The best view comes after the hardest climb
DAY -6
12 October 2022 Wednesday, Phakding to Namche Bazaar (3.440m)
The third day hiked 14 km for 9 hours with a total ascent of 2,600 meters on another wet day and reached the biggest town in the Himalayas.
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| One of the highest hill above Hillary bridge |
Good morning! I am very excited today as we are heading to Namche Bazaar, the largest town in the Himalayas. Today we will have a serious climb up to Namche with a total ascent up to 2,600 meters and from altitude is 830 meters. After a nice breakfast - bread and honey, we suited up with rain gear to face another wet day. One thing about nature that we cannot really plan 100% for anything when hiking in the mountains. It is what it is right?
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| With Nazim |
After 20 minutes hiking, we reached a checkpoint to apply for the permit for Sagarmatha National Park entry. The uphill trudge to Namche continues and numerous suspension bridges we needed crossed. I do not remember if we ever had a trail for downhill between Phakding to Namche - all mainly uphill's trails or maybe one trail down after the second check-point to Sagarmatha National Park.
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| Stunning view like Japanese garden |
After the second checkpoint we were descending down to the river side, the rain getting heavier but we can see the famous Hillary suspension bridge on top of the mountain. Which means that we need to climb up to the entry of the bridge. This is the final suspension bridge named after Sir Edward Hillary that crosses the Dudh Koshi River at 410 feet high before Namche Bazaar.
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| Check-point for permit |
I do not feel comfortable crossing it as I can feel the sways by winds but yet no other options - just look forward and walk straight. At the end of the bridge, I felt like it was swinging a bit stronger and when I looked back, there was a group of Yaks entering the bridge. You can feel the heavy movement behind you. I speed-up my step to go out of the bridge.
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| Hillary suspension bridge, the highest in the world |
After the Hillary bridge, for the next 2.5 - 3 hours we got to deal with the extreme steep climb up to Namche Bazaar. I can see a lot of people along the trail are scrambling their way up and also resting to catch their breath before continuing the zig-zag climbing through the forest and dusty trails. I only focused on my steps and heart rate, taking it easy all the way up together with my other hiking buddies.
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| Take a break, let the King of Road pass thru first |
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| After steep climb, another 1 hour to Namche |
Finally we reached the end of trails and after nearly 9 hours hiking we can see the landmark of Namche Bazaar. We can see a lot of houses and shops on the sloping hills and stunning views of the mountain peak around the city (sorry can’t remember the mountain’s name). It really makes us happy that finally we are here at Namche Bazaar which is supposed to be on our Day-3 in Nepal. It is what it is, we look forward to reaching Everest BC - our ultimate goal for this mission.
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| Namche check-point |
We settled down at Foot Rest Lounge & Lunch Place for 2 nights as tomorrow we will hike for acclimatization. Nice Teahouse in the middle of the city. Lot of shops selling mountaineering clothes, hiking equipment etc and branded products like North Face, Sherpa, etc are available around our Teahouse. We also took an opportunity to send our clothes for laundry at the Teahouse and it was a bit expensive. Next time, you better send direct to laundry services around the corner and cheaper by 50% for Teahouse rate.
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| Namche Bazaar |
After early dinner, we walked around the city - the weather was a bit chilly at night. I decided to go home and rest. It is interesting to see a city without any motorcycles. No pollution except the animal’s dropping here and there. The sky at night was so amazing with clear shining stars - millions of it, really make us realize how much pollution there is in our countries.
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| The 'town' of Himalayas |
“Night is wonderful opportunity to take rest, to forgive, to smile, to get ready for all the battles that you have to fight tomorrow” - anonymous
DAY -7
13 October 2022 Thursday, Namche Acclimatization Day - Everest View Point (3,880m)
Finally the beautiful sunny day for acclimatization hike 5.2 km for 5 hours with a total ascent of 470 meters. Magical panorama mountains peak.
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| Acclimatization day - View point |
Good morning.
After 6 nights in the Himalayas, finally I had a good sleep - maybe I knew that we would stay here for another night. No need to worry about packing your bag everyday for the next journey. From our room’s window, we can see the beautiful mountain and today is a beautiful day. Finally we see the sun shine brightly to the mountains and the mountain peak looks like a golden peak.
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| Climbing up to Namche Hills for better acclimatization |
Immediately after breakfast, we were ready to start our acclimatization hike up to 470 meters from 3,440 meters to nearly 4,000 meters. I told myself once I reach 3,000 meters and above, I walk slowly and enjoy the mountain scenery around me. Even though I have the strength, I will take it easy and all this is about ensuring I do not get hit by AMS.
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| Stunning majestic mountains |
As I hike up Namche's hill (not sure if there is another name), but the trail is really steep up and zig-zagged to the top. It was a really beautiful day with a clear blue sky. Amazing. We hike up to the Panorama Hotel and climb the peak nearby and guess what? In front of us, along the horizon the mountain’s peak of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. It is really huge even from far away - another 4 days hiking journey to see them closer. Subhanallah.
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| Zoom in the mount Everest or Lhotse |
For comparison purposes, we were at the peak of Mount Kinabalu 4.095 meters. the highest mountain in Malaysia and Borneo island (I think also the highest in ASEAN countries e.g. Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and around the region).
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| Beautiful day, amazing 360 view and a cup of coffee |
Amazing day, the sky is so magnificent blue and I took hundreds of photos. It was a blessing in this breathtaking scenery after two days stranded at Phaplu village and three days hiking in the rain to reach Namche. Nothing much to ask, just keep the weather like this until we complete our Everest BC expedition. Then we drop by at Panorama Hotel 3,910 meters and have nice hot tea and vegetable spring rolls. While having our snacks, we can see a 360 degree view of magnificent peaks- felt like a luxury mesmerizing scene, so magical. So awesome! Not everyone in this world is able to enjoy this amazing moment!
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| #KoyokAdventureTeam |
We spent some time enjoying the amazing and stunning views up here. Around 1 pm we started descending down back to Namche. Amazing day! We had our lunch at the Teahouse and then went out again to a nearby bakery shop. We were told that don’t miss the carrot chocolate cake in Namche - it is the best in the world! We were so lucky that the bakery shop is just opposite our Teahouse. We had our cake and coffee - I tell you it's really delicious! Don’t miss it if you are at Namche Bazaar.
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| Descending down to Namche |
