Day 4 - Hiking to Tengboche

This morning we left Namche Bazaar and hiked up to the Monastery of Tengboche at an elevation of 3,860m. This hike travels along the hill side high above the Dudh Koshi river so is relatively flat for its first half. Once again, the views along this track were fantastic and we could see Everest and Lhotse the whole way along it (see photo to the right). We then dropped down to the river and stopped for a tea break before crossing another suspension bridge (I think this is our last one) over the Dudh Koshi before commencing a 500m climb up to Tengboche. Compared to the other day when I was not feeling well, this climb felt like a doddle. At the top of the hill is the Monastery and we are staying in another small lodge just down the hill slightly.

We got to Tengboche around lunchtime so will be having another relaxing afternoon to look around the Monastery and to help our acclimatisation as we continue to head further uphill. So far I've not felt any affects of the altitude and the climb this morning was not very taxing. However we still have a long way to go!

One of the "positives" of this area is the mobile phone signal - it seems to be everywhere. This meant I did not miss out on hearing about Peter Siddle's hat-trick at the Gabba either. All the locals have a mobile and it is their way of communicating in an area where this is difficult.