A day in Namche Bazar, Nepal

Friday 6^th January 2006

Trek Day 4: At Namche Bazar

Early Rise

This morning we were woken at 6am to leave at 6:30am to climb up the pass to the north of Namche Bazar to view the sunrise on Mt. Everest, Lohtse and several other prominent peaks in the area. The climb up to the pass was a killer after all the effort expended yesterday.

Crashed Helicopters

Along the way we passed two crashed helicopters. One of them was only last week. We were advised not to take any photos as the army is just a little embarrassed about the incident. There were quite a few armed soldiers at an army post at the lookout, so we made sure we were very careful about where we aimed our cameras. Wind gusts area real problem for pilots in this area, which explains the wrecks. Still, they do not inspire confidence knowing that our special insurance policy for the trek includes evacuation by helicopter!

New Birds

The view from the pass was quite spectacular and we all took quite a few photos. On the way back to the lodge we visited the National Park Headquarters. It was hard to see the exhibits due to a lack of light. On our way back I had excellent views of two Yellow Billed Choughs and a flock of Snow Pigeons, both new species for me.