Day 3 - Kathmandu - Lukla

We got up at 4.45, far too early for my liking, although I have to say that all the kids were quickly out of bed and ready for departure and spirits were high at breakfast.

The flight to Lukla is amazing. Were were on two small planes - both 16 seater twin Otters. If you sit on the left hand side of the plane you are rewarded with spectacular views of the himalayan range. This morning it was clear and the sheer size of the mountains is remarkable. From the valley bottoms to the summits you are looking at 8 vertical kilometers of rock. The planes contour along the sides of the mountains and at times it feels as though you are almost bound to crash into them.

At one point the turbulence was quite dramatic, the plane plummeting thirty feet towards the slopes not far below. There were screams and the pretty stewardess sitting next to me smiled and asked "Is this their first time in Nepal?"

Lukla airport has a very short, sloping runway. Coming into land gives you the impression that you are going to crash into the mountain. I guess it takes a very experienced and bold pilot to land there for the first time. The view through the cockpit window (the doors to the flight deck were left open) was rather gut wrenching. Nevertheless as soon as the students had disengorged onto the little runway, they were grinning from ear to ear.

We walked about half a kilometer from the airport to a lodge in the small village of Lukla. There we met our porters who will cary our heavy bags for the next 14 days.

The walk from Lukla to Phakding is a steady three hours downhill. Well, mostly. The valley is heavily forested and there are farms growing barley and cabages along the side of the path. By the end of the walk the kids were looking quite tired, more from lack of sleep than physical exertion though.

On this trek we are staying in the simple lodges that have been custom built to cater for trekkers all along the trail to Everest Base Camp. They had double and single rooms, a restaurant and simple facilities. Cheap and cheerful with few washing facilities would describe them well.

Five students and I walked up the hill for about three hundred meters to visit a buddhist gompa or monastery high above Phakding. The rest lazed around the village chatting, playing cards or sought out the pool hall, a pool table in a simple wooden hut.