Everest Base Camp / Kalapathar Trek

You board 30 minutes flight to Lukla early in the morning. Enjoy the magnificent mountain range as you arrive at Lukla airport. You will be introduced to your porter at the airport, if you've booked a porter. After enjoying a hearty breakfast in Lukla, you will begin your trekking.

The walk to Phakding is a fairly easy 3 hour walk through the Dudhkosi valley. You will head north from the airstrip to Chheplung (2700m) and cross the ThadoKoshi River on a local-style suspension bridge. Just past the bridge, you can see the peak Kusum and Kanggru (6367m), which are some of the most difficult trekking peaks to climb. Beyond the ThadoKoshi, the trail climbs towards the Ghat (2590m) and crosses a ridge marked with painted Mani stones. You will continue our ascend to reach the beautiful village of Phakding where you will stay overnight.

You start your second day of the trek through the Valley of Dudhkosi River. You cross the Dudhkosi River five times on the exciting suspension bridges laden with prayer flags on the way to Namche. After you cross the last bridge, you will continue your ascent, gradually leading you to Jorsale. It is a two and a half hour climb up to Namche with two view points on the way. You will enjoy a mesmerizing view of Mt Everest on a clear day on the trail. At Jorsale you enter the Sagarmatha National park where you will need to verify your permits. After 5 or 6 hours of hard walking, you reach the main trading center of the region, the Namche Bazaar.

Acclimatization is very important before proceeding higher to avoid altitude sickness. You will be taken for a day’s hike through the villages of Khunde and Khumjung and come back to Namche through the Everest view hotel Khumjung.You can see the so called skull of a Yeti in the monastery in the region. You can also visit the bakery at world’s highest altitude. You get to enjoy the panoramic views of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and many other mountains on a fair day. Even the view from the Everest View hotel is very impressive. After a savory breakfast, you take a steep one-hour climb to the Syangboche airstrip (3790m), from where you will slowly ascend towards Khunde passing numerous chorten (stone Buddhist monuments). From Khunde you follow the trail eastwards to Khumjung, the largest village in the Khumbu region, at the foot of the sacred peak Khumbila. After enjoying lunch at Khumjung,you follow a gradual climb to Everest View Hotel where you will enjoy the splendid mountain views. Then you descend towards Namche (3540m).

Your route for today to Tengboche weaves in and out of side valleys, making small ups and downs, to the teashops of Kenjoma, and joins the trail from Khumjung just before a collection of Mani stones. The views of Everest and Ama Dablam are excellent from this part of the trek. You pass the small settlement of Sanasa from where the trail drops towards Phunkithanga (3250m). From here the trail climbs steeply through pine forests and around Mani stones as it follows the side of a hill to the saddle on which the monastery of Tengboche sits at 3870m. The view from here is rightly deemed to be one of the world’s most magnificent sceneries. Kwangde (6187m), Tawachee (6542m), Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse (8501m), Amadablam, Kantega and Thamserku provide an inspiring panorama as the Himalayan giants. You will spend the night in the Tengboche village.

Today you start your trek with a descent through a beautiful forest, then cross the Imja Khola and trek through the village of Pangboche. The route continues through summer pastures to Dingboche. You will spend the night at Dingboche. It is a very relaxing village with lots of mountain views. This is a very easy walk and takes about 3 to 4 hours.

You will start around 8:30 after breakfast. The trek up to Chhukung is quite nice and easy. You get a really nice view of most of the mountains specially Ama Dablam. The view from Chhukung and further up the valley on the moraines towards Island Peak is tremendous. To the south-west, the eastern face of Amadablam provides an incredible view of the picturesque peak. This short trek is one of the highlights of the trek. It is a quick trip back down the valley to Dingboche for the night. While going back to Dingboche you might encounter strong winds.

You start with a climb to the Chorten trail that is a gentle climb for about 1 and half hours. Then you get to Thugla at 4600m with a tea house where you will have your lunch before climbing the steep part of the day’s trek for about one and a half hour. You start to get close to high mountains like Mt. Pumori and Mt. Nuptse after a while as you proceed towards Lobuche where only basic accommodation and food is provided. Then you trek along a broad valley floor to Thugla, leaving behind the Trekkers Aid Post at Pheriche at 4240 Meters. A western volunteer doctor, supported by The Himalayan Rescue Association is stationed here and offers treatment and consultation to trekkers as you continue up the valley gaining altitude. When you come out of the valley, you descend to the yak pastures at Lobuche. Overnight at Lodge. It takes about 4-5 hours.

This morning, you will take a 2 hour hike up to Gorakshep.The first part is nice and easy, but one hour later the trail starts to get harder, which is compensated by the really nice view of big walls formed by Everest, Nuptse and many other mountains. Once you climb about 150m then the trail gets better again. Shortly after you will get to the moraine. Finally, you get to 5160m, the world’s highest settlement at Gorakshep. Once you have lunch, you begin your walk to Everest base camp. You will be walking on a side ridge of the Khumbu glacier. After walking on the ridge for about one and half hours, you cross the Glacier and into the Everest base camp area. Today you reach your final goal by trekking to Everest base camp at an altitude of 5360m. You will be able to meet and talk to other mountain climbers at the base camp. You can get a good view of Khumbu glacier and Khumbu Ice fall. From there you can also see the big crevasses in the climbing way. After appreciating your own efforts and photographing the achievements, you start your way back to Gorakshep. (6-7 hour).

The early morning walk to Kalapathar from Gorakshep is about approximately 2 hours.The short hike up to Kalapathar with clear views of Mt. Everest and its surrounding peaks are magnificent. Most of the famous photographs of Everest are taken from this “thump” on the landscape. In the afternoon, you trace back your steps to Gorakshep which is a fairly easy descent. You will go down to Gorakshep, get some food then go down to Pheriche. You feel much better once you descend the highest point of the trek .Overnight at Lodge. We will descent towards Pheriche. (6 – 7 hours).

From Debuche a half an hour climb takes you to Tengboche and from Tengboche you descend to Phunkithanga at 3200m. Then you make the final climb towards Namche Bazaar for the final party night, which is also the last chance to have close-up views of the mountains. Following the same way back to Namche is an easy walk. Once you get to Namche you can use the various services to get connected to the rest of the world. You can have an amazing time at the bakery, bar and other fun places.

It is approximately a 7 hrs trek from Namche to Lukla which is mostly downhill to the flat part. This day you are going to end the trek as you exit the Sagarmatha National park. The Next day you will take a flight to Kathmandu. You end this amazing trek with a pleasant walk down to Lukla.

You will fly to Kathmandu early in the morning. Even the flight allows a really nice view of most of the Himalayan range. Do not forget to choose the seat on the right hand sight of the aircraft. Finally you will reach Kathmandu airport from where you will be transferred to your hotel.