Trek to EBC Day 2&3 - Phakding to Namche Bazaar

EBC Trek Day 2 - April 10, 2017

We survived day 2 of our trek from Phakding to Namche Bazar. We trekked for 10 hours including breaks. This day, we passed several hanging bridges connecting several mountains. The last one before the ascent to Namche Bazaar is the Hilary bridge - the highest bridge in the Khumbu Region in the Himalayas. From here, we had about 3.5 hours of a grueling climb to Namche Bazaar at 3,450 meters asl.

I was totally spent when we reached Namche Checkpoint and my legs were very weak as we tackled the final steps of the stair leading to our lodge. Namche is situated on a hill and is the main trading center and hub for the Khumbu region. It is also the last place to pick up any missing necessities and or change the currency at a bank.

We stayed in Namche for two nights for altitude acclimatization. They call it a rest day but actually we didn't rest. We had to hike to the highest point of Namche on our second day and back to condition our body for the next day trek to Tengboche - the largest gompa in the Khumbu region of Nepal, situated at 3,867 meters.

Trek to EBC Day 1 - Terrifying Flight To Lukla

EBC Trek Day 1 - April 10, 2017

Hair-Raising Landing at Lukla Airport in Nepal... I've just experienced the world's most dangerous airport landings, Nepalese Airport, and the incredible and wonderful feeling of seeing the highest point on earth and the world's highest mountains while on air.

The landing and take-off strips here are very short. The airport operates at an altitude of 8,000 feet (2,438m) and has virtually no modern air traffic control features. Not even lights, and very little electric power at all.

We've walked up on a stony paved road that is part of the EBC Trekking Route beside the bob wires that separates us from the airport landing. From above the road, we had a full view of the aircraft landings. Then as we go down the airport road is the Nest Lodge where we had our breakfast while the porters were sorting our bags. They also gave us our trekking permit card with our photo attached to the card like a passport.

Watch the video above to see the rest of the trek.