Dudh Kunda

Dudh Kunda — the 'milk lake' — lies at about 4,560 metres at the foot of Numbur, the shining peak the Sherpas of Solu call Shorong Yul Lha, protector deity of their homeland. The glacial water does run pale on certain days, but the name is as much about offering as appearance: pilgrims carry milk up the mountain and pour it into the lake for Shiva, whose abode this is held to be.

The lake's great moment is Janai Purnima, the August full moon, when a mela gathers Hindus, Buddhists and Kirats together at the shore — a holy dip in the snowmelt, milk and flowers on the water, and dhami-jhankri shamans drumming and dancing through the night, the same archaic tradition that animates Gosaikunda on the same day. Smaller kundas dot the moraine around the main lake, each with its own name and small shrine.

The approach is one of Nepal's best-kept trekking secrets: from Phaplu airstrip (or a long drive from Kathmandu), the trail climbs through the heart of Sherpa Solu — Junbesi village, the great nunnery of Thubten Choling, the Taksindu ridge — far below the crowds of Khumbu. Most itineraries take seven to ten days, often looped with Pikey Peak, the viewpoint Edmund Hillary called his favourite in Nepal, with Everest, Makalu and Numbur strung across the horizon. The final camp by the lake is true high country — carry a tent and a good bag, and go in May or October if the pilgrim crowds aren't the point.