decided to go up to the base camp. You can either walk the 5 miles uphill, or you can get a horse and cart for about 3 quid there and back - with the altitude sickness, there was no contest!!! Turned out not to be the most comfortable cart I’d ever ridden in, and the hour each way took it’s toll!! However, we were rewarded with great views of the high mountains above us, although not as clear as the night before. Base camp was a bit of a let down. The first thing we noticed was lots of litter as we approached - such an eyesore in such an otherwise pristine environment, and when you think of all the money made from national park entrance fees you’d think something could be done. Then there we’re loads of tea tents just the same as anywhere else with people really hassling you to come in. But the worse thing, was that although they stopped the jeeps coming up to the last part, and even banned the busses from going further than the monastery, they allowed motorbikes to go all the way to the base

camp, and beyond up to the glaciers - usually a 3 day hike from base camp!! Now apart from scaring the horses and yaks, this just felt out of place and at odds with the rest of their environmental measures. Still, despite all of this, it was still an amazing place to be, and we felt very honoured that after we’d pretty much given up hope of seeing Everest, we’d been treated to a fantastic view of it. After an uncomfortable horse and cart ride, and then an equally uncomfortable ride in an extremely packed bus, which was worsened by the fact that we were dressed for the cold of the base camp, and ended up in the valley where there was bright sunshine, we met up with our driver again and were on our way…..

We had to face going over the enormous mountain range again, but this time it was a far more interesting view, as the clouds were not completely obscuring the mountains, and the viewpoint was