Namche Bazar - the principal town in the Khumbu region

I spent two days in Namche, the main town in Khumbu since it is the one place through which all the trails in the region pass. You can get pretty much anything here - and since the weight restrictions on the flight into Lukla are so tight, pretty much everyone does a bit of shopping. It is at 3,400 meters and staying here for one night, and really much better two, is a key element of any trek to allow your body to get used to the altitude before going higher. Interesting story: a French gentleman of 84 made it to Namche but hurt his back on the way, and needed to see a doctor. The doctor duly arrived and yours truly ended up playing interpreter between the two! Fortunately for all concerned, this is one of the days when my crap french “just worked;” my new French friend said my interpretation was “Formidable!”

Here's an image of dawn, taken from my lodgings at the Moonlight Lodge (which is a terrific place to stay):

This is what you get at dawn from the top of the natural amphitheatre that Namche Bazar is built on. Wonderful, eh?

The road to Namche Bazar

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! 

In many places in the Khumbu there are recycling stations like this. It is a part of a concerted effort to help preserve this very popular tourist region for the future of the Sherpa and the visitors.
This is a water spigot that caught my eye at the TIMS station outside of Namche Bazar
This is the first view of Namche Bazar. The man in the foreground is Tashi Sherpa, my guide
The Sherpa people are very enterprising. At the lookout where the first view of Everest can be seen, two very cheerful Sherpani were selling fruit and juices. This is probably the most expensive apple I have ever bought, but given the people power required to get it up to the Khumbu from below and then to this spot, I didn't mind at all!