Base of the Geu-la-upper Dzaka valley (5 1/2 hours)
Skip over the stream to the right side of the valley and continue downhill. The valley soon turns to the west (right) and in 50 minutes crosses back to the left bank of the stream. A five minutes walk from the ford delivers you back to the road coming from the Pang-la. The road is now your constant companion all the way to Everest Base Camp.
Head downhill and in a few minutes you will see the first of three short cut trails at the top end of a slew of switchbacks. At the bottom of the switchbacks the valley squeezes through a gorge before opening back up to reveal the first village 45 minutes from the pass. Just before the village the road crosses over to the right side of the valley. Except during heavy summer rains the stream draining the valley is but a trickle. Thirty minutes further on another valley joins the road from the right. Near the confluence at the hamlet of Ulung, the road crosses to the right of the joined valleys.
In 15 minutes you will reach extensive ruins stretching a couple of kilometers down the valley. Called Dzongkog Pongdro, this is all that left of an ancient fortified settlement. Below the ruins the road jumps over to tl left side of the valley. In 30 minutes the big Gara valley enters from the west. Thirty more minutes of walking and the road joins the Dzaka valley at the town of Tashi Dzor (the name means Auspicious Meeting Place or Plentiful Good Luck), the headquarters of the local township or region. If you go left the road junction or down the valley you wil eventually reach Arun, Kharta and the east face of Everest.
The road to Everest goes up the valK from Tashi Dzom, a long two day walk away. Engulfed by the enormity of the valley, the road passes through barley, pea and mustard fields spreading out in all directions. Twenty minutes out of Tas Dzom the road splits; take the left or main branch. The right branch serves the nearby villages of Lha Shing and Rephel. Lha Shing was named after sacred ancient trees that grew on the slopes above the village the last of which died 30 or 40 years ago. Rephel hosts the small Rabshi Monastery
The trail reaches the hamlet of Pelding, 30 minutes beyond Rephel, and in another 45 minutes, Puna. Fifteen minutes past Puna, a rocky spur juts into the valley, this is the site of Chetetong, the ruined pre-Communist centre of power in the region. Traditionally, the Dzaka valley upstream of Tashi Dzom was known as Phadrug and was affiliated with the fortress at Shegar. Forty-five minutes up the valley the road cuts through Pasum, the administrative centre for the upper Dzaka valley. Camping B,L,D
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