Everest Base Camp Trek

Welcome to Nepal. Meet our representative at the airport who will transfer you to your hotel. Remaining time is free for independent activities. In the evening, meet your guide and participate in trek briefing. Your guide will also check your gears and advise you if you need to buy/rent any.

Today, our tour guide will take you for full-day sightseeing of Kathmandu Valley as we complete your permit formalities. We begin the day with a visit to Swoyambhunath Stupa -- a landmark Buddhist temple in Kathmandu and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Popular among tourists as Monkey Temple, the main attraction is a white-washed dome and a glittering golden spire. Then we move on to Kathmandu Durbar Square -- another UNESCO World Heritage sites. Here you can see temples and monuments dating back to 17th century. It used to be the seat of Malla rulers and the now deposed Shah kings. After lunch, we move to Bouddhanath Stupa -- the biggest stupa complex in South Asia and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is also a white-washed dome capped by a glittering golden spire. The ambience here is quite amazing as you can see incense sticks burning and pilgrims circumambulating the stupa chanting sacred mantras. It is believed to have been built in the 5th century. Then we move on to our hotel.

Our trek begins today! Our representative will transfer you to domestic terminal for your flight to Lukla. The flight offers you breathtaking mountain views. The flight is adventurous as you will be landing on one of the most dangerous airports in the world. But don’t worry, you are in safe hands as Nepali pilots have been flying there since 1960s. Finally, you are in Everest land. Meet your crew, watch them pack your loads, and begin your trek. A walk of about three hours through pristine mountainside will take you to our destination in Phakding. In the evening, explore the village which sits on the banks of the roaring Dudhkoshi River.

We begin the walk after having breakfast at our lodge. A walk of around two hours will take us to Monjo, where we show our permit at the office of Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park. Monjo is a beautiful Sherpa village. After admiring the village briefly, we continue our walk to a place called Jorsalle -- a confluence of two rivers. After crossing the river on a suspension ridge, we make a gradual climb toward Namche Bazaar through pine forest. We reach Namche Bazaar just in time for lunch. Namche Bazaar is the largest Sherpa village in the region and is referred to by many as the Sherpa capital.

Today, we will have a free day in Namche Bazaar for acclimatization. We will utilize the day by hiking to Syangboche ridge (3880m), and further to Everest View Hotel. The hotel offers 360 degree view of snow-capped mountains, including the majestic Mount Everest, all around us. We return to our lodge for lunch.

Resume the trek after breakfast at your teahouse. Move out of Namche on a steep trail and pass by Sherpa Cultural Museum. Continuing further, you will be greeted by Ama Dablam in its full glory. Enjoy mountain views by taking a brief rest at Tenzing Norgay memorial chhorten. Continuing further, you will reach the settlements of Kyanjuma and Sanasa from where the trail splits. The one on the right drops to Dudhkoshi River and climbs to Tenbogche Monastery. Take the trail on the left which contours the hill rising above the Dudhkoshi to reach Mong La. As most trekkers take the trail to Tengboche, the trail is peace and tranquil and you will see very few trekkers. Mong La is a small pass with few teahouses. From here, you can see the settlement of Phortse on a plateau across the river. After lunch, the trail drops to Dudhkoshi River coming from Gokyo Lake complex. Cross the river, and walk uphill on a forested trail to reach Phortse. Phortse is a bustling Sherpa village.

Leaving Phortse, the trail climbs to a small spur which offers beautiful view of Imja Valley. You can see Tengboche Monastery and the trail passing through Deboche across the river. You will join the busy trail at Pangboche where you will stop for lunch. From the spur, the trail contours the hill rising above Imja Khola river to reach Pangboche. After Pangboche, the trail progresses through the village of Shomare until you reach a junction. Take the trail on the right, which drops to the confluence of Imja Khola with Lobuche Khola coming from the Everest Base Camp, and climbs to the village of Dingboche.

Today, we take a rest day for acclimatization. We will spend the day hiking to a viewpoint named Nagarjuna HIll (5050m) which offers spectacular views of mountains like Ama Dablam (6812m), Makalu (8485m) and Cho Oyu (8201m). We return to the lunch for lunch. Later in the afternoon, you can explore the Dingboche village or take a rest in your cosy lodge.

The trail to Lobuche maybe shorter but it’s difficult nevertheless. Greenery is gone. We trek on barren and often dusty area. Villages look small and amenities basic. All we see is mountains and rocky hills. We continue our walk along the river gorge. The walk is easy initially, but we make a climb to reach Dughla (4620m). We have lunch here and make a steep climb to Thukla Pass. There you can see chhortens built in memory of climbers who lost their lives in Everest. We continue our work. We are approaching Khumbu Glacier. Very soon we can see Mount Pumori (716m), Lingtren (6749m) and Nuptse (7861m) rise above us. We are arriving at the top of the world. A gradual descent from here takes us to Lobuche (4940m).

From Lobuche, the trail slopes gradually upward through the moraine of Khumbu Glacier toward Italian Pyramid. The distance from Lobuche to Gorakshep is only about four kilometers and we gain some 230 meters altitude. But the walk is exhausting as we are crossing 5,000 meters! After gentle initial incline, the trial goes down before the final climb leading to Gorakshep -- the last settlement before Everest Base Camp. The trail is dustry and full of loose rocks due to years of glacial activities. We cross a large moraine of Changri Shar glacier before reaching Gorakshep. Mount Pumori stands right above us while Nutpse and other mountains of Everest range are to our right.

After having lunch and taking some rest, we start walking toward Everest Base Camp -- the ultimate destination of this trek. As we are gaining height of 200 meters, the walk is tiring. We negotiate difficult trail along the Khumbu Glacier for nearly three hours. After crossing a difficult moraine of Khumbu Glacier, we make one last climb and we are finally at our dream destination! If it’s spring, we can see lot of activities here. The area looks buzzing with climbers from all over the world. But on other seasons, it’s mostly empty. After taking photographs to record our landmark feat, we gradually retreat to the comfort of our lodge at Gorakshep.

We begin walk early today to catch some of the world’s tallest mountain glitter in morning sun. We will be climbing to the highest point of our trek today. The trail is easy but high altitude will slow our progress. A tiring walk of around two hours will take us to the top of Kala Patthar ridge. The view from the top, however, is rewarding. The view of sun rising between Everest and Nuptse will remain etched in our memory for long. You can get panoramic views of Mt Chantse, Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse and Khumbu glacier below you. We then return to Gorakshep, have breakfast and trek toward Lobuche. After lunch, we continue our descent to Pheriche.

We lose around 800 meters in elevation today. We make a descent to the Dudh Koshi River through a beautiful hillside filled with rhododendron and juniper trees. After crossing the river, we make climb to Tengboche where we have lunch. We continue our walk through winding trail which offers us breathtaking views of Amadablam, Thamserku and Nuptse, among other mountains. A short walk through a forest and we reach to our destination in Namche Bazaar.

Our last day of the trek! We resume the walk after having lunch at our lodge. We make a descent through pine forest to Jorsalle at the confluence of Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi Rivers. A walk of three hours along the banks of Dud Koshi River will take us to Phakding via Monjo. After having lunch, a leisurely walk of around three hours will take us to Lukla. We celebrate the success of our trek in the evening with our support team.

After breakfast, we walk to the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla, which is named after the first persons to climb Everest -- Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary. Enjoy the thrilling takeoff and bid adieu to the mountains from the comfort of your aircraft seat. A flight of 35 minutes will take you to Kathmandu. Board a waiting car and drive to your hotel. Take the much needed rest or you can stroll in the neighborhood to buy souvenirs for your friends and family back home.

In the evening, we will organize farewell dinner for you at a typical Nepali restaurant. Enjoy the Nepali meal and the performance of typical Nepali songs and dance.

Your last day in Nepal! Our representative will transfer you to the airport for your return flight to home. Adieu, until we meet again.