Phakding to Namche Bazaar

Entering Sagarmantha National Park

The morning dawned clear and cold, down in the low forties, but warmed up quickly as the sun began to penetrate the steep valleys. We had a 0630 wakeup and then our pre-ordered breakfast at 0700. By 0730 we were on the trail, crossing a small bridge across the river with Kunde peak on our left and continuing up and down along the river through small settlements and over more suspension bridges before arriving at Monjo, the entrance to Sagarmantha National Park, a World Heritage Site. Here our permits were examined and passes issued. We continued on another kilometer before stopping for lunch at a small café just after crossing the third to last suspension bridge.
After lunch we headed back up the trail, soon arriving at the Dudh Khosi riverbed where we saw the remains of one of the old suspension bridges shortly after crossing the next to last bridge. In the distance we could see the Hillary Bridge, our last bridge before the steep climb up to Namche Bazaar.
Crossing the bridge we were stalled in the middle due to a yak jam at the far end of the bridge. We could also see the work going on for a new wider higher bridge to handle the increased traffic to Namche Bazaar, the major crossroads in the Kumbu Region.
The final 3 kilometers were STEEP! We gained nearly 2000 feet, going up series of stone steps, and most of the groups going up were proceeding at the same slow pace due to the altitude. It took over 2 hours to reach the entrance to the town and the police check before another 20 minute hike to the Namche Hotel at an elevation of 11,300 feet. The hotel was a pleasant surprise, with real beds with sheets and pillows and plenty of hot water. The showers were great. After showering the group met for tea and cookies in the hotel restaurant and ordered dinner. Sean and I went for a short walk around town and Sean purchased some Yak cheese for a snack.
Dinner was simple, by choice. Sean had Sherpa Stew and Patrick Fried Rice. By 8PM we were back in the room doing laundry and by 9PM were both asleep.

Hillary suspension bridge over Dudh Khosi River

Another view of Hillary Bridge