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Title image - BAI takes you to: Everest Basecamp
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Everest Base Camp Trek Dispatch

October 14, 2011 – First Views of Everest on Namche Rest Day

The morning view of Ama Dablam

The morning view of Ama Dablam

This was our Namche rest day or acclimatization day. It is always a wonderful experience, a surprising experience. To give you an example of what life is like in Namche, before we came to dinner last night Lhakpa Doma, who runs the lodge where we’re staying, reminded us to switch on the electric blankets so that our beds would be warm when we got back to our rooms. There is plenty of luxury in Namche. It is still a town high in the Himalaya that is only accessed by yak, on foot and occasionally by helicopter, but this is a different kind of world. There are no wheeled vehicles – no bicycles, no motorcycles, certainly no cars – but it has pretty much everything you need to be comfortable in a beautiful setting.

The first thing we did today after breakfast was to walk about five minutes uphill to the National Park Overlook to see the big ones - Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. Fantastic views! We all stood around for a while marveling at our surroundings. Then we returned to our lodge and then on to the center of Namche. It is all about coffee shops and bakeries with excellent cinnamon rolls and lots of shopping: mountaineering gear, Tibetan artifacts, postcards, books, whatever you want.

So remember, we are still acclimatizing and getting ready to go higher. This day in Namche isn’t just to rest our legs and bodies, it is a chance for us to get used to the altitude before we climb higher up the valley. Tomorrow we will travel off the beaten path to Thame which is on the old trading route with Tibet.

The view of Namche from our lodge

The view of Namche from our lodge

Yak bells are a popular souvenir in Namche

Yak bells are a popular souvenir in Namche

Tibetan jewelry is another popular item for sale in Namche Shops in Namche

Left: Tibetan jewelry is another popular item for sale in Namche;

Right: Shops in Namche