Everest Base Camp, Three Passes Trek, Travel
Machermo to Namche Bazaar, Everest Base Camp Honeymoon (Day Sixteen)
DESTINATION: Namche Bazaar
ELEVATION: 3,578 m
ELEVATION GAIN: -1,172 m
DISTANCE: about 22.9 km (8.5 hours)
OXYGEN: 66% of sea level (previous 57%)
On day 15 of our trek in the High Himalayas, I woke up with a bittersweet feeling. On the one hand, I was excited to reach the Hotel Khangri in Namche Bazaar, where we had a nice room with a flushing toilet and a view of the city waiting for us. On the other hand, we were nearing the end of our adventure on the Three Passes Trek.
To cut the trek from Machermo to Namche a little bit, we decided against spending the night in Gokyo and instead walked for as long as we could in the daylight to reach the village of Machermo. As a result, it ended up being a very long day, after which we had dinner and drinks in the teahouse in Machermo. This was also the first of the three pretty challenging days on our way down to Lukla. The goal was Gokyo to Machermo, Machermo to Namche Bazaar, Namche Bazaar to Lukla, Lukla to Kathmandu. That last one was an interesting day, to say the least, but more about that later.
On our second morning on the way path, we woke up early, had breakfast, quickly packed our backpacks and headed to Namche Bazaar, assuming the road will all be downhill from now because Namche sits on a lower elevation. We didn’t know was that the way down (despite being incredibly scenic) goes over lower mountains instead of around them and has a lot (and I mean a lot) of stairs up and down.
Machermo to Namche Bazaar is Long and Strenuous
Be ready for a long strenuous walk over many giant stone steps that go up and down with a few flat stretches here and there. On your way, you’ll pass a few villages, the first bigger one being Thore’s village and midway the town of Portse. This is also the hike where you’ll go down some 1,000 meters in elevation, and although there’s more oxygen in the air now, constant ups and downs still feel rough. The trek itself is very scenic, and as descend, it gets warmer, and vegetation becomes more abundant.
Trail Fork on the Way to Namche Bazaar
The road down is relatively straightforward and easy to follow. It’s also very crowded as it merges with the Everest Base Camp trail. There’s one confusing part where the road splits with no clear indicators that point to Namche. We had the Lonely Planet map for the Three Passes Trek, and it was mostly good, but the distances seemed a little off at times. The intersection split the road in two directions, one going straight and up, and another turning left and down. We took the left turn going to Namche. We still managed to get lost, but then asked for directions, and a local lady suggested we follow her, which we did.
Travel Tip: We chose to do the Three Passes trek because it covered more ground and got away from the crowds. The Three Passes is a newer route and is usually the popular choice for solo trekkers, those without a porter or a guide. It gives you the flexibility of walking at your own pace, while also having the option of hiring a guide or a porter along the way (porters and guide are scarce higher up in the mountains, so arrange ahead if needed).
We hoped to have some time to explore Namche Bazaar, but we were exhausted when we finally got to Khangri Hotel. So we left souvenir shopping for the following morning. After a hot shower, we settled in Kangri’s awesome restaurant and celebrated our amazing journey.
Travel Tip: I mentioned this before in this blog series, but I am in love with the vibe and the Khangri Hotel’s food. We accidentally ended up there simply because there were no rooms in other teahouses when we originally got to Namche. The guys at Khangri let us book a room ahead for our return and store the extra stuff we packed until our return, so we had a room with a flushing toilet waiting for us when we finally got to Namche, stinky and exhausted.
Souvenirs are Cheaper in Namche Than in Kathmandu
The morning before leaving Namche, I wanted to get some souvenirs and found these “yak yak yak” hats. It was only 300 rupees, and I found the same hat in Kathmandu, but the price somehow was 950 rupees there, worse quality. This was the beginning of a long and hard day that finally took us to Lukla.
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Everest Base Camp Trek Series:
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- Day 1 – Toronto to Kathmandu
- Day 2 – Exploring Kathmandu
- Day 3 – Kathmandu to Lukla
- Day 4 – Namche Bazaar
- Day 5 – Namche Bazaar to Tengboche
- Day 6 – Tengboche to Pangboche
- Day 7 – Pangboche to Dingboche
- Day 8 & 9 – Dingboche to Chuchung
- Day 10 – Chuchung to Lobuche (over the Kongma La Pass)
- Day 11 – Lobuche (and the Italian Pyramid)
- Day 12 – Gorakshep to Everest Base Camp
- Day 13 – To Kala Patthar and Dzongla
- Day 14 – To Dragnak (over Chola Pass)
- Day 15 – Gokyo (with Gokyo Ri ascent)
- Day 16 – Back to Namche Bazaar
- Day 17 – Namche Bazaar to Lukla
- Day 18 – Lukla to Kathmandu
- Day 19 – Kathmandu to Toronto
