Everest Base Camp - part 2
This is part two of my May 2008 Everest Base Camp trek. Click here to read part one
Day 9
Leaving Bully in Gorak Shep, nursing a headache and other mild symptoms of altitude sickness, Narayan, Andy and I went for the short hike up to the view point called Kalla Patthar (5,550m). Taking only light day packs we bombed it in just over 45 mins and the views were awesome to say the least. Everest and Lhotse were totally clear along with most of the other peaks. Unfortunately the sun was right into our faces, which made photography a bit tricky. Photos finished we legged it down, picked up our main bags and made our way down to Lobuche to meet up with Bully, who had made a leisurely decent in his own time. We carried on back down to Dughla and then down into the base of the Imza Valley and on to Periche (4,270m), which was our base for the night.
From Periche we retrace our steps back down, stopping for the night in Namche Bazaar again. On the way back down from Tengboche we were lucky to spot a musk deer, an odd looking creature with tusks, and later just before reaching Namche Bazaar we sighted a Tahr, which is a type of shaggy coated, thick horned mountain goat. The following day descending out of Namche, we were doubly lucky to spot another musk deer, this one even closer than the last. The final day back from Namche to Lukla turned out to be one of the hardest of the trek. We were all feeling the effects of the many days trekking and this last day just seemed to go on forever, but in the end we all survived the final laborious uphill slog into Lukla. We ate a fantastic meal in the lodge then went out on the town for a few beers, but needless to say the overwhelming feeling of tiredness curtailed the evening before anything too drunken happened.
The early morning flight back to Kathmandu went smoothly and once back safely ensconced in our hotel, I spent the rest of the day sleeping. In the evening we celebrated our achievement with a meal at the Everest Steak House. Whilst all the others had the largest steaks you can imagine, I managed to find something suitable for my weird veggie tendencies. More beers at Sam’s and a quick puff on a shisha pipe (oddly now quite popular in Kathmandu!) brought the evening to a pleasant close.
Our last few days in Kathmandu were spent sightseeing and enjoying its chilled out ambience. We took a stroll around Durbar Square to gawk at the amazing architecture of the Hindu temples and shrines. We climbed up to the top of Swayambunath Stupa for a wonderful view over the city. We hired motorcycles and sped around the chaotic streets, visiting Boudhnath Stupa and Patan en route, and much fun was had by all. We all signed up for the hash run, which turned out to be quite a hard one, several hours hard running up and down and up and down over very rough ground, but the company and scenery made the run worth the effort. We also did the obligatory shopping trips along the crowded shop-lined streets of Thamel and we all bought copious quantities of souvenirs. Evenings consisted of good food, good drink and good company.
As they say, all good things come to an end and our early morning flight back to the UK signalled the end of a fantastic and challenging trip to Nepal. Will I go back? Just try to stop me!
Day 9
Leaving Bully in Gorak Shep, nursing a headache and other mild symptoms of altitude sickness, Narayan, Andy and I went for the short hike up to the view point called Kalla Patthar (5,550m). Taking only light day packs we bombed it in just over 45 mins and the views were awesome to say the least. Everest and Lhotse were totally clear along with most of the other peaks. Unfortunately the sun was right into our faces, which made photography a bit tricky. Photos finished we legged it down, picked up our main bags and made our way down to Lobuche to meet up with Bully, who had made a leisurely decent in his own time. We carried on back down to Dughla and then down into the base of the Imza Valley and on to Periche (4,270m), which was our base for the night.
From Periche we retrace our steps back down, stopping for the night in Namche Bazaar again. On the way back down from Tengboche we were lucky to spot a musk deer, an odd looking creature with tusks, and later just before reaching Namche Bazaar we sighted a Tahr, which is a type of shaggy coated, thick horned mountain goat. The following day descending out of Namche, we were doubly lucky to spot another musk deer, this one even closer than the last. The final day back from Namche to Lukla turned out to be one of the hardest of the trek. We were all feeling the effects of the many days trekking and this last day just seemed to go on forever, but in the end we all survived the final laborious uphill slog into Lukla. We ate a fantastic meal in the lodge then went out on the town for a few beers, but needless to say the overwhelming feeling of tiredness curtailed the evening before anything too drunken happened.
The early morning flight back to Kathmandu went smoothly and once back safely ensconced in our hotel, I spent the rest of the day sleeping. In the evening we celebrated our achievement with a meal at the Everest Steak House. Whilst all the others had the largest steaks you can imagine, I managed to find something suitable for my weird veggie tendencies. More beers at Sam’s and a quick puff on a shisha pipe (oddly now quite popular in Kathmandu!) brought the evening to a pleasant close.
Our last few days in Kathmandu were spent sightseeing and enjoying its chilled out ambience. We took a stroll around Durbar Square to gawk at the amazing architecture of the Hindu temples and shrines. We climbed up to the top of Swayambunath Stupa for a wonderful view over the city. We hired motorcycles and sped around the chaotic streets, visiting Boudhnath Stupa and Patan en route, and much fun was had by all. We all signed up for the hash run, which turned out to be quite a hard one, several hours hard running up and down and up and down over very rough ground, but the company and scenery made the run worth the effort. We also did the obligatory shopping trips along the crowded shop-lined streets of Thamel and we all bought copious quantities of souvenirs. Evenings consisted of good food, good drink and good company.
As they say, all good things come to an end and our early morning flight back to the UK signalled the end of a fantastic and challenging trip to Nepal. Will I go back? Just try to stop me!
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