Day 4: Tengboche

14 April 2007
Tengboche, 3750metres, 1800hours

Arrived in Tengboche at 1430, after 5 and a half hours on the trail. The first part from Namche to Panki Tenga is a series of stone steps, uphills and downhills. Panki Tenga is actually at a lower altitude then Namche Bazaar. Although I found the stone steps daunting, especially on descent, I think I'm much better.

After 3 hours, I descended to the river at Panki Tenga for lunch. After that, it was a mixture of switchbacks and long uphils up to Tengboche, which took 2 and a half hours. By the end of it I was very tired as Tengboche is on a ridge up a steep hill. But for most of the uphill I found I could do long stretches without stopping, often able to overtake slower porters with large loads.

I also felt I was not really pushing myself, that I was a bit lazy.

The lodge at the edge where Muha and I stayed the last time was full so I went to one further down. The lodge-owner said that as I was his first guest from the Maldives he would charge me only 50 Rupees (about a fourth) of the room rent. At first I was the only guest, but soon a group of boisterous Indians arrived and completely took over the dining room.

I spent the remaining daylight hours looking over the ridge at the speactacular views. I could see the trail from Namche, as well as the villages on the way. Tengoche is one of the most dramatic locations on the trail and I would love to spend some time here.