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Back to Kathmandu, Everest 3 pass #4

Publié le 3 October 2019 | Nepal Eng

End of the route. We leave the Sherpa capital to return to more reasonable altitudes. The weather is still very rainy, and we return to all the villages we visited on the outward journey. The high season is beginning, and the crowds have stepped up a notch: dozens of people cross our path, the bridges are crowded, and the guest houses are in full swing. We're already thinking of coming back, perhaps a little later to avoid the rain and in another less-frequented region: Dolpo, Mustang, Annapurna, who knows? Back in Kathmandu, a short day's halt to take the pulse of the country one last time before the flight to Europe.

Technical summary

Type ✦ Trek itinérant

Location ✦ Solukhumbu Valley

Region ✦ Khumbu Himal

Country ✦ Nepal

Length ✦ 64kms

Max altitude + ✦ 3440m

Dénivelé + ✦ 3780m

Dénivelé - ✦ 4730m

Difficulty ✦ MD

Duration ✦ 4 days

Interest ✦ ★★

Access to the place

Map & topo

Voir en plein écran

Itinerary description

Day 16 to day 20

From Namche, we retrace our steps back to our starting point, except for a stopover in Lukla, to try and see the planes land or take off from the "most dangerous runway in the world"... In vain, as the weather was too cloudy for any flights to or from the airport that day. The red blood cells we'd built up over the last 2 weeks did their job, and we swallowed the difference in altitude below 4,000m with a turbo in our legs! Arriving in Phaplu, we still have to make our way to Kathmandu by 4×4. It will take us 16 hours to cover the 270 kms, averaging just 17 km/h. On the way, landslides, broken bridges, river crossings, 4×4 stuck in the mud... an adventure in itself.

Day 16: Namche - Lukla 2860m

Day 17: Lukla - Bupsa 2360m

Day 18: Bupsa - Taksindu 2930m

Day 19: Taksindu - Phaplu 2480m

Day 20: Phaplu Kathmandu (4×4)

Along the way, we pass a string of mule convoys, loaded to the gills. Porters lining up to carry a bit of everything, also loaded to the gills. Children playing in the villages, houses under construction, carpenters at work.

The road back finally reaches an improbable level of chaos, especially when crossing the river or traversing the muddy tracks... tractors and diggers in action to clear the way or rebuild what can be rebuilt to allow us to pass! Not forgetting a nice little Dhal Bat on the way, in the midst of all the mayhem, in good spirits of course.