The sound of roosters calling in the new day woke me from a deeply restful sleep.
The village of Namche Bazaar is known as the gateway to the Himalaya, but was once a thriving trading centre for farmers from surrounding villages and Tibetan traders to do business. It is still a thriving business hub - but that business is now the mountains.
A walk down the streets of Namche makes you realise how important it is for trekkers, selling everything you could possibly need for expeditions - even though more expensive of course than in Thamel, I was surprised, however, that things were not that much more pricey than in the big city.
The village streets are built on the semi-circular shaped terraces that give Namche its character - allowing everyone to tune in to life everywhere in the village - I could imagine that nothing goes unnoticed here!
The delightful streets of Namche
Livestock wander the streets and poke their heads out the doors of houses.
It is cold in winter, and most animals will sleep indoors at night, reinforcing the close proximity within which Nepalese and their animals dwell. It is a charming departure from farming as I know it, in New Zealand.
Pasture is not as abundant in the mountainous areas as it is in the more lush lower areas, and livestock such as yak. nak, cows and goats need fodder in the winter which has been retained from the summer months when pastures are rich. The greatest change possibly seen in Namche is the transition from a farming lifestyle to one of following the climbing and trekking seasons. Many people opt to run teahouses and also to use their livestock as pack animals, where there is much more earning potential. The old traditional systems of livestock movement upland (during summer) and downland (during winter) has slowly been lost, as tourism takes over and livestock are seen for their value related to this activity, rather than how they can provide meat, milk or wool for a family.
I wandered in search of coffee
and even though it was the end of the busy trekking season, I was still flush for choice of cafes. There are many different eateries in Namche; even European bakeries selling pastries, although I did wonder how long some had been sitting in the cabinet for. Namche was neither busy nor bustling when I was there, given the time of year, but there were certainly trekkers such as myself, in search of good food and caffiene.
I was not disappointed. The cafe culture prevalent in Kathmandu had made it to the mountains!
Namche is the first acclimation stop for trekkers going on any of the trails that branch out from this location.
A common and popular way to spend the extra day is to walk up to the world’s highest hotel - The Hotel Everest View, which sits at 3880m above sea level. My plan was to go to the hotel and then continue over to Khunde and Khumjung (where the Hillary School is located). The idea of walking higher and then sleeping an extra night at Namche, is to allow the body time to produce more red blood cells, triggered by a hormone erythropoietin, which is produced in response to lower oxygen levels in the blood.
Seemed a legitimate excuse to take another walk!
The grand stairway up to the Hotel Everest View
It was a grey dull day when I set out and the uphill heave out of Namche had me working hard within minutes.
The beauty of this steep climb upwards, is the view when you look back. It is completely outstanding - and it made me realise how much higher I was than two days before. I could barely make out the misty enclaves of Monjo in the valley far below.
I did not hold out much hope of an Everest view, when I stepped inside this Guinness Book of Records world record holding establishment, as we were enclosed by greyness, but what I was not prepared for was the commanding view of Ama Dablam, seemingly just up the valley. For the first time I was grasping the sense of how compact everything was. Maps do not relay this information well, and even my google earth-imagined journeys that I took before I left New Zealand, did not portray the close relationship the mountains in this region have with each other. Ama Dablam was ‘right there’. I also recognised the famous village of Tengboche which I could see on a neighbouring hill, it appeared to be just a short walk away, but was in fact a challenging trek from Namche over several hours and up a steep track.
The gorgeous Ama Dablam as seen from the Hotel Everest View. The enigmatic Everest is hiding behind cloud in the gap to the left of Ama Dablam.
The hotel was empty.
Sagarmatha - Everest was nowhere to be seen.
I walked on.
The track to Khunde is an easy downhill and goes past a small stupa where I stopped to take photos. The village of Khumjung sprawled out before me and I could see Khunde beyond that at the head of the valley.
A black dog joined me here and stuck with me all day and all the way back to Namche!
Khumjung sits in a valley behind Namche but is at 3790m, some 350m higher.
Khumjung Village.
When I arrived here I was feeling fantastic. My dog-friend stayed close by my side and together we walked into this village made famous by Sir Ed. It was here that Edmond Hillary decided to build a school in 1961. Back then it was a meagre but much-needed asset to the local area. Today it is a boarding school, where children come from miles away to spend their schooling, rather than going into Kathmandu. I was impressed by what I saw and felt proud as a New Zealander to see what legacy our own Sir Ed had left.
As I walked into the school, kids came up to me to say hello. A teacher introduced himself (excited to know I was from New Zealand) and showed me some classrooms - sparse and under-resourced by NZ standards, they were still a sight to behold and he was very proud of the school.
I wondered what Sir Ed would think now and I remembered his observations on the opening of that school decades ago …
“It was a remarkable occasion. The Head Lama of Tengboche carried out the official blessing. The forty pupils had grubby hands and smelly clothes – but their rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes were irresistible. It was a happy and satisfying occasion. When I left Khumjung on June 13th I little realised I was leaving behind what was to become a new way of life for me.
”
A large Stupa dominates the middle of Khumjung near the school
Now Khumjung School is successfully operated by the trust Sir Ed set up all those years ago; Himalayan Trust New Zealand
and has provided unreal benefit to the peoples of the Solukhumbu region. I felt truly humbled to be there.
As I wandered through Khumjung I also recognised the home of Phurba Tashi Sherpa, made famous by the recent documentary “Sherpa” highlighting the inequities of Sherpa people working in the mountains.
Phurba holds the world record for the most ascents of 8000m+ mountains, with 21 of those being on Everest and he worked for New Zealander Russell Brice until he decided to end his guiding career. I ate noodles in his teahouse (Tashi Friendship Lodge) and stared out into the view.
What an incredibly humbling experience to stand in this small village of utter greatness!
With my belly full of food, I was ready to begin the walk back to Namche via Khunde.
I knew there was a monastery in Khunde worth seeing, so I decided to slowly make my way there. Khumjung is a very neat and tidy village, with low stone walls marking small plots of land where livestock are housed, as well as marking the trail towards Khunde. As I wandered upwards, three monks walked towards me; broad smiles greeted me as they approached me whilst playfully jousting with each other.
“Where you from?”
The laughing monks
… the usual question …
I told them I was from New Zealand and immediately they launched into animated talk about the All Blacks. These three monks were rugby-mad and they primed me for every bit of information I had (which was very little!).
I never imagined I would have a conversation about rugby with monks, in a Himalayan village.
An old woman walked around the monastery again and again, muttering her mantra as she went.
From Khunde to Namche, there is a path leading up out of the village, over a small pass and drops down into Namche. I could imagine the area being stunning in springtime, with Rhododendron trees in flower and the hills green with pasture and life, but for now it was cold and unfriendly as the winter settled in.
The monastery in Khunde created a colourful addition to the surrounding winter starkness and as I could see, was a focal point for the village.
The walk back to Namche took approximately one and a half hours and felt unchallenging. I was rewarded with a stunning view when I came into Namche from the opposite side that I had walked out of in the morning.
The stunningly beautiful village from above. In the morning I had exited along the path leading out, at the top of the frame.
The striking contrast of colourful rooftops against the stark dusty surroundings, was captivating
as I descended hastily into Namche. I had spent all day walking; I was hungry and eager for a shower. I also needed to find an ATM machine and another layer of clothing.
A lesson on ATM machines in Namche:
Quite simply - if you can avoid using one - then stay away. But, if like me you neglected to bring enough cash to last for your entire trek, then a visit to an ATM is unavoidable. They are an experience all to themselves in Namche. Some work, some think about working and some definitely leave you wondering if you will ever see your card again, let alone any money. Then they also leave you wondering if the correct amount would come out. One ATM spat my card out but told me it had deducted funds. I stormed into the ‘bank’ and the man casually informed me that I should see a refund in my account in about a month.
“About a month?!!”
I exclaimed, completely unhappy with this situation. “Yes” he replied in a manner all too relaxed for my liking, “a month”.
Shit.
I needed cold hard cash. “Come back tomorrow, machine might be working then” he informed me.
So I did - and he was correct, it was working, and indeed within a few days I could see a refund had been applied for the first 5000 NRP I had attempted to withdraw the day before.
Better just to bring enough cash from Kathmandu
and also to avoid the ATM fee charged with each transaction of 500NRP, and the stress.
So what had I achieved in my acclimation day? I hoped a few more red blood cells were being coaxed into action by my incredible endocrine system, and that was due to this:
Starting elevation: 11,290 ft / 3,440 m
Through elevation: Hotel Everest View 3880m / Khumjung 3780m / Khunde 3840m
Ending elevation: 11,290 ft / 3,440 m
Elevation change: +0 ft / +0 m
Starting oxygen: 67% of sea level
Ending oxygen: 67% of sea level
Distance covered: 4.72 mi / 7.6 km
Time hiked: 4h 00m
An awesome day out.
