| Date ... | Tuesday, 1 September 2009 |
| Start ... | Monjo village (altitude - 2835 metres) |
| Finish ... | Namche Bazaar (altitude - 3440 metres) |
| Time taken ... | 3 hours 30 mins (including stops) |
This was going to be our first 'tough' day on the trek with the steep climb up to Namche Bazaar. The first half of the walk was relatively flat until we reached the junction of the Bhote Koshi and the Dudh Koshi rivers. Here we crossed high over the Dudh Koshi, on another of the suspension bridges. This point signified the start of the 600 metre climb up the steep hillside to Namche Bazaar. Our guides made sure we took this section really slowly, as its very easy to rush it and make yourself ill, the climb up takes you through the invisible barrier where altitude sickness becomes a real problem. The climb itself wasn't as bad as I'd expected from the way it was described, but it was still very steep with lots of huffing and puffing. About half way up there's a wee spot where you can get the first glimpse of Everest, it was a bit cloudy but we got a tantalising glimpse of what was to come!
Getting ready to hit the trail!
The cloud was still down on the high mountains that surrounded Monjo as we left
The entrance to the Sargarmatha National Park, where you need to buy your entry permit
Colourful murals and prayer wheels in the park gateway
Dropping down from the gateway towards Jorsale village
Yet another suspension bridge to cross
The potato harvest was in full swing by now
Jorsale village on the banks of the river
Namche Bazaar is somewhere on the hill in front
Looking back downstream towards Jorsale
One of the many porters we saw along the route. Their loads can weight as much as 100 kg!
The suspension bridge high across the Dudh Koshi marks the start of the steep climb up to Namche
Crossing the bridge high over the river
The first glimpse of the high snowy peaks, is it Everest or not????
Our first sight of a yak train, heading back down to Lukla
The final steep pull into Namche Bazaar
A very welcome sign!
Namche Bazaar
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)
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