Lukla

The morning begins early as you grab breakfast at your hotel, and then travel to the domestic airport to catch the flight to Lukla (elev. 2,845 m/9,334 ft.). It takes around 40 minutes to reach Lukla, flying along the very backbone of the mighty Himalayas. From your seat, gaze down at the various high mountains ranges frosted in freshly falling snow. Land at Lukla, grab your things and trek 3 – 4 hours to reach the Sherpa village of Phakding. This is a great place to spend the night as you explore the village. See the snowcapped peak of Mt. Kusum-Kangaru along the way.Explore a Buddhist monastery as well as pass through dense jungles along the Dudh Koshi River. Spend the night in Phakding.

Phakding

Overnihgt stay in Lodge Phakding.

Namche Bazaar

Yesterday was primarily downhill to Phakding; today it’s onwards and upwards to reach the principal village of the Khumbu region. Namche Bazaar is the capital of the Sherpa people. The village is built like an amphitheater into the side of the mountain. You follow the river through the dense jungle as you enter Sagarmatha National Park at the village of Monjo. Mt. Everest comes into view today along with a number of other amazing peaks. We will spend two nights in Namche Bazaar. Trekking time is 7 – 8 hours.

Namche Bazaar

The Everest region is very high elevation, and it is standard practice to take one day in Namche Bazaar to allow your body to adjust to the thinner mountain air. No doubt you felt short of breath yesterday as you approached Namche Bazaar. The best treatment to prevent Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is to take a day to rest and adjust. Namche Bazaar is a wonderful place to spend a day. Visit the Sherpa Museum, stop at the bakery for delicious baked goods or have a beer with the Sherpa people. The town is composed of colorful stone houses that will delight you at every turn. Enjoy the hospitality of the Sherpa people.

We leave the beautiful village of Namche Bazaar as we continue to ascend. Mt. Everest is our constant landmark now as we climb upwards. We cross small streams along the way and gaze upwards at the brilliantly blue skies. Our destination is the village of Tyangboche which is home of the highest Buddhist monastery in the world. We will spend the night in this village. Trekking time is 5 – 6 hours.

The climbing gets a bit more difficult as we are ascending again to over 4,000 meters. The vegetation becomes much more scarce as we’ve crossed above the tree line. You will be amazed to see the farms that the Sherpa people have managed to create over the centuries. Not a lot grows up here, but still they have found a way to grow food as well as to raise yaks for their milk, fur and meat. It will take us five hours to reach Dingboche. If we haven’t had time yesterday to explore the Buddhist monastery in Tyangboche, then today we will start off the day visiting this deeply spiritual place. You will notice that Mt. Everest serves as the monasteries’ backdrop. What a wonderful place to meditate!

We’ve crossed the 4,000 meter mark and again, we must stop and rest for the day. We realize you probably want to get to Everest Base Camp, but be advised that this stop is necessary to prevent AMS. We will do some day hiking to look at Mani Walls created by faithful Buddhists over the centuries. If you’d like we can do a hike to Nagarjuna View Point (elev. 4,999 m/16,400 ft.) to view the snowcapped peaks of Eastern Nepal as well as the green Imja Valley below. We return to our guest house in Dingboche for a second night of great sleep in the pristine alpine air.

The adventure continues as we make our way further eastward. There are not a lot of farms today as the land will not support many people. Still a few people live up here and we will pass chhortens and mani walls along the way. These are monuments created by the Sherpa Buddhists to honor events and ancestors. Mt. Pumori is today’s focal point along with other peaks of the Everest region. We will trek around 4 – 5 hours to reach Lobuche. It’s a very small village, but the guest house where we will spend the night serves really good food. Accommodations are minimal, but the people very friendly.

We are so close to Mt. Everest! We are leaving all civilization behind at Lobuche as we make our way to a spot called Gorakshep. It exists because it is where trekkers stay at their last place before Everest Base Camp. The trail is rocky, the air crisp and pure. We reach Gorakshep around noon where we can deposit our backpacks and then take a short hike to the top of Mt. Kalapatthar. This is a trekking peak which can be climbed without any specialized equipment. It is here we get a wonderful view of Mt. Everest. It takes around two hours to climb to the top to take pictures of Mt. Everest. We return to our guest house at Gorakshep where we will spend the night.

Mount Everest

It’s a leisurely day as we make our way to Everest Base Camp. Here we pose for pictures, and greet those climbers who either are starting their journey to the top or returning in victory. We take our time as the air is thin and we definitely want to celebrate the moment. We return to Gorakshep to relax and enjoy a delicious dinner for our last night.

The journey back begins today as we trek to the village of Pheriche. This is home of the Himalayan Rescue Association which aids trekkers. We can look down into the valley and see beautiful terraced farmland. The snowcapped peaks are exhilarating. We spend the night in the village at a local guest house.

It’s a small village that’s our goal today as we make our way to Phortse Village. We are making good time on our downward journey. Going downhill is always quicker, although sometimes the trails can be a bit challenging. We trek today around 6 – 7 hours to reach our guest house at Phortse Village.

Namche Bazaar

We are returning back to the principal village of the Khumbu region and its good to see its colorful stone houses once more. Along the way, we have seen more and more farms with children playing. We still breath in the rich mountain air. In the evening, enjoy some time looking for souvenirs as well as a great dinner. Trekking time is 5 – 6 hours.

Lukla

We journey back through the dense jungle and along the Dudh Koshi River to reach the airport at Lukla. We will spend our final night here. Trekking time is 7 – 8 hours.

Kathmandu Valley

From lukla to Kathmandu fly back and you have free day and evening farewell dinner in cultural restaurants.