The Journey Begins: Trekking from Jiri to Shivalaya in Nepal

This is day 1 of my recent 24 day trek through the Khumbu region of Nepal

I looked out at the hazy view before me, the surprisingly hot sun shining down on the damp earth and lifting a mist up from the ground to shroud the mountains and valleys. I stood amongst fields of millet and not far up the trail I could see a two story wood and stone house with crumbling paint. A cow grazed lazily in the field next to the house, and somewhere in the distance I could hear the sound of wood chopping.

I was about two hours into the start of the massive 24 day trek that I had begun through the Khumbu region of Nepal. I was up at 4am this morning to make the 7 hour journey from Kathmandu to Jiri, travelling at an average speed of under 30 kilometres per hour along a rough, narrow, winding road. Apparently we had actually made good time and we arrived in Jiri in time for lunch. After a good feed of Dhal Bhat, we wandered through the earthquake damaged village of Jiri and almost instantly began climbing up a steep, dusty trail.

Walking through Jiri

The trail led through small villages and fields of millet and all around were hazy views of tall green mountains and deep valleys. These mountains are 2000-3000 metres tall, but are merely foothills here in the Himalayas. As an Australian, I was already trekking up to the altitude of the top of the highest mountain in my home country.

The trail climbed gradually up over a couple of hours to a saddle where we stopped to catch our breath and re-hydrate. It was surprisingly warm despite being in the mountains and I had to strip down to a t-shirt and wished I hadn’t worn long pants.

It was now time to head down into the next valley, this time descending through pine forest, the land far less cultivated here than on the other side leading to Jiri. We only passed the occasional farm house with happy and smiling locals working in the fields. We followed and crossed a small rushing stream via a suspension bridge and walked carefully along a rocky and sometimes slippery trail. It was beautiful and peaceful here, though the setting sun had us continuing on towards our stop for the night.

Just when I thought that we might be trekking in darkness, we reached the large river at the bottom of the valley which we crossed into the village of Shivalaya – our home for the night.

Shivalaya

We are staying in the New Sherpa Guide Lodge and Valley Restaurant – new because much of the village was damaged in the earthquake back in April. The teahouse is so new that the brand new western toilet upstairs is still in several pieces on the floor. Nonetheless, my bed is comfortable enough and the downstairs dining room is warm and cosy with hearty food and hot cups of tea available. If I wake up needing to use the bathroom tonight, it will be an interesting trip downstairs to the outside squat toilet.

Read on: Day 2 – Across the Deurali Pass to Bhandar