Last Updated on: 14th February 2025, 08:16 pm
Day 5: Namche Bazaar (3440 m)
Most trekkers spend at least a day in Namche for altitude acclimatization.
The standard day-hike is up to Everest View Hotel at 3880 m. Please see Day 15 for an alternative route via Khunde and Khumjung. It was a lovely sunny warm morning. After walking for 10 minutes, I stopped to take off my thin fleece and gloves.
Our lodge was already at 3500 m, so we had a little elevation head start on those coming from lower Namche. The path up from the main path starts very steeply and then moderates later.
“Sagarmatha next” Visitor and Learning Centre is at 3775 m.
A cold wind was blowing near the top. It is traditional to have tea at the Everest View Hotel but it was very busy when we were there. We returned to the Panorama Viewpoint for an equally good view and more reasonable prices.
I totally lost my appetite today (one of the symptoms of acute mountain sickness). As described in the introduction, “Why a slow trek to Gokyo?”, we adapted our itinerary to allow my body more time to adjust.
Today, as most days, we purchased a bowl of hot water and used it to wash.
Our measurements
Distance: 5.2 km
Cumulative elevation gain: 440 m (assuming start at 3440 m)
Nett elevation gain: 0 m
Day 6: Namche Bazaar (3440 m)
We woke up to another beautiful sunny morning. I did not have breakfast as I still did not feel like eating.
Our guide took us to the Tenzing Norgay Sherpa Heritage Centre. There are great 360-degree views (including Everest), though the buildings do spoil the vista. I thought that the displays at the small Centre were interesting.
After returning from the Centre, we went down into town and visited a bakery for tea. I ordered a piece of cake that looked good but struggled to eat it because of my lack of appetite. We wandered around the shops and visited the water-driven prayer wheels and stupa in the lower part of Namche.
Namche is the last place that you can buy any additional kit and medical supplies you may need before you head higher. You can buy drinks and snacks higher up, but the price increases the higher you go for obvious reasons.
Strangely, only two hours after we stopped for tea, my appetite returned, and I ate much of a tasty plate of fried potatoes for a late lunch.
I did experience further loss of appetite on and off during the trek but only for short periods.
Water and food safety
The general guideline is that you should assume that untreated water in Nepal is not suitable for drinking. The water may contain viruses, bacteria and / or parasites (Giardia and Cryptosporidium).
On the trek, you can buy bottled water and boiled water and / or treat the water yourself. In order to reduce plastic pollution in the region, calls are being made to avoid bottled water.
We bought bottled water up to and including Namche but from there, we used Katadyn water purification tablets that we brought from home. This worked well for us. A Steripen would have been more convenient, but we left it a bit late, and they were not available for purchase at home.
We adhered to the following food safety guidelines to avoid travellers’ diarrhoea: How to avoid Delhi belly
Also, we did not have milk in our tea. We did not eat meat on the trek as we did not know how it had been transported and stored. I did eat tuna (in pasta meals) assuming that the tuna tin wasn’t opened too long before I ate it as the lodges had a high turnover of guests.
References:
- https://www.sagarmathanext.com/interact/exhibitions/benjamin-von-wong/ – retrieved 202501
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Slow trek to Gokyo – Part 1 – Kathmandu to Namche