September 25, 2019, from the itinerary: Trek through the Sherpa heartland to the monastery at Thyangboche for superb mountain views This morning we descend to the river; we cross it at the little settlement of Phunki Thangkha at 3,250m, then climb steeply through the forest to Thyangboche at 3,867m. We will be here by lunchtime and in the afternoon we will visit the famous monastery. The sunset and sunrise on the fantastic panorama of mountains surrounding us are not to be missed - Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse and Ama Dablam provide a wonderful backdrop to our teahouse. Look out for Himalayan Tahr in the forest surrounding the monastery. Tea-house (sleeping altitude 3,870m). 4 miles distance covered with an altitude increase of 270 M.
There were some lovely views of forests, valleys. We, unfortunately, missed the mountain panorama due to the clouds. We did see Lhotse and Nuptse and Ama Dablam. The signs kept us on the right track and towards EBC.
It got
quite steep....and cloudy
We stopped for lunch next to a bridge and could go under and over it.
We saw some wildlife - a bharal (Himalayan Blue Sheep), and some not as wild like horses and yaks...
We saw more stupas
Thankfully, women were allowed inside Thyangboche today. This is a really unique monastery where mountain climbers stopped to get blessed before continuing on their climb. We went inside to hear the rumbling of the chanting and watched while climbers were blessed.
We also saw the footprints left by Lama Sangwa in the 16th century!
Finally, some pictures of food. No meat due to fear of food poisoning as the meat is carried up and not stored properly.
Potatoes were stored in pits under the floors as the weather was cold enough to keep them fresh.
Lots of carbs.
I finally was able to buy some Mount Everest Whiskey at our tea house. The owners of this tea house met then Prince Charles and had his signed picture on the wall.
Each tea house had a central room where we ate and warmed up. The central fixture was the stove.
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