Everest Base Camp : Day 2 - Monjo to Namche Bazaar

Woke up feeling good. It was cold last night but I slept comfortably in my -20°C sleeping bag.

Today's hike would be rather short. Hiking from Monjo to Namche Bazaar would take approximately four hours, or less than three hours if you're very fast. But no need to be so fast la ok, you'll only risk yourself getting the AMS.

So I leisurely enjoyed my breakfast; pancake with honey and hot lemon.

breakfast

Filled in my water bottle, settled my bill and off I started my hike around 9am. 

Walking past the teahouses, it wasn't far before I reached the Sagarmatha National Park check point. FYI, Sagarmatha is the Nepalese name for Everest. And if you're hiking from Tibet, it's known as Chomolungma. 

A permit is needed to hike from this check point onward. I got my permit done here for Rs 3000. The permit can also be obtained at Nepal Tourism Board Office in Kathmandu for the same price.

While getting my permit done, I saw this.

Wow.. so many people came here in October! I'm sure the number is more or less the same in November cos it's the best time of the year to go hiking in the Himalayas.

Continuing my journey, the trail was rather empty. This is the advantage of staying in Monjo. Most trekking agency with large group stay at Phakding, which is about 2 hours away. Means I am way ahead of them and the trail is not that busy.

Today would be a tough day, though easy in the beginning. Going to Namche Bazaar at 3,440 metres means I'd be gaining a whopping 605 metres in elevation. It's a steep climb to Namche Bazaar, and also crossing a very high suspension bridge.

Trekking alongside Dudh Kosi river, I only came across hikers who just went down from Namche Bazaar. In the distance, I could see two high suspension bridges. 

OMG! It was soooo high! *nervous* Apparently, the higher bridge will save me 30 minutes of trekking compared to using the lower one. So yeah... let's climb up to it.

do you dare to look down?

And this is not the end. Most of the 605 metres elevation that I would be gaining today comes after this bridge.

Bistari.. bistari. I adhere strictly to this golden rule, going really slow on the steep zigzag trail by taking a stop every 15 minutes or so. Halfway through the climb, reaching Topdanda at 3,140 metres, I got my reward. Were reunited with Abu and his client. He pointed me a spot and told me, you can see Everest from there.

Everest as seen from Topdanda

My very first sighting of the Everest. Ahhh so near, yet so far.

Continued hiking through the woods until I reached another check point at Meshilung. 

Meshilung check point

Need to show the National Park permit here so keep it somewhere easy to access in your backpack. Not far beyond the check point is the entrance to the village of Namche Bazaar.

memorial to Pemba Doma Sherpa, a famous Nepalese female climber and resident of Namche



Yeayyy... hiking for the day is doneeeee.

Or so I thought. I still had to climb lots of steps, some big some small, finding a teahouse to sleep. I wanted to stay at Khumbu Lodge since I read good reviews of it. Abu, being a nice guy he is, recommended me to stay at Camp De Base. I went to Camp De Base first and checked the available room. Single rooms were full so I was left with double room and it was quite pricey. 

So I retraced my steps to the centre of Namche Bazaar and went to Khumbu Lodge. Luck was on my side cos they still have single room for me.

single room in Khumbu Lodge

Checked in, and went out to explore the town. It really amazed me, seeing a town at 3,440 metres. 

There are banks, ATM machine, school, clinic, pharmacy.. even a North Face shop!

Tea break at Namche Bakery is the best cos apart from their delicious cakes, pastries and bread, they offer free charging and free Wifi. Saved my money yeayyy.

among the selections at Namche Bakery

Chocolate Danish and Peach Tea

Enjoyed my time here and went back after dark. And I was late for dinner! I didn't know dinner is early here, generally people have dinner at 6pm and I was back at 7.45pm hahaha. Luckily, they still entertained my order. 

fried noodle with vege & egg

Monjo to Namche Bazaar map

Elevation at Monjo:  2,835 m

Elevation at Namche Bazaar:  3,440 m

Elevation Change:  +605 m

Distance:  6 km

Duration:  4 1/2 hours

Amount spent: 
Breakfast - Rs 410
  Tea break - Rs 600
 Dinner - Rs 440
Night stay at Khumbu Lodge, single bedroom - Rs 300
Sagarmatha National Park fee - Rs 3000
Total = Rs 4750 

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11