Trekking along the Dudh Kosi valley in the Khumbu region of Nepal takes you past a number of small villages that barely make a mark on the map but are home to the kind and caring locals. They make time between caring for the family and their fields to make some comforts for the stream of hiker passing by their front doors. Each of the villages on the main hiking route have little snack shops and certainly there will be one or two tea houses, basically the family’s dining room opened up for business. The path beyond Lukla is very special for hikers because either it is their first encounter with the lush foliage and the magnificent river valley, or on their way down from a long trek they become sentimental for their time in the mountains and they look forward to the flight out to the comforts of the big city.

It’s difficult to really pin down a location just using village names. In most cases a single village will be simply a bend in the trail with a sparse cluster or tin huts or rudimentary brick structures. They are simply waypoints of optional rest stops from the perspective of the travelers, but some of the villages do have a unique identity and have a memorable claim. One of the memorable stops on the trail heading north from Lukla is a hike to of two to three hours to Tok Tok. After passing by mossy trees and carved mani stones overlooking the rushing water of the milky Dudh Kosi, Tok Tok is commonly the location of a first camp on a trek. At an elevation of 2,800 meters this is again a small collection of guest houses and practical structures with a population of perhaps 50 locals. This is the first chance to really stop and try to take in the beauty and magnitude of the unique geography.

The air is heavy with cool humidity, it carries the faint dashing of the river current, and if you’re lucky the clouds will brush away for rare glimpses of the steep, tree lined slopes and up to the white crags of the first visible Himalayan monuments. setting up camp or booking a room in a lodge for the night is when you first feel the magic of the area and you can witness whatever scenery you can before the light is wrapped up and taken away in the clouds. You can settle inside and have some hot tea and ease your nerves from the hectic schedule leading from your early morning flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. Just past Tok Tok is a beautiful waterfall that splashes down a hundred feet, or at least it seems that high. It fits in well with the lush, high elevation tropical setting. It would be paradise to take up longer residence in this small sanctuary, but the sense of adventure and a limited itinerary compels us onward the next morning.