these are Australians.
Criss-crossing the river again today with half a dozen suspension bridges to negotiate.
Waterfalls cascading down the hill sides, the valley densely forested with native pines and the river flowing, I found myself thinking maybe I was in Scandinavia having a Norsca moment!
At Ram's suggestion, we took an early lunch at Jorsalle, the last village before Namche.
We relaxed for over an hour riverside soaking up the sunshine, bracing ourselves for what was ahead of us! We had been warned....
The track from Jorsalle to Namche is a very steep 600 m ascent - 2740 m to 3440 m.
We followed the river for half an hour and then it begins.....
But first, a spectacular sight - a double suspension bridge comes into view. The "old" lower bridge was replaced a couple of years ago by a more robust version which sits high above the river. Not for the fainthearted or if you are scared of heights...
From the bridge , we took in the views, looking back down the valley where we had walked and then decided the only way was UP!
Off we plodded, back into our slow but steady walking rhythm.
We were stopped by Ram after about 45 mins at a lookout, where we got our first glimpse of Everest! Beautiful view which was quickly obscured by clouds, so we took the cue and continued on.....
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| Can you see it? |
We were thankful that the remainder of the walk was mostly under the shade of a thick forest canopy, not in full sun which would have made the climb very hot and uncomfortable. It was another 45 mins of steady climbing before we reached the outskirts of Namche and the last checkpoint along the trail.
We arrived at Namche at 1.20 pm, passed the large stupa at the entrance and checked into our lodge conveniently located at the bottom of the village.
We explored Namche during the afternoon, finding a local bar with cool tunes, cheap drinks and free wi-fi where we spent a few hours relaxing. We chatted and shared stories with other trekkers Australians, Dutch and Swiss who were staying at the same lodge.
Managed to score a room with mountain views, even a hot shower - savouring this experience because it will probably be the last one for at least a week!
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