Trekking to Gokyo

In contrast with the Annapurna trek the Gokyo area of Nepal is roadless and relatively hard work to get to as well as get around once you are there.
As you will have gathered from my previous posts I flew to Lukla before walking to Phakding to recover from that particular trauma and then hiked up the hill to Namche Bazaar. Now I would have thought that my hike through the Annapurna would have given me some fitness but I am afraid none of that was apparent when I dragged myself up Namche hill the first real climb of the trek. The only thing that got me going was the thought of a soft bed and a hot shower at the end of the day which I indeed managed to get when I arrived.

Namche at last!

After a few days of acclimatisation I moved higher up first to Phortse then Dole, Machermo and finally Gokyo itself. The walk up slowly takes you from the green forests of the lower elevations through hills covered with Juniper until eventually you leave all vegetation behind and arrive in the rock and ice world of Gokyo.

Late afternoon light on the mountains.

While in Gokyo I spent a few days hiking up the nearby hills and the glacier lakes which the area is famous for and while the ever present clouds prevented me from getting a good look at Mount Everest I did enjoy the scenery on offer very much.

Gokyo village in the lower left corner with both the second and third lake visible.