Day 5 to Gokyo and Cho La Pass – Khumjung to Mongla

Sometimes First Impressions of a Place Are Not the Best

Mongla stupa September 2018
The small settlement of Mongla with its newly painted stupa.

The Sherpa woman was squatting on the side of the trail on the path looking over the edge of the hill. Yelling. She wasn’t hysterical but she was very animated. Nepalese people are very calm and yelling just doesn’t fit with their character. They are very accepting and you don’t see them getting angry. As we got closer I could see she was yelling into her mobile phone. Bad reception perhaps? Finally we were close enough to see the problem. The woman was yelling at two teenage girls way down on the slope, maybe one of the girls was on the other end of the phone, although she could probably have her heard without the phone. She was directing them to round up a yak who was eating in a cultivated area where it obviously should not have been. The young girls where having some difficulty catching the yak because of the slope. It was quite funny but then again it wasn’t.

Mongla the Second Time Around

We were almost into the very small village when we witnessed the escaped yak scene and the scene is seared into my memory.

Mongla on the hill September 2018
the view of the small village of Mongla from the Khumjung side
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Day 4 to Gokyo and Cho La Pass – Namche Bazaar to Khumjung

An Extra Acclimatisation Night in Khumjung Rewards You with More Than Views.

Khumjung with a view to Khongde

At Namche Bazaar A Third Night Spent At Around 3790 Metres Helps Acclimatisation

For our second trek to Everest Base Camp and third trek to Gokyo and over Cho La Pass we stayed in Khumjung (3790 metres) in addition to the two nights spent in Namche Bazaar (3440 metres or 11,286 feet at its low point). We believe a third night at that similar altitude has helped with our altitude acclimatisation on two of our three treks. And. You will help get to EBC feeling great. Technically on this trip we were going to Gokyo Ri but we are talking altitude which is much the same.

Although our three treks to the Khumbu region have been “independently”. The first time totally without a porter/ guide, which we wouldn’t do again. It is better to have some form of local support and it enriches your trip having someone local with you. The second and third treks we took a porter/ guide, making it just the three of us, there are a few trekking companies that do a similar itinerary around this altitude, that is an extra day in Khumjung – but you have to search for them.

Chance encounter in Khumjung
By chance we bumped into our porter guide from our 2015 trek (left) with our porter guide 2018 trek.
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Day 2 to Gokyo and Cho La Pass – Monjo to Namche Bazaar – a Short Walk

Mental Preparation and Climbing Slowly to Namche Bazaar is Key to a Successful EBC Trek

People planning to trek to Everest Base Camp read about the steep 600 metre climb to Namche Bazaar after crossing the high bridge over the Dudh Kosi river and gorge.

why you need to climb to Namche bazaar slowly

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Day 9 to Goyko and Cho La Pass – Gokyo Ri

To Climb Gokyo Ri or Not To Climb ? Decisions in The Khumbu Nepal

Ngozumba Glacier Above Goyko Gokyo Lake and the town og Gokyo

You can plan and prepare for a trek, but you can’t control fate. I had caught a cold just before leaving Melbourne for Nepal and for eight days I had coughed my way through the Khumbu. Now more than three quarters of the way up to Gokyo Ri I was exhausted.

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