Everest Base Camp with Kalapatthar via Gokyo Trek

Namaste! And welcome to Kathmandu, the colourful capital of Nepal where ornately carved balconies mingle with beautiful shrines and temples. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting on arrival at the exit gate of Kathmandu airport. Our staff will welcome you and pick you to your accommodated hotel. Please seek our company palmplate to find our staff at the main exit gate of the airport. Rest of the day you can relax at the hotel or short evening walk around local market on your own as per your wish.

A well deserved rest day at cosy of hotel after a long tiring flight. This day, one can move around nearby local market to purchase or hire trekking equipment that is necessary for the trekking like sleeping bags, walking sticks etc, exchange currency as requirement or simply walk around in the local market or Kathmandu Durbar squire nearby with small entrance fee as per your preference on your own. Evening at the hotel lobby there will be pre-trip briefing in which you will be introduced with your trekking guide and explained about your trip in short, instruction for safety etc.

Today we have a very early (approx. 6.30 am) flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (45 minutes). If the weather is good, the views of the Himalayas from the small plane are amazing! In Lukla (2840 m), there will be an introduction to the porters, we gear up and commence our trek. Today is a fairly gentle introduction, following the milk-white Dudh Kosi River approximately three-hours to Phakding (2610 m).

Today you’ll trek around 7 hours to Namche Bazaar, where you’ll spend a couple of days acclimatising to the altitude. You might also get your first look at Everest itself. From Phakding you’ll cross the river and head up the valley, following in the footsteps of the porters loaded with supplies for Namche Bazaar. The trail, lined with blue pine forest, follows the river valley and is especially spectacular in spring when the rhododendron flowers are bright in bloom. Cross the Dudh Kosi River at Benkar, and look way up above 6,000 metres to see the peaks of snow-capped Kusum Kanguru (6369m) and Thamserku (6623m). Press on to Monjo (2835m), a good place to break for lunch. From here the walk starts to get a little tougher, with a steep ascent to Namche Bazaar. Enter into the national park, cross the river through the village of Jorsale (2805m) and then continue upstream. Cross another spectacular suspension bridge and begin the ascent to Namche Bazaar. Get your camera out as now there will be your first glimpse of the peaks of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Taweche. Namche will be your last chance to check your equipment and hire any additional gear for the high altitudes from Dingboche onwards. Namche Bazaar is also the last chance to enjoy the local nightlife or take to the pool hall and video parlours.

You’ll stay at Namche Bazaar for another night so that you can properly acclimatise to the altitude. One of the best ways to do this is to take strenuous walk up to a high altitude then come back down to sleep – so there’s an optional walk above the Bhote Khola River Valley towards Thami (3810m). Taking a walk to see both the sunrise and sunset views from the national park headquarters above the village is also a great option. This stunning vista includes a super panorama of the Khumbu peaks and great views of Everest. The national park headquarters are home to interesting displays about Sherpa lifestyle and culture, and the local flora and fauna. Namche gained its importance during the period when Tibetan salt was traded for the lowland grains of Nepal. Rugs, clothing, salt and dried meat still all do a roaring trade in the village centre, so haggle for any extra supplies you might need.

Soon after Kangjuma the path splits. The path to the right leads up the main trail to Everest Base Camp via the Khumbu Valley. We take the much quieter left-hand trail to the Gokyo Valley. Himalayan tahr and musk deer can sometimes be seen on this part of the route if you are lucky. We follow through rhododendron and birch forest up the left-hand side of the Dudh Kosi Valley heading towards Dole which is 1-2 hours walk from the old check post at 3680m. The hill behind Dole is a good vantage point for sunset views of 6685m Kangtega and 6608m Thamserku.

Another short day of walking, though it is necessary to stop here to restrict our rate of ascent. It is very important to ensure that we stick to the guidelines for ascent to enable us to acclimatise properly.

We have an acclimatisation day and a local walk on the ridge behind Machermo with fantastic views of the surrounding peaks. This will enable us to gain height during the day, returning to spend a second night at the same altitude. This is a very important aspect of our trek and will undoubtedly assist with the success, as well as with our enjoyment of it.

Our route today takes us further up the Gokyo Valley, to the first of the sacred lakes and past the path we will take later which leads to the ascent route for the Cho La. Continuing on up the valley we come across the second and third sacred lakes, marked by small piles of stones. The village of Gokyo is by the third lake, Dudh Pokhari, and we can see Gokyo Ri to the north of this lake.

A spare day in case of bad weather or the need for extra acclimatisation. If this day is not needed on the ascent, we can use it to have an extra night at Gokyo for acclimatisation, or at Gorak Shep, devoting a whole day to climbing Kala Pattar. A good thing to do today would be to walk further up the Gokyo Valley to the 5000m “Scoundrels’ View” of Everest by the 5th lake at Ngozumpa Tsho.

We can start today with an ascent of Gokyo Ri if we didn’t climb it yesterday. Depending on your acclimatisation and your confidence on rougher ground, the ascent typically takes around 2 hours, with the descent around half that time. Gokyo Ri offers a fantastic view of Everest and countless Khumbu peaks, and many consider the view from here to surpass the view from Kala Pattar even though Kala Pattar is much nearer to Everest. Returning to Gokyo, we descend the Gokyo valley and across the Ngozumpa Glacier to Dragnag where we overnight (walk around 2 hours). While crossing the glacier the route is not very obvious. Being a glacier, it is important to follow the sherpas carefully along the cairned route.

The Cho La is a steep ascent, and can appear to be rather intimidating when you are at the foot of the pass. The pass can change in nature quite a lot – sometimes it is too snowy to cross, sometimes icy and sometimes without any snow or ice. If the descent is icy an ice axe is a helpful tool. If there is too much snow to cross the pass, or if people are finding the going rather tough there is the option of retracing our steps back down the Gokyo valley and ascending the Khumbu valley from Phortse. There is limited accommodation at Dzongla, so it might be necessary to continue on to Lobuche. This additional trek can take 2- 3 hours. Today is a long and tiring day, but the length of the day is very dependent on the strength of the group.

From Dzongla we skirt round on the path above Dughla, with 6119m Lobuche East and 5245m Awi Peak on our left, and 5806m Pokalde opposite us as we join the main Khumbu valley. We take lunch at Lobuche before continuing on to Gorak Shep. The trail gets rougher as we traverse the Khumbu glacier debris where an adjoining glacier flows down from Changri La. Our overnight is at Gorak Shep (5100m).

Today we visit the modern-day Everest Base Camp location. The Khumbu ice fall dominates above the part of the glacier that expeditions use for their Base Camps, and trekkers in the spring may well see the climbing expeditions camped here. We return to Gorak Shep.

Kala Pattar (5623m) is a steep, but not technically difficult climb. From its summit we may enjoy uninterrupted views of Everest’s black south west face, seemingly dwarfed by its neighbouring giant Nuptse. Khumbu’s tortured ice field stretches away to the south in an unbroken panorama of snowcapped mountains. After retracing our steps along the glacial moraine to Lobuche, we descend the Imja Khola Valley to the village of Dingboche, (4350m).

A delightful day of easy walking is ahead of us as we cross first yak meadows and descend into the alpine zone. We continue our descent of the Khumbu passing through Deboche (3757m) and Pangboche with its 300 year old monastery containing wall paintings and Tibetan manuscripts. It is a climb up to Thyangboche Monastery in a magical setting that commands impressive views of shapely Ama Dablam. Dropping down from Thyangboche we traverse along pine-wooded paths to reach Kangjuma.

From the lovely spot at Kangjuma we return along the easy Balcony Path to Namche Bazaar. From here the deep valley of the Dudh Khosi drops away as we retrace our steps to Monjo

The last day of trekking is undulating, and the sting in the tail is the final pull up to Lukla where we will stay in a tea house for our final night in the Khumbu. We will no doubt pass fresh-faced trekkers just embarking on their trip. It’s only a short walk from here in the valley before making the final climb up to Lukla, where you’ll say goodbye to your Sherpa crew. Celebrate with a hot shower and a few drinks with your group before flying back to Kathmandu tomorrow morning.

Weather permitting we take a short early morning flight from Lukla to Kathmandu (approx 45 minutes). We'll return to the hotel and have free time during the afternoon for further sightseeing or shopping. Shop in some of Kathmandu's many markets for clothing, embroidery, carpets or ceramics. If shopping is not your thing, take a trip over the Bagmati River to the adjacent city of Patan, with its abundance of temples and monasteries.

This is the final day in Nepal. A chance to do some shopping, explore at leisure or merely relax by the hotel. We enjoy a final night together, reliving the trek and our extraordinary achievements.

We say 'Namaste' for memories that will last a lifetime. There are no activities planned for today and you are able to depart the hotel at any time. Check out time from the hotel is at 12 noon. If you are departing later, you can arrange luggage storage at the hotel. For your final departure, our staff will pick you up from the hotel and transfer to Kathmandu airport approximately 3 hours prior to your international flight time.