Acclimatisation loop via Syangboche and Khumjung

Acclimatisation days are not for lying in bed. The guidance used by mountain doctors is to climb higher during the day and return to sleep lower, which nudges the body to adapt. From Namche at about 3,440 m, the steep zigzag above town reaches the dirt airstrip at Syangboche, about 3,750 m, used mainly by helicopters, in an hour or so. From there a path climbs on through juniper to the Hotel Everest View at about 3,880 m.

On a clear day the hotel terrace gives the classic Khumbu panorama: Everest above the Nuptse–Lhotse ridge, Ama Dablam, Thamserku and Kangtega, with Tengboche on its wooded ridge below. Order tea and sit for half an hour. Then descend through the forest to Khumjung at about 3,790 m, a wide Sherpa village of stone houses and potato fields under the sacred peak of Khumbila.

In Khumjung visit the Hillary school, founded in 1961, and the gompa, which keeps the so-called yeti scalp. Neighbouring Kunde has the Kunde hospital, founded by the Himalayan Trust in 1966. The path back to Namche contours above the Dudh Koshi and drops into town by mid-afternoon. Walk slowly; any headache that does not ease with rest and water should be reported to your guide.