Namche Bazaar

The Sherpa Capital of Nepal

It’s Sunday morning in Namche Bazaar. I’m lying in bed, at our teahouse, appropriately named Friendship Lodge. If there is one thing, that has been universally true since our arrival in Nepal it’s just how friendly people are. 

Namche is the Sherpa capital of Nepal; the last major settlement along the trail up to Everest. It is, a stunning villlage. Nestled in a bowl, with views of the Himalayas, the entrance into town is nothing short of breathtaking. A Buddhist stupa and prayer wheels line the main stairway up into the center. At the bottom, women, in traditional Tibetan dress, are doing laundry in a stream, much they same way they have done for centuries.  You see, the Sherpa are not just the porters who carry trekkers bags up a mountain. The Sherpa are an ethnic group. They are descended from Tibetans who years ago crossed the mountain range that divides both countries into Nepal.

The Everest region is where they settled. Hence, how many of them came to take on careers as porters and climbing support staff. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa was Edmund Hillary’s porter during their now world famous first successful ascent of Mt Everest on May 29, 1953. Notice the name. Another peculiarity of their ethnic group is that Sherpa do not use last names. But since the Nepali government needs them to for census purposes, all of them are now named Sherpa. One big happy family. 

Namche is also where most people heading up to Everest, whether to trek or climb, will spend at least two nights acclimating. We are. Our first night is complete, our ‘rest day’ is set include a 2-3 hour hike, and a practice run,  where we hope to get our first view of Mt. Everest. The purpose of our workout, is to train high, sleep low. 

Set at over 11,200 feet, just getting to Namche represented a big jump in altitude. After flying into Lukla two days ago, we took a short hike to our first pit stop along the way. The small village of Phakding. Elevation: 8, 699 ft. The trail was easy enough to navigate. Our lodging set in a stunning location alongside a mountain gorge. The experience lulling us into a sense of complacency, especially after the frantic, chaotic nature of our first day in the country. 

Getting to Namche

Yesterday changed all that. The second day of hiking, is usually billed as one of the hardest days along the trek up to Everest Base Camp. It’s still to early for me to know if that is true, but it was certainly very hard. It took 5 hours of hiking to go 7.5 miles. The terrain was as beautiful as it was cruel; relentlessly uphill, steep climbs, with what seemed an endless number of uneven rock steps, trekking poles a must, to help guide the way. And don’t get me started on the number of times we had to stop to allow the yak and donkey convoys to pass. 🙈 Total ascent: 3,940 feet. Total descent: 1,380 feet.

Arrival in Namche

We arrived, exhausted, battered and filthy. But also happy as Namche Bazaar welcomed us with open arms, and a little taste of home. It was an afternoon to let our hair down a little, indulging in everything from brownies with ice cream to a well-deserved glass of wine. In fact, when we return from our little run today, there is a coffee shop with stunning views of the Himalayas that has my name written all over it.