14 years while the hotel was managed by his
wife.
The following day at exactly 8am we left
Phakding for Namche Bazar (3,440m), one of
the most difficult stages in the 12-day journey.
We saw more waterfalls, woods, dense
forest of juniper and spots of withering
rhododendron flowers.
We continued to hear the sober flow of
Dudh Kosi or milk river.
The trek was expected to last between six
and eight hours but we managed it for almost
nine hours, arriving just before dusk.
We were scheduled to stay in Namche
Bazaar to acclimatise to the high altitude
before exploring the remaining mountain
villages of Tengboche (3,867m), Dingboche
(4,260m) , Lobouche (4,930m), Gorkashep
(5,140m) then finally the EBC (5,364m).
www.kalatas.com.au
Finally, we walked two-and-a-half hours
to our destination Kala Patthar (5,643m),
the highest elevation for the hike, where a
commercial tourist helicopter land picked us
up for a view of the majestic Everest.
Unfortunately, a stomach bug kept my
wife and me from joining the group, staying in
Namche Bazaar instead and forfeiting a hike to
the EBC.
We also missed the chance to see our three
daughters who had made the trail ascent four
days ahead of us.
Stuck we were in Namche Bazaar – in the
local dialect, “nam” meaning centre, “che”
meaning place.
And true to its name, the bustling
mountain town had several hotels, shops,
even ATMs, museums, and a military camp
overlooking the whole Khumbu Valley.
It had very clear reception for mobile
phones and the Internet.
Unlike the small villages which are home
to the local Sherpas, Namche is a place where
there are many other Mongol ethnic groups
including Rai, Newar and Tamang.
The weather hovered between zero and
five degrees, but at night until early morning it
dropped to below 10 degrees.
Saturday is market day when fruits,
veggies and other local produce are sold to
tourists.
Unable to hike higher and farther, a pricey
40min helicopter ride was an option.
From our hotel base camp, we took a
20min hike to the helicopter pad, beside the
Namche Bazaar Monastery.
The view from the helicopter was just
majestic – the vast Himalayas; the blue
Gokyo Lake, world’s highest freshwater lake
and considered sacred by both Hindus and
Buddhists; and the touch of the misty cloud.
Our chopper landed on Kala Patthar.
Four days before the end of the tour, we
started our return from Namche Bazaar quite
leisurely.
The tour that had usually been done over
two days, we extended to four days.
Back at Lukla we met up with the rest of
our tour group who arrived two hours later.
And few more hours later, our three
daughters returned.
Their feet stepped on Everest Base Camp,
reached Kala Patthar and they saw Mt Everest.
Our feet never landed on the EBC, but we
reached Kala Pattar and saw Everest.
The family was reunited after a once-in-a-
lifetime hiking experience. n
AK NewsMagazine, Vol 8 No 5 | FEBRUARY 2018
07