After returning a couple of days earlier than scheduled to Lukla. We found ourselves having to just relax and hangout with a hot drink and a piece of delicious baked goodness while we caught up on the world according to the internet. I was attempting to make changes to the flight we had booked but the process was frustrating and fraught with pitfalls should things not go as you would expect, which happens frequently. We could hear the planes and choppers coming and going from our lodge room and I was often up at the airport watching what was going on. There was a plane that had engines issues one day and could not fly. The following day I watched the same plane, full of passengers, prepare for take off with engines buzzing at 11000 RPM at the top of the runway, before the pilot cancelled the attempt and parked it again. I would have been packing bricks if I was sitting on that thing, and found myself hoping we didn't end up on it for our flight, they day after.
This photo was taken from right above the runway at the take off point. The runway slopes down at a 12% gradient and is only 460 metres long. There is a sigh of relief and a big cheer when your plane finally lifts off before the ground gives way to a valley that plunges down way below you. Quite the thrill!
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| The last hurdle for the trek: successful take off from Lukla Airport. |
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