Walk the walled fields of Dingboche

Seen from the Nangkartshang ridge, Dingboche looks like a patchwork quilt: dozens of small fields, each framed by a dry-stone wall. Walk among them and the reason becomes clear. The walls stop wind, which tears across the valley every afternoon, and keep yaks and nak out of the crops. Inside, barley, potato and buckwheat grow in a season of a few months between the last spring frost and the first autumn snow.

Farming this high is a matter of timing. Families plant in spring, before the trekking season peaks, and harvest in early autumn. Potatoes are stored in pits or ground cellars to last the winter. Barley is roasted and ground into tsampa or brewed into chhang. Ask your guide which families own which fields and how many generations have worked them.

Walk slowly, keep to paths along walls, and never climb over them, as they are easily damaged and rebuilt by hand. Late afternoon is best: the light turns gold, smoke rises from lodge chimneys and herders bring their animals in. It is an easy outing on an acclimatisation day, when a gentle stroll is better than sitting still.