Trekking from Lukla to Phakding

Day 3: Tuesday January 3rd 2006

The Start of our Trek in Nepal

After two cups of tea in the Peregrine lodge near the airstrip we set off on the first leg of the trek to the village of Phakding. This took three hours and ten minutes and went steadily downhill for much of the way. Lukla is at an altitude of 2886 metres (9500 feet) but Phakding is lower at 2640 metres. At one point near the river one is even lower and there is about a 100 metre climb up to the village.

Hitting the Wall

This last part was the first real test of climbing at altitude. I did remarkably well until dropping to the rear of the group for the last 30 minutes. I felt that I “hit the wall” about ten minutes from the lodge but pushed on through. Two cups of tea and a lunch of spinach and potato were much appreciated. After lunch we were allocated our rooms. We have a million dollar view from our humble room.

Introduction to Toilets in Nepal

Our room has two single beds with very thin mattresses and room for our bags on the floor. We were pleased to have a flushing toilet just five steps from our room. Along the way we had to use a very smelly squat toilet. That’s fine for the men but not as pleasant for the ladies.

Great Weather

The weather has been magnificent with a bright blue sky and a temperature of about 17 degrees. There has been enough breeze to cool our sweaty bodies. Sunscreen will be essential in the thinner air here.