Everest Base Camp Trek – Day 3
Date: 14 November 2017
Walked to: Kyanjuma
Distance: 7.5 miles
Altitude: Sleeping at 3,600m (high point was 3,880)

I woke up with a bit of a headache this morning, and had to force breakfast down – the effects of altitude were beginning to hit. But luckily, the moment I was out of last night’s tea house and walking uphill, I felt fine. That was very handy indeed, because today was probably the most extraordinary day of walking I’ve ever had, in terms of knock-out scenery.

The walking day started with a stiff climb out of Namche Bazaar to a viewpoint of Everest, Ama Dablam (my favourite looking mountain) and the other surrounding mountains, before heading on up to what was probably my highest altitude (to date) hot chocolate, at the posh Everest View Hotel. Then it was on to the twin villages of Kunde and Khumjung, fitting in lunch, a visit to the local school and hospital (both originally founded by Sir Edmund Hillary), and to the nearby monastery, which has been rebuilt following the 2015 earthquake.

Home tonight is a tea house in Khumjumg, where, after three days of walking, I’ve finally had a shower; sounds minging, I know, but it is seriously cold here once the sun goes down. It may also be my last one for six days as the guides advise against it once we get much higher. On the plus side, because it’s so cool, and because we’re walking so slowly due to the altitude, there’s not a whole lot of perspiration going on. Ah, the glamour of walking…