Arrival and Day 1 - Hike from Lukla up to Phakding
First views of some unbelievably vertical terrain... not a flat spot to be found! We arrive in Kathmandu, then fly to Lukla, the launching point for treks and expeditions into the Everest region of the Himalayas.
13 Photographs
1
The Himalayas were impressively high, even when seen from 25,000 ft - we had to look UP out the airplane window to see them!
2
Sunrise at Kathmandu airport. The distant peaks lit up with glowing colors long before the sun reached us in the valley.
3
Flying from Kathmandu to Lukla gave us a full hour to gawk at the wall of mountains coming ever closer.
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Just clearing the ridges, we’re actually on final approach for the Lukla airstrip...
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Touchdown at 9,200 ft. With a steep mountain right in front of the strip, there’s no going around for a missed approach on this runway!
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The Lukla natives watch the familiar spectacle of trekkers unloading and sorting gear for the start of a trip.
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On the trail at last! Dave S. leaving Lukla, and heading for the hills.
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The only flat spaces in this country are artificially made! Around the villages, terraced hillsides are the only way to make farming possible.
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A snow-covered peak appears in a short while, luring us up the valley, toward the higher mountains beyond. This suspension bridge is the first (and smallest) of many we would cross early in the trek.
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Villages are often surrounded by Tibetan prayer flags and prayer stones - carrying inscriptions of Buddhist prayers to present to the deities in the sky above.
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The lettering on a super-human sized engraved prayer stone gets a fresh coat of paint.
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Our path up from Lukla follows the Dudh Koshi River valley all the way to Namche Bazaar. Here, the village of Phakding, our destination for the day, comes into view on the other side...
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... and the only way across is over this 100-meter long suspended footbridge! Whee!