We landed at Lukla and could immediately feel the effects of the altitude. Any physical effort resulted in breathlessness. Fortunately, we do not have to carry our own luggage. We have four dzhos (animals that are a cross between a yak and a cow), to do the heavy work.
Lukla is our first experience of Sherpa country. It is a scruffy town. Chickens and cockerels wander freely in and out of the shops. Horses and dzhos meander along the street leaving their 'calling cards' at regular intervals. Prayer flags are hung between the houses and shops and the sound of yak bells warn of the approach of animals with long curling horns.
We walk towards Phakding in the dark, passing prayer walls which have to be circled in an anti-clockwise direction.
A member of our group, manages to walk off the path down the side of the mountain. Fortnately, his fall is broken by trees and shrubs and he escapes with cuts and scratches.
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