Day 3

6 am start and the flight I hadn't been looking forward to, to Lukla which has been voted the most dangerous runway in the world. The flight was spectacular in terms of the mountain scenery, but also terrifying as we weaved between the mountains, suddenly dropping to the extra short runway and braking dramatically to avoid the rock face at its end.
The contrast between the chaos of Kathmandu and the calm of the mountains was immediately obvious, the air much cooler and cleaner. We started walking straight away. The tracks are well maintained and every bend in the path reveals a view even more impressive than the last as you ascend. We crossed wire bridges over deep valleys, climbed hundreds of stone steps, sharing the path with yaks, horses, and porters carrying huge loads. 6 hours later we stopped for our first night in a tea lodge in Monjo, pretty basic (no heating) but good simple food.