Day 01: Kathmandu City tour
Today you shall be going for a guided exploration of the Kathmandu with the help of experienced tour guide. The attractions of today’s sightseeing shall include the sacred Pashupatinath Temple located at the bank of holy Bagmati River. The place of utmost importance to the Hindus, this temple hosts myriads of other temples, statues and other architecture besides the trident-bearing sadhus, some of who pose before the foreigners for money as well. Other important heritages are Swayambhunath Stupa (climbing over the tiring steps you shall reach to a large complex with the main stupa and other whitewashed stupas, the view of Kathmandu valley and prayer flags coloring the area), Boudhanath Stupa with striking eyes of the Buddha, reciting of Buddhist mantras and other cultural symbols. We then head for the architectural excellence in Patan Durbar Square. The complex with ancient royal palace, temples and statues. Within these, resting places, museum and historical taps, the Patan Durbar Square exhibit outstanding architectural excellence. After exploring the major historical and cultural heritages, we return to the hotel.
Stay overnight in Kathmandu.
Day 02: Kathmandu to Lukla (2840m) by Air and trek to Phakding. 2610m (2/3 hrs)
Today we shall start the trekking in the adventurous Khumbu and equally enthralling Gokyo region as we head on for Lukla, the gateway to Everest region. In a short and scenic flight over the lush hills, serpentine rivers that weaves the valleys and view of the Himalayas from very close makes this 30 minutes flight an entertaining one. After landing in the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla and meeting with the other members of trekking crew, we shall move ahead for an introductory trek in the Everest region. The trail takes the trekkers out of the valley after a climb and then descends to the village of Chheplung village past the Mani walls and to another village of Thado Koshigaon. In this traditional trade route to Tibet, trekkers shall cross the shaky bridges over small streams and have view of Kusum Kangaru peaks to the east. Walking along the cobbled trails in the region, trekkers reach to Ghat village. In one of the most beautiful sections of the trail, today we have some unique settlement before reaching on to Phakding.
Stay overnight in Phakding.
Day 03: Trek from Phakding to Namche Bazzar. 3440m (5/6 hrs)
Today we shall head for the unofficial Sherpa capital of Namche Bazaar. The trail from Pkakding, one of the overnight stays for trekkers with well managed lodges, we start our trek. Crossing over the suspension bridges and passing by the teahouses, small hamlets, waterfall and the first view point of Kongde Ri Peak, the trail turns around to the Benkar village. After crossing another suspension bridge, we shall reach Monjo, the village before Sagarmatha National Park where our trekking and other permits are checked by the concerned authorities, we trek though Jorsale village and further on to reach the high suspension bridge called Hillary Bridge after which the trail turns steep until Namche. Crossing the confluence of Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi at Larja Dobhan, we embark on a steep trail till Namche with the view of Everest and other towering peaks. Through the dense forest dotted with rhododendron trees, unique villages and their trades as well as other unique heritages, we reach to Namhe Bazaar which is tucked on the hill in a bowl shape.
Stay overnight in Lukla.
Day 04: Rest Day
Today we shall have a rest day in this buzzing town in Khumbu region. The ancient trading hub during the trade with Tibet, Namche is also suitable for acclimatization before heading on to the higher altitudes. There are few day hike options for the trekkers to the surrounding areas, so as to help in the process of acclimatization. Hike to the Everest View Hotel, a hotel founded by Japanese national that provides marvelous views of the mighty Everest and other sibling peaks including the beautiful Ama Dablam. Another option for day hiking is the walk to the villages of Khumjung and Khunde where the monastery in Khumjung claims to have the skull of Yeti. Near Khunde we have the hospital built by the Hillary Foundation. These unique villages provide good acclimatization for the tourists. For the trekkers preferring longer hike, Thame village is perfect fit. Namche Bazaar, in itself has many things to explore. The Sherpa Museum providing information on history of mountaineering, culture and tradition, flora and fauna of the surrounding region and others to the visitors. Explore the Saturday market where locals and traders either exchange or buy and sell goods of their needs. Explore the rich Namche village and return back to the hotel.
Stay overnight in Namche Bazaar.
Day 05: Trek from Namche Bazzar to Tengboche. 3860m (5/6 hrs)
After having a proper acclimatization in Namche Bazaar, we shall move ahead to higher altitudes. Out of the unofficial Sherpa capital city, trekkers now traverse through the pine and oak forest, past the chortens and monasteries to reach the junction trail where trails to Gokyo and Everest Bas Camp meet. In a trail twisting and turning in the hills of eastern Nepal, we trek straight ahead to small settlements of Sansa and Kenjoma past the view points of Everest, Ama Dablam, Khotse Shar, Kang Taiga peaks. The company of dense forest continues as we keep moving accompanied by the mighty Dudh Koshi River. Ahead in the route we have stone stairs that leads us to the riverbed of Dudh Koshi River before crossing a suspension bridge to reach Phunke Tenga marked by the water-driven prayer wheels. The trail ahead of this settlement is rather steep until we reach to the culturally significant village of Tengboche. Home to the ancient monastery with high statue of Buddha and the relaxing chants of the Lamas, Tengboche is famous for the celebration of Mani Rimdu festival, the marvelous scenery with the panoramic view of Himalayas and the rhododendron forest which contrasts the white and glittering peaks and the unique cultural values of the locals. After exploring the surrounding, the monastery and village return to the hotel for stay.
Stay overnight in Tengboche.
Day 06: Trek from Tengboche to Dingboche. 4410m (5/6 hrs)
With the Mani walls to the left, we shall leave the beautiful surrounding of Tengboche and start our journey to Dingboche. In this beautiful trek, we walk along a rocky trail as the trail goes down to small settlement of Deboche and climb on to Somare through another prominent village of Pangboche which has some of the oldest monasteries of the region. Crossing the glacial streams and after trekking on rather flat trail, you shall trek straight along the trail accompanied by the Imja River and leave the trail leading to Pheriche. The trek continues in the northern direction past few chortens, increasingly alpine landscape and vegetation and appearance of mountains in close up fashion and glacier moraines more prominent. After around 6 hours of trek, we reached to the destination for today, the village of Dingboche. This village is Sherpa dominated and the upper limit of permanent settlement in the region where lower village is buzzing with foreign guests and the upper region has local Sherpa dwelling, rock walls and yak enclosure. Above the village is a monastery which is the summer meditation place of Lama Syangwa Dorje. We have an overnight stay in this beautiful settlement.
Stay overnight in Dingboche.
Day 07: Trek from Dingboche to Chhukung. 4750m (5/6 hrs)
Today we shall be going for the trek to the seasonal herding village of Chhukung after few hours of trekking upstream the torrential Imja River. Overlooked by several beautiful and lofty peaks including Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, Island Peak, Peak 38 and others, this settlement also acts as the base for climbers going for ascent to Chhukung Ri and Island Peak mountains. Today the trekkers have the option of either going for climb to the Chhukung Ri Peak (5550m) to get marvelous view of the Himalayas, especially the giant Makalu Peak. Another option is exploration of the valley, traversing through the glacial moraines formed by the glaciers as you head towards the Island Peak Base Camp. Trekkers may also go for hike to the Nuptse face. The glacial lakes with turquoise blue water contrasting with black rocked mountains covered by glittering white snow makes the scenery truly outstanding.
Stay overnight in Chhukung.
Day 08: Trek from Chhukung to Lobuche 4940m via KongmaLa Pass. 5535m (6/7 hrs)
From the natural amphitheatre of Chhukung formed by scores of mountain peaks, we trek for the vicinity of Everest Base Camp. The trekking starts with the descent from Chhukung past another small seasonal settlement of Bibre and further on to the culturally rich Dingboche village. This section of trek to Lobuche is a bit of challenging as we have to cross the majestic Khumbu Glacier and ascent over the Kongma La Pass. Trekking on the rocky trail we traverse along the hillside, which are not very steep for the trekkers in this region, and reach to the base camp of Pokalde Peak. Further ahead in the trail the uphill walk continues as we reach the Kongma La Galcier and across it to another base camp of the Pokalde peak. The ascent to the highest pass of our entire trekking trail, Kongma La Pass (5535m) provides us the opportunity to have view of the marvelous Himalayas, vast landscape and glaciers. We shall descent from the pass to reach the High camp and then cross the glacier to reach Lobuche. The sound of glacier crushing the rocks under its huge force is sort of terrific experience when you are walking on the seemingly still glacier.
Stay overnight in Lobuche in a tent.
Day 09: Trek from Lobuche to Gorakshep. 5170m (4/5 hrs) and Hike to EBC
The trek becomes more strenuous from today onwards as we move into the altitude with more chances of altitude sickness. We shall start early from Lobuche on a rocky trail and in the lateral moraine formed by the surrounding glaciers we trek for about 3 hours before reaching the Gorakshep. En route, the trekkers encounter some hills, the ascent to which is difficult due to the higher altitude and the sections with loose stones deposited out of the glaciers makes the trekkers take caution during the walk. Just before reaching Gorakshep, we get the view of Everest. There are sections in the trail sandwiched by the glaciers and the view of the infamous Icefall, glaciers and surrounding peaks makes the trek entertaining. After reaching Gorakshep and taking a much needed rest, we shall head for the ultimate destination which is the Everest Base Camp. The trek to Everest Base Camp is on a glacial ridge and later on the glacier itself which is groaning due to the crushing of rocks by the heavy weight of ice. Through the spots with some memorials we reach the Everest Base Camp. Dotted with tents equipment in the peak climbing season, this spot doesn’t however give view of the peak of the Everest. After capturing the iconic moments in base camp we trek down to Gorakshep.
Stay overnight in Gorakshep.
Day 10: Early morning hike to Kalapatthar (5545m) for sunrise then trek back to Lobuche. 4940m (5/6 hrs)
For getting the view of mighty Everest in close-up, today we shall ascent to the iconic Kalapatthar. Starting the trek to Kalapatthar before the day breaks, we trek through the twisting, steep and rocky trail accompanied by some wind. Trekking for couple of hours in a slower fashion, we have Tibetan prayer flags decorating the summit of this hill dwarfed by the high Himalayas. The sight of sun painting the summit of world’s highest peak gradually; starting with the silhouette of mountains the orb of sun slowly and spreads light over the white mountains and then rapidly to the rest parts of the earth. Witness the summits of Lhotse, Nuptse, Pumori besides the tallest Everest in a breathtaking scene. After lunch, trekkers start with their descent to the camp at Lobuche before entering into the vicinity of Gokyo valley.
Stay overnight in Lobuche.
Day 11: Trek from Lobuche to Dzongla. 4830m (5/6 hrs)
We can either descent from Lobuche and reach to Dughla after which the trail turns right towards Dzongla past the Chola Lake and couple of summer grazing lands. The trek from Lobuche starts with ups and downs along the path, past the memorials at Chukpi Lari built for the climbers who lost their life while on an expedition to ascent Everest. After reaching the Dughla, a place with few tea shops and beautiful scenery overlooking the Pheriche and Khumbu valley besides the panoramic scene of the mountains, we turn right towards the Dzongla. From here we shall have a short but steep climb followed by a downhill walk before crossing the valley where the Taboche Peak Base Camp is set. On crossing a small glacial stream followed by another steep climb, we reach to the destination for today which is the Dzongla. The sight of Cholatse Peak from Dzongla is marvelous sight to watch.
Stay overnight in Dzongla.
Day 12: Trek from Dzongla to Gokyo (4800m) via ChoLa Pass. 5368m (6/7 hrs)
Today we shall cross another challenging pass in our trek in a day when trekkers are going to face quite strenuous trail. In this section of the trek we shall start early and the trek begins with a gentle hike around the ridge and then traverses in a relatively flat plateau for sometime before crossing over a small glacial stream. The climb starts becoming strenuous as we trek through massive rock wall and uphill walk through rocky staircase to reach a small plateau. With the view of beautiful Ama Dablam, we move further ahead in our bid to climb over the pass. Trekking through the rock outcropping and section with rock and snow we reach to the summit of the pass, past the often slippery trail. From the top of the summit, you shall have the view of peaks such as West Lobuche, Ama Dablam, Kantega, Thamserku, Taboche, Cholatse and Baruntse as well as Numbur, Pasang Lhamu Peaks in the Gokyo region. We descent from this glacial pass decorated with prayer flags, we descend through a steep section of the pass that is followed by rocky and hilly trail across the valley. Further ahead is the long and steep downhill walk to the yak grazing land of Thangnak. Further ahead in the trail we trek across the Ngozumba glacier, the longest glacier in the Nepalese Himalayas, and turn towards the Gokyo village. Past the breathtakingly beautiful glacial lakes we trek to reach the seasonal village of Gokyo.
Stay overnight in Gokyo.
Day 13: Rest Day. Hike up to Gokyo Ri. 5357m (2.5 hrs)
After a long and strenuous trek the previous day, we shall today have a rest day which shall help us to further adapt ourselves in the further sections of the trail. In this rest day, we shall hike up to the beautiful Gokyo Ri. The hike up to the summit of the peak begins as we pass through the inlets of the glacial lakes after which the trail goes twisting and turning. Trekkers generally hike up to the summit with several stops in between for dual purposes: the trek has to be gradual and you need to catch breath too often due to the altitude and the trekkers also stop for taking magnificent pictures of the surroundings. In the final section of the climb to the peak, the trail is dotted with rock cairns and the top of the peak is decorated with prayer flags. On favorable weather, the view from the summit of Gokyo Ri is a dream come true for everyone: the majestic and rubble-covered Ngozumpa Glacier lies through the valley below, the peaks of Cho Oyu is seen nearby while the other peaks including the Lhotse, Nuptse, Makalu, Gyachung Kang and many others stretch over the horizon. The tallest Everest is seen bewilderingly tall from the peak and the landscape is so vast that you cannot help but be mesmerized and triumphant. After getting immersed in the magic of the moments, we trek down to Gokyo village slowly and gradually.
Stay overnight in Gokyo.
Day 14: Trek from Gokyo to Marlung (4210m) via RenjoLa Pass. 5360m (7/8 hrs)
We have another challenging day before descending to the Namche Bazaar. From the settlement of Gokyo village we now head on for the Renjo La Pass. In a trail that twists and turns past the third lake of Gokyo or the Dudh Pokhari, we climb towards the pass through the steep trail, across the frozen streams and along the rough section to reach the top via rocky face below the pass. The top of Renjo La pass provides marvelous view of the magnificent mountains including the Makalu Peak and panoramic views of the several peaks rising above 7000 and 8000 meters extending all over the horizon gets the trekkers forget the pain they had undergone during the trek. From the summit of the pass decorated with prayer flags and cairns (which mark the summit of the pass) we descent down towards Marlung. The trail immediately becomes steeper as you start down from the pass. Use trekking poles to relive stress from your ankles and legs and make a gradual progress to the stone steps past glacial lake of Angladumba. You shall also pass through several yak graze lands, couple of other glacial lakes including the twin Renjo Lakes and again make a steep descent to the Thame valley. Join the trail accompanied by the perennial Bhote Koshi River ahead of the Khusum village and reach to the village of Lungde, a small and seasonal hamlet in the valley. We make further progress in the journey from this village with pleasant scenery of the Himalayas and lush surrounding and call it a day at the village of Marlung.
Stay overnight in Marlung.
Day 15: Trek from Marlung to Namche Bazzar. 3440m (5/6 hrs)
With Namche Bazaar as the destination we start our trekking today from the beautiful Marlung village. The trail along perpetual Bhote Koshi River shall continue today as we pass through several old and traditional Sherpa villages walled so as to protect itself from the outside intervention from animals and humans, cross glacial streams, and marvel at the view of the Himalayas overlooking the trail from far away. En route we may explore the ancient gompas including the Kyaro Gompa near Hungmo village and Thumal Goth across the Chhunjungma River, and explore the culturally rich villages of Thame and Thamo. After exploring the monastery of Thame, among the few that celebrates Dhunche festival in the summer, we descend to Namche through several Sherpa villages, electricity powerhouse, chortens, monasteries and prayer flags. You may also share the trail with the caravan of trekkers, porters, locals and their animals including Yak before you reach to Namche village. Khumbila mountain, the sacred mountain in the region grace the trekkers with its presence as trekkers pass through the cave and lands where the revered personality of Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Rimpoche meditated during his journey to Tibet ages ago.
Stay overnight in Namche Bazaar.
Day 16: Trek from Namche Bazzar to Lukla. 2840m (6/7 hrs)
Today we shall be into the lower region of the Everest region as the journey from the most famous village of Namche village continues to the gateway of the region, the village of Lukla. The trek from Namche starts with a steep trek down to the Bhote Koshi River past the view of Everest and after crossing over the high suspension bridge at Larja Dobhan we exit the premise of Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo trekking through the village of Jorsale. Through the forest adorned with rhododendron and oak, over the suspension bridges and past the natural amusements of waterfall, we continue our descent in a gradual fashion. Make a short visit to the 500 year old gompa and marvel at the sight of Kongde Ri Peak before reaching Phakding, feel the religious ambience in the prayer wheels and Mani walls, and view the beautiful Kusum Kangaru Peak before passing through the villages of Nurnign and Chheplung. Take the way to Lukla as you ascent through small settlements and stone walls to reach the destination for today, the village of Lukla. Explore the beautiful village and prepare to exit the marvelous Khumbu region as the trek into the region comes to the end.
Stay overnight in Lukla.
Day 17: Lukla to Kathmandu by Air and transfer to hotel
Get your bags packed and ready as we are ready to leave Lukla as early as possible for the cultural and historical capital city of Kathmandu. In an early flight of around 35 minutes, we fly over the beautiful and lush hills and valleys, perennial rivers and vast landscape, and with the close up view of the humongous Himalayas to reach the final destination in our trekking journey. After you land in the domestic terminal of the airport, you shall be transferred to the hotel for rest. Take proper and much needed rest in the hotel and prepare for the journey to onward destination by packing your bags. Go for souvenir shopping or simply take rest for remaining day as we shall have another rest day in Kathmandu.
Stay overnight in Kathmandu.
