Day 4 - Namche Bazaar to Tengboche

Friday, 12 April 2013

Day 4 – Namche Bazaar (3,440m) to Tengboche (3,870m)

Average trekking time: 5-6 hours
Difficulty: Moderate-Hard

By now, my breakfast had become pretty standard – either oat porridge and omelet or toast and omelet, with a cup of strong black coffee which I wouldn’t be able to survive without.

The path out of Namche Bazaar started with a series of steps that led to a dusty and sandy hill side trail. At the ‘corner’ of the hill where the path turned, there was a Buddhist stupa and a viewpoint of Mt. Everest. There were 2 or 3 of these – sandy hill side trail with a stupa at the turn ahead. I got a weird feeling of déjà vu every time we turned the corner and came upon the same scene.

The hill side trail from Namche Bazaar

View of Mt. Everest from the viewpoint

Tea break at Kyangjuma

Shortly after, we reached the small village of Kyangjuma where we stopped for a cup of tea. From Kyangjuma, the trail continued, and soon we were plodding through a series of steep downhill steps and slopes that went all the way to the level of the river, and reached Phunki Tenga where we stopped for lunch. It was then that Phuri suddenly appeared.

Yesterday D had discussed with Kaji about hiring a personal porter so that she could conserve her energy for hiking. Kaji however, had opined that it wouldn’t be worth the cost as her daypack was quite light, and suggested that Phuri or himself could help her with her pack when she got tired. So here he was – Phuri had gone all the way to Tengboche with our luggage, got us a room, checked us in, and then doubled back to help D with her pack! And we were barely halfway to Tengboche! Such was the super human strength of the Himalayan porters.

From Phunki Tenga, the sandy path continued. We were walking along the trail with a few other travelers when Kaji nudged me toward a different path. Apparently the porters and locals preferred this alternative trail as it was more shaded and cooler than the other ‘tourist’ trail. But it was also shorter and viciously steeper with many switchbacks. Kaji was ruthless with his pace, but I could only go as fast as I could. Soon I was breathing heavily and had to stop to catch my breath at every bend. Somewhere along trail, we walked through a large flat area covered with white, powdery sand – it was like a beach on the mountains! At about 3.40pm, we finally reached Tengboche.

Hotel Himalayan, Tengboche

Tengboche was a small town with the usual lodges, restaurants and apparently a very important Buddhist monastery. Having no prior knowledge about Tengboche or the monastery, I was perplexed when a few trekkers whom I had met on the trail, asked if I would be attending the prayer session at the monastery. Later I learned that the monastery was the largest in the Khumbu region, and a very important one to the local Buddhists. Prayer sessions were held several times a day and tourists were allowed into the temple to watch.

After I cleaned up and changed, I headed outside for a stroll in my toe socks and flip flops, and ran into Fernando and Loretta, the couple from Canada. This time, we properly introduced ourselves. They had arrived much earlier and spent the afternoon exploring the village and hiking up nearby hills. Loretta was just kind and encouraging, and the sweetest person. I was freezing in my fleece jacket and flip flops, so we said goodbye and I ran up to my room to change.

D arrived an hour later with Phuri. She was tired but otherwise, looked OK. After some tea and biscuits, we took a stroll in the field in front of the monastery. Mt. Everest was visible from here. As the afternoon sun began to set, it cast a wonderful golden hue upon Mt. Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse, and surrounding mountains. The clouds over Everest made it look like it was a smoking living thing. This was a truly memorable view of the great mountain.

Smoking Everest and Lhotse

As the sun set, the temperature dropped drastically. It quickly became too cold to be outdoors, and we hurried to the dining hall for warmth and dinner.

The dining hall was packed at dinner time. Kaji came to tell us that he had decided to change our itinerary. According to the original itinerary, we were to go to Dingboche tomorrow and spend 2 nights there to acclimate. Instead, Kaji wanted us to go to Pangboche tomorrow, and Dingboche the day after. Pangboche stood at 3,985m whilst Dingboche was at 4,360m. This way, we would make a more gradual altitude gain – about 100m and 400m respectively each day, instead of 500m if we headed directly to Dingboche. He also indicated that D might have a better chance at recovery if she did shorter treks now, rather than exhaust herself with another long trek. The new plan sounded reasonable, so we agreed. 

Later, we befriended Collin and Philip from Australia who invited us to join them for a game of Uno. They were traveling with a group, and would be heading for Khumjung tomorrow. I declined but D joined them. By the end of the night, she had won 9 out of 10 games! I retired to bed early, at first to warm up inside my sleeping bag, but I soon fell asleep.

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