Namche Bazaar

Namche Bazaar, the Sherpa capital and gateway to the Everest region, is built like an amphitheatre into a steep hillside at around 3,440 metres. For us it was the crucial acclimatisation stop on the way to base camp.

The first view of the village, as you climb up from the valley, stays with you. The houses stack in a half-circle up the slope, painted in bright colours, as if built into a bowl carved out of rock. After days in the narrow river valley, Namche feels almost like a small city, with its market, tea houses and a bustle of trekkers, yaks and porters pushing through the narrow lanes.

We stayed here a few days, as the altitude demands, and I liked that forced pause. Time to wander the lanes, watch the market where everything from vegetables to gear changes hands, and in between, to keep glancing up for the surrounding peaks, which often only broke free of the clouds toward evening.

Namche is, for me, the place where the journey to Everest truly begins — the moment you notice how high you already are, and how much still lies ahead.