2022 Lawudo trekking group with Lawudo staff, guides, and porters in front of Lawudo Gompa. In the center top is Ven. Robina and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s sister Ani Ngawang Samten. Photo courtesy of Kristina Mah.

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the fourth annual Lawudo Trek to Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s cave at Lawudo in Solu Khumbu with Ven. Robina Courtin took place in Nepal’s autumn last year. Twenty-seven pilgrims met on October 3, 2022 at Kopan, Monastery, where Ven. Robina offered four days of teachings. An unusually long monsoon meant they had to change plans and travel in small groups by helicopter from Kathmandu rather than take the plane to Lukla as usual. The pilgrims walked for three days, led by Amber Tamang and his Three Jewels Adventures team, and spent four days in retreat at Lawudo.

Lawudo Trek organizer Kristina Mah shares details of this extraordinary pilgrimage:

As always, our days of teachings from Ven. Robina at Kopan, supported by Ven. Katy leading meditations, set the tone, preparing us for the intensity of the next ten days of trekking up the mountains and retreating at Lawudo. Our group were from Australia, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, and the USA. Some had been booked since 2019. For Dom, visiting Lawudo was fulfilling a wish he has had since 2015: “I couldn’t believe it was finally happening!”

Bad weather prevented us from leaving for Lukla as scheduled, so we postponed for a day. We thought about taking helicopters instead, which would add at least US$7,000 to our bill. Fortunately a most kind benefactor offered the funds, otherwise we might not have made it to Lawudo at all.

Many of our group had never flown in a helicopter and delighted in the experience, but Jacque, “can vividly remember that first terrifying, ominous helicopter ride. Everyone else was all smiles when we landed but I was just happy to have made it out alive!” Our guides pointed out their villages as we passed the lower mountain villages.

We traveled in small groups to get to the mountains. Nineteen of us found ourselves at Surke (8,316 ft / 2,535 m), a tiny village that was perched 1,066 ft / 325 m under Lukla. We were dropped there by the helicopters, which could not fly further with the heavy cloud cover at higher altitude. Four of us, Yannai, Bec, Katharina, and Geraldine managed to land at Monjo. There, the local monk was so kind and opened the gompa for them to do their own practice. Seven of us had to wait an extra night in Kathmandu before catching our helicopters.

Ven. Robina, Ven. Katy, and Dinae landing at Surke on the way to Namche. Photo Julian Reinhold.

Amber and Furi, the last of our local guiding team, and four trekkers arrived in time for breakfast at Surke. We were thinking about Ven. Robina finally getting her helicopter from Kathmandu all the way to Namche, when just then a helicopter landed on the helipad in the lawn behind the dining room. There was Ven. Robina, and our last group of trekkers, jumping out under the spinning propellers! “What are you all doing at Namche?” Ven. Robina asked, as we greeted her on the lawn. “This is Surke, Venerable,” I replied. “But we’re supposed to be at Namche!” she exclaimed with as much confusion as the rest of us. The pilot flew off without a word!

We took time to have tea and work out our next steps. A larger group of twenty-one trekkers would depart on foot regardless of the weather and a smaller group would wait for the next helicopter out. Ven. Robina brought everyone together for a recitation of the Heart Sutra before we parted ways. Thankfully, the same pilot came back to pick up Ven. Robina, Ven. Katy, Dinae, and Julian. They would arrive at Namche later that day, where we’d all eventually meet for two days to acclimatize before heading to Lawudo.

Dom navigating one of the longer
suspension bridges before Namche.
Photo Jacque Rabie.

For our group, the first day of walking was long. It started with a steep climb towards Lukla and we encountered light rain on the track. Everyone was in good spirits and simply happy to be walking after being mostly indoors since meeting at Kopan. “It’s amazing, but harder than I thought it would be,” said Dom. At the pace we were going, it seemed more realistic to aim to arrive at Phakding and stay the night there, at Namaste Lodge. Our porters were already waiting for us in Monjo, the original destination of our helicopters. They walked back to Surke to collect our bags and arrived after dark. We were so grateful.

After dinner, Chammi Tenzing Sherpa, the lodge owner, let us use the sound system when Ven. Robina called to check in on us and sing Tara mantras over WhatsApp in the dining room. To make up some lost time, we would walk all the way to Namche the following day.

We set out from Phakding at 8 a.m., refreshed, and walked purposefully. Our pace picked up with the determination to get to Namche where the others already were. We managed to reach Monjo in great time, at 10 a.m. Mahesh, one of our guides, kindly offered our group tea at his own home on the way.

The walk was beautiful. After leaving the city it was good to be immersed in the different rhythm and energy of Solu Khumbu. Walking the trail, it is common to see trains of donkey or dzo (a hybrid between a yak and a cow) carrying building materials, shopkeepers tending to their stores, children coming and going hand-in-hand, porters with immense loads strapped to their heads, and Nepali music playing out of their tinny phone speakers. Toni took time to find the right words: “The people and life are so… authentic!”

It was the first time we have run the trek in Autumn. Although we caught the end of an unusually long rainy season, it also meant that waterfalls hundreds of meters high were overflowing and rainbows glistened through with sunshine. There were clear views of towering snow-capped peaks. Every few hundred meters, stones and enormous boulders carved and painted with ancient prayers lined the path. Prayer wheels and flags were in abundance, not to mention breathtaking views of valleys and mountains at the top of the world. We witnessed a different way of life, experienced a sensory feast, and at the same time were offered countless opportunities to observe our attachment to comfort and practice non-attachment when things turned out unexpectedly. All of us were reunited at Namche, where we met our full Three Jewels Adventures team. Some of our porters walk for days from their villages to meet us. Amber told us that hundreds of travelers were not able to find flights and were stuck in Kathmandu while our group of twenty-nine people managed to fly and arrive safely at Namche, and we were only one day behind our original schedule. This was amazing.

Kristina and Amber Tamang, our lead guide, and his team of guides, porters, and a cook. From top left: Lok, Furi, Chopendre, Amber, Pasang, Nirajan, Abinas, Jeythar. Bottom left to right: Mahesh, Mingmar, Kiran, Furi, Niran, Kristina. Photo Julian Reinhold.

As in previous years, we stayed at Namche for two nights. After staying in small villages, people were dazzled by the bakeries, massage clinics, cafes with great coffee and shops to buy anything you needed in the mountains and more. “It’s the Times Square of the Himalayas!” said Jacque.

Namche Bazaar is a bustling trade and trekking nexus inside Everest (Sagarmāthā) National Park. Trekking parties often stop there before continuing to popular destinations in the region such as Everest Base Camp, Gokyo Lakes, and Island Peak (Imja Tse). Ven. Robina gave us teachings in the beautiful gompa built into Zamling Guesthouse, where we stay every year. She read to us from Lama Yeshe’s Mahamudra: How to Discover Our True Nature, inspiring us and getting us excited about our retreat at Lawudo. The morning sun streamed through the windows as she began reading, “It is extremely difficult to knock out the ego. You cannot seek the ego’s projections philosophically, with your intellect. When you practice mahamudra, intellect is the enemy. You have to go beyond the intellect—you have to meditate. Then real transformation can come.” She looked up from her iPad, “It sounds very tasty, doesn’t it?” We were hooked.

While we were at Namche, Dawn became unwell. The treatment for Dengue was pain relief, hydration, and rest, so it was decided that she stay put. We made sure she was as comfortable as possible, and Mingmar, one of Amber’s team, and our friends at Zamling Guesthouse took care of her for the next five days. She was in kind and capable hands. Ven. Robina would pick her up in her helicopter on the way back down the mountain.

Ven. Katy Cole on the walk from Namche to Lawudo.
Photo by Kristina Mah.

At Namche, we hoped for a break in the weather, but we soon realized that the rain was not going anywhere. It was decided that the twenty-six of us would walk to Lawudo on the morning of October 11 as we didn’t want to lose any more time. Fog had sunk deep into the valley. We set out at 8am, hoping to arrive before the predicted afternoon storm. Our group spread out along the trail and many of us arrived at Lawudo in time for lunch at noon.

Our last group, of eight people, led by Ven. Robina, was yet to arrive at 2:30 p.m. Ani Samten-la sent a lunch of boiled potatoes, chapati, yak cheese, and honey with Lok and I, who ran down the hill to greet them. She had sent some masala tea an hour earlier. The group happily stopped for a bite and recharged their energy on the stones along the path on the hill overlooking the Mende helipad.

After lunch, they continued steadily, Ven. Robina mentioning when she paused to catch her breath that, “when we experience pain for something virtuous, we are purifying a few eons of attachment. Aren’t we lucky!”

Amber had helped Ven. Robina all the way from Namche and up the final leg to Lawudo. “He held my hand for the entire five hours,” she said, “as if he was taking care of his grandmother. I wouldn’t have made it otherwise.”

Ven. Robina set up her usual “office” overlooking the valley at the edge of the lawn in front of the Lawudo gompa where the internet connection is best.
Photo by Jacque Rabie.

Amber said that he felt “lucky to walk hand-in-hand with Ven. Robina. And we had blue sky when we hoped for it.” Reflecting on the journey later he said, “For me, it was yet another experience of a lifetime to travel with such an admirable person. With all that happened, and particularly because of walking with Ven. Robina, it makes me think this was the best trek yet. I can’t imagine any other trip better than this!”

Finally at Lawudo’s gate, Ven. Robina was greeted by Ani Samten-la. It was moving to see them reunited again after three years.

Ven Tsültrim, a Swiss nun who is staying at Lawudo for six months, accompanied Ven. Robina and Amber through the open gate that Ven. Katy was holding while the rest of us cheered. Finally we were all together.

Ven. Robina gave us teachings in the gompa every morning, afternoon and evening. To receive teachings in such a blessed place is pretty special. But it wouldn’t be until our third day that the clouds finally lifted to reveal the splendor of the surrounding mountains. It was easy to imagine why Rinpoche’s previous incarnation, the yogi Kunsang Yeshe, would have chosen such a place to meditate. For Viva, it was “a thrill to see the mountains for the first time when the mist finally lifted.”

View from the walk from Mende to Lawudo. Photo by Jacque Rabie.

In between teachings, people involved themselves in different tasks around the hermitage and went on short hikes to explore the area. Georges inspired others to join him during morning yoga sessions on the gompa lawn. One afternoon, Ven. Tsültrim showed Yannai, Manuela, Geraldine, and Katharina how to do water bowl offerings Sherpa-style. Mark and Toni cleaned the Lawudo house windows. Many of us visited Lama Kunsang Yeshe’s stupa behind the property and walked to the ridge of the mountain. Dom and Jacque walked to Charok, another hermitage and the birthplace of Charok Lama, a contemporary of the Lawudo Lama, on the same side of the mountain. They were lucky to meet Charok Ani-la who lives there and is often on long-term retreat. She served them warm orange juice, a local drink that we were also served upon arrival at Lawudo. Not many words were exchanged because of the language barrier. But she pointed to a photo and said in English, “It is Charok Lama… My father,” and smiled. After sitting with her in silence for a while after finishing their drinks, they made offerings, and said goodbye.

Ani Samten-la is the mother of Lawudo. She has lived there for over fifty years. Wearing worn-out robes, an apron, a saffron-colored fleece beanie and an old pair of pink and black Sketchers, she’s such a presence. She patiently posed for photos with a new pair of shoes that Rinpoche had sent with us to offer her. One morning before our teachings, Ani Samten-la came to sit in the sun shining on the gompa steps. A small group formed around her as she told stories of her childhood with Rinpoche (she is about six years older), and stories of the gompa construction and her experiences over the years. She captivated us with her special way of storytelling and her laughter. At one point while talking about herself she said, “No merit. Nothing. Just eating, sleeping… Nothing. Just eating and sleeping.” “Like Shantideva,” Ven. Tsültrim cut in. We all knew that Ani Samten-la has never stopped working and taking care of everyone who enters the Lawudo gate.

Ven. Robina Courtin, Ani Ngawang Samten, and Lawudo Trek organizer, Kristina Mah.

Lawudo feels like a place trapped in time. There has been running water there since only 2019. There are many daily tasks and always something to do. Yet, on another level, it is a place that feels separate from the mundane. These mountains have been blessed by the presence of great meditators and holy beings for centuries and it’s said that Solu Khumbu is a sacred hidden valley, a beyul, blessed by Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) that offers refuge in times of great strife or trouble.

People feel this special quality. “After a rollercoaster of emotional ups and downs and uncertainty about being able to attend the trek, it was an extraordinary privilege to be allowed access into this beyul,” Julian said. “Observing this very different way of life in the monastery at such an altitude was eye-opening and life-affirming.” Anna was returning to Lawudo after her first visit five years ago. “I realized everything was there. It was possible. Achievable. Enlightenment.”

Ven. Robina offering teachings in front of the cave on the last day of the retreat. Photo by Ven. Katy Cole.

On our last day, we had teachings in front of Rinpoche’s cave. Many of us felt that the end of our retreat had come too soon. Our time there was so precious, especially after the two-year delay and the effort we had to expend to get there. “So thankful to the holy beings who enabled our group to overcome all obstacles to our pilgrimage,” said Viva.

As we got ready to part ways and farewell Ani Samten-la and the Lawudo community along with three of our trekkers, Georges assured us confidently, “We have met before, and we will meet again!”

We split up again into small groups for the journey back to Kathmandu. By the end of the trek, Jacque had cut through his fear of helicopters and happily volunteered to catch one to Kathmandu from Lukla. Thankfully, Dawn was feeling much better by the time Ven. Robina arrived back at Namche in her helicopter to pick her up. Ani Samten-la sent her a blessing scarf and chocolate.

Lawudo trekkers, October 2022. Photo shared by Kristina Mah.

Ven. Robina often speaks of the bond that people form and feel when they go on pilgrimage together. Perhaps the bond forms while greeting obstacles and going through “magical moments” along the journey that forge a mini community created from around the world. “It was amazing to see how the group grew closer day by day and friendships were made so quickly,” said Julian. “The trek is such a rare opportunity,” said Mark. “I was so glad to have met so many kind and genuine people and share our journey together.” “It felt like a true pilgrimage with many highs and challenges that we took in stride,” said Aidan. For Jacque, his time in Nepal after discovering Ven. Robina on TikTok a month earlier, was “truly, a life-changing experience.”

We gathered for a final practice together at the ancient Boudha Stupa, not far from downtown Kathmandu. Before we started our circumambulations, Ven. Robina led us in dedicating all the merits of our amazing journey and refreshed our aspiration to have the courage to always do what is most beneficial and to never give up. It’s a sentiment that resonates with us after this trek and Dom captured it beautifully. “The Lawudo Trek was a trip of a lifetime. Not only because of the people we met but the magical moments along the way,” he said.

Amber said, “This was the best trek ever,” despite all obstacles and changes of plan. When Ven. Robina heard this, she said, “Isn’t that interesting. I trust Amber’s wisdom.”