KHUMBU IN THE LIGHT OF WILDLIFE TOURISM

Khumbu region! Well, the picturesque image of Mount Everest (Sagarmatha; the highest mountain on earth) appears in the mind of everyone with the mention of this big name. The mighty mountains of Sagarmatha massif and the amazing landscape had driven me just mad in October 2010 when I first explored this Sherpa land as a mere traveler. In October 2013, I ventured the appealing terrains again; but in the position of a wildlife researcher. This time, it revealed a different facet.

Bad weather and the free mountain flight!

Day I: 27 Sep, 2013. I entered the domestic terminal of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) at 09:00, together with my friend Kaushal Yadav. While we were waiting for 'Check In', the first flight to Lukla took off. But it returned back without landing. In no time, all the flights to Lukla were cancelled due to bad weather.

Day 2: We reached TIA at 09:00; got our baggage checked and issued boarding passes. Flights were making successful landings on Lukla. The last flight (in which we were to fly) got cancelled and we returned back handing the boarding passes to the airlines.

Day 3: We got checked in, issued boarding passes and took off at 14:00. When the clock ticked 14:25, with Lukla only five minutes away, the air hostess made an announcement, 'Our valued passengers, the plane is returning back to Kathmandu. The weather condition in Lukla is not favorable for safe landing!'

Day 4: All flights to Lukla got cancelled. We cancelled our flight tickets and collected our payment from the airlines

Now, it's apparent that the weather in Lukla is very unpredictable. It generally starts degrading after 14:00. Upon cancellation, flight time for the next day was provided in descending order of the money paid! To our despair, our flight always got scheduled after 14:00, which cost us four valuable days. A case like this is usual in TIA during trekking seasons. On the other hand, up to 40 airplanes land on Lukla airport on days with fine weather.

Many international tourists had the same fate like ours. 'We will go to the Annapurna region this time. Next year, we will make it to Everest Base Camp (EBC) at any cost', consoled a trekking guide to his clients. He later told me, 'You know, every year, Annapurna region receives many tourists this way. To some extent, this is in favor of the Nepalese tourism industry as most of these tourists do come to Nepal the next year. Everyone wants to walk the trails of Khumbu, once in life!'

The longest country in the world!

We drove to Salleri, the headquarter of Solukhumbu district, in a jeep. But the jeep dropped us at Belidada; a section of the road was blocked by a massive landslide near Salme. We made an hour of descent and took another jeep to Salleri. A passenger exclaimed, 'Nepal is a strange country. It takes us three-four days to reach a place only 30 minutes in air distance. I think Nepal should be the longest country in the world!'  

The jeep came to a halt near Salleri. We passed the busy market of Salleri and soon reached the Phaplu airport. It was not operational as the runway was being repaired. However, a helicopter had come from Lukla to take fuel for airplanes. We requested the pilot to take us to Lukla. He did not agree and took off only with the fuel. Had it come there to take cargo, we could have been flown to Lukla at 4,500-5,500 NPR in ten minutes.

It took us three days to reach Namche Bazaar. 

Namche Bazaar

Into the woods

Apparently, four types of tourism are present in Solu-khumbu: i) general trekking ii) trekking peak tourism iii) mountaineering and iv) cultural tourism. We belonged to a different category, which I would prefer to call wildlife tourism.

Rain stopped us at Namche Bazzar for two days. Lakpa didi (Eco-Himal) made us feel at home. We met Bharat Karki (game scout, Sagarmatha National Park (SNP)) at Tengboche. 

Tengboche

He was our field guide; we were to take benefits of his long experience. He took us through the dense forests to reach Pangboche in the evening. Large flocks of blood pheasants wandered in the forest. In this regard, SNP was making a plan of developing the forest as a 'Bird Sanctuary'. While moving to Phorche from Pangboche, we vividly noticed the tree line shift. New trees were seen moving up along the streamlines. 

Tree line shift as seen from Pangboche

A typical pleasant impression was the absence of visual pollution as the electric lines were taken underground.

At Phorche, the villagers reported a sighting of four snow leopards (a female with its cubs) near a shed in the morning. This excited us. 

Phorche

'Let's walk the Betula-Rhododendron forest, I am sure we will see a musk deer,' proposed Bharat dai and that keyed up even more. About an hour passed without seeing a musk deer; but a few Himalayan monal/Danfe were seen. As we were about to finish the jungle exploration, our eyes caught sight of a musk deer about 20 meters ahead. It had sustained an injury from a feral dog. For a minute or two, it stared at us; and we busied ourselves by capturing it in camera. 

Musk deer (Moschus sp) in Phorche

To add to our pleasure, there were numerous Himalayan monals foraging in the buckwheat farms. Phorche appeared like a capital of the Himalayan monal!

Himalayan monal (Lophophorus impejanus) in farmland, Phorche

We stayed at the house of Mingma Sherpa for the night. It was the same house where Dr. Som Ale spent four years studying the snow leopards and Himalayan tahrs of SNP. Mingma dai recalled, 'Som sir used to wake up at 03:30 and would come back between 19:00-20:00. Such was his dedication'.

In the older days, tourists visiting EBC after Gokyo (or the ones going to Gokyo after EBC) had to go via Phorche. With the opening of Cho-La pass, fewer tourists visited Phorche. These days, tourists head to EBC from Gokyo via Cho-La rarely visiting Phorche.

Serene Gokyo

We headed to Gokyo from Phorche. A herd of female Himalayan tahr was seen in Khanar. Solitary adult males were found higher up. 

A young Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), Khanar

A  large eared pika showed up from the rock caverns. 

Large-eared pika (Ochotona macrotis)

Adorned in complete blue, a grandala enchanted our souls. 

Grandala (Grandala coelicolor)

We followed the Dudhkoshi river, originated from lake Gokyo and Nzojumpa glacier. The first lake of Gokyo complex appeared then the second and finally Gokyo, the most important lake in Gokyo complex. 

Gokyo, Cho-yu and Gokyo-ri

Watching brown dippers dive in the lakes was interesting. Tibetan snow cock and robin accentor were almost unwary of humans here. 

Tibetan snowcock (Tetraogallus tibetanus)

A lot of birds added to our checklist; white-winged redstart, white wagtail, winter wren and common raven to name a few. 

White wagtail (Motacilla maderaspatensis)

Mount Cho-yu was lying calm on the backdrop. We ascended a small hill top to observe Dzojumpa glacier.

Dzojumpa glacier

We had a brief meeting with Pasang Tsering Sherpa who runs 'Sherpa Art Gallery' on the highest altitude of the world. At Gokyo-Namaste lodge, we were treated in a very special way; I must mention, presence of Bharat dai was making all the difference. Bharat dai alone sipped five bottles of beer and we were also offered drinks; all for free! The owner talked to foreigners in fine English and smiled, 'You know, even the yaks speak 'English' in Khumbu!' Bharat dai was probably the most active staff of SNP; he was referring himself as the president of Khumbu (Khumbu ko rastrapati), in a joking way. In fact, he seemed to have a strong influence among the hoteliers of Gokyo. Otherwise, we would not have been provided with three blankets each to ensure that we do not get cold!

A completely contrasting treatment during the 2010 trek flashed in my mind. Back then, we were very ill treated at a lodge in Deboche. When we asked for hot water, the owner said, 'It is only for foreigners'. Nepalese had to use a separate simple pit latrine outside while there were modern concrete ones inside, that too only for foreigners. The night stay at this hotel was almost like a hell, although the signboard outside read, 'Paradise Hotel and Lodge'.

Most of the hotels in Gokyo do not have septic tanks; sewage is drained out openly and end up in the lake. Wood consumption is extensive. Promotion of Improved Cooking Stoves (ICS) and a subsidy in the use of kerosene and cooking gas can be helpful to combat this challenge.

Gokyo Ri provides a very good view of Sagarmatha. It is about two and half hours ascent from Gokyo. But we had to give it up as Kaushal was to return to Kathmandu to attend the funeral of his grandfather, who passed away a few days back.

While returning back to Phorche, we came through the forests of Dole. It was a challenging walk; yet our efforts paid off as we sighted a flock of blood pheasants and a musk deer. Near Phorche, a French tourist complained to us pointing on the signboard put by SNP, 'The sign board mentions frequent sighting of musk deer and pheasants. But we saw none. This is fake!' Bharat dai gave a sharp reply, 'Sir, for that you need to enter the forests; they will not come under your table and say, 'Hello I am here!'

Alone to Thame

Kaushal left for Lukla to catch a flight to Kathmandu. Bharat dai also moved towards mount Ama Dablam as he was informed that a foreign climber was skiing down the mountain, for which he had no permit. (Bharat dai later informed me on phone that he caught the tourist and fined him; he was really smart!)

Mount Ama dablam from Phorche

I left for Thame, all alone. At Phurte, Ganga Karki (SNP game scout) had grown vegetables in the forest nursery (maintained with the help of Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation, Canada). He boiled lekali (hilly) potatoes for the night. The next morning, we visited Thame, the village of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa (who conquered Sagarmatha for the first time with Sir Edmund Hillary) and Appa Sherpa (the record holding mountaineer). 

Thame

Thame is a rest point for tourists visiting Gokyo via Renjo La. My heart took the feel of solace on seeing a flock of snow pigeons gathered on a rock. Himalayan tahr and many species of birds added to this feel.

A flock of snow pigeon (Columba leuconata), Thame

Lukla amidst drizzle

The next morning I headed for Lukla. It was a single day descent from Thame. The continuous drizzle soaked all my clothes, the raincoat was not enough.

While I waited for the flight in Lukla to resume, I received the news that continuous snowfall in the higher altitudes had claimed the life of six trekkers near Island peak. Due to unseasonal snow, many tourists were being rescued through chartered helicopters. At Lukla, I mended my trekking boots with Ram Bilash dai. He has been making regular trips to Lukla during tourist seasons since 14 years from Sarlahi, a tarai district. 'I make a very good earning here', said he.

The flights resumed after two days. However, I did not get a ticket. As usual, international tourists were getting priority. I remained desolate listening to the sounds of airplanes till 17:00.

A plane ready to take off at Tenzing-Hillary airport, Lukla

After passing three dreary days, I managed to get a ticket. With the pictures of fascinating wildlife and alluring landscape reflecting in my mind, the plane took off from the pitch of Tenzing-Hillary airport, Lukla.

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