½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

I am really looking forward to my next visit to Nepal, and this time to do a press report for the folks back home. On previous trips, I have had ample opportunity to discover and photograph the seven World Heritage sites conveniently located within a 15 km radius of each other, right in Kathmandu Valley. Quite a Heritage when you think of it! For those who are interested in Nepalese culture, these sites are not to be missed. For those who have not yet discovered them, I would definitely urge them to do so. It is Nepal which has the world's densest concentration of world heritage sites. Quite something and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I am one of those people who does not go to Nepal to eat momos (not my kind of food) nor do I go to Nepal for shopping (I can do better on Regent Street!) But I am happy to go there to take lots of magnificent photographs, yes, and how...and what scenery!
This time around, I want to discover for myself the Gateway to the whole Everest Region and opting to fly to Lukla rather than take the time and the several days which I don't have, to get there on foot.  This is what most visitors, trekkers and climbers to the region do. I am that keen to see this amazing country of Nepal where 8 out of 10 of the world's highest mountains are located. So like most trekkers, I want to start my visit to Everest region from that ever so popular same gateway town of Lukla.
Problem is that Tenzing-Hillary airport, as it now called, in Lukla is notorious for being one of the world's most dangerous airports and flying in or out of Lukla from Kathmandu is not, as everyone has warned me, for the faint of heart. As we know, the airport is at over 9000 ft of altitude, the runway is one of the shortest anywhere (about 1700 ft) and built on a steep slope, with at the southern end, a 2000 ft drop into the valley below. This has for result that when the plane takes off, for instance, it dives into a depth of 2000 ft gulf. High winds (affecting maneuverability) and cloud cover (affecting visibility) and the huge 2000 ft drop, combine to make this one of the most dangerous airports on the planet. The weather there at that altitude is always highly unpredictable.
One has to be able to rely on the highly skilled and most professional pilots who day after day fly in and out of this airport weather permitting on this route, and which continues to be ever so popular regardless of the risks. But let's face it, weather conditions in Lukla are known to be hazardous. I have read these brave pilots fly without radar or navigation devices at Lukla airport.
For anyone left in any doubt, view the dozen or so of videos with landings and take-offs from this small airport on YouTube, including one dating from May 2012 with over 2 million views entitled "No. 1 Most Extreme and Dangerous Airport: Lukla Tenzing - YouTube" and the only footage of "Lukla Nepal crash of 2008" incredibly filmed by a german family. Very sadly 18 people lost their lives in that tragic event. More recently, in May 2017, a cargo plane missed the runway, and 2 of the crew died.
It's all a bit scary but like for most people, it is part of the adventure, and I've decided to go Everest anyway. I certainly won't be the first, and I won't be the last!