Sakya to Everest National Park

Excitement was riding high this morning as we departed Sakya to travel once again through the stunning scenery of the Himalayas to the Everest National Park. The roads were winding and steep. But our glimpses of the snow capped mountain ranges kept us distracted. We reached 5200m meters of elevation at our lunch stop where we had to swap out our bus for a park vehicle. Getting into the park required us being scrutinized at multiple check points and a special permit but we made it through! The bus stopped at Yak Hair Tent City, a collection of tents similar to those of nomadic Tibetan people, where we were originally booked to stay, but it was under new management and being upgraded (The Chinese Government took it away from the locals). Next we had a brief visit to the Rongbok Monastery, the highest monastery in the world where 50 monks and nuns remain, maintaining separate residences, of course. We hiked from there to the breathtaking Everest North Viewpoint, located only 2.2 kms from base camp. Everest’s Peak was covered in cloud when we arrived but we patiently waited for the wind to “blow open the curtains” and display the full peak in all it’s glory. We caught 3 separate glimpses before we had to head back down in the bus to board our own bus and head to our accommodation for the night in Ganggar. All of our rooms face Everest and we were able to watch the sun go down on the portion that was visible from our room. What a great day we had, all thanks to our bus driver whose name is good fortune, and our own good Karma!Read more