Trekking · Lukla
The first walk: Lukla down to Phakding
The Everest trail begins with a gentle 3–4 hour walk from Lukla at about 2,860 m down to Phakding at about 2,610 m, through Chheplung, past mani walls and across the Dudh Koshi. Losing height on night one gives the body an easy start.
Walking downhill on day one surprises people, but it is sound practice. After a flight from about 1,400 m in Kathmandu to Lukla at about 2,860 m, sleeping a little lower in Phakding, at about 2,610 m, gives the body time to adjust before the bigger climbs. The walk itself is mostly easy: a broad stone trail through Chheplung, where the old route up from Jiri and Solu joins, then down through pine and rhododendron to the river.
Along the way you pass your first long mani walls and chortens. Keep them on your right, as Sherpas do, walking clockwise. Prayer wheels turned by streams spin beside the trail, and boulders are carved with om mani padme hum painted in white, blue and red. Pack animals start here too: dzo, the sturdy yak-cow crosses, carry most loads at this height, since true yaks do poorly below about 3,000 m.
Phakding is a string of lodges on both banks of the Dudh Koshi, joined by a suspension bridge. Arriving early leaves time for a short walk to the gompa above the village or simply a slow afternoon by the river. Drink well, eat a full dinner and sleep early; tomorrow brings the park gate at Monjo and the climb to Namche.
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Questions
How long is the walk from Lukla to Phakding?
About 8 km and 3–4 hours at an easy pace, mostly downhill from about 2,860 m to about 2,610 m with a few short climbs. It is the gentlest day on the Everest trail and often walked the same day you fly in, starting late morning after the permits are sorted and the porters have loaded up.
Why do treks go down to Phakding instead of staying in Lukla?
Sleeping lower than Lukla on the first night helps acclimatisation after the jump from Kathmandu. It also gets the trek moving and shortens the next day to Namche. The rule above 3,000 m is to sleep low, climb slowly and add rest days; Phakding fits that on day one.
What is the difference between a yak and a dzo?
A yak is a long-haired high-altitude bovine that thrives above about 3,000 m; the female is called a nak, so there is really no yak milk or yak cheese, only nak. A dzo is a crossbreed of yak and lowland cattle, sturdier in the warmer lower valleys. Between Lukla and Namche most pack animals are dzo.
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