October 24, 2015
Namche Bazaar

Dear Family & Friends

Today was a rest day in Namche Bazaar.

Namche is the most famous village in the Khumbu Valley and is the gateway to the High Himalaya. The elevation of Namche is 11,286 feet.

Namche is the main trading hub for the Khumbu region. The downtown area is populated with lots of store front shops, restaurants, bakeries and hotels.

Namche is popular with climbers, trekkers and tourists, and most mountain expeditions will spend 2 nights here to acclimatize.

Although this was a rest day, we trekked up to Hotel Everest View to get a good look at Mt. Everest.
The day was sunny and beautiful, so the views were spectacular. We were back at the Panorama Lodge by noon and had a tasty lunch.

In the afternoon, many of us wandered down to the market district in Namche and picked up some missing items.

Tomorrow, at 9 am we’ll be back on the trekking trail headed for Khumjung where we will spend the night. In the afternoon, we plan to visit the Hillary School in Khumjung and the hospital in Khunde. My Sherpa friend, Mingma Tshering, is a medical doctor at the hospital, and he will be giving us a tour of the hospital.

Bill

The Team in Phakding

The Team in Phakding

Trekking to Namche Bazaar

Trekking to Namche Bazaar

Daniel Powell, aka Captain Challenge

Daniel Powell, aka Captain Challenge

Kathy Myers

Kathy Myers

Bud Allan

Bud Allan

Bill Burke

Bill Burke

Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar

Right to left-Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Mt. Everes

Right to left-Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Mt. Everest

Hotel Everest View

Hotel Everest View

Left hand pointing at Mt. Everest and right hand pointing at Burke-Khang

Left hand pointing at Mt. Everest and right hand pointing at Burke-Khang

Namche Bazaar market area

Namche Bazaar market area

Namche Bazaar market area

Namche Bazaar market area