Journey to 5500m!
In October I traveled to Nepal with my two girlfriends to celebrate our 30th birthdays. It was hands down one of the most challenging and inspiring adventures I have ever been on. Nepal is a country most known for Mt. Everest but it also has an extremely colourful culture, warm and friendly people and breathtaking scenery.
After arriving in Kathmandu and settling in to get our permits for our trek we flew to a town called Lukla in the Kumbu region, situated on a steep hillside at 2900m. The airport we arrive into is considered the most dangerous in the world so needless to say I was happy when my feet touched solid ground. From Lukla we traveled by foot, carrying everything that we needed with us on our backs. We had made the decision to travel alone with no guides to show us the way or porters to carry our things. While trekking we stayed in tea houses each night where you eat dinner and breakfast. During the evenings we ate lots of chocolate and drank lots of tea, told stories and read books. The only heat was from the one wood stove in the common room to keep us warm. No central heating here! Our trek took us up the Gokyo valley and back down and then up another valley passing Ama Dablam, a mountaineers dream. We met lots of local families and farmers, visited very old monasteries, and witnessed some of the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen. One special memory from the trip was waking up at 4am to hike for 2 hours to 5500m to watch the sunrise over Mt. Everest!
Finally back to Lukla after 17 days of trekking and then on to Kathmandu, where we had a fantastic four days exploring the city and historic sights, eating and shopping!
Feel free to talk to me anytime about travel or my trip to Nepal! I would love to share my experience.
Sarah Cicchine BKin, RMT