Day 1-We fly to Lukla and trek to Phakding

And so, it begins. My guide Jit and I arose in Kathmandu at 1:00AM for the harrowing 4 hour drive to the Manthali airport where all flights to Lukla now originate. We arrived in time to board the very first flight and arrived in Lukla at 6:40AM. There were no permit lines, we met up with our porter Junge and set off for Phakding. We trekked through the lower valley almost alone in the quiet, fall chill with spectacular views. We crossed the river several times on suspension bridges and arrived in Phakding at 11:00. In order to lessen the next days challenging trek to Namche Bazaar, we walked an additional mile (5.1 in total) arriving at our tea house at noon. An altogether successful and beautiful start to our journey.


Lukla Airport at sunrise. Like many others in the Khumbu region, this project was led by Sir Edmund Hillary in the 1950’s. The large tract of land cost $635 and the entire project cost was only $2,000. It is now formally known as the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in honor of the first two humans to summit Mt. Everest.

Meet Jit Lama, my experienced and super-valuable guide.


Phakding parking lot.

Guide, Jit Lama, myself and our porter, Junge.

The next two days work lies behind me. 



The beauty of the Dudh Kosi river valley in the lower Khumbu region of Nepal.

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