Sep 30, 2011 - Lukla / Kathmandu

After some apple pancakes for breakfast, I douse myself in sunscreen and set out on the last day of the trek. Phakding to Lukla is a gentle and short trail. From my memory of the first day of this trek, I assumed this to be a cakewalk, and then I come across the damaged bridge. The earthquake two weeks ago had caused a small landslide, making a suspension bridge unusable. The repair works are going on now, and the bridge in its current shape was closed to trekkers. The alternative route is a temporary trail along a cliff edge in very...

Sep 29, 2011 - Phakding

We are in no rush today and have a leisurely breakfast. As I dig into some delicious banana pancakes, the morning clouds clear revealing the screen of the amphitheatre that is Namche. It is the face of a mountain, dusted with overnight snow, and decorated with a few waterfalls – quite a sight. The trail out of Namche, as expected, is a steep descent to start with. We walk at a gentle pace. The scenery - a mountain-scape of conifers, waterfalls, rumbling brooks, blue skies - is much clearer today than on the day we were walking up. After...

Oct 25, 2010 - Kathmandu to Phakding

Early start! Tired but OK, everyone in the group is quiet at the moment, mixture of nerves and lack of sleep I think. We checked out and boarded our coach to Kathmandu airport where we will catch a flight to Lukla. We were delayed in leaving so literally arrived and went straight through security to the plane. The bus took us around the airport tarmac until we were greeted (to my horror) by a tiny "Tara air" propeller plane big enough for 20 people. Needless to say I was a bit scared! We boarded the mini plane (saying our prayers) and took...

Nov 4, 2009 - First Stop Phakding

Lukla is located at about 2800m and the first stop on the trek was to be Phakding, at about 2600m. So, in order to approach the top of the world we would first need to go down. Makes total sense. As you leave Lukla they have an archway wishing you a good trek. The way down from Lukla is like a steep, long stairway. It looked like it was not going to be fun on the way back. Eeep! We passed by many people and animals labouring their way up the path. There was a frail looking old man, all hunched over and needing to hold onto his guide’s arm...

Apr 15, 2009 - Yippee!

We're here! We got out of Kat today, and are currently in Phakding. \the flight to Lukla was good, and the landing fantastic. We flew straight at the face of the mountain, came in virtually nose down, hit the runway and slammed on the breaks. Our pilot was an older experienced guy, we loved him. We immediately began hiking, and 2 1/2 hours later we're in Phakding. We'll spend the night here acclimating - our guide (his name is Gilu Sherpa, yes he's a real Sherpa) decided not to take any risks. We'll eliminate one rest day in Namche Bizarre,...