19 Days of Heaven and Wonder - Everest Base Camp Trek

When you're in Nepal, you can't help but be completely captivated by the sharp contrasts, beauty, and the rich culture of the people living on the edge of heaven.

The Sherpa people live their daily lives in villages tucked against soaring, jagged pinnacles, walking trails lined with Mani stones, delicately engraved with Tibetan Buddhist prayers.

It's clear these people live a life intertwined with spirit and have an immeasurable bond with the land. A spiritual relationship with the grand mountain giants they call home.

High in these beautiful mountains, you'll find colorful richly garnished monasteries nestled amongst the rocky hillside valleys. Prayer flags fluttering in the breeze from the Stupas, or prayer rock mounds you'll encounter in every village that the Sherpa's pay homage to as they go about their peaceful existence.

I was lucky enough to experience both the physical and ethereal nature of the Himalayas, both of which leave an indelible imprint on your mind and spirit.



As we approach the first Stupa on our journey, our guide explains the cultural significance of these impressive formations. He takes time to enlighten us on the practice of walking the circumference of each one in an anticlockwise direction, a Himalayan protocol if you like, embedded in Nepalese Buddhist tradition.

We watch children dancing, smiley heads and shoulders bobbing around amongst their endeared and enduring animals at Namche Bazaar, another destination we stay at on our way to Everest Base Camp. Here we stay while we acclimatize to the altitude, and enjoy some Nepalese hospitality.

Most people who have seen images of the hiking trails in the Himalayas know the people in the mountainous regions have for centuries considered the wooly Yak a source of food and transport among many other things. It is the cliché of Himalayan wildlife because it's so often referred to in books and images about Tibet ad Nepal.

Yaks however, are not the most intriguing mammal stuck in my memory, but rather the Argali sheep. Their over-proportioned horns remind me of something you'd see in a Greek mythology book! There are also many monkeys, cats, lizards and the peacock-like national bird; the danphe. Definitely not the average dog, cat or squirrel you'll see at home.

The pretty rhododendron forests, which bloom at this time of year, in March are a bright crimson and green, in contrast to the gray, rocky and seemingly barren mountain tops dusted with snow. Amongst the landscape, if you look closely, we can see mountain animals dotting the ridges of the hillside.

As we make our way through open valleys, over deep river gorges and up the craggy mountain paths, we are rewarded with mesmerizing views of the Himalayas.

It's easy to forget the sense of achievement you feel at the time, when your senses are so full and alive from the tastes, sounds, sights, scents and total immersion in a world so different from the norm.

I loved the village atmosphere, the hustle and bustle, but with a sense of balance and harmony, as opposed to the chaotic feel of big cities in our day-to-day westernized culture.

Being here is a constant reminder about living in the present moment and appreciating all the little snippets of beauty that we walk right past without a thought.

A flower that you have never seen before, in its natural habitat might capture your interest, but a daisy in your garden at home is so easily passed by unnoticed.

Travelling to places where nothing is familiar, provokes your senses, and triggers your nervous system out of its programming into a state of full awareness. It's invigorating, and more than a little addictive!

Travelling on foot through the Himalayas is definitely one of those adventures you return home from, with a feeling that something in your consciousness has shifted. I'm not sure if it's the sheer physical beauty of the mountains and environment, or whether it's the spiritual nature of the land and its people that stays with you - maybe it's both.

Either way - the experience remains with me as a cherished memory and a reminder of what's really important in life.