Day4: Namche Bazaar-Tengboch

Day 4 - Oct 3, Fri
Namche Bazaar (11,285'/3,440m) - Tengboche (12,665'/3,860m)
Approx 6 ½ hrs 8 miles Ascent 2940 ft Descent 1447 ft

From Namche Bazaar gain 360’/110m in the first 2 miles, then descend 985’/300m in the next 2 miles, then ascend 2,005'/610m in the last few miles to Tengboche monastery.

The walk to Tengboche is one of the most spectacular trekking days in Nepal. The day was very glorious - sunny and  bright! We were actually so lucky to have got sunshine all 12 days! The trail started meandering and we had Ama Dablam towering above us and Everest and Lhotse to the left almost the whole way. Anisha got a call on Sanjiv’s phone at 12000 ft! Hearing the phone ring at that height was quite remarkable. We stopped for pictures at a large chorten that was placed as a memorial for Tenzing Norgay - the first Sherpa to reach the summit of Mt. Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary - and all the Sherpas that followed in his footsteps. It is said that both Hillary and Norgay put their feet on the summit at the same time! The summits surrounding us were now close to or above twenty thousand feet high! They all looked so majestic and close and it was hard to fathom how far away they still were; it was as if their summits were just a tad below the sky. We took pictures of us in front of the Memorial and with Everest in the background. It was very picturesque.

To our right were beautiful valleys and canyons and soon we realized that Dudh Kosi was now way way below us and we saw one of the bridges we had crossed on the way up to Namche!  That gave us a perspective on how high we had climbed in just 3 days.  We passed a donation box to help maintain the trail in good shape. Apparently just a few years back the trail was much narrower and more dangerous.

We stopped for lunch at Phungi Thanga at café Zimbala and had fresh corn bread that looked like Bhaturas. There were very tasty with the stir fried potatoes. I also bought some necklaces from a lady selling jewelry by the way side. It was very pretty and I wish I had bought more! After lunch the funniest thing happened - Dunbar Sir - our guide started heading down instead of going on the suspension bridge right next to it. Sanjiv realized he was taking us back to Namche and corrected him and that set Revant guffawing madly! That became a big joke with us and we laughed about it for the rest of the days!



After that the trek was very steep and relentless all the way to Tengboche. It was through the Rhododendron forests and we could only imagine how gorgeous they would look in Spring when they would be in full bloom! At one spot we saw some beautiful mountain goats grazing beneath us. They looked so pretty! We took some short cuts on the way and that was very exciting to me! We were now walking on a narrow ledge that was pretty exposed in parts  really with over 5000 ft drop straight down. It definitely was not for the faint hearted. Shree felt a little dizzy on the way and Revant helped her along. We were all slow up the steep switchbacks with the lack of oxygen in the air becoming more and more apparent as we climbed. This was when Dunbar started the "khuru Khuru" slogan to push us along when we were inclined to take too many breaks. Khuru Khuru means "keep going" -  This stayed with us the whole trek and we would keep telling each other that! It also made it to our EBC banner decoration ;-)

The first sight of Tengboche is really  breathtaking! You approach it as you climb up a hill and you suddenly see the Ornate and Brightly painted Monastery completely surrounded by humungous snow clad mountains rising straight up. It is really was an unforgettable sight and the views from Tengboche are quite rightly deemed to be one of the world’s most magnificent! Just the enormity of Thamserku seemingly at arm’s length was so awe inspring!  Kwangde (6187m), Tawachee (6542m), Everest(8848m), Nuptse(7879m), Lhotse (8501m), Ama Dablam(6856m), Kangtega and Thamserku provide an inspiring panorama of the Himalayan giants. The jagged peaks of Thamserku and Kangtega stood to our south as Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam are visible to the north. The sunset here is amazing and so is sunrise. We reached in time for sunset and got some lovely pictures. We did however miss the Monastery service because Dunbar had the time wrong. Buddhist monastery of Tengboche(UNESCO World Heritage Site) is the highest Buddhist monastery in Nepal, and second only to a higher one in Tibet. The little town is very small and cute - there are just a few Tea Houses and a bakery and a few stores.

We took several pictures of the grand, silent, mysterious mountains at sunset. There was a beautiful green meadow in front of us and again this must have been full of flowers in summer! It was quite cold but the views were so enthralling that we did not feel like going in. Anisha and I took a little walk and had Shachin take pictures of us. I also have one meditating ;-) There was this beautiful colored moss that covered the rocks - orange with red flowers - that was so attractive. Everywhere you looked you saw huge snow clad mountains rising above lush green valleys. We saw some new peaks like Kamtega and Island Peak and Taboche and Khumbi-yo-la. Our Peaks lady - Shree- was our Peaks encyclopedia and she kept pointing them out to us.

We were received in the lodge with hot Mango that was yummy! Unfortunately our Tea House "Tengboche Guest House" certainly did not match the views. The rooms were cold and the Indian style bathroom outside was quite horrible and stinky with rusty mugs and bucket. And sadly enough I did have to suffer it big time on my diarrhea trips at night ;-)

The common room like the others had wood paneled walls with lots of long tables. The rooms had 2 beds with thin pads and a sheet, a window and concrete floors. All the places had electricity but the bulbs were so weak that you really could not read or do anything much. Dunbar started controlling our diets from this point onwards - no fried food, no sandwiches or any other uncooked food, no milk on the side coz you cant be sure that it has been boiled properly. So started having black tea.  Also started getting hot water bottles and then used the same water for drinking. We would also get big Hot Water Flask to drink hot water at night.

Health check:  Unfortunately I had developed pretty bad diarrhea and had started taking Norflox as suggested by Sanjiv’s brother and my brother in law - Ravi Bhaiya.  Shree decided to start Diamox. All the rest of us had started in Kathmandu itself. We do experience some tingling on the hands and feet but that seems to be the only side affect. Shree and Sukriti had so far just been taking the homeopathic medicine Coca. We also took that the whole time. It does seem to have helped.

Sherpas: We have 2 Sherpas and they’re both very nice and helpful.  The chief guide Dunbar Sir as we all call him is very knowledgeable and helpful. He has been up to EBC more than 50-60 times and knows the names of the peaks and has so much information about the trek. He even has some medical knowledge and carries some typical drugs with him. He had given me some pain killer for my stomach ache that was very effective. He lives near Chitwan national park. The junior guide Revant is young, energetic and very helpful. He also speaks very good English and is well educated.  He has a wife and kid who live in a village near Lukla. They are a good crew and fun to be around, and they watch us like hawks but in an unassuming way.  There is always one at the front of our group and one at the back. They watch and help whenever needed and they point out different peaks and facts about the peaks and the mountains. A great group and we’re very lucky to have them!

The porters are mostly really young boys except one - Mann. They are very quiet. In Namche we had arranged a party lunch for them to celebrate Dassera which is a big festival there.

NEXT - Oct 4, Sat - Day 5 Tengboche (12,665'/3,860m) - Dingboche (14,286’/4350m)