Day 4

Namche Bazaar to Debuche

We were looking forward to a relatively easy day as we set out for Tengboche. I was also eager to get there to see the famous monastery and perhaps get some good pictures of Everest. As it turned out none of those things came to pass.

We ascended to Chorkhung again and headed out on the trail. Fortunately the early morning rain stopped as quickly as it started and the sun was out.

Looking back at the trail to Namche. It's mostly level in this part.

The Bhote Kosi river. Tengboche is on the top of the second ridge on the right.

Tengboche is not much higher than Namche but to get there you have to cross the Bote Kosi river at Phunki Tenga. That meant the trail was a 'Nepali flat' - it included a steep climb. Our ideas of an easy day were quickly out the window.

The level trail continues until Kenjoma and then splits in two. One side climbs up the mountain and heads towards Gokyo while the other drops down to the river. It was a pleasant enough hike through a forest of rhododendrons. It took a while to get to the bridge at the bottom but by that time we'd unconsciously made the decision that we did not want to return via this route.

All smiles going downhill...

At the bridge on the Bhote Kosi crossing towards Phunki Tenga.

We stopped for a quick lunch at Phunki Tenga before heading out to tackle the climb to Tengboche. There were a number of trekkers congregated at this spot.

Grabbing a quick lunch before heading up to Tengboche

Gorgeous rhododendrons on the climb.

The climb itself wasn't too difficult though it took a while to get to the top. Along the way we met people from all over the world - a group of little old ladies from Australia, a solo hiker from Brazil, a group from India returning with young kids in tow who, helpfully, told us that it feels great on the way back.

Lumbering up one step (and one inhaler puff!) at a time.

The words left unsaid - "Are we there yet!!?"

As it turned out, the Tengboche monastery was closed when we reached the top. There's not much to the village itself other than the monastery and a couple of lodges which all seemed deserted. The sky had also clouded up obscuring the famous views. All in all, it looked like my high hopes for Tengboche were not to be realized.

Entering Tengboche

The monastery at Tengboche is the largest and most active in the region. A big festival is held here in Oct/Nov.

The beautifully painted gate to the monastery at Tengboche

This is a famous view from Tengboche but the weather wasn't cooperating.

Mingma made a quick decicion to head on to Debuche which is only about 20 min below Tengboche. The advantages are that it is lower and less exposed to the wind and also has more options for accommodation. Debuche is set in a rhododendron and 'bhojpatra' (beech?) forest on the banks of the Imja Khola river. It is the site of a small nunnery. We quickly reached it and got settled into the Everest Rhododendron lodge. The new reality of the accommodations was immediately apparent. The rooms were nothing more than plywood boxes with two beds and a window. The restrooms left a lot to be desired. However, without fail, the dining rooms were always large and comfortable with cushions and a yak dung-fueled bukhari that would be promptly lit at about 6 PM everyday.

The nunnery at Debuche - there was quite a bit of earthquake damage here

Inside the nunnery

Making friends with the lodge keeper's son. Candy goes a long way!

As if to make up for the dull day, the weather opened up in the evening bathing Everest and Lhotse in bright sunlight. We spent a long time in the little field outside the lodge taking in the view. 

Everest and Lhotse from Debuche

As it turned out, the lodge became quite full in the evening when a couple of groups of trekkers showed up. We spent the evening chatting and playing cards.

Up until this point, we had been operating on a 16-day, out and back itinerary taken straight from Lonely Planet. This ultra-conservative itinerary called for an acclimatization day at Tengboche. Clearly we were not going to spend another day in Debuche and so we were set to gain a day. Also, given that we hoped to do Cho La Pass after finishing with EBC, it was clear that we would not be returning this way. Accordingly we decided to change up the next day's plans a bit and try and reach Ama Dablam Base camp instead of heading straight for the next destination of Dingboche. I decided to break the news to Mingma next morning.