Coming Down From An High – Everest Base Camp Trek Day Nine

Yak caravan

We are wedged into the side of the mountain giving the yak train a wide berth. It’s a caravan of yaks that herds trekkers’ bags from village to village throughout the Himalayas. Fair warning is the sound of their bells gently tinkling and warning you of their arrival. We watch fascinated. It seems we will never tire of this daily occurrence. We keep our eyes peeled, searching for our yaks, feeling an element of pride as they waddle up the mountain. Just another yak event on our Everest Base Camp trek day nine.

Lost yak

One group head towards us and to our amusement one of the yaks decides to take a detour off the path and over the rocks. Realising its error, it stops and looks bemused. The herder encourages the others on but still the yak stands frozen. Sadly, we need to move on so never find out the fate of the lost yak.

Everest Base Camp Trek day nine

Gorakshep to Pheriche

Today we start our descent from Gorakshep to Pheriche. We retrace our steps to Thukla and then branch off to Pheriche instead of the Dingboche route we came a few days ago.

Instead of following the upper plain, this route descends into a valley reminiscent of the Pennines or a welsh valley but for the grandiose snow covered peaks shooting up from behind.

It’s bitterly cold as the wind whistles through the valley on our walk towards Pheriche . In the monsoon water rages through this valley inundating the river bed, but now there are mere trickles of water criss crossing the plain. We playfully cross multiple stepping-stones and it reminds me of my childhood when we would play in the river at Hardcastle Crags.

As we trudge onwards, late into the afternoon, cloud cover descends and the temperature drops further, so it is a relief when we finally arrive at The Edelweiss Pheriche.

Edelweiss Pheriche

This teahouse is possibly the most luxurious teahouse we have stayed in. Rooms are en-suite and have duvets. Toilets are western-style and even flush (rather than having to use a bucket and water to flush). We are all seriously excited at this upgrade in accommodation, especially when we discover you can hire electric blankets.

Miraculously my altitude sickness headaches have finally disappeared too. Coming down really is so much fun! I even have the energy to go explore the little village and pop into a local bakery for a lovely latte with Ian, one of our group members.

Fast facts

Gorakshep (5,140m) to Pheriche (4,240)

Distance travelled:

12 km

Trekking time:

10.5 hours

Overnight digs:

Edelweiss Pheriche with western-style en-suite toilets, duvets and comfortable rooms.

Day nine route

Read more:

Here are the other updates in the Everest Base Camp series.

Everest Base Camp trek – day one, day two, day three, day four, day five, day six, day seven and day eight.

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