Taiwanese trekker Liang Sheng-yue, who was rescued from a gorge in the Himalayas on Wednesday, 47 days after he and his girlfriend went missing, is recovering well in a hospital in Nepal's capital Kathmandu, his doctor said Friday.

"Liang walked today with the help of a physiotherapist for the first time after being rescued and he also took regular food," said Chakra Raj Pandey, medical director of Grande Hospital in Kathmandu, where the university student is recuperating.

He said Liang, who survived on water, snow and some salt that he was carrying, had good vital signs when flown to the upscale hospital in the northwestern outskirts of Kathmandu on Wednesday.

Liang, 21, lost 30 kilograms during his ordeal in the gorge in the Ganesh Himal area in Dhading district. His hair was full of lice and maggots infested his right foot when he was rescued.

"But crucially, his electrolyte balance was okay thanks to water and salt he was taking," Pandey said, adding that the food that he was carrying in his backpack kept him nourished for the first several days.

Liu Chen-chun, 19, who was also a student at National Dong Hwa University in Taiwan, did not survive the ordeal. She died three days before rescuers finally spotted the pair.

Liang told doctors that while Liu lost hope during the last week of her life, but he never did. They said he appeared calm and composed when he was brought to the hospital.

"He spoke about his girlfriend when he came here. He has great pain from losing her," the doctor said.

The trekkers had not hired a guide or taken the assistance of any local trekking agency. Nepal advises trekkers to hire guides and porters for their own safety.

Just two days after being rescued, Liang celebrated his birthday in Kathmandu, ordering a cheesecake and a chocolate cake to celebrate it. After slicing one of the cakes, he told reporters that while he is "very happy now," he was at a loss for words to describe his feelings.

Liang and Liu went missing on March 9 when they slipped into a gorge that was way too deep for them to climb out of it without assistance.

They had tents, sleeping bags and some food in their backpacks.

After spotting Liang and Liu's body on Wednesday, rescuers were quick to conduct a long-line rescue, using a 200-meter rope to drop trained people into the gorge and pull them out.