Travels in Nepal #4 Our trek starts

Near Lukla, Nepal

After the excitement of the flight into Lukla we were ready for anything. A calming cuppa in a nearby lodge helped before our first taste of the adventure set before us.

Lukla is one of the larger villages in the Everest region. It probably would be more accurate to call it a town. It is heavily dependent on tourism these days, trekking in particular. Anyone trekking towards Mt Everest will pass through the town at the start of their trek. There are many lodges, hotels, internet cafes, trekking supply shops and general tourist type shops. We stopped for none of them. We were keen to start on the trek.

As we left the town we followed the valley towards our first overnight stop. As we kept up a good pace along the track we passed many farms and houses like that in the picture above. The whole valley was delightful. Quaint and humble dwellings and tiny villages were brightened by the colour of the prayer flags strung up everywhere.

The most impressive aspect of this first day’s trek was the sheer magnitude of the mountains. I could not have imagined that mountains could be so steep, so high, so magnificent and so totally awesome. Overworked words, yes, but it was just how I felt. Words do not do the amazing terrain any justice at all. It has to be experienced to be believed.