Day 19: Namche Bazaar to Lukla
Approximate Trekking Time: 5-6 hours
Distance: 17.7k / 11 miles
Overnight Elevation: 2860m / 9,383ft
Our last day on the trail! Bittersweet. We took our time getting moving (somewhat) before setting off toward Lukla. Heading out, we took a few parting shots of Namche Bazaar before we rounded the corner on the trail, disappearing from the knoll in the mountains where Namche’s tiers of buildings and homes arched around the slopes and climbed into the skies.
Our hike out was a bit of a family reunion, meeting several people we had hiked with and met at lodges along the way over the past 19 days. Not far down our descent from Namche, we ran into the English group that had taught us Kaboom, who we hiked with for a bit talking about upcoming travel plans as we passed yak trains and porters heavily laden with beer and eggs. Further down the trail we reunited with Florence, who was just meeting some friends of hers to start another hike into the mountains toward Gokyo.
Crossing over the valley with the double bridges, we hiked along the rocky valley floor before ascending back out of the valley and passing through villages and by large mani boulders, waterfalls, lodges, and teahouses – a trip down memory lane as we hiked over the same trail that we had hiked in on just under three weeks ago. I remembered specific people and sights from particular sections of the trail on our way in – the climb to a guesthouse and descent past a waterfall, the narrow trails between stone fences bordering vegetable and wheat fields, the colorful prayer wheels and large stone staircases – I soaked it all in.
Within three hours, we reached Phakding, where we had spent the first night on the trail from Lukla. While we had no intention of spending another night here, we did take a quick break to stop at the Herman Helmer’s Bakery for some late-morning calories, a fresh slice of chocolate carrot cake for myself and a cinnamon roll for Shawn. Washing the baked goods down with sugary sodas we energized ourselves for the remainder of the hike to Lukla.
The hike from Phakding to Lukla was another six miles and took just over two hours. I didn’t remember near the amount of decent on the way out as the ascent that we were now climbing back to Lukla. Some flat bits, but mostly a seemingly unending number of large stone staircases and more gradually inclined rock tiers, sneakily climbing further uphill along each turn. It was definitely a climb to Lukla. But, it was also another beautiful day. The sun was shining, the skies were clear, and the villages all seemed to be nestled peacefully into the mountainsides and valleys. Life was good. And, after 10+ days at over 15,000 ft., the air seemed to be almost soupy with oxygen as we headed back toward 9,000ft., adding an extra bounce to our steps down the trail.
After a few last winding smoothly tiered rock ascents, we climbed our last staircase into Lukla (2800m/9,184 ft.). Lukla was even larger than I remembered. We continued down the main trail through the village, paved with flat stone slabs, passing the unmanned tourist checkpoint and keeping our eyes pealed for the Simrik Airline office, which we did not find on the walk through town. Asking around, we received vague directions and descriptions that it was “two buildings down”, “by the airport tower”, “like a house doorway”, “doesn’t have a sign”, and “not open until 3:00”. Both because of and despite all of these semi-helpful directions, we were eventually able to find the unmarked office as it opened at 3pm, nothing more than a small room with barren walls and an empty desk, and confirm that we were indeed on the flight manifest for the next morning. The woman instructed us to be at the airport by 7am. Asking what time the flight would be, she looked at me as if I was crazy… like, how should I know that? I would understand this better the next morning.
We passed the remainder of the afternoon and early evening in Lukla’s dingy Irish pub, which played an eclectic mix of everything you could think of … from Queen to Metallica to CCR to The Police, and possibly an Irish song or two. Before we left, we signed our names to the bar with an uncreative “Shawn and Kate were here!”
Back at our lodge, we enjoyed our last Khumbu region yak sizzlers, unable to consume anymore rice, noodles, or daal bhaat. The lodge owner told us about his visits to the U.S. to visit his daughters who both studied in Texas. Describing a road trip they had made from Texas to Colorado, he talked about how nice the roads were. So straight and no potholes – not having to drive all over the road to avoid holes (and other vehicles). He said Colorado reminded him of home. We remarked that the mountains weren’t nearly as big. “No,” he agreed, “but still very beautiful.”
