| Date ... | Sunday, 30 August 2009 |
| Start ... | Lukla Airport (altitude - 2860 metres) |
| Finish ... | Phadking village (altitude - 2650 metres) |
| Time taken ... | 3 hours 30 mins (including stops) |
The first part of the Everest Base Camp trek involves the exhilarating flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, its only a 30 minutes flight but the landing at Lukla is out of this world! It was an early start, we had to be at Kathmandu airport for the 6.30 am flights. Our group was so big we ended up having to book two planes to take us and all our gear up to Lukla. I wasn't really looking forward to the flight, I'd watched many of the video's on YouTube, and they scared the hell out of me. In reality the flight was amazing, just make sure you get a seat on the left of the plane, the views of the distant mountains is awesome as you fly into Lukla. After the landing, we headed to one of the many lodges for our breakfast, it still was only 7.30 am in the morning. So it was toast, hash browns and scrambled eggs for me, nothing like a hearty breakfast after an early morning wake up call! The strange thing I found about the first day of the trek was most of it was down hill, I wasn't complaining as it made for an easy start. But there was a niggle in the back of my mind that it would mean that the last day would all be uphill????
Getting ready for take off at Kathmandu airport
Looking down onto the city as we climbed after take off
A view back towards the airport
It was very snug on the plane, to say the least
Starting the descent towards Lukla
Touch down!!!!!!
It was a quick turn around, the return passengers were ready and waiting beside the plane as we got off!
Heading round the perimeter fence towards Lukla village
Looking down the run way, yes it is really that short, and there's a drop at the end!
Heading through the narrow streets of Lukla towards the lodge where we were having breakfast
Lukla Main Street, the cow's have the right of way!
Heading out through the archway that marks the start of the trek to Base Camp!
The landscape was very different to my normal one, but still beautiful
One of the hundreds of 'Mani Walls' that we passed on the trek
Each house we passed had a small garden, growing familiar crops like maize, potatoes and beans
The first of the suspension bridges, walking across them too a little practice, and you needed a good head for heights
The valley walls soared thousands of feet above us, it was hard to comprehend the scale of things at first
An enormous craved Main Stone at Thadokosi
These 'girder' bridges where much easier to walk over!
Some of the porters heading off with our bags to the overnight lodge further along the valley
Most of the buildings we passed had loads colourful prayer flags flying from their roofs
Walking through the village of Ghat
We knew that there were several huge mountains in the area but the cloud kept their snowy peaks covered today
The prayer flags and Mani Stones were popular photo stops along the way
Our first glimpse of Phadking village and monestry
Heading into Phading village
It was located in a beautiful spot, great for our first night stop
One more wobbly suspension bridge to cross though!
High above the Dudh Kosi river on the bridge
Our first nights accommodation, the Phadking Star Lodge, better than we'd expected!
Waiting for a well deserved lunch after our first day on the trail ....
I hope that you have enjoyed looking at the photograph's in this gallery? If you have any questions or comments regarding them , please leave me a message by clicking on the link below, or alternatively send me an email, and I will get back to you asap. Thanks Gary ...
All of the photograph's in this gallery were taken using a Fuji S100fs camera © www.mywainwrights.co.uk (This page was last updated - 25 September 2009)
Day 2 - 