When I fell in love with Himalayas: EBC and High Passes - Part I

This was my first trek and introduction to Himalayas back in 2017. Though I have been Trekking in different parts of the world since 2008, but I only got a chance to be on Himalayas after 9 years of my trekking career.

I know, very surprising for most of the people who know me and honestly I was equally surprised for myself having not trekked in Himalaya for so long!

And as it happens to most of the mountaineers, trekkers, hikers etc., I fell in love with them. Since then, I have been to Himalayas so many times and they are so many routes which are in my list of priority when it comes to trekking in the future!

This was also one of the longest trekking trips I have undertaken so far, so the most challenging part for me was hiking for 19 days in a row, in complete unknown territories.

It all started with booking a 19 days long itinerary in Nepal to walk up to the Everest base camp along with the three high passing, going upto 5,600 meters and the famous Kalapatthar and Gokyo Ri!

It was such an eye opener, like the whole trekking world is opening wide in front of me, just confined in Himalayas. Very different terrains, unlimited options and routes to do and walk around, ranging from a simple and a short hike to a few days to a month and to that extent that one can spends months and years together here!

I still remember, when I was done with my 19 days of trek, I felt very satisfied and at the same time felt so restless thinking when is the soonest I can come back again for a much longer period to explore these vast and unknown landscapes of Himalayas.

I know, I get distracted, and it happens to me everytime when I think and talk about Himalayas, that's how imposing they are and have left a mark on my memory ☺️

So, coming back to my trekking days for the first time in Himalayas - I know if I try to write my mind out, it will run into a book, hence I have tried to stick to a precise day by day experience here.

Day 1: Exploring Kathmandu

On day 1, I visited the famous 15th century Pashupati Nathji temple in Kathmandu. I knew about the temple earlier from my grandmother who visited long back for pilgrimage. It is believed that one should visit the Pashupati Nath temple after the 12 Jyotirlinga yatra in India to get the full rewards of the pilgrimage

The sight of cremations being done in the open Ghats at the Pashupati Nathji temple premises will leave you speechless!

Boudhanath Stupa was the other place I visited on the same day in Kathmandu, which is known as one of the largest Stupas in the world surrounded by thousands of prayer wheels around the circumference of the Stupa.

Day 2: Flight to Lukla & trek to Ghat

On day 2, we flew to Lukla on an early morning flight. As you may be aware, Lukla is considered to be one of the most dangerous airports in the world, situated at an altitude of 2845 m, surrounded by mountains and a runway of just 530 meters in length. It was for sure a hell of a ride to Lukla, especially the landing part. I have posted a landing video a few days back, so feel free to check and take a virtual landing with me ☺️

As soon as we arrived at Lukla, I could already sense what would the days ahead be like – basically marching past those beautiful green & white mountains, passing through the thick and thin clouds often J

We took some time to prepare ourselves to start for a short trek to “Ghat”, which was our first camping site.

Day 3: To Monjo (2850M)

Today we started walking towards our next camp site in Monjo (2850M) through the pine forest and various small villages in between crossing and re-crossing the famous Doodh Kosi river (called so due to its colour, which is very much like white milk) many a times. You will see spectacular views of many 5.5k+ mountains throughout the day

Every day I moved ahead made me fall in love with the Himalayas more and more. It was also surprising for me to see the villages all along the path even though we are already getting deep into the mountains. This was so different from any other mountains I had visited so far wherein you will have just a couple of huts every now and then

Day 4: To Namche Bazaar (3440M)

This day was pretty exciting for me as I got the first glimpse of the shining Mount Everest (thanks to the great weather), while we walked to our 4th stop – Namche Bazaar, which is known as the “Sherpa Capital” of Nepal. Such a beautiful settlement with small quirky cafes and I would say with the smallest of city feel J

We had a rest the here to ensure we acclimatize well as we climb higher.

Day 5: Rest day at Namche Bazaar

This rest day was kept to ensure we do not ascend too fast to a higher altitude which may cause AMS symptoms, especially to people who are not on Diamox (a medicine which helps prevent mountain sickness). I used this day preparing for the next 15 days of wilderness by buying a few necessities which I didn’t pack from Kathmandu. Also, we had an option to take a hot bath in Namche bazaar paying around Rs. 300. So I used this option knowing I would not have this opportunity for the next fortnight. I also ensured to charge my battery pack and both my mobile phones so that I have no issues for the next few days.

We, as a group, also spent some time sitting in a café sipping on hot chocolate/coffee & devouring mouthwatering muffins and cakes (which we knew we won’t get again for the rest of our trekking trip).

We also went for a short walk up in the town and got to see a grand Birds eye view of Namche town beneath us; colourful, vibrant and yet peaceful in the lap of the mountains.

I was again excited to hear the from the next day we are moving into further wilderness with climbing upto 5000 meters just within the next couple of days from Namche.

So, that's the teaser on the first 5 days of my first journey to Himalayas. Forgot to mention this earlier, but I was in a unknown group of 9 people, most of them from Australia and New Zealand. When I met them first, most of them thought how such a thin and short (not that I am short, but ofcourse as compared to those Australian boys 😜) girl from India would survive next 19 days of strenuous climb; however, later on they told me about what they thought and how I proved them completely wrong 😂.

So, with that, I will take a pause here and would let you enjoy some pictures from the initial 5 days of my trekking. I will be further writing on my Wilder days ahead in the series of blogs here.

So, until then, stay tuned and Keep Exploring!!!