Welcome in Nepal! We will pick you up at the international airport in Kathmandu, and bring you to your hotel in the backpackers area of Thamel.

airport transfer – hotel

After a good night of sleep and hopefully beating the jetlag, we will meet again for a pre-trip meeting. You will be introduced to your mountain guide and we will discuss the itinerary. If you have any questions or requests, please let us know.

Note: please, make sure you bring your passport to the meeting, along with your travel insurance policy. Carry both the original policy and a copy for us. We wil also request you to clear the due balance, if any.

What’s next? You can use this day to adjust to the different timezone, altitude and climate. Also, you can prepare yourself for your trek and do some last shoppings at one of the many outdoor gear shops around your hotel.

breakfast – hotel

A difficult but scenic full-day public bus ride up the Sun-Khosi river valley to the town of Jiri, the trail-head of the Everest trek and our first camp. The ride will take about 8 hours.

breakfast – bus – dinner – mountain lodge

Today marks the beginning of our trek! We begin the trek with a climb to the ridge-top (2,400 m) after which the trail drops down to Shivalaya (1,800 m). After reaching Shivalaya, we make another climb to Sangbadanda (2,150 m), Kosaribas (2,500 m), then to Bhanjyang, a pass at Bhandar (2,200 m). We can possibly take a detour between Sangbadanda and Bhandar to visit Thodung (3,090 m).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

The trail drops down to the Likhu Khola and crosses the river (1,580 m), and onto Kenja. Now we make the long climb to Lamjura hill. The first part of the climb is quite steep, whence it traverses to Sete, and an abandoned stupa (2,575 m). We continue through the villages inhabited by Sherpas and have both Nepali and Sherpa names.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

The day begins with a long but gradual climb to the Lamjura pass (3,530 m). In winter, we will be rewarded with frost and often snow along the trail. Or, in spring with blooming rhododendrons.

The pass is the highest point between Jiri and Namche Bazaar. We will have a good lunch stop here. From the top, we descend to Tragdobuk (2,860 m), then to the pretty Sherpa village of Junbesi (2,675 m).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We climb to a ridge (3,080 m) from where Everest slowly begins to appear before your eyes. From Junbesi the trail leads to the hospital and the airstrip at Phaplu, as well as the district headquarter and a small market at Salleri.

Leaving Salung, we make our way descending to the Ringmo Khola (2,650 m) followed by a small climb to Ringmo. We can see an apple orchard at this spot. The Apple House offers apple juice, pie and rakshi (rice spirit). The trail from Ringmo to Namche Bazaar was built in the 1,980’s and avoids many of the steep descents and ascents of the older route. Then, we reach Trakshindo pass (3,071 m), whereafter the trail drops down pass the monastery of the same name, on to Nunthala (2,220 m/7,283 ft).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

The trail continues descending to the Dudh Khosi river where the trail then climbs through several Sherpa villages, terraced fields and forests to Khari Khola (2,020 m/6,627 ft).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We begin the day with a climb towards Puiyan through Sherpa villages and woods, passing through a narrow canyon before arriving at Puiyan (2,700 m/8,858 ft).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We continue the climb from Puiyan to a ridge at (2,800 m) before a gradual ascend to the final ridge, where we climb down to Surke following the trail towards Phakding (2,610 m/8,560 ft).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We continue trekking along the banks of the Dudh Khosi, crossing this majestic river many times on exciting suspension bridges laden with prayer flags. After entering the Sagamartha National Park, the trail climbs steeply with breathtaking views.

Namche Bazaar, known as the Gateway to Everest, is home to many quality restaurants, hotels, lodges, shops, money exchange, Internet cafes and a bakery. Namche is the largest village (3,440 m/11,290 ft) along the entire Everest trail.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We will spend the day in Namche Bazaar, in order to acclimatize and adjust to the thinning air.

We can trek a short distance to a museum that is celebrated for its exhibits of the traditional customs of the Sherpa people.

Or, we hike up the Syangboche Airport, near the Everest View Hotel. From this point, we can get rewarding views of the Himalayas with a stunning sunrise and sunset over the panorama of Khumbu peaks.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

The trail climbs steeply out of valley through rhododendron forest, juniper and large conifers start to appear as the elevation increases making the trekking very pristine in springtime. The trail passes through Yak Kharkas and summer settlements. The views of Khumbi La and Tawache are magnificent throughout the day.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We climb a ridge for an excellent view both down the valley to Kengtega and up towards Cho Oyu and descend to a river and again climbs steep to the terminal moraine of the Ngozumpa glacier. We will reach Machhermo by early noon.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

The trek today takes us at one of our main destinations, Gokyo (4,750 m). We will make this camp our base for 2 nights as we will have couple of sightseeing and hiking trips around Gokyo.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Early morning, we go for a steep climb up to the top of Gokyo Ri (5,360 m/17,575 ft). Here, you can get stunning views of the Gokyo Valley, the massive Ngozumpa Glacier and an incredible panoramic view of the entire Khumbu Himalayas, including the giants Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Makalu, Cho-Oyu and Gychung Kang. This day is mainly for acclimatization.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We trek to the foot of the Cho La pass (5,420 m/17,782 ft m) for our overnight stay. The accommodation in Tagnag is very basic and you probably need to share a room with other trekkers.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

We start before sunrise at 4 or 5 A.M. to reach the pass by 9-10 A.M. to dodge bad weather conditions of the noontime. We will cross over at an altitude of 5,420 m (17,782 ft) where we could be exposed to strong winds if we crossing too late. We will start to climb steeply that is regularly used and easy to follow. However, problems may arise due to the altitude and snow.

As you reach the top, you are rewarded by the magnificent views, then we descend to the Dzongla at noon. Same as in Tagnag, the accommodation is very basic and you probably need to share a room with other trekkers.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

A rather easier and shorter trekking route will take us to Lobuche (4,940 m/16,210 ft), in about 4 hours of trekking.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Today will be a difficult day, as we walk along the Khumbu Glacier and up to Everest Base Camp (5,364 m/17,598 ft). This is the closest you can get to Mount Everest without mountaineering equipment. There will likely be a team there about to attempt the summit. The view of the Khumbu Icefall from Base Camp is spectacular. Then, we trek to Gorak Shep, a tiny hamlet.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

This will be one of the most difficult yet rewarding days of the trek. Most of the morning will be spent climbing Kala Patthar (5,545 m/18,519 ft), a small peak by the Himalayan standards.

The ascent is demanding but you can get the most magnificent mountain panorama: Everest (8,848 m/29,031 ft), the highest point on the planet, towers directly ahead and on all sides loom the other giants, Nuptse, Pumori, Chagatse, Lhotse and countless others.

We make a quick descent to Gorak Shep (5,164 m/16,942 ft) and then trek down to Periche (4,371 m/14,340 ft).

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

From Periche, we take a slightly different route down to Orsho then to Pangboche Village. Here is the oldest monastery in the region which contains what is said to be the scalp and bones of a Yeti, or abominable snowman.

Leaving mountains behind us, our descent takes us through the Tengboche Monastery (3,867 m/12,687 ft) before continuing back to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m/11,290 ft). We arrive back to Namche Bazaar in the afternoon.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Finally, we return to Lukla, that has a small airstrip. We’ll spend some time enjoying and reflecting on the trek as a group and the personal achievement of all those who took part. We can also have some time to explore this town.

breakfast, lunch & dinner – mountain lodge

Enjoying your last glimpse of the mountains you have recently visited for one last time on the scenic flight back to Kathmandu. Once we are back in Kathmandu, we we will bring you straight to your hotel.

breakfast – domestic flight – airport transfer – hotel

If it’s the final day of your holiday in Nepal, we will bring you back to the international airport. Goodbye friends! We hope that we will meet each other again in the future.

breakfast – airport transfer