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Day 15 Dole to Machermo |
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Machermo by day
Machermo by evening
Machermo by night... |
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Today's trek climbs 400 metres north along the yak trail towards Gokyo.
The path to Machermo Start down the path between the Namche Lodge and the Himalaya Hotel. Cross the fields and climb uphill to the chorten above the village (30 minutes). Pass a summer settlement and fields (1 hour 5 minutes). A little further on is the Hill Top Lodge [27° 52.48N 86° 43.64E 4,305 metres] (1 hour 25 minutes). It's a great place to rest. The path continues on the level. Pass the Holyday Inn (1 hour 45 minutes). It was closed during April. There is a great panoramic view from here. (But I was too ill to photograph it!)
The view west of Machermo in the evening Continue further along a level path until you come to Luza. [27° 53.53N 86° 43.26E 4,361 metres] (3 hours). There are a couple of lodges here:
Cross the village fields and walk gently up through the high altitude meadows. The smooth compacted turf of these ancient yak meadows is a sight to behold and is wonderful underfoot. Eventually you will reach a chorten and prayer flags. From here you can see Machermo. It's a pleasant walk downhill from here to Machermo (3 hours 50 minutes). There are four substantial lodges in Machermo, plus a 24 hour rock quarrying industry, supplying building materials for lodge developments. The original village homes survive intact, surrounded by the ugly lodges. Much of the agricultural land has been destroyed in the search for rocks for the quarry industry. It is sad to see the irreplaceable Himalayan environment being destroyed.
Cho Oyu - from the path |
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© Ian Johnson 2003 |
