Everest Base Camp Trek - Part 2

Everest Base Camp Trek Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6

We rested in a restaurant that was only about 100m away from the airport. In fact entire Lukla is within the walking distance of the airport. By 11 we were fresh and started for our next stop which was Phakding. Professional trekkers go for Namchi directly but we were amateurs.

On way to Phakding

Our first night was eventless and although we didn’t know then, the most luxurious. To begin with, our rooms had attached washrooms. This was officially our first night of trek and we learned many things. Food is exorbitantly costly in EBC trek because of difficulty in fuel supply at high altitudes.

Bridges on way to Namchi

Next day we started for Namchi which is a major town on this route. We had booked the trek through Thrillophilia which is a pretty shoddy agency. There was no briefing on difficulty or what to avoid during the trek. Till lunch we were travelling almost flat. However after lunch the terrain suddenly changed.

Climb towards Namchi

There was a bridge visible high up that we were supposed to cross. Once we reached there we realised the tough part was yet to begin. Known as the Hillary Bridge, this is the beginning of steps that take almost three hours of climbing to reach the foot of Namchi.

Hillary Bridge is visible

Hillary Bridge offered extraordinary uninterrupted view of the landscape. The climb from here, however, was testing. It didn’t help when one of my friends started vomiting possibly due to food poisoning. It was his sheer grit that made him keep pushing forward. We halted at a point from where Mount Everest was visible.

On Hillary Bridge

The last stretch was psychologically challenging as it was getting dark and everyone in our batch had gone ahead. The three of us kept marching and reached our hotel in Namchi just before dinner. Thankfully the next day was reserved for acclimatisation.