Day 5: Namche

Hiking time: 5-6 hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate

We’ll follow the Dudh Kosi, ascending 2,300 ft./700 m through Himalayan pine and Doedar cedar forests, to the celebrated village of Namche Bazaar (11,300ft./3,444 m). The village of Namche is an historic trading post where Nepalese and Tibetan traders exchange salt, dried meat, gold and textiles. Besides being a superb place to shop for traditional crafts, Namche remains the central trading post in the Khumbu, attracting Himalayan and lowland merchants. Our group will spend two days in Namche, affording us the opportunity to acclimate, visit local markets and spend time with friends in town. On the hike, we’ll capture our first glimpses of Everest and neighboring peaks.

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Update from the Team:

Hello from Namche Bazar at 11,200 ft! After a delightful and short stay in Phakding we threw our packs back on our backs and set our for the 7.5 miles and roughly ~2700 ft elevation gain to arrive at the thriving village of Namche Bazar. A mostly sunny day ended with a very foggy afternoon and a little rain. Namche is definitely the most “established” of the villages we will stay in with many gift shops (including name brands like The North Face) and coffee shops. Our tea house has bathrooms inside our rooms with hot watered showers, toilet paper, and free Wifi - we are definitel taking advantage of the two nights here! Tomorrow we will head to Khunde for an acclimation hike, that if skies are clear will give us a great view of Mt. Everest. 

Today’s group “high” of the day was getting to surprise our amazing guide, Lalit with a birthday cake, candles and a gift after dinner. We had so much fun scheming together all day to pull it off and it quickly became a special memory for all of us! He’s on his 200+ trek to EBC and it shows on the trails. Everyone knows Lalit and we’re so honored to have his expertise and fun humor guiding us these 9 days!