Ups and Downs on the Trail to Nunthala, Nepal

This is day 5 of my 24 day trek through the Khumbu region of Nepal.

I woke up to a beautiful, crisp and clear morning in Junbesi. The clouds that had shrouded the mountains the day before had all but disappeared to unveil the tall sides of the valley, and looking north I could see the tall, ice capped peak of Numbur, majestically poking out above everything else. The crossing of the Lamjura La the day before had left me drained and tired, but the pleasant morning had me in high spirits as I descended down through the village of Junbesi to cross the stream at the bottom of the valley.

My teahouse in Junbesi, with a morning view to Numbur poking up above the valley.

The village stupa in Junbesi, slightly damaged from the earthquake

On the other side I had to begin climbing again quite steeply through pine forest, but the smell of pine and the sound of birds in the trees made the climb easier on my mind. It was also only a small climb, though the ascent of the Lamjura La had made all of the other climbs smaller in comparison. The steep section of track soon leveled out somewhat and instead of ascending straight up the mountain, it followed more along the contour around the mountain where the valley below leads us in the right direction.

The forest has been mostly cleared along this section of the trail and the open farm fields allow for beautiful views all around. Looking back, I could finally see the Lamjura La in all of its glory, towering way up above the valley.

Looking back at the Lamjura La – Junbesi sits in the valley to the right.

The trail ascended gradually high up above the valley, until it reached the point where it meets another valley at the tiny village of Phurteng (2900m). As I stepped up into the village I was suddenly greeted by an incredible view. An idyllic panorama spread out before me, a deep valley dropped far below with tall hills of forest and farmland rising up above it, but then towering above it all, a huge range of ice capped peaks. The high Himalaya had unveiled itself. From here I had my first view of several famous peaks all over 6000m, including Mera, Kantega and Thamsurku, and on the far left, half hidden by the hill in front of me, the very tip of Everest itself. It was just beautiful.

View of a part of the high Himalaya from Phurteng. Perfect!

I sat at Phurteng and enjoyed the view for sometime before continuing along the trail to a stupa I could see up ahead. This provided an even better view of the top of Everest, and the beautiful view of these majestic peaks stayed with me for some time as I descended down into the valley below. Eventually they all disappeared, but the tall peak of Numbur (6959m) made an appearance again, sitting far closer than the other mountains off in the distance.

The stupa just past Phurteng

View from the stupa near Phurteng. You can see a “smaller” peak on the left of the range with a little grey cloud to the left of it. That is the tip of Mount Everest, so tall that it pokes up above the smaller peaks in front of it.

The view from the small village of Salung

View across the valley to Ringmo, Numbur pokes its head out on the far left.

The trail descended down through beautiful forest where I came across a group of monkeys playing around above a stream. At the bottom of the valley I crossed a long suspension bridge, before tackling the steep climb up the other side to the village of Ringmo, where I stopped for lunch, eating outside with a perfect view of Numbur, the sacred Sherpa mountain which watches over the people of Solukhumbu.

Walking through the forest on the way to Ringmo

Crossing the bridge at the bottom of the valley (2500m) before the climb up to Ringmo

The view from my lunch spot in Ringmo. A mule train passes by on the way to Nunthala.

The stupa in Ringmo, with views to Numbur (6959m)

Ringmo is located half way up the trail to another mountain pass which I would have to ascend, and it is also where the mule trains join the trail, carting supplies up from the airstrip at Phaplu. It was with them that I shared the steep trail up to the pass at Trakshindu La (3070m). A gate at the top of the pass framed the snow capped mountains beyond, which had now come back into view, beautifully. These views stayed with me as I descended down the other side, though the afternoon cloud and haze was setting in to slowly hide them away again for another day.

Passing through the gate in Trakshindu which frames the high snow capped mountains in the background

Shortly after leaving the pass I trekked down past the Trakshindu Gompa (monastery) where the beautiful sound of prayer filled the air. I was stopping often to let the mule trains past (who can handle the trail much easier than I can), so I took the opportunity to sit and listen to the monks for a while, but the day was wearing on and I had to continue on if I wanted to reach my destination for the night.

Trakshindu Gompa

Hazy view down the valley on the way down to Nunthala. This marks my path to Lukla and then onwards to Everest, along the valley to the left below the high mountain range.

The trail down to Nunthala was treacherous, with loose rock everywhere that had been uplifted by the mule trains. It was slow going to avoid twisting an ankle, and the long descent made it hard on my knees. By the time I trudged on into Nunthala, the sun was about to set and I was well and truly ready to call it a day.

Walking into Nunthala

Goats in front of a house in Nunthala

It had been another long day of trekking, but the scenery had been breathtakingly beautiful. I would go to sleep that night with visions of the majestic peaks of the high Himalaya in my mind.

Read on: Day 6 – Trekking from Nunthala to Bupsa