Called Nauche by the Sherpas and Naboche by the Tibetans, the village surrounded by sharp mountainous peaks is more widely known as Namche. The thriving village comprises of a mountain resort feel laden with down-jacket-clad locals. While it’s not unusual to experience mild symptoms of altitude sickness, we felt none. Nonetheless, on the advice of our Sherpa and our trusty guide book, we stayed in Namche to acclimatize to the ever increasing altitude.
Namche Bazaar is known for its weekly Saturday market where Sherpas meet friends, catch up with others and load up on supplies. As the last major outpost where supplies are most readily available, Namche attracts locals from all around the Khumbu region.
First thing in the morning, we set out on a short acclimatization hike to the Sagarmatha National Park Headquarters. From there, we caught our first glimpse of the mighty Mount Everest, known to the Tibetans as Sagarmartha. From a distance it would be hard to tell that it is the world’s tallest mountain and at first we weren’t sure what we were looking at the right one. Hidden amongst a mist of wispy clouds and behind an intimidating Nuptse-Lhotse ridge, the black peak of Everest actually looked a little smaller than the surrounding mountains of Lhotse, Thamserku and Ama Dablam.
We returned to town to browse through the many little shops full of trekking paraphernalia and souvenirs. Having soaked up the views we were hungry for a snack. We loaded up on momos, some noodle soup and treated ourselves to a delicious piece of chocolate cake!
It was a relaxing day and restful evening; save for the late night party playing what could only have been Akon.
- Daniel
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