The walk down from Thame (3800m) to Monjo (2835m) takes us from the stark terrain of the upper elevations back to the green river valley where we began our trek. We will have one more night on the trail before reaching Lulka the day after.
Finally in Thame I slept normally again without any symptoms of sleep apnea.
Although we woke to clear skies clouds started forming around the peaks early.
Today’s route heads down the river toward Namche before meeting the trail we began our journey on 16 days earlier. Out of Thame the track runs along an open hillside with the river far below. Walking into the sun the mountain views are lost in a white haze.
Passing through several villages with temples there is more local activity on the trail but it’s not crowded with trekkers.
On the second half of the trail to Namche we climb into forest with a steady increase in yak train traffic as we near Namche. The trail continues the steady climb before dropping into town.
The helicopter pad above Namche is a buzz of activity, loading and unloading tourists.
3 hours since we left Thame, we reach Namche at lunchtime and stop at a cafe before continuing down to Monjo.
Now begins the repeat part of the journey. Just out of Namche is the steep descent to the Larja Bridge. At this time of day there’s lots of traffic heading up, both yak trains and trekkers.
The Larja Bridge is high above the confluence where the river we followed from Thame to Namche dumps into the one we follow back to Lukla.
Past the bridge the track follows the river near the bank. This is one of the prettiest sections of today’s hike. At this elevation there are more towns, agriculture, and local people on the trail. I’m surprised to see flowers still in bloom. It’s a nice change from the stark higher elevations. Steep green mountainsides capped in clouds flank the river.
Soon we pass most of the traffic heading up for the day and reach the Namste Guesthouse in Monjo just after 2, 2 and a quarter hours since we left Namche. It’s quiet at the guesthouse. We would be the only guests staying the night.
October 20, 2018
For links to all the posts in this series see the 3 Passes Trek page.