Trek to Tengboche Monastery
Have been trying for days to upload the first two days of this blog, but the system doesn't accept it. I haven't a clue why. Please just see the photos.
Trek to Tengboche Days 3-4
Day 3 To Everest View Hotel, Khumjung and Ama Dahlam Lodge
We left a little before 8am and Ramesh took me on a different more gradual path up to the entrance to the Tengboche path. After a little bit of uphill, the Tengboche route continues straight ahead, while the Khumjung path turned right straight up. The path was primarily the same kind of rocky steps as before for at least ¾ of an hour. Then the path evened out and, while still uphill, was a more gradual earthen track. On the way, we came across a woman sitting on a stone wall chanting the Green Tara mantra. One of the guides with another group, was filming her chanting, so I took that as a sign it was okay for me to do so. The mantra of compassion filled the mountain air and was a real blessing to hear. At the top of the pass, there is a Yoga Retreat Center. It would be a beautiful place for a retreat even if it is a bit difficult to get to. From the top of the pass towards Everest View Hotel, there is an absolutely delightful flat path that allows for a brief real walk. When we arrived at the Everest View Hotel, Ramesh didn’t want to stop in saying that it was too expensive. I insisted that I still wanted a few photos from their terrace, which I luckily was able to get. We only stayed for a few minutes at EVH before heading straight down to Khumjung. We arrived there around 10:30am, so, amazingly, we made fairly good time, even with all my stops to catch my breath and take photos. By the time we arrived, however, I did want to sit for a while and have a cup of tea before going to the Gompa, the monastery. We found a place with a beautiful view of the valley and surrounding mountains. We saw a little girl, perhaps 3-4 years old, dragging what used to be a white dress along in the dirt having a great time playing with it. And there were a couple of five- to seven-year-old boys flying a kite. A few women were working in the fields, and one was sorting carrots outside her house. It was a little view into local Sherpa daily life. There have been a few migrations from Tibet south over the years and the Tibetan Sherpas came to the Solo Khumbu region about 600 years ago. A German book I found at the Monjo Lodge related, “According to legend as Kazi Sherpa explained: Many hundreds of years ago the renown Tibetan hunter Kyirewa Gonbo Dorje’s dog chased a musk deer over the Nangpá La. As the hunter didn’t want to lose his trusted four-legged friend, he followed him over the icy pass. Before that no one had crossed it. He then discovered the Khumbu valleys and saw that the land was uninhabited. He returned to his people and told them about his discovery. The wise ones understood that this was the land that had been prophesied in old oral transmissions as the Valley of Refuge for those who had been pushed out of their old Tibetan homeland. And so came the Sherpa, “the people from the East” into this land and made it their home.” They have maintained their Buddhist culture and heritage and love of the mountains. Without the help of Sherpas, mountaineering in this region would not be possible and without their deep sense of spirituality and reverence for nature, this region would not be as magnificent as it is. I am very grateful to be able to be here.
After the rest, it was on to see the Yeti skull. First there is the obligatory kora around the monastery and the spinning of the prayer wheels. Then one comes to the entrance, where they charge RS 300 for entry, which is quite reasonable as this is how they support the monastery. Upon entering the sacred space there is a cabinet next to the actual monastery hall, that has a large sculpture of Tara accompanied by many other Taras and Buddhist gurus. The hall itself has recently been repainted and is beautiful. The yeti skull with explanation is in the center of the room. On the surrounding walls are thangkas and paintings that are primarily tantric in nature. The leading figure at the center of the back wall deities is Guru Rinpoche. He is also on a side wall along with a sculpture of the Wind Rider. Masks for the ritual dances hang in an alcove above the main door and one with yak hair and skulls near the large drum that is used during religious rites. It is a beautiful space.
Leaving the monastery, we headed down towards the river, coming across one amazing scene after another. Ama Dablam dominates as the mother of the region, even though the title, Mother of the World, is reserved for the Goddess on Everest, Miyolangsangma. Ama Dablam, roughly translates to Mother’s Necklace, for the charm box worn by Sherpa women with images of the deities. For a short while we took a small path through the woods that was a true delight. It was clearly intended primarily for locals and had a very different, more peaceful, feel to it than the larger official trekking routes. When the path connected to the regular route, we came across the Ama Dablam Lodge and Restaurant, which was a perfect place for lunch. While we sat waiting for our tea and food, the neighboring group, mostly from Limerick, Ireland, broke into the Molly Malone song. Then one of their members was asked to sing the Leprechaun song for a French couple at a nearby table. It was a hoot! The skies were clear, song filled the air, and life was good.
After lunch, I put on my backpack to head further down to the river where I thought we were going to spend the night, but Ramesh informed me that we were stopping here as this lodge is much better than anything further down. While I would have liked to have gone further, this lodge is a delight. (It even has a real shower! – although the internet connection is beyond bad) The views are stunning, although as I was typing this the clouds came in and all the peaks that I’d been able to see were now completely covered. I hoped they would clear out for the following day and the last climb up to the most famous monastery in the Khumbu region, Tengboche.
While I was at Ama Dablam Lodge, I learned that one of the men in the Molly Malone choir was the first Irishmen to climb Mt. Everest, and he did so with the owner of the lodge, Lhakpa Dorje Sherpa. Lhakpa Sherpa also led the first Canadian group up to the summit, guided then Prince Charles in the region about thirty years ago, and has accompanied many of the most renown mountaineers, including Reinhold Messener and Peter Habeler. Lhakpa and his wife, Tashi, have two sons, Karma, who has been extremely helpful here at the lodge and another son, Neema Galden, in North Carolina, where he works in IT. Before the lodge was here, this was their ranch and winter quartier for their animals. Their permanent home is in Khumjung. As tourists started to come, they built a tea house, then later added a few rooms, and continued to build based on tourist demand. It is by far the nicest lodge I’ve stayed in during any of my Nepali treks. Tashi has even built two prayer rooms for those making a pilgrimage and for those who are asking the deities for blessings before commencing their hikes. I mentioned that Karma has been helpful; one of his tips was to avoid any yak that has red tape on its horns as that means it can be nasty. There have been a couple of recent accident with the yaks, not unlike incidents with our Alpine Almkühe (Alm cows) who do not like my black lab and have been known to attack her.
It is quite an international crowd that gathers on the terrace here. In addition to the Irish group and French couple, I’ve seen a Spanish group, a Korean group, a British group, and a couple of German groups, in addition to a few fellow Austrians and Americans. English is the common
