Day 1

Lukla to Monjo

The trail from Lukla to Monjo starts out with a steep descent - meaning that the very last bit of the return trek would be a stiff climb back up to Lukla. The trail essentially follows the Dudh Kosi river passing through towns like Phakding and Benkar. Although there is not much elevation change,  there are enough ups and downs to keep things interesting.

The Solukhmubu district is of course, predominantly Buddhist and prayer wheels, mani walls, chortens and kanis abound. We quickly learned to pass on the left of everything and spin the wheels as we went along.

It's customary to pass on the left of mani walls, chortens, and prayer wheels. Sometimes that can be a challenge, especially if you're wearing a heavy backpack....  

The carved stone tablets are lined up to make mani walls while the
stupa-shaped structure is called a chorten. They are often erected in memory of someone. 

  

Prayer wheels, big and small, abound in this area. Some are even powered by water wheels driven by rushing streams.

Prayer wheels along the base of a chorten

We crisscrossed the river several times over suspension bridges. They were mostly great fun with a strong wind often blowing but when a mule or yak train was anywhere near a bridge you had to be careful. They wait for no man!

Crossing a suspension bridge. Porters carrying all manner of goods were all along the trail. Mingma is carrying one of the purple bags that Summit Treks gave us. At just under 20 kgs (in the beginning anyway) it was quite a load.

We stopped in Phakding for lunch. It is typically the first stopping point after Lukla but heading on to Monjo makes the next day's hike much easier. That's important because Day 2 is the first difficult climb of the trek leading to Namche Bazaar. We got our first bit of sticker shock at lunch. Every dish is in the NPR 400-700 range ($1 ~ NPR 100). A cup of hot water ranged from NPR 50 to 80 while a cup of tea went from NPR 80 to 120 at the higher elevations.

A quick stop for lunch at Phakding. With hardly a few teahouses open,
it was clear that the trekking season was coming to an end.

The lodges at the lower elevations are nicely built of stone and often have hot water and attached bathrooms.

Above Namche Bazaar things quickly become rather rudimentary.

Soon after leaving Phakding we encountered our first (and thankfully last) bit of rain. This was the one thing we were not perfectly prepared for and we decided to buy some additional rain covers for the kids' backpacks.

Rain!

The picturesque Dudh Kosi valley

Little stalls selling comforts from back home were all along the trail. A box of Pringles was soon going for $7 !

A flour mill just below Monjo

The villagers use it to grind barley that is locally grown

 

At Monjo we stayed at the large but comfortable Monjo Guest House that was run by Mrs Doma Sherpa and offered among other things - solar showers, fine home cooking and organic food. For dinner, we had our first taste of Nepali Dal-Bhaat, a staple along the trail. It's nothing more than the name suggests; a plate of all-you-can-eat rice, daal and some vegetable - mostly based on potatoes and bok choy-like greens that are grown locally up to Namche Bazaar. Often a papad and pickle are thrown in. Although the lodge had a proper dining room, we ate in the kitchen which was really cozy.

Enjoying daal-bhaat at Monjo. It turned out to be too heavy to have on a regular basis and

we quickly migrated to soups, noodles, and fried rice.

At breakfast on Day 2. Mingma had advised us to 'take a heavy breakfast' because

it would be a long and stiff climb to Namche.