After 9 hours of sleep I woke up feeling much better about everything. Today’s trip was easy, only about 3 hours of trekking to reach Namche Bazar, at 3400 meters, which will be our home for two nights. This is important as it allows your body to adjust to altitude as from Namche my next night is at 4,000 meters.
It was a fun walk – punctuated by yak trains, porters of all ages carrying mind-boggling loads on their backs, suspended from their foreheads by straps (you’ll see some of these amazing people in many photos to come).
The Khumbu has many bridges over rivers cutting through almost vertical canyons. Today’s journey was along the river known as the Dudh Khosi, which is born of the Khumbu Glacier which starts on the flanks of Mt. Everest. The sheer nature of this landscape requires bridges, and the further you go in the Khumbu the higher and longer these steel suspension bridges get. If you like them, this is a treat… if you don’t like heights much, then you may want to consider a flask with strong drink of some anti-anxiety tablets!
Fortunately, the sleep and lots of water meant the altitude rise (from 2800 to 3400 meters) didn't really get to me, though some of my fellow-travellers along the way seemed to have more trouble.
Hover over the pictures to see a caption. Enjoy!
