Breakfast is served in the form of greasy roti, omlettes and tea made in the Nepali style with their dry, salty butter.

The trail is steep but well-maintained and we spend most of the day climbing rough-hewn staircases. The path winds around many valleys and buffs, and features rope-bridges slung over dramatic waterfalls. The scale of the surrounding scenery is immense - great rolling hills, green and cultivated from top to bottom, but higher that much of the Alps. The valleys dive steeply to fast flowing rivers, and landslides are common.

We stop for lunch in at a tiny bhatti which is one of a handful of buildings in the village of Drumthali. Buckets of dal bhaat and aloo (potatoes) with more fried eggs are prepared, and served with gallons of tea. After this fine meal, we discover that the cook was none other than our number two Sherpa, Kami, which is good news.

After a long break, we continue up the trail towards the village of Dulangsa, finally reaching it at about half past four. School has just finished, and we are assailed by children chewing sugar cane and demanding pens and even calculators. The trail heads steeply upwards towards the Gompa (monastery) above, passing many decorated Chhotaara (stone resting places) and Mani (prayer) walls.

Inside the Ghompa at Dulangsa Photo (c) Jeremy Thomson 1998

We reach the Gompa by dusk and begin to pitch tents on the courtyard. Before we can finish, Pasang tell us that we are to sleep inside the temple. Feeling awkward, we venture inside. It is a lavishly painted and decorated Buddhist temple lit with flickering oil lamps. The Buddha and others stare down from alcoves in the wall, surrounded by all manner of brightly-coloured paintings and decorations. None of us can really believe that we should be eating and sleeping in such a holy place.

As we eat dinner, people wander in to admire the alter-wall of the temple and pray. The hard walking and the atmosphere in the temple seem to have got to Alan, who is very spaced out and appears to be unable to speak. We go to bed with the moonlight shining through the prayer flags and illuminating the porters slumbering on the temple steps.