Day 20: Namche to Tengboche

We left Namche early and were some of the first trekkers to hit the trail for a crisp, pristine morning with flawless skies laying bare the stunning mountain scenery. The first section from Namche was relatively flat, allowing us to take everything in without breaking too much sweat, probably our favourite part yet. After the path then dips back down to the river at Phunki Thanga, another rickety hanging bridge leads onto a security checkpoint manned by army personnel. Getting our credentials checked, our next task was to tackle a steep climb for the remainder of the day up to Tengboche, with Thamserku and its glacier staring right back at us. It was hard work, but at the top our day's walking had been done, and only by midday. We celebrated by enjoying some very tasty lunch, including outrageous chocolate cake and a cinnamon swirl before settling on a place to stay.

We head to our first teahouse: do you have a room for the night? 'No'. Damn, okay no worries, we thought, so we head to the second teahouse. 'Fully booked.' Okay, getting worried now, head to the third teahouse. Room? 'Yes of course.' Phew, we thought, hoping that this is just a reflection of the few places to stay in Tengboche and not of the state of play beyond Namche. I then passed out via a nap after our early start while Thomas continued his reading of Hillary's book about his adventures until we dragged ourselves from weariness to go and check out Tengboche monastery. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the monastery itself, but the chanting monk from within ushered us over and gestured to tie a piece of red string around each of our necks, which we think is a blessing for our onward journey up to base camp. Final actions for the day were to book ahead a place to stay in Lobuche given today's scare and munch down some dinner, where Thomas experienced the generosity of unlimited rice while eating his Dal Bhat.Läs mer