The Everest Region
The Everest region is a valley that climbs to the roof of the world by teahouses: from Lukla, where the plane lands uphill on a strip that ends at a wall, the trail follows the Dudh Koshi up through Sherpa villages — Namche Bazaar in its amphitheatre, Tengboche with its monastery facing Ama Dablam, the loveliest mountain in the range, Dingboche behind its stone walls — to Gorak Shep, the last lodges, and from there to the Khumbu glacier and the tents of Base Camp, or up the black hill of Kala Patthar at dawn for the view the mountain gives of itself: Sagarmatha to the Nepalis, Chomolungma to the Sherpas, eight thousand eight hundred and forty-nine metres and, on a clear morning, close enough to touch. Twelve days up and back, a bed and a dal bhat at every stop, and no road anywhere.
The traveller flies to Lukla on the first flight the weather allows and walks — two days to Namche, a rest day there for the market and the blood; on to Tengboche for the monks at prayer and the view; up to Dingboche and another rest day for the head; on to Lobuche and Gorak Shep; and, from there, Base Camp in the afternoon and Kala Patthar at five the next morning, when the sun hits the summit first. Down is fast and the lodges are warmer. Along the way: suspension bridges hung with flags, yak trains that own the trail, mani walls passed on the left, and the chai that every teahouse pours.
The Guide's honesty: this is a serious walk at serious altitude — Base Camp is five thousand three hundred and sixty-four metres, and the mountain sickness that comes from hurrying kills a few visitors every year: take the rest days, drink, descend at the first bad sign, and carry insurance that includes a helicopter; the Lukla flight is famous for a reason and cancels for days — build slack; a licensed guide is now required and worth it, and the porters who carry the bags deserve fair weight, fair pay and a warm bed; the trail in October is a procession and the lodges fill by three; the permits are two and the plastic bottles are banned; and the mountain, on the morning it shows itself, is worth every one of the twelve days.