EBC trek: Day 1 - Lukla to Benkar

I left for the airport in Kathmandu early in the morning, and eventually arrived at Tenzing & Hillary Airport in Lukla around 11am. The first thing I noticed is that it is a lot cooler at 2800m. Although a t-shirt was still sufficient, the crisp air was a welcome break from the humid intensity of Kathmandu. After a late breakfast in Lukla, we started the walk down to Benkar to spend the night at the lightly lower 2600m.

Lukla Airport

During the 3 hour walk, we passed many waterfalls, crossed rivers and admired the scenery. The river water was beautiful and clear, descending from the mountains high above. It also was so intense it made the white water rafting we did a few weeks ago look positively tame!

One of the nice things about trekking is how friendly everyone is (much like hiking in the British countryside). Chhatra is always stopping to greet other guides he knows – which as he has done the trek about 200 times before is a lot of them – and other westerners always say hello. Just today I have met Jerome (‘Yar-roon’) from the Netherlands, a couple of doctors from the USA, and a Spanish couple who stayed at the same lodge. I started the trek as I meant to go on – a dinner of traditional Nepali daal bhat followed by bed at 8pm!