Loely Plet Publictios 323 Trekkig The hertld of Nepl is fr from y rods, d the oly wy to get there is by wlkig through edless rges of hills. It s rewrdig experiece to joi locl people d wlk to remote villges d the foot of the Himly peks. Trekkig i Nepl mes wlkig trip followig trils, my of which hve bee used for ceturies. It is ot moutieerig, lthough some of the populr trekkig trils re used by moutieerig expeditios o their pproch mrches. Their legth vries there re populr treks tht oly tke dy d others tht lst week or moth. Nepl offers some of the most spectculr d beutiful sceery i the world. It hs er moopoly o the world s highest peks eight of the 10 highest re foud here. Mouti flights my give you superb views, but there is bsolutely othig like wkig up o crystl-cler Himly dy d seeig 8000m pek towerig over you. Trekkig i Nepl is ot like hikig through uihbited tiol prk. Locl people re costtly pssig by o the trils, usully crryig extrordirily hevy lods of uexpected items. Alog my routes there re regulrly spced villges i which to puse d fid shelter. I the villges you c meet people from diverse ethic groups. The wrm, outgoig ture, geerl friedliess d good humour of Neplis is ofte oted by trekkers. Religious festivls c mke trekkig eve more ejoyble d iterestig. This chpter outlies the bsic requiremets for sfe trekkig o the mouti trils d gives overview of the mjor trekkig routes where you c sty i locl lodges ech ight. For treks to more remote regios, you will require more detiled dvice, mps d route descriptios; check out Loely Plet s Trekkig i the Nepl Himly. This chpter covers multidy hikes: for our top 10 dy hikes, see p77. HIGHLIGHTS Mke the pproch to Everest Bse Cmp ( p334 ), followig i the footsteps of fmous moutieers Awke to the ucy stilless of the Apur Sctury ( p352 ) s dw revels the wesome sight of the surroudig peks sorig overhed Visit remote mouti villges, meet the locl people d experiece Tibet Buddhist culture i Nmche Bzr ( p337 ) Witess the rw beuty of the glciers; her the crsh of vlches d the ror of rgig rivers roud Mg Villge ( p351 ), with ew d more spectculr view dy fter dy Apur Sctury Mg Everest Bse Cmp Nmche Bzr
324 BEFORE YOU GO Plig www.loelyplet.com www.loelyplet.com BEFORE YOU GO Plig 325 BEFORE YOU GO PLANNING Nepl offers plety of opportuity for treks lstig dy or less, though most re cosiderbly loger. From Pokhr ( p268 ) or roud the Kthmdu Vlley ( p162 ) you c do vriety of two-, three- or four-dy wlks, but Nepl s most populr treks tke t lest week. For the very populr Everest Bse Cmp d Apur Circuit treks you hve to llow three weeks ech. Do t tke o oe of these treks too lightly; the ed of the first week is ot the time to discover tht you re ot kee o wlkig. Whe to Trek The best time to trek is the dry seso from October to My; the worst time is the mosoo period from Jue to September. This geerlistio does ot llow for the peculirities of idividul treks. Some people eve clim tht the udeible difficulties of trekkig durig the mosoo re outweighed by the virtul bsece of Wester trekkers. The first two moths of the dry seso, October d November, offer the best wether for trekkig. The ir, freshly wshed by the mosoo ris, is crystl cler, the mouti sceery is superb d the wether is still comfortbly wrm. December, Jury d Februry re still good moths for trekkig, but the cold c be bitter d dgerous t high ltitudes. Gettig up to the Everest Bse Cmp c be rel edurce test d Thorug L o the Apur Circuit is ofte blocked by sow. SAFELY IN MAOIST COUNTRY I Mrch d April the wether hs bee dry for log time d dust is strtig to hg i the ir, ffectig visibility. The poorer qulity of the Himly views is compested for by the superb wildflowers, such s the woderful rhododedros. By My it strts to get very hot, dusty d humid, d the mosoo is defiitely just roud the corer. From Jue to September the trils c be dgerously slippery due to the mosoo ris, d rgig rivers ofte wsh wy bridges d stretches of tril. Nepl s fmous jukh (leeches) re uplest feture of the wet seso but, with cre, trekkig c still be possible d there re certily fewer trekkers o the tril. Wht Kid of Trek? There re my differet styles of trekkig to suit your budget, fitess level d vilble time. You c crry your ow pck d tet d rely totlly o your ow vigtio, lguge skills d prior reserch. Others fid it mkes sese to hire locl porter to crry your hevy luggge so tht you c wlk with oly smll pck. A guide will lso ehce the trekkig experiece. Most idepedet trekkers pl to sleep d et i lodges every ight d forego the complictios of cmpig. To sve time, my people orgise trek through trekkig gecy, either i Kthmdu or i their home coutry. Such orgised treks c be simple lodge-to-lodge ffirs or mgificet expeditios with the full regli of porters, guides, portble kitches, diig tets d eve toilet tets. Trekkig is physiclly demdig. Some preprtio is recommeded, eve for shorter treks. You will eed edurce d At the time of writig, the Moist uprisig i rurl Nepl hd sigifictly ffected most trekkig routes, though the Moists hve mde it cler tht they re ot trgetig foreig tourists. While o tourists hve bee hrmed by Moist groups, trekkers hve bee sked for dotios, rgig from Rs 1000 to US$100, whe pssig through res uder Moist cotrol. There hve bee severl ugly cofrottios whe trekkers iitilly refused to py up. Check the curret situtio before hedig out o the tril, s with ll treks, d cooperte fully with demds of both govermet officils d Moists whe required. Eve i the reltively uffected regios of Apur d Everest, telephoe booths d ACAP posts hve bee destroyed d some police checkposts re o loger med. Before udertkig y trek you should register with your embssy d follow its trvel dvice. For up-to-dte iformtio visit www.trekifo.com, which hs liks to vrious trvel dvice d ews sites. See lso the boxed text, p19. MOUNTAINEERING IN NEPAL Brdley Myhew Moutieerig becme fshioble pursuit i Europe durig the secod hlf of the 19th cetury. Hvig kocked off the gret Alpie peks, Europes foud the much greter heights of the Himly obvious ew chllege. A Eglishm med WW Grhm mde moutieerig visit to Nepl i 1883 d reched the top of 6000m pek. He ws followed by other Eglishm, Tom Logstff, who climbed Trisuli (7215m) i 1907. For the ext 20 yers this remied the highest summit reched i the world. A Itli ttempt o K2, i Pkist, two yers lter becme the first of the huge Himly expeditios ivolvig hudreds of porters. The West s ewfoud ffluece fter its recovery from WWII, together with more moder equipmet, vstly improved oxyge pprtus, ew moutieerig skills d the reopeig of Nepl, led to golde ge of Himly moutieerig. The prewr filures were bruptly reversed i the 1950s, begiig with Murice Herzog s vlit Frech expeditio o Apur i 1950. His tem s horrific storm-plgued struggle tured lredy extremely difficult climb ito epic of hum edurce, but for the first time moutieers hd reched the top of 8000m pek. After descedig the mouti they hd moth-log struggle through the mosoo with the expeditio doctor hvig to perform mputtios of frostbitte figers d toes. The success of the 1953 British expeditio to Everest beg tred towrds lrger d lrger expeditios. The few climbers who did rech the summit from these expeditios required huge pyrmid of supporters below them. The effect o the eviromet ws devsttig, s forests fell to provide firewood for the expeditios d vst mouts of moutieerig equipmet d grbge were left behid. The Everest Bse Cmp hs bee ptly titled the world s highest grbge dump. stmi to tckle the steep scets d descets tht re so much prt of trekkig i the highest mouti rge i the world. O the tril you will begi to relise just how fr you re from medicl help d the simple comforts tht you usully tke for grted. For most people, this is prt of the ppel of trekkig, but for some it is shock to relise just how resposible they re for their ow wellbeig. A simple stumble c hve ctstrophic results. Eve twisted kle or sore kee c become serious icoveiece if you re severl dys wy from help d your compios eed to keep movig. Idepedet Trekkig Idepedet trekkig does ot me solo trekkig. It simply mes tht you re ot prt of orgised tour. The trekkig trils described here hve ccommodtio log their etire legth so there s o eed to pck tet, stove or mt. For experieced hikers, guides d porters re ot ecessry o the Apur or the Everest treks. A good guide or porter will ehce your experiece, but bd oe will just mke life more complicted (see right ). There re my fctors tht ifluece how much you sped o idepedet trek. I most plces, dorm ccommodtio costs roud Rs 50 to 100, simple mel of rice d dl roud Rs 50 to 75. As you get further from the rod o the Apur Circuit d i the Everest regio, prices c be more th twice s high. After log dy hikig, most people will weke whe cofroted by cold beer, pple pie or hot shower, d these will drmticlly dd to your costs. Budget for US$10 to US$20 per dy i the Apur d Everest regios, which will lso cover the occsiol luxury. I lmost ll lodges prices re fixed d re more th resoble. Remember this d the rel vlue of the rupee before you strt to get crried wy with brgiig. Guides & Porters If you c t (or do t wt to) crry lrge pck, if you hve childre or elderly people i your prty, or if you pl to wlk i regios where you hve to crry i food d tets, you should cosider hirig porter to crry your hevy bggge. If you mke rrgemets with oe of the smll trekkig gecies i Kthmdu, expect to py Rs 200 to 300 per dy for guide, d Rs 300 to 750 for porter. The reso guide is cheper is tht you will be
326 BEFORE YOU GO Plig www.loelyplet.com www.loelyplet.com BEFORE YOU GO Plig 327 buyig the guide s food so remember to fctor tht i. FINDING GUIDES & PORTERS To hire guide, look o bulleti bords, hire someoe through guesthouse or gecy, visit trekkig compy or check with the office of the Kthmdu Evirometl Eductio Project (KEEP; see p331 ). Chhetri Sisters Guesthouse (%061-524066; trek@3sistersdveture.com) t Lkeside North, Pokhr, orgises wome porters d guides for wome trekkers (see p259 ). It s firly esy to fid guides d porters, but it is hrd to be certi of their hoesty d bility. Uless you hve first-hd recommedtios, you re best to hire someoe through guesthouse or gecy. A porter or guide foud t street corer c esily dispper log the tril with ll your ger eve if they re crryig slew of letters from pst cliets certifyig their hoesty. There is distict differece betwee guide d porter. A guide should spek Eglish, kow the terri d the trils, d supervise porters, but probbly wo t crry lod or do meil tsks such s cookig or puttig up tets. Porters re geerlly oly hired for lod-crryig, lthough icresig umber spek some Eglish d kow the trils well eough to ct s guides. If durig trek you decide you eed help, either becuse of illess, problems with ltitude, blisters or weriess, it will geerlly be possible to fid porter. Most lodges c rrge porter, prticulrly i lrge villges or er hill-coutry irstrip where there re ofte porters who hve just fiished workig for trekkig prty d re lookig for other lod to crry. OBLIGATIONS TO GUIDES & PORTERS A importt thig to cosider whe you decide to trek with guide or porter is tht you re plcig yourself i the role of employer. This mes tht you my hve to del with persoel problems, icludig medicl cre, isurce, strikes, requests for time off d slry icreses, d ll the other spects of beig boss. Be s thorough s you c whe hirig people d mke it cler from the begiig wht the requiremets d limittios re. After tht, prepre yourself for some hgglig it s prt of the process. Whe hirig porter you re resposible (morlly if ot leglly) for the welfre of those you employ. My porters die or re ijured ech yer (see the boxed text, opposite ) d it s importt tht you do t cotribute to the problem. These re the mi poits to ber i mid whe hirig porter. Esure tht dequte clothig is provided for y stff you hire. This eeds to be suitble for the ltitudes you ited to trek to, d should protect gist bd wether. Equipmet should iclude dequte footwer, hedwer, gloves, widproof jcket d trousers, suglsses, d blket, sleepig mt d tet if you re trekkig to remote res or high ltitude. Esure tht whtever provisio you hve mde for yourself for emergecy medicl tretmet is vilble to porters workig for you. Esure tht porters who fll ill re ot simply pid out d left to fed for themselves (it hppes!). Esure tht porters who do fll ill, d re tke dow d out i order to ccess medicl tretmet, re ccompied by someoe who speks the porter s lguge d lso uderstds the medicl problem. Whether you re mkig the rrgemets yourself or delig with gecy, mke sure you clerly estblish where you will go, how log you will tke, how much you re goig to py d wht you will supply log the wy. With guide, gree o fixed dily rte for food rther th py s you go. Arrgemets where you py for the guide or porter s ccommodtio d food c ed up beig surprisigly expesive. The mout of food hugry Nepli guide c go through, whe you re footig the bill, c be stuig. You eed to icrese the llowce t higher elevtios where food is more expesive. Whe you do provide equipmet for porters, be sure to mke it cler whether it is lo or gift. I relity it c be very hrd to get bck equipmet tht you hve loed uless you re very determied d thick-skied. If you re hirig your ow porters, cotct KEEP (see p331 ) for iformtio bout the porter clothig bk, scheme tht llows you to ret protective ger for your porter. WITH A PORTER Porters re the bckboe of the trekkig idustry i Nepl, d yet every yer there re icidets (ll of them prevetble) ivolvig porters sufferig from cute mouti sickess (AMS), sow blidess d frostbite. Some of these illesses hve resulted i ftlities. It seems porters re well dow the peckig order with some trekkig compies tht simply do t look fter the porters they hire. This certily does ot pply to ll compies, but there re plety, especilly t the budget ed of the scle, who re more worried bout their ow profit th the welfre of those they rely o to geerte tht profit. Porters ofte come from the lowld vlleys, re poor d poorly educted, d re ofte igort of the potetil dgers of the res they re beig employed to work i. Stories boud of porters beig left to fed for themselves, werig thi cotto clothes d sdls whe trversig high mouti psses i blizzrd coditios. At the ed of ech witer umber of porters bodies re discovered i the sowmelt they become tired, ill or ffected by ltitude, d simply sit dow i the sow, get hypothermi d die. If you re hirig porter idepedetly, you hve certi obligtios to meet. If you re trekkig with orgised group usig porters, be sure to sk the compy how they esure the wellbeig of porters hired by them. I order to prevet the buse of porters, the Itertiol Porter Protectio Group (IPPG; www.ippg.et) ws estblished i 1997. The im of both the IPPG d its sister orgistio Porters Progress (www.portersprogress.org) is to improve helth d sfety for porters t work, to reduce the icidece of voidble illess, ijury d deth, d to educte trekkers d trekkig d trvel compies bout porter welfre. Both orgistios operte clothig bk for porters, with brches i Lukl d Thmel. IPPG hs office i the Itertiol Mouti Explorers Coectio (IMEC; Mp p136 ; %2081407; www.moutiexplorers.org) i Thmel. Porters Progress hs office further orth i Thmel (Mp p136 ). Orgised Trekkig Orgised treks c vry gretly i stdrds d costs. Treks rrged with itertiol trvel compies ted to be more expesive th trips rrged withi Nepl. INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES After redig the glossy brochure of dveture-trvel compy, you py for the trek d everythig is orgised before you leve home. The cost will probbly iclude flights to d from Nepl, ccommodtio i Kthmdu before d fter the trek, tours d other ctivities s well s the trek itself. A fully orgised trek provides virtully everythig: tets, sleepig bgs, food, porters s well s experieced Eglishspekig sirdr (tril boss), Sherp guides d usully Wester trek leder. All you eed worry bout is dypck d cmer. Compies orgisig trekkig trips i Nepl iclude some well-kow mes such s Mouti Trvel-Sobek (www.mtsobek.com), Wilderess Trvel (www.wilderesstrvel.com) or Above the Clouds (www.boveclouds.com) i the USA, World Expeditios (www.worldexpeditios.com.u) or Peregrie Advetures (www.peregriedvetures.com) i Austrli, d Explore Worldwide (www.explorewporldwide.com) i the UK. Although the trek leders my be experieced Wester wlkers from the itertiol compy, the o-the-groud orgistio i Nepl will most probbly be crried out by reputble locl trekkig compy. LOCAL AGENCIES It s quite possible (d it c sve lot of moey) to rrge fully orgised trip whe you get to Nepl, but if you hve lrge group it s best to mke the rrgemets well i dvce. My trekkig compies i Nepl c put together fully equipped trek if you give them few dys otice. With the best of these compies trek my cost upwrds of US$60 or US$70 per perso per dy d you ll trek i rel comfort with tbles, chirs, d diig tets, toilet tets d other luxuries. There re more th 300 trekkig gecies i Nepl, rgig from those coected to itertiol trvel compies, dow to smll gecies tht specilise i hdlig idepedet trekkers. These smll gecies will ofte be ble to fix you up with idividul porters or guides. A group
328 BEFORE YOU GO Plig www.loelyplet.com www.loelyplet.com BEFORE YOU GO Documets & Fees 329 trek orgised through oe of these gecies might cost US$30 to US$50 per perso per dy. Group treks styig t villge is log the route c be cheper still (roud US$25 dy icludig guide d food). Some trekkig gecies tht hve bee recommeded iclude: Adveture Nepl Trekkig (%01-4412508; fx 4222026; Tridevi Mrg, Thmel, PO Box 915, Kthmdu) Am Dblm Trekkig (%01-4415372/3; fx 4416029; himly.sles@mdblm.wlik.com.p; Lzimpt, PO Box 3035, Kthmdu) Apur Moutieerig & Trekkig (%01-4222999; fx 4226153; mtk@ccsl.com.p; Durbr Mrg, PO Box 795, Kthmdu) Asi Trekkig (%01-4424249; fx 4411878; Tridevi Mrg, Thmel, PO Box 3022, Kthmdu) Bhrikuti Himly Treks (%01-417459; fx 4413612; sibht@ccsl.com.p; Ng Pokhri, Nxl, PO Box 2267, Kthmdu) Chhetri Sisters (%061-524066; trek@3sistersdveture.com; Lkeside North, Pokhr) Crystl Mouti Treks (%01-4416813; fx 4412647; diesh@crystl.wlik.com.p; Ng Pokhri, Nxl, Kthmdu) Himly Hill Treks & River Tours (%01-4520609; ifo@hilltreks.com; Pt) Ier Nepl Treks (%01-4226130; fx 4224237; explore@mos.com.p; Kmldi, Kthmdu) Joureys Moutieerig & Trekkig (%01-4415092; fx 4419808; joureys@mos.com.p; Bluwtr, Kthmdu) Lm Excursios (%01-4220186; fx 4227202; trek@lmex.wlik.com.p; Chddol, Mhrjgj, Kthmdu) Mll Treks (%01-4410089; fx 4423143; ifo@mlltreks.com; Lekhth Mrg, Kthmdu) Mouti Trvel Nepl (%01-4414508; ifo@tigermouti.com; Lzimpt, Kthmdu) Sherp Society (%01-4470361; fx 4470153; pssg@mos.com.p; Chbhil, Chuchepti, Kthmdu) Sherp Trekkig Service (%01-4220243; fx 4227243; sts@wlik.com.p; Kmldi, Kthmdu) Sise Rover Trekkig (%061-520893; fx 523262; sise@mos.com.p; Lkeside, Pokhr) Thmserku Trekkig (%01-4354491; fx 4354329; ifo@trekkigiepl.com; Bsudhr, Rig Rd, Kthmdu) Treks & Expeditio Services (%01-4418347; fx 4410488; Kml Pokhri, Kthmdu) Veture Treks & Expeditios (%01-4221585; fx 4220178; temtig@mos.com.p; Ktipth, Kthmdu) Yeti Moutieerig & Trekkig (%01-4425896; fx 4410899; ymtrek@ccsl.com.p.wlik.com.p; Rmshh Pth, Kthmdu) Books & Mps The best series of mps of Nepl is the 1:50,000 series produced by Erwi Scheider for Reserch Scheme Nepl Himly d origilly prited i Vie. Most sheets re ow published by Nelles Verlg i Muich. They cover the Kthmdu Vlley d the Everest regio from Jiri to the Hogu Vlley. The 1:100,000 Scheider mps of Apur d Lgtg re vilble from my mp shops overses d t bookshops i Kthmdu. Ntiol Geogrphic produces trekkig mps to the Khumbu, Everest Bse Cmp, Apur d Lgtg res, s prt of its Trils Illustrted series (Rs 950 to 1050). They re geerlly good for the most populr treks. The Fiish govermet hs ssisted Nepl s survey deprtmet with the productio of series of 1:50,000 d 1:25,000 mps coverig most of Nepl, but they do t show ll the trekkig trils. They re vilble i some bookshops d from the Mps of Nepl outlet i Bluwtr, Kthmdu, o the rod towrds Bhktpur, for Rs 80 per sheet. There re umerous trekkig mps produced loclly by Himly Mp House, Nep Mps d Shgri-L Mps. They cost from Rs 400 d re redily foud i mp d bookshops i Thmel. These mps re dequte for trekkig the populr trils d re reltively iexpesive. Be wre tht there is gret del of repckgig goig o. Do t buy two mps with differet covers d mes ssumig you re gettig sigifictly differet mps. Check them first. All of these mps re vilble t bookshops i Kthmdu, d some specility mp shops overses stock selectio. Most re vilble olie from Stfords (www.st fords.co.uk), Omi Resources (www.omimp.com) or Melboure Mp Cetre (www.melbmp.com.u). Wht to Brig EQUIPMENT It s lwys best to hve your ow equipmet sice you will be fmilir with it d kow for certi tht it works. If there is some equipmet tht you do ot hve, you c lwys buy or ret it from oe of Nepl s my trekkig shops. Much of the equipmet vilble is of dequte qulity (but check items crefully) d the retl chrges re geerlly ot excessive, but lrge deposits re ofte required (usully equl to geerous vlutio of the equipmet itself). Never leve your pssport s deposit. Hire rtes i Kthmdu vry depedig o qulity. You c hire sleepig bg (two to four seso) for Rs 25 to 55, dow jcket for Rs 20 to 40 d tet for Rs 120 to 150. Thmel is the cetre for equipmet shoppig i Nepl, though Pokhr d Nmche Bzr lso hve trekkig-equipmet outlets. It is o loger esy to pick up the leftover ger from trekkig expeditios, but there is gret del of ew equipmet you c purchse icludig lst-miute sudries such s iodie, su block d LED hed lmps. Some trekkig ger, icludig sleepig bgs, dow jckets, duffel bgs, bckpcks, cmer cses, pochos d wid jckets, is mufctured i Kthmdu d sold i Thmel t very resoble prices. Much of this loclly produced ger is decorted with well-kow brd mes, but do t be deceived ito thikig you re gettig topqulity merchdise t brgi price. Eve so, most items re well mde d will std up to the rigours of t lest oe mjor trek. Kthmdu does hve pukk (rel) North Fce showroom o Tridevi Mrg but the selectio is smll d prices re similr to those i the US. Approximte retil prices for ew Neplimde ger complete with fke brd mes re s follows: Item Cost (Rs) sleepig bg (2-4 seso) 4000-6000 dow jcket 3000 ri/wid jcket 450-1500 pile jcket 300-1000 dy-pck 350-1300 expeditio pck 1500-3000 duffel bg 300-450 qulity socks 160-850 CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR The clothig you require depeds o where d whe you trek. If you re goig to the Everest Bse Cmp i the middle of witer you must be prepred for very cold wether d tke dow ger, mittes d the like. If you re doig short, low-ltitude trek erly or lte i the seso the wether is ofte likely to be fie eough for T-shirts d pile jcket to pull o i the eveigs. Aprt from esurig you hve dequte clothig to keep wrm, it s importt tht your feet re comfortble d will sty dry if it ris or sows. Ucomfortble shoes d blistered feet re the worst possible trekkig discomforts. Mke sure your shoes fit well d re comfortble for log periods. Ruig shoes re dequte for low-ltitude (below 3000m), wrm-wether treks where you wo t ecouter sow, though they lck kle support. Otherwise the miimum stdrd of footwer is lightweight trekkig boots. Trekkig boots c be bought i Kthmdu for Rs 2000 to 3000, but these re geerlly secods d re ot recommeded. The best ide is to brig your ow wor-i boots. OTHER GEAR I witer or t high ltitudes top-qulity four-seso sleepig bg will be ecessry. If you re goig o orgised trek check wht equipmet is supplied by the compy you sig up with. If you eed to hire oe, it could be grubby; check for fles or worse. Ri is rre durig most of the trekkig seso, though wether ptters i the By of Begl c cuse mssive ristorms durig utum, d there re sure to be few riy dys durig sprig. You should be prepred for ri by crryig wterproof ger, or t lest portble umbrell. The riy seso just before d fter the mosoo moths lso brigs leeches with it, d it s good to hve some slt or mtches to del with them. Tke torch (flshlight) for those ievitble clls of ture o mooless ights. MONEY Except i Solu Khumbu d o the Apur treks, chgig foreig moey is likely to be very difficult if ot impossible. Brig eough moey for the whole trek d do t cout o beig ble to chge Rs 1000 otes except i Nmche Bzr d Jomsom. DOCUMENTS & FEES Trekkig Permits Permits re ot required for trekkig i the Everest, Apur d Lgtg regios described i this book.
330 BEFORE YOU GO Resposible Trekkig www.loelyplet.com www.loelyplet.com BEFORE YOU GO Useful Orgistios 331 Ntiol Prk & Coservtio Fees If you trek i the Apur, Mslu, Kchejug or Mklu regios, you will eter coservtio re d must py coservtio fee; if your trek eters tiol prk, you must py tiol prk fee. You should buy etrce ticket for ll tiol prks d coservtio res i dvce t the tiol prks office (h8m-2pm Su-Fri) just ext to the Apur Coservtio Are Project office (ACAP; Mp p136 ) i the Schy Kosh Bhw Shoppig Cetre t the etrce to Thmel i Kthmdu. You c py the tiol prk fee whe you rrive t the prk etrce sttio, but you must py the coservtio fee i dvce. Curretly, the (oce-oly) fee is Rs 1000 (US$15) for tiol prks, Rs 2000 (US$30) for Apur d Rs 1000 for Mklu-Bru d Kchejug coservtio res. Coservtio fees for the Apur re re lso pyble i Pokhr t the ACAP office (%061-532275), Prdi Dmside iside the Nepl Tourism Bord s (NTB) Tourist Service Cetre buildig. Brig Rs 2000 d oe photogrph. Fortutely the permit is issued o the spot d you should ccomplish the tsk quickly uless there is log queue. If you rrive t ACAP checkpoit without permit you will be chrged Rs 4000! RESPONSIBLE Nepl fces severl evirometl problems s result of, or t lest compouded by, tourists ctios d expecttios. These iclude the depletio of its forests for firewood; the build-up of obiodegrdble wste, especilly plstic bottles; d the pollutio of its wterwys. You c help by choosig evirometlly d socilly resposible trekkig compy d heedig some of the followig dvice. Trekkig Getly i the Himly, booklet by Wedy Brewer Lm, is excellet resource which hs essetil tips for trekkers. It s vilble t the KEEP offices ( opposite ) i Thmel d Pokhr. Firewood & Forest Depletio Miimise the use of firewood by styig i lodges tht use kerosee or fuel-efficiet wood stoves d solr-heted hot wter. Avoid usig lrge ope fires for wrmth wer dditiol clothig isted. Keep showers to miimum, d spur showers ltogether if wood is burt to produce the hot wter. Cosolidte cookig time (d wood cosumptio) by orderig the sme items t the sme time s other trekkers. Dl bht (rice d letils) is usully redily vilble for lrge umbers of people, does ot require specil legthy cookig time d is utritious d iexpesive. Remember tht locl mels re usully prepred betwee 10m d 11m, so etig the will usully ot require lightig dditiol fire. Tret your drikig wter with iodie rther th boilig it. Those trvellig with orgised groups should esure kerosee is used for cookig. Grbge & Wste You c do severl thigs to reduce the mout of rubbish d pollutio i the hills. Purifyig your ow wter isted of buyig mierl wter i obiodegrdble plstic bottles is the most importt of these. Idepedet trekkers should lwys crry their grbge out or dispose of it properly. You c bur it, but you should remember tht the fireplce i Nepli home is scred istitutio d throwig rubbish ito it would be gret isult. Tke out ll your btteries, s they will evetully lek toxis. Toilet pper is prticulrly uplest sight log trils; if you must use it, crry it i plstic bg util you c bur it. Better yet, crry smll plstic trowel to bury your feces (well wy from y strems) d smll plstic wter cotier so tht, like the vst mjority of people i the world, you c cle yourself with wter isted of toilet pper. Those trvellig with orgised groups should esure tht toilet tets re properly orgised d tht rubbish is crried out. Check o the compy s policies before you sig up. Wter Do your bit to miimise pollutio d do t sop up your clothes i the strems. Isted use bowl or bucket d discrd the dirty wter wy from wter courses. O the Apur Circuit, the Apur Coservtio Are Project (with New Zeld govermet ssistce) hs itroduced the Sfe Wter Drikig Scheme chi of 16 outlets sellig purified wter to trekkers. Its im is to miimise the demd for plstic mierl-wter bottles. A estimted oe millio plstic bottles re brought ito the Apur Coservtio Are ech yer, cretig serious litter problem. The outlets re foud i Tl, Brgrcchp, Chme, Pisg, Hogde, Mg, Letdr, Thorug Phedi, Muktith, Kgbei, Jomsom, Mrph, Tukuche, Khobg, Lete d Ghs. USEFUL ORGANISATIONS Severl orgistios re ttemptig to del with the evirometl problems creted by trekkig. Oe orgistio, the Apur Coservtio Are Project (ACAP), hs doe gret del to ecourge sustible developmet i the Apur regio. ACAP hs offices i Thmel (Schy Kosh Bhw Buildig), Pt d Pokhr. These orgistios i Kthmdu offer free, up-to-dte iformtio o trekkig coditios, helth risks d miimisig your evirometl impct. Kthmdu Evirometl Eductio Project (KEEP; Mp p136 ; %4412944; www.keepepl.org; h10m-5pm Su-Fri), i Thmel, hs librry, some useful otebooks with up-to-dte iformtio from other trekkers, excellet otice bord d embssy registrtio forms for most coutries. It lso sells iodie, biodegrdble sop d other evirometlly friedly equipmet. The Itertiol Mouti Explorers Coectio (IMEC; Mp p136 ; %2081407; ifo@mouti explorers.org; www.hec.org; h10m-5pm Su-Fri) lso provides iformtio o trekkig. Members c store luggge here d use the mil d emil service. Himly Rescue Associtio (HRA; Mp p136 ; %4445505, 4440292; hoo-1pm, 2-5pm Su-Fri; www.himlyrescue.org; Thmel) hs iformtio bout AMS d useful otebooks with upto-dte iformtio from other trekkers, plus tril coditios, wether updtes d embssy registrtio forms. It rus helth posts t Pheriche, Mchermo d Mg. Free lectures o ltitude sickess re held t the Thmel office t 3pm Mody to Fridy. Both KEEP d the HRA offices re excellet plces to visit d dvertise for trekkig compios The slide shows held i the Kthmdu Guest House ( p135 ) by Chris Bell, British freelce photogrpher, writer d trek leder, re other good source of up-to-dte iformtio i Kthmdu for idepedet trekkig. The shows cost Rs 300 (icludig te/coffee d biscuits) d you get plety of time to sk questios t the ed. You ll see posters up t the Kthmdu Guest House. HEALTH Acute mouti sickess (AMS) or ltitude sickess is the mjor cocer o ll highltitude treks, but for the mjority of trekkers helth problems re likely to be mior, such s stomch upsets d blisters. Commosese precutios re ll tht s required to void illess. Bsic rules for helthy trekkig iclude tkig cre tht wter is lwys sfe to drik. The best method is to tret wter with iodie, s this is sfe d does ot require the use of firewood or kerosee to boil wter. Dirrhoe is oe of the comprtively mior problems tht c rui trek so wtch wht you et d esure your medicl kit hs medictio such s Lomotil or Imodium (for emergecies oly) d tibiotic like Norfloxci. The food o orgised trek is ulikely to cuse problems, but villgei trekkers re t risk. At high ltitudes the burig power of the su is strog, so mke sure you hve pir of good suglsses, ht d mximum protectio suscree. If there is y likelihood tht you ll be wlkig over sow, suglsses re isufficiet; you eed moutieerig glsses with sidepieces. Esure tht your porters lso hve dequte eyewer. My people suffer from kee d kle stris, prticulrly if they re crryig their ow pck. If you hve predispositio to these ijuries, crry elstic supports or bdges. Lightweight, collpsible trekkig poles re ivluble i this regrd, providig extr support d stbility, especilly o those kee-poudig descets. They c lso come i hdy whe the villge dogs get bit too close. You should lso crry plsters (Bd-Aids) i cse of blisters. Mke sure you re i good helth before deprtig, s there is very little medicl ttetio log the trils d rescue helicopters re ot oly very expesive but must be clered for pymet i dvce. Your embssy c do this if you hve registered with it. See p335 for more iformtio o possible medicl ssistce log the wy.
332 BEFORE YOU GO Trekkig Sfely www.loelyplet.com www.loelyplet.com TREKS Routes & Coditios 333 I geerl, Himly hospitls c offer oly very limited fcilities d expertise. The Himly Rescue Dog Squd (%061-523267; www.hrdsrescue.org.p; Riverside Hospitl & Disster Relief Uit, Shyuli Bzr, Lmjug) opertes the lrgest rescue orgistio i Nepl. Be ever-lert for the symptoms of AMS. See p388 for more detiled iformtio o styig helthy while trekkig. SAFELY Usully, the further you get from hevily populted cetres the less likely it is tht your persol sfety will be threteed. Assults i remote plces re ot uherd of, however. Ideed, some plces hve ered quite reputtio for violet ssults, lmost without exceptio ivolvig solo trekker or smll prty of two or three. O the trils tht ru from Ghorpi to Tikhedhug d Ghorpi to Ghdruk it is importt to sty i group d remi lert, prticulrly towrds the ed of log tirig dy. Severl bsic rules should be followed: do t trek loe, do t mke ostettious displys of vluble possessios d do t leve lodge doors ulocked or vlubles utteded. See lso p359. Choosig Compios You should ever trek loe. It s useful to hve someoe to wtch your pck whe you hve to ru off the tril ito the bushes, or eve whe you re i lodge d go out to the toilet. It s lso importt to hve someoe roud i cse of ijury or illess. Wome should choose trekkig compios crefully d tret with cutio y offer of mssge i remote hotel. If you do ot lredy hve trvellig compio, the you should fid either guide or other trekker i Kthmdu or Pokhr to trek with. If you re lookig for Wester compio, check hotel bulleti bords or just cht with someoe who sits ext to you i resturt d perhps your schedules d mbitios will coicide. Two websites tht you c visit to fid trekkig compios d guides re www.trekifo.com d www.yetizoe.com. Uless you hve fried to trek with, or re prepred to tke chce o fidig compio i Nepl, bookig group trek my be the sfest optio. Tril Coditios Wlkig t high ltitudes o rough trils c be dgerous. Wtch your footig o rrow, slippery trils, d ever uder estimte the chgebility of the wether t y time of the yer. If you re crossig high psses where sow is possibility, ever wlk with less th three people. Crry supply of emergecy rtios, hve mp d compss (d kow how to use them), d hve sufficiet clothig d equipmet to del with cold, wet, blizzrd coditios. You will be shrig the tril with m d bests, usully crryig lrge burdes ot for fu but to scrpe livig, so show respect. If mule or yk tri pproches, move to the high side of the tril. If you move to the outside you re t risk of beig kocked over the edge. Bufflo will hppily trmple ll over you, especilly whe they re movig dowhill give them wide berth. Register with Your Embssy All embssies d cosultes strogly recommed tht their citizes register with them before they hit the tril. See the boxed text, p359. Rescue Isurce Check tht your trvel-isurce policy does ot exclude moutieerig or lpiism. Although you will ot be eggig i these ctivities o the trekkig tril, you my hve trouble covicig the isurce compy of this fct. Check wht isurce is vilble through your trekkig compy, if usig oe. Rescue isurce will eed to cover emergecy helicopter evcutio or chrter flight from remote irstrip. You c purchse rescue isurce from most lpie clubs i Wester coutries. I Nepl, Neco Isurce (%01-4427354; ifo@ecois.com.p; PO Box 12271, Kthmdu) offers trekkig policies. Persol ccidet, medicl d evcutio isurce for trekkers is US$6.88 per dy for the first 15 dys of trekkig d US$4.40 per dy therefter. Altitude Wlkig the trils of Nepl ofte etils gret del of ltitude gi d loss; eve the bse of the gret moutis of the Himly c be very high. Most treks tht go through populted res stick to betwee 1000m d 3000m, lthough the Everest Bse Cmp trek d the Apur Circuit trek both rech over 5000m. O high treks like these esure dequte cclimtistio, d the mxim of wlkig high, sleepig low is good dvice; your ight hlt should be t lower level th the highest poit reched i the dy. TREKS ROUTES & CONDITIONS Most trekkers wt to get wy from rods s quickly s possible, d it is still possible to leve them quickly behid. Nepli trils re ofte steep d txig. The old dge tht the shortest pth betwee two poits is stright lie ppers to hve bee firmly drummed ito Neplis, irrespective of y moutis tht my get i the wy! I compestio, the trils re ofte very well mitied. Busy trils up steep slopes re ofte edless stoe stircses. A typicl dy s wlk lsts from betwee five to seve hours d ivolves umber of scets d descets. It s rre to sped much time t the sme level. O orgised cmpig trek the dy is ru to remrkbly tight schedule. A typicl ptter would be: up t 6m, strt wlkig t 7m, stop for luch t 10m, strt fter luch t oo, stop wlkig t 3pm. Neplis rise erly, et very little for brekfst, et lrge luch i the lte morig d secod mel before drk, the retire erly you will be best off to try d follow similr schedule. A little rudimetry kowledge of the Nepli lguge will help to mke your trek esier d more iterestig, lthough fidig your wy is rrely difficult o the mjor trekkig routes d Eglish is firly widely spoke. See p398 for some useful Nepli words d phrses. Sleepig Orgised treks cmp ech ight d ll you hve to do is et d crwl ito your tet. Eve erectig the tet is hdled by the trekkig crew, who put it up for you t the site selected by your sirdr or group leder. Idepedet trekkers sty i the smll lodges, guesthouses or villge is tht hve flourished log the populr trils. These lodges rge from simple extesios of trditiol fmily home (which c sometimes be plywood firetrp of questioble costructio) to quite luxurious plces with privte rooms, extesive meus d eve ttched toilets d showers. It s possible to mke quite log treks relyig etirely o locl ccommodtio d food. Nevertheless, it s still good ide to crry sleepig bg s lodges sometimes ru out of beddig t pek seso. Etig O orgised trek your oly cocer with food is sittig dow to et it. The porters crry virtully ll of the igrediets with them, d there will be cook with well-drilled ssistts who c tur out mels of stuig complexity. Idepedet trekkers will fid umerous plces to et log the most populr trils, lthough it s wise to crry some emergecy food supplies such s cheese, dried fruit or chocolte. O the Everest d Apur treks it s ulikely tht you will wlk more th hour or two without comig cross some sort of estblishmet tht c offer te, soft driks, beer, d ofte full mel. KEEP d other evirometlly cocered orgistios poit out tht the locl diet of dl bht is utritious, esily prepred, vilble everywhere, d requires miimum of fuel for preprtio. You lesse your impct o the eviromet d usully et better if you dpt to the locl diet. RESTING A NEPALI INSTITUTION! Joe Bidloss With the tortuous ture of the Nepli ldscpe, gettig roud o foot c be hevy goig. To ese the burde o trvellers, villgers cross Nepl hve creted thousds of chutrs stoe pltforms shded by pipl or by trees where wlkers c rest their feet d set dow their lods. My chutrs std o the site of ciet pre-hidu shries, d the pltforms re still focl poit for villge life plce to meet d cht, or trde d crry out religious rituls. Eve tody, costructig chutr is see s sure-fire wy to improve krm (the Buddhist d Hidu lw of cuse d effect) for future existeces.
334 TREKS Choosig Trek www.loelyplet.com www.loelyplet.com TREKS Everest Bse Cmp Trek 335 EVEREST NUTS Brdley Myhew The world s highest pek hs ttrcted my commedble chievemets: the first scet without oxyge (1978), first summit with rtificil leg (1998), the first ski descet (2000), the first blid scet (2001), yougest scet (ged 16), oldest scet (64) d fstest scet (eight hours). Sherp Bbu Chiru spet prticulrly mzig 21 hours o top of Everest without oxyge i 1999. But there hve lso bee some dmirbly silly chievemets. Perhps most mbitious ws the Brito Murice Wilso, who pled to crsh his Gipsy Moth ple hlfwy up the mouti d the climb from there to the top, ot lettig his lmost totl lck of moutieerig, or flyig, experiece get i the wy of obviously silly pl. (He evetully froze to deth t Cmp III dressed i light sweter.) Mybe it s somethig i the tiol psyche (this is fter ll the tio tht gve us Moty Pytho), for it ws lso tem of Brits who trekked ll the wy to Everest Bse Cmp to ply the world s highest gme of rugby t 5140m. They lost. My persol Everest heroes re the British (!) pir who crried iroig bord up Everest to 5440m to do some extreme iroig ( prt domestic chore, prt extreme sport ). For yoe cotempltig repet expeditio, the duo hve reveled tht expeditio preprtio c be limited to three importt fctors: few beers, druke bet d stole iroig bord. The stdrd of cuisie o the Jomsom Trek is so westerised tht it hs bee dubbed the pple pie tril becuse tht dish fetures o so my villge-i meus. It s surprisig how my plces eve hve cold beer vilble s well; before you compli bout the price, cotemplte the fct tht somebody hd to crry tht bottle of beer ll the wy there d will probbly hve to crry the empty bottle bck gi! CHOOSING A TREK It is possible to do short treks i Nepl tht do ot rech demdig ltitudes or eed sophisticted equipmet, yers of experiece or thletic stmi. A certi level of metl d physicl fitess d sesible plig d preprtio will esure tht yours is ejoyble experiece. For selectio of short treks see p268 d p162. Oe sttistic tht is difficult to determie is distce. It is esy to judge distces from mp, but prited mp is i two dimesios. With the my gis d losses of ltitude d ll the turs d twists of the tril mp mesuremet of the routes becomes virtully meigless. Somedy someoe will tke the time to push bicyclewheel odometer over every tril i Nepl to get ccurte distce mesuremets. Util the, we'll just hve to be stisfied with the estimte tht most of the dys listed here re 10 to 20km of trekkig, The six populr loger treks described i this chpter re: the Everest Bse Cmp, Helmbu, Lgtg, Jomsom, Apur Circuit d Apur Sctury treks. EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK Durtio 21 or 15 dys Mx elevtio 5545m Best seso October to December Strt Jiri or Lukl Fiish Lukl This trek tkes bout three weeks uless you fly i s well s out of Lukl. It reches sigifict height of 5545m t Kl Pttr, smll pek offerig fie views of Mt Everest. Although the fil prt of the trek is through essetilly uihbited res, smll lodges operte durig the trekkig seso so it s quite suitble for idepedet trekkers. Everybody hs herd of Mt Everest d tht s the reso why the Everest Bse Cmp trek is so populr. The trek hs umber of stuig ttrctios; ot lest of these is beig ble to sy you ve visited the highest mouti i the world. I dditio there s the spectculr sceery d the outgoig Sherp people of the Solu Khumbu regio where Mt Everest d its ttedt lesser peks re. The 15-dy trek from Lukl to Kl Pttr hs become the most populr trek becuse it voids Moist coutry. If you fly to Lukl, be sure to schedule cclimtistio dys t Nmche d Pheriche to void ltitude sickess. The trek from Jiri to Lukl is ot oly hrd slog, but is lso pretty sprse i the brethtkig-views deprtmet. The trek does t follow vlleys, s the Apur treks do. Isted the tril from Jiri cuts cross the vlleys, so for dy fter dy it s tirig process of droppig dow oe side of steep vlley d climbig up gi o the other. By the time you rech the bse cmp your scets will totl lmost 9000m the full height of Everest from se level. Most trekkers ow void the Jiri portio of the trek becuse the Moists usully demd Rs 5000 per perso o the first or secod dy of the trek, plese check the situtio o the groud before committig to this portio of the trek. The trek strts i Nepli-spekig Hidu lowlds d eds i the Tibet-Buddhist highlds where the Sherps re reowed for their eterprise, hrd work, civic resposibility d devotio to the prctice of Buddhism. I their ofte ihospitble ld, the potto, reltively recet itroductio, is the mi crop, but these dys trekkig d moutieerig re the bckboe of the Sherp ecoomy. More th hlf the popultio i the regio is ow ivolved with tourism, d Nmche Bzr looks more like lpie resort th Sherp villge. Flights I & Out Most Everest trekkers opt to fly oe wy to void hvig to repet the difficult iitil Jiri to Lukl leg. This itroduces its ow problems, s flights to Lukl re otorious for ccelltios, witig lists d shorttempered trekkers, lthough thigs hve improved i recet yers. If you hve the time, wlk i from Jiri d fly out from Lukl. For shorter trip you c fly i to Lukl, trek to Everest d the fly out, gi from Lukl, tkig roud 15 dys to trek to Kl Pttr d bck. From Lukl you c just visit Thmi, Nmche Bzr d Tegboche, which will tke bout week. Emergecy Fcilities There re smll hospitls i Jiri, Phphlu d Khude (just orth of Nmche Bzr); the Himly Rescue Associtio (HRA) hs medicl fcility i Pheriche. Access: Kthmdu to Jiri The rod to Jiri follows the Kodri rod to Lmosgu, 78km from Kthmdu, d turs off there to Jiri, further 110km. A express (10-hour) bus to Jiri leves from the Kthmdu bus sttio t 6m (Rs 320) d 7m (Rs 290), d there re orml buses (Rs 247) betwee 5.30m d 8m. Keep close eye o your luggge. The Trek DAY 1: JIRI TO SHIVALAYA The wlk strts with climb to the ridge top t 2370m the drops dow to Shivly (1750m). DAY 2: SHIVALAYA TO BHANDAR From Shivly you climb to Sgbdd (2150m), Kosribs (2500m), the to Deorli, pss t 2705m. There re hotels o the pss, or you c desced to Bhdr (2150m). This Sherp settlemet hs gomp (Buddhist mostery) d umber of hotels. It s possible to tke short detour betwee Sgbdd d Bhdr to visit Thodug (3090m), where there s cheese fctory, estblished i the 1950s with Swiss id. DAY 3: BHANDAR TO SETE The tril drops dow to the Likhu, crosses the river t 1490m, d trcks log it to Kej (1570m). Now the log scet to the Lmjur Bhjyg (pss) begis. The first prt of the climb is quite steep, the it trverses to Sete (2575m), bdoed gomp. From here o the villges re lmost ll ihbited by Sherps d hve both Nepli d Sherp mes (the Sherp villge mes re give i brckets). DAY 4: SETE TO JUNBESI It s log but grdul climb to the Lmjur Bhjyg (3530m). You re rewrded with frost d ofte sow log the tril i witer or with lovely flowerig rhododedros i the sprig. Goyom (3300m), o your wy to the pss, is good luch stop. The pss is the highest poit betwee Jiri d Nmche Bzr d from the top you desced to Trgdobuk (2860m), the to the pretty Sherp villge of Jubesi (Ju; 2675m). Jubesi hs mostery d some good hotels. It is good plce for rest dy with some iterestig wlks i the viciity. DAY 5: JUNBESI TO NUNTALA The tril climbs to Khurtg, o ridge t 2980m (where for the first time you c
Kodri Deorli 336 TREKS Everest Bse Cmp Trek www.loelyplet.com www.loelyplet.com TREKS Everest Bse Cmp Trek 337 Everest Bse Cmp Trek 0 20 km 0 12 miles EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK Gychug Kg Ngp L Everest Bse Cmp Trek Lpche (7922m) Cho Oyu (8153m) Lgtg Ntiol Prk C H I N A S g r m t h Pumori (7138m) C H I N A T I B E T N t i o l Mt Everest Kl Lomg P r k Everest (8850m) Pttr T I B E T (5545m) Bse Cmp Lhotse Friedship Gokyo Ri Bridge Guri Shkr (5483m) Gork Shep Nuptse (8516m) (7145m) Chhule Gokyo Lobuje (7879m) Lhotse Shr (8382m) Duglh Phulpig Chhukug Lmobgr Mchhermo Bedig Shygboche Pheriche Digboche Mklu Airstrip Brutse Bse Cmp Tigsg L (3320m) Dole (7220m) Thulo Tigsg Tesi Thmi Khumjug Lpch Am Dblm Tegboche (5755m) (6856m) Pre Amtl Nmche Brbise Bzr Kwgde Chhmlg Khrtli (6187m) Mojo (7319m) Phkdig G N I L W A L O R Dudh Kosi H M I Mklu (8475m) Bhote Kosi K hol A Rolw lig L Kosi Khre Su Kosi Bhot Suepi Kligchok (3810m) To Kthmdu (100km) Ght M k l u B r u N t i o l P r k Mer (6476m) Chblug L Serukpti Lukl Kosi Dolkh Khimti Chrikot Shere Puiy Dudh Thubte Chhulig Kbre Thodug Shivly Mli Jiri Bups Busti Hogu Jubig Rigmo Lmjur Pss (3530m) Sgr Those Nutl Sete Bhdr Khirule Slug Jubesi M k l u B r u C o s e r v t i o A r e Iukhu Kosi Kosi Dudh Likhu Phplu Tmb To Hile To Okhldug To Lmidd Khori Rmechhp see Everest), the o to Slug (2980m). A lower tril from Jubesi leds to the hospitl d irstrip t Phphlu d the district hedqurters d bzr t Slleri. From Slug the tril desceds to the Rigmo (2570m). The it s up to Rigmo where pples d other fruit re grow. A short climb from Rigmo tkes you to the 3071m Trkshido L, the the tril drops dow pst the gomp of the sme me, d o to Nutl (Midigm; 2250m), where there re umerous hotels offerig vriety of stdrds. DAY 6: NUNTALA TO BUPSA The tril desceds to the Dudh Kosi (1480m) d crosses it to follow the ester bk. The tril climbs to Jubig (Dorkbuk; 1680m) d cotiues over ridge to Khri (Khti Theg; 2070m). You should rrive i Khri erly eough to push o up the steep hill to Bups (Bumshig; 2300m). There re severl hotels o the top of the ridge d few less sumptuous hotels t Khrte, 20 miutes wlk beyod Bups up the tril to the orth. DAY 7: BUPSA TO CHABLUNG From Bups the tril climbs grdully, offerig views of the Dudh Kosi 1000m below t the bottom of the steep-sided vlley, util it reches ridge t 2840m overlookig Puiy (Chitok). The tril is very rrow i plces s it mkes its wy dow to Puiy (2730m), i side cyo of the Dudh Kosi vlley. Climb to ridge t 2750m the drop dow to Surkhe (Buw; 2290m). Just beyod Surkhe is the tur-off to Lukl with its irstrip. The tril cotiues to climb through Mushe (Ngbug) d the Churikhrk (Dugde; 2630m) to Chblug (Lomdz). If you re flyig i to Lukl, trek dowhill pst Chblug to Phkdig for the ight. DAY 8: CHABLUNG TO NAMCHE BAZAAR From Chblug the tril cotours log the side of the Dudh Kosi vlley before descedig to Ght (Lhw; 2530m). The tril climbs gi to Phkdig, collectio of bout 25 lodges t 2800m. The tril crosses the river o log, swyig bridge, d the leds you log the river to Bekr (2700m). A short distce beyod Bekr the tril crosses the Dudh Kosi to its est bk o suspesio bridge d climbs to Chomo. It s short climb up to Mojo (2800m), where there re some good plces to sty. Show your etrce ticket t the Sgrmth Ntiol Prk etrce sttio, the desced to cross the Dudh Kosi. O the other side it s short distce to Jorsle (Thumbug; 2810m), the the tril crosses bck to the est side of the river before climbig to the high suspesio bridge over the Dudh Kosi. It s stedy climb from here to Nmche Bzr (Nuche; 3480m). As this is the first climb to ltitude where AMS my be problem, tke it esy d void rushig. There is other tiol prk etrce sttio just below Nmche where permits re gi checked d fees collected. DAY 9: ACCLIMATISATION DAY IN NAMCHE BAZAAR Nmche Bzr is the mi cetre i the Solu Khumbu regio d hs shops, resturts, bkery, hotels with hot showers, pool hll, police checkpoit, moeychger, bk d eve Iteret service. Py visit to the Sgrmth Pollutio Cotrol Committee office to fid out bout coservtio efforts beig mde i the regio, d lso visit the tiol prk visitor cetre o the ridge bove tow (well worth visit). Nmche Bzr d the surroudig villges hve mple supply of hydroelectricity, used for lightig d cookig s well s powerig the video prlours. There is colourful mrket ech Sturdy. There is plety to do roud Nmche Bzr d you should sped dy here cclimtisig. Remember tht the victims of AMS re ofte the fittest d helthiest people who foolishly overexted themselves. It s helpful to do streuous dy wlk to higher ltitude s prt of your cclimtistio, comig bck dow to Nmche to sleep. For this purpose the log dy wlk to Thmi (to the west) is worthwhile. DAY 10: NAMCHE BAZAAR TO TENGBOCHE The slightly loger route from Nmche Bzr to Tegboche vi Khumjug d Khude is more iterestig th the direct oe. The route strts by climbig up to the Shygboche irstrip. Above the irstrip is the Everest View Hotel, Jpese scheme