Jubing 5,499ft to Tragsindho 9,612ft
I’m sitting in the lodge in Tragsindho watching sport on a Television, Aston Villa v Norwich on ESPN. Civilisation it seems is looming ever closer. Last night we were warm and muggy at 5,499ft in Jubing. Tonight in Tragsindho we are at 9,612ft and the heater is back on in the dining room. If you include all the up’s and downs of the day we have climbed over 5,000ft.
We set off from Jubing refreshed after a good, warm nights sleep and a leisurely breakfast. We are walking longer distances now as we are no longer at significant altitude or heading up most of the time and I can feel myself getting fitter. After leaving Jubing we enjoy a couple of hours of joyful walking through the forest, it’s canopy providing welcome shade from the sun. The path was still slippy from the rain of some days ago however so caution had to be exercised, the middle of Nepal is not somewhere you want to break a wrist or twist an ankle by falling over. There was also the occasional donkey train making their way past us heading up to towards Lukla. There is only one winner if a couple of dozen donkeys are heading towards you on a narrow path and it’s best to step aside as quickly as possible. The sound of the crickets, birds and babbling streams kept us company as we made our way down to the bridge crossing the Dudh Khosi.
This is to be our final crossing of the Dudh Khosi, a river we have crossed perhaps a dozen times over the last couple of weeks. We are now leaving it behind us as we head out across the valleys to Jiri, and it makes it’s long journey to the Bay of Bengal. I will miss the ‘Milk River’. After the bridge a sustained period of uphill followed, broken by lunch in Mandingma also known as Nuntala. We had a lazy lunch in Nuntala, sat outside eating and enjoying the Sun in the courtyard of a Lodge.
Knowing that we still had a lot of uphill ahead of us before we could find our bed for the night made us somewhat reluctant to get going again but eventually we got ourselves moving. As we climbed higher, past the village and up the hill the sound of crickets disappeared, never to return and the trail became a more familiar one, the forest was replaced by rolling, green terraced hills dotted with hamlets and houses through which we wound our way, heading ever upwards. As we neared Tragsindho we passed a wooden shack which had newspaper plastered over it, presumably for warmth. A couple of kids came out, dirty, naked and looking pretty poor. We gave them a couple of balloons and some crayons. Although tempting, chocolate and sweets wouldn’t have been kinder, these kids are unlikely to clean their teeth and chocolate would just be feeding tooth decay, something they could do without. It is easy to forget in the honey pot that is the EBC trail but Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and you don’t have to get far away from the Tourist ‘hot spots’ before that becomes sadly evident.
For map and route details of this walk click ‘learn more’ below.
Tragsindho 9,612ft to Junbesi 8776ft
We were up at 7am and had breakfast outside, basking in the sunshine with a vista of snow capped mountains in front of us, how good is that!
I’m starting to eat better now that we are out of the high mountains and my appetite has returned. A good days walking was ahead of us today. On leaving the lodge we headed straight up the four hundred feet or so to reach the Tragsindho La pass (10,075ft) this is the highest we have been since Namche Bazaar. At the pass there is a mani gate, a cluster of lodges, teahouses and a Chorten.
What goes up in Nepal must come down and after the pass the trail drops steadily, passing through villages and farmland. We also got caught up in what seemed to be a Donkey derby for a good ten minutes. Crossing a river and some more ascent brought us to the famous Everest View Sherpa Lodge where we stopped for lunch. For people walking in from Jiri, rounding the bend to the lodge provides the first view of Mount Everest and the Himalayas laid out before you. Unfortunately for us, and them the clouds were covering up Everest and the view today. Having been to Kala Patthar and seen Everest up close it wasn’t such a disappointment, although it would have been nice to see Everest with my own eyes just one last time.
The afternoon was quite simply sublime. After the Everest view lodge the trail heads downhill all the way to Junbesi. For hours on end there is beautiful walking to be had, working your way slowly downhill through Rhododendron forest with ancient Oak and giant Fir trees, reaching hundreds of feet into the sky above, all dappling in the bright warm sunlight. Al and Dene had disappeared way ahead as was their custom, Mark and Dan were way back and Steve about 200 metres in front which meant I had the place effectively to myself. It was peaceful, still and silent, with no wind and no sound to be heard except my own footsteps on the soft ground, absolutely beautiful. I am a man that can keep his own company and to a certain degree enjoy solitude. Being alone in the forest, having time to take in that very moment and the whole experience of the last two weeks, to think, to pray and to re tune myself with God and the world around me was special, spiritual and something I will always remember.
On arrival at Junbesi I met up with Steve in a shop and we waited for Mark and Dan. Junbesi is the biggest town since Namche Bazaar and it has a large Monastery. As we waited we watched the monks playing football, the universal game, in the monastery square. Two Irish lads Steve had got talking to a couple of days ago on the trail had recommended a nice lodge they had stayed in as they were coming the opposite way, House Namaste Lodge. The only trouble was it was out on the other side of town and not easy to find, thankfully Al and Dene were already there and Dene was looking out for us to guide us in.
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For map and route details of this walk click ‘learn more’ below.