I had a few days to relax in Kathmandu and took a flight with Buddha Air (I always wanted to fly with them, nothing can go wrong with such a name) to Nepalgunj. I’ve never heard of Nepalgunj before, it’s the closest city with an airport to Bardia National Park, but it’s still about 100km away. I didn’t want to spent the common USD 50 for the transfer and decided not to book a ride in advance, I thought I will find somebody at the airport to share the transfer to the National Park. Unfortunately I was the only tourist in the plane. I met two young Nepalis who gave me a ride for half the price. They had no idea where to go, so we wandered about and I already saw a lot of the fascinating landscape.

The remote Bardia National Park seems to be an excellent spot for wildlife-watching, but its tourism business is luckily still lagging. It felt like I arrived in the middle of Africa. The resort where I stayed was a quiet and familiar place with four beautiful mud-walled cottages, while I was the only guest and had all attention of the lovely staff.
The first day I made a guided walk through the village of Thakurdwara and heard about the characteristics of life in the National Park and about the Tharu culture.
The two following days I made a jungle walk with my guide Jagat. We spot a rhino with its baby right at the beginning (I couldn’t shot a photo, we were so close and I was afraid they might recognize us). And in the early afternoon I spotted a wild tiger for the first time in my life! Far away, it was taking a bath in the river.
The next morning, I saw another tiger walking around, but it disappeared soon. Later that day, Jagat (sitting on a tree) saw a tiger killing two cows. We ran through the tall grass and found the two cows, but the tiger had disappeared. We looked for a safe place to observe the cows, it will come back anytime. So I climbed a tree too and we were waiting for a while, but the tiger didn’t return. We spent the afternoon wandering in the National Park, waded across a river, spotted one crocodile (due to the low water level now, there are almost no crocodiles) and two domestic elephants from the breeding center, who graze freely in the park during the day.
I spent the evenings watching the unique sunsets in the south of Nepal. Due to the dusty air, the sun is shimmering less and shows a clear silhouette – I already was fascinated by this natural spectacle when I saw it the first time in Chitwan in 2016. Finally I could capture that wonderful phenomenon again!

But one thing dampened my excitement: begging kids. Bardia is a less touristic area in Nepal. I think the local kids received presents from the few tourists very often, like balloons or pencils, which is a nice gesture for sure. Now they demand for gifts permanently. I think it’s not appropriate to give presents to the local children randomly. A better opportunity to help might be supporting charity organizations.

Back to Kathmandu! I still don’t grasp the system of the flights to/from Lukla. I guess it doesn’t matter which flight you’ve booked, you will be checked for the next available flight. Check-in 5 minutes before departure. If you have to wait though, wrestling is shown on screens at Lukla airport. However, I had a pleasant flight and arrived safely in Kathmandu.

Residing in my comfort zone again felt rarely so good. The conditions during the trek were at my limit. I was mostly afraid of the cold temperatures, which was a tough factor certainly. But I got used to it, a pot of tea and my hot-water bottle (I’m so glad I had it) made it bearable. More challenging were my flu and the altitude symptoms. At the beginning of the trek at the lower altitude, I was surprised about myself how fast I can walk uphill. But it changed quickly above 4.000 meters. I was constantly out of breath and had to stop permanently. Even flat paths became very strenuous and off the trek even little movements made me breathless. Combined with difficulty sleeping, I always felt exhausted. In higher altitudes, headache and dizziness tortured my body and my mind furthermore. Also my nails got extremely brittle, but it’s a less troubling effect. Particularly long days on the trek caused back and hip pain. To sum up, the altitude hurt me straight. I’ve booked 4 hours in a spa as I returned to Kathmandu.

The second strain was the price level in the mountains. I understand that all goods have to be carried by porters or transported by helicopter, and of course that fact justifies higher prices. But some things are just immoderate. I stopped buying bottled water as the prices for 1 liter reached NPR 300 (NPR 100 ≈ USD 1) in Machhermo and only drank tap water with purifying pills; a Steripen might be a good idea, but it has to be recharged. In Gorak Shep, no tap water was available and they charged NPR 400 for one bottle. Even filling my hot-water bottle cost NPR 350. One box of tissues took up to NPR 250 (I had a flu!). Hot showers are such a pleasure after a long day on the trek, but I only had two showers during the entire trip. In Gorak Shep, you have to pay NPR 1.000 for a hot bucket (!) shower. Wifi don’t has to be transported naturally, but the charges vary from NPR 500 to 650, while it’s often not unlimited. Charging your devices costs about NPR 300 per hour. Everything is getting exorbitant expensive as higher you get. That’s annoying and can ruin the easy spirit.

But such a trek is not about personal comfort nor budget traveling. It’s about the adventure. Those adventures you can tell your grandkids. Those adventures your dreams are made of. Those adventures which make all pain forgotten the next day. Those adventures which make you stronger. Those adventures which make your eyes sparkling. And it was exactly that kind of adventure. I’m super proud and happy I MADE IT!

I still recognize the cold temperatures in the early morning, but I don’t freeze anymore. Seems like my body got already used to the chilliness.

It’s extremely crowded today, but the masses heading the other direction. My guide told me, just yesterday about 50 planes with trekkers arrived at Lukla airport. We stopped for lunch in Phakding and had a long further way laying in front of us. It was already 4pm as we arrived our final destination, Lukla. Once again I met other trekkers, who I already encountered frequently at any place during the last 14 days. I had a final dinner with my guide Kadgar and – as always – went to bed very early.

Finally I could sleep a full night at the lower altitude in Pheriche. We started for our daily task to Namche Bazar at 07.30am. After one hour, we passed Somare, and after another one we arrived Pangboche, which was the biggest village I’ve seen during the last days – might be a good opportunity to get some stuff you need. The setting changed, again we passed a stupa and a suspension bridge, also the vegetation increased. It seems like coming back to a more bustling area. Quickly we arrived in Deboche and finally, the very last ascent was to conquer, leading to Tengboche Monastry. We took a break and continued downhill to the Checkpoint of Sagarmatha National Park and to Phunke Tenga, where we had lunch. Now it became more and more bustling. The small villages Lausasa and Sanasa trailed at once, and suddenly I spotted the sign pointing to Gokyo, which we passed at day 4. In this moment, I finally realized I MADE IT!!! I made the whole trek, facing all the effort, the cold, the physical symptoms, the adverse conditions. In this moment, I felt incredibly proud and deeply moved. High five! The final hike to Namche Bazar was just eased. In the evening, I watched the movie “In Thin Air” at Liquid Bar.

One more night with almost no sleep – now I know I wouldn’t survive for a long time in that high altitude. At 5am, I got an instant coffee made by the warm water of the previous evening. We began hiking Kala Patthar at about minus 20 degrees I guess, even to cold for my camera, it didn’t work constantly. The rising sun offered enough light already. Luckily the sky was clear and we always had a straight view to Mt Pumori and the spectacular high mountain range in the back, including the peak of Mt Everest and Khumbu Icefall. But we all had some troubles with the altitude and the incredible cold, so we decided to return at about 1/3 of Kala Patthar – our guides promised the view from the top is almost the same.

After breakfast we left Gorak Shep, returning to Lobuche. A very crowded part with traffic jams at Everest Highway, which took about 2 hrs. After lunch we passed the memorials of lost climbers and Sherpas. Snowfall started as we further walked downhill along the rocky desert, passing rivers and marsh. Finally we arrived Pheriche, an unexpectedly quiet village, not only consisting of tourism business. A pleasant change compared to the crowded areas I spent the last nights. I stayed at “Pheriche Resort” with only two other guests.

Another night with fresh snow blew over, and I still had serious sleep problems. We left Lobuche at 07am, wandering through a beautiful snow-covered wonderland. Though it’s badly noticeable we are not off the beaten path anymore. It’s getting really crowded. We arrived Gorak Shep, our highest overnight stay at 5.170 meters. Actually I expected only one lodge, but the demand seems to change the conditions quickly, even at these altitude. I guess there are almost ten accommodations now. Well, I stayed at “Yeti Resort”, which is still a tea house, but I don’t know the requests to get the title “resort”. We had lunch there and headed for Everest Base Camp finally! The weather was relatively clear, so we caught a glimpse at the end of the highest mountain on earth. Lots of yaks crossed the narrow path, they carried various stuff to EBC. The landscape was really impressing, I’ve never seen such a massive ice and snow area. It took about 2 hrs to the Base Camp, as expected it was crowded with camera-packed tourists from all over the world. So we made our shoots and walked about 1,5 hrs back to Gorak Shep. I even get stronger problems with the altitude, now a light dizziness occurred additionally. Everybody shows more or less signs of Altitude Sickness here. At least, oxygen is available everywhere for an abnormal price.

This morning the landscape was snowcovered. I guess about 10 cm fall down last night. It took us about 3,5 hrs from Dzongla to Lobuche. An easy hike, often we stopped for snowball fights. The route presents an incredible mountain panorama and we saw the memorials of lost climbers and Sherpas far away. Lobuche is a bit bigger than Thagnak or Dzongla, and offers even a bakery. I stayed at “Sherpa Hotel” and got three blankets for the night. Cozy 😴

Breakfast at 05.00am, departure at 05.30am. We should have crossed Cho La Pass before 10.00am, otherwise the wind can be horrible. The first hike along the frozen river was so much better than yesterday, I just walked 100 slow steps up and stopped for 20 to 30 breaths until my breathing normalized. That worked fantastic, I had enough time to see the nature while my progress wasn’t slower than yesterday. Unfortunately my drinking water was freezing up. After about 2 hrs we could spot Cho La Pass finally. A long way down followed. But looking up to Cho La Pass suspects something painful. Huge rocks to climb, so steep and strenuous I thought I will vomit immediately. It was already 11.30 as we reached the peak. We ate our lunch package and climbed downhill to a snowy and icy area. I used crampons for the first time in my life. At about 01.30pm we arrived at the next rocky area. I really didn’t want to climb anymore, but there was no other option. The final 2 hrs until we arrived Dzongla were debilitating, it was cloudy and we were so shattered by the effort of the day. At 03.30pm I thought 28 March 2018 was the most challenging day of my life! In Dzongla, I stayed at “Hotel Green Valley”, which was a bit more comfortable than the previous lodges. A pot of lemon tea and a while next to the warm stove brought back my energy. In the evening, a strong snowfall began.

Last night I was more relaxed when I woke up breathless once again. It’s just a mental thing. One deep inhale, continue normal breathing. However, I strongly recognize my body has some troubles with the altitude.

This morning we met at 04.30 for a coffee and a cigarette in the kitchen of Ngawang Friendship Lodge. We started hiking up to Gokyo Ri in the dark, but the sun was rising soon. It took about 2,5 hrs until I arrived at the peak at 5.360 meters – but could be done faster without a flu and constant breathlessness 😉 Additionally, the view from Gokyo Ri is really breathtaking, even it was cloudy that morning. After we walked down and had breakfast in Gokyo, I thought I wasn’t able to do any further step today. But no discussions were allowed, we left Gokyo at 11am heading for Thagnak. We had to pass the Ngozumpa glacier, which was really difficult! The underground is sandy and slippery, often the path is blocked by rock falls you have to cross, and you have to be very aware of another one coming down. That’s why the path is also difficult to spot between the rocks, I won’t recommend passing the glacier without a guide. Beyond, the landscape could be a scenery out of “Lord of the Rings”. Little green and brown hills studded with huge black rocks, the impressive mountains behind. Weather was changing quickly from really hot to freezing windy. At about 2pm we finally arrived Thagnag, another tiny village with some lodges. Sun was shining and after lunch I had a wonderful sunbath (with a few jackets and pants), watching the yaks passing by and listening to the roar river. I stayed at “Khumbila Hotel” overnight, which still had an indoor toilette (with frozen floor 😝) and a sink with running water, coming from a bucket, and some ice lumps inside. Beds are incredible hard, the blankets you get might be used for summertime. But I’m not thinking about giving up anymore.

In Machhermo, all water is frozen in the morning. There’s no running water, but even the water in my bottle or the water from the spring needs warm sunbeams before you can use it. Windows are frozen. Batteries are getting empty so fast, even if the devices are off. Conditions are not within my comfort zone here at about 4.500 meters.

However, my hot-water bottle saved my night, I didn’t freeze at all. But it’s getting more difficult to sleep and more often I wake up breathless. During the day, I’m already wearing three pants and five layers on the upper part – all the time, even when I move.

I still have these f*** flu and I had serious problems to breathe during the four hours we hiked from Machhermo to Gokyo at 4.800 meters. It’s not steep, I walked extremely slow over the rocky underground (there’s not always a path anymore). We passed Gokyo Lake #1 (Longponga), Gokyo Lake #2 (Taujung Tso) and Gokyo Lake #3 (Gokyo Tso) before we arrived at the village of Gokyo finally (all lakes are frozen now). Gokyo offers a spectacular view to the lake and the impressive mountains behind. I stayed at “Ngawang Friendship Lodge” with a wonderful panorama dining hall (unfortunately the food was the worst so far). Some snow fell, and once again I spent a relaxed afternoon and early evening in the dining hall with a warm stove in the middle.

This morning I was allowed to sleep a bit longer, but the flu still made me feel weak. I took some medicine and I wasn’t cold anymore, maybe due to a light fever. So I was able to make a short and easy hike today. The sky was clear and while we were walking, we always had the view to Choyo mountain in front of us. After about one hour we arrived Kele, which offers only one lodge which was closed today. The next village we passed was Luza with only a few lodges and restaurants. For lunch we already had been in Machhermo (4.470 meters). The afternoon was cold and foggy again, so I hang out in the dining hall of “Tashi Delek”, updated justhalfaworldaway.com and read a Buddhist book.

I didn’t feel better in the evening. Luckily I remembered the hot-water bottle in my backpack, which saved my life in that freezing night.

Nevertheless the flu was still making the decisions at the following morning, so I wasn’t able to go to Gokyo and spent another day in Machhermo. I enjoyed my second hot shower and washed my hair for the first time within one week. It was an easy day, I was alone with a Scottish lady, our guides and the hosts of Tashi Delek. I read my book, the WiFi was off and I was thinking about nothing already – just one week after I’ve left Germany! The first time I experienced that took a couple of months!

I felt much better this morning and as soon as we left Namche Bazar we enjoyed a beautiful view to the mountain range in the clear blue sky. Two Stupas were built at the path and they create a wonderful panorama in front of the snow-capped mountains. It took about two hrs (with lot of stops for taking pictures) to Khyangjuma, the next inhabited area with some shops, restaurants and even a bakery. Beyond, the path is forking towards Tengboche or Gokyo. So finally we left the crowded Everest Highway and a steep path at the rocks followed. After a bit more than one hour we arrived Mongla (3.973m), which offers a beautiful old Stupa and all restaurants with an amazing view to the mountains Khandega, Thamshaku and Kusum Kanguru. Perfect spot for lunch! The path was forking again towards Phortse Thanga or Dhole. We decided to spent the next three hrs to hike to Dhole already, which turned out as quite strenuous due to the strong wind. Additionally, a big herd of yaks slow us down as we couldn’t pass along the narrow path. We passed the first snow-covered rocks and some little waterfalls, before we arrived tiredly at Dhole (4.200 meters) at about 4pm. I spent the night at “River Side Lodge”, which didn’t even offer running water, but a warm dining hall compensated the basic facilities. After all, I finally got a flu and went to bed at 7pm.

I didn’t know how cold it was, but I could see my breath when I woke up this morning in Namche Bazar. However, the sky was clear and my guide and I went up to the Sagarmatha National Park Visitor Centre first, where we could see the Everest and the flanking mountains Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam etc. We went up to the Everest View Hotel to get a better view, and my thigh muscles already were aching. Luckily we decided not to continue to the Khumjung villages as a strong hail fell down in the afternoon. So I published the news here at justhalfaworldaway.com. After the hail stopped, I walked around in Namche Bazar and brought some stuff to the laundry (yes, there’s a quick laundry service here in the Himalayas). In the evening I had my first hot shower since I left Kathmandu, but I didn’t felt that well and went to bed early again.

My first night in the Himalayas was quite comfortable, my sleeping bag is almost a bit too warm for the temperature in Phakding. But I guess that will change quickly… Shortly before 8am we started our day task of about 11km to Namche Bazar. We passed a beautiful path around the mountain Nupla, the river Bhote Koshi Nadi down at the other side. The Sherpa villages Benkar, Chhumova and Monju with restaurants and shops were on our way and finally we passed the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park. So far, it was a very crowded but easy route which leads a bit up and a bit down. We had lunch early at Jorsalle – it was our last chance to get some food before we will arrive in Namche Bazar. Beyond Jorsalle, conditions are changing. The first suspension bridge I passed with fears (Hillary Bridge) leads to a very long, steep walk in the forest, on rocky and sandy underground. At my slowly, steady pace it took about 2 hrs to the first houses of Namche Bazar at 3.440 meters. Namche Bazar is waiting for the trekkers. Outdoor shops, massage studios and even the highest Irish Pub in the world will delight the tired arrivers. A noticeable fall in temperature combined with big clouds forced myself to snuggle in the sleeping bag early. But I still feel very well, I drank lot of water and had no problem with the exertion of the day, and still no signs of altitude sickness occurred.

The first day of the trek began early in Kathmandu. My flight to Lukla with Summit Air was scheduled at 07.50 am, finally we started at about 09.00. It is just a short flight, you will feel some turbulences and the short distance to the mountains around scared myself a bit. However, I catched a first glimpse at the snow-capped mountains of the Himalayas! With its very short runway, Lukla airport is kind of thrilling. It was the very first time in my life I clapped after landing. Halleluja 😅

My guide Kadgar was already waiting for me, we had breakfast in Lukla and began the trek. Lukla itself is offering everything for trekkers, so you can do a final shopping if you forgot something. The 8km to Phakding are not that exhausting, most parts are flat or run down and you can make it in 2,5hrs easily. A perfect beginning!

We crossed the first suspension bridge and the small village of Ghat with an primary school and various prayer wheels, and didn’t stopped before we arrived Phakding. Phakding itself offers a lot of Sherpa lodges at all price levels, and even an Irish Pub and a Reggae Bar. I spent the night at the basic “Trekkers Lodge”.

The main thing I wanna do at my second trip to Nepal? To look upon the highest mountain on earth, Mt Everest. But not from a helicopter window. With the bit of trekking experience I have so far, I think I’m ready for a new challenge and taking the Everest Base Camp Trek.
Due to its popularity, it seems to be a very crowded trek, especially now when it’s high season. I was looking for an alternative route to avoid the crowds and decided to trek to Gokyo first, continue heading east to EBC and Kala Patthar and go down quickly via the crowded route from Gorak Shep to Lukla.

This is my detailed itinerary:

day 1: flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (2.840m), trek to Phakding (2.610m)
day 2: Phakding to Namche Bazar (3.440m)
day 3: acclimatization day
day 4: Namche Bazar to Phortse Thanga (3.680m)
day 5: Phortse Thanga to Kele (4.200m)
day 6: Kele to Phangga (4.480m)
day 7: Phangga to Gokyo (4.790m)
day 8: acclimatization day, hike to Gokyo Ri (5.360m)
day 9: Gokyo to Dzongla (4.830m) via Cho La Pass (5.420m)
day 10: Dzongla to Lobuche (4.910m)
day 11: Lobuche to Everest Base Camp (5.364m), return to Gorak Shep (5.140m)
day 12: Gorak Shep to Kala Patthar (5.550m), return to Pheriche (4.240m)
day 13: Pheriche to Namche Bazar (3.440m)
day 14: Namche Bazar to Lukla (2.840m)
day 15: flight from Lukla to Kathmandu

Sounds challenging. I have a lot of respect for the next two weeks in my life. It’s not about the flights to and from Lukla, which seems to be the most dangerous airport in the world. And it’s not about my physical and mental condition. It’s the cold weather without the opportunity to leave which scares me. I will never forget these following two weeks certainly. Tomorrow I will go!