Everest Base Camp Trek- 15 days

Sightseeing Kathmandu Valley is optional. If you are interested in sightseeing, once done with your breakfast, you will meet one of our experienced city guide who will take you to the most renowned historical/cultural landmarks of Kathmandu in our private vehicle. Our guide will take you to Pashupatinath Temple, Swyambunath and Kathmandu Durbar Square. These sites are enlisted in the UNESCO world’s heritage list. After you finish your sightseeing, we drive back to the hotel. The remaining time we go from shopping to buy the necessary trekking goodies in Thamel. Most of the items are available on rent and our trekking guide can help you in identify the best places for shopping.

Today is the first day of our trek. We leave our hotel early morning for the flight to Lukla. Lukla flight is said to the most dangerous but yet one of the most beautiful air routes in the world. After 45 minutes of the flight, we land at the Tenjing Hilary airport in Lukla which is picturesquely surrounded by mountains. We meet our trek porters and proceed for our trek take to Phakding. Chaurikharka School, Chablung, Tharo Koshi, and Ghat are some of the sites that entice you along the trail. 

After breakfast, we head to Namche Bazaar. Walking through a beautiful pine forest along the Dudh Koshi River, we reach Monjo, the check post to which is the point of entrance to Sagarmatha National Park. We continue our ascent through the forests and cross several suspension bridges and approach the confluence of Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi rivers. Trudging up further for about 2 hours we pass through one last settlement, the Jorsale village. Almost 2 hours steep ascent from here brings us to the popular Sherpa village-Namche Bazaar. If the weather is good, we can relish the splendid sight of the Mt. Everest and Mt. Lhotse.

Today is our rest day to get acclimatized for the steeper climbs in the days ahead. The rest day here does not mean relaxing in teahouse. It is highly recommended to be on the move even in the rest day rather than being static. Namche Bazaar is one of the popular tourist hubs and there is plenty of things to do around Namche Bazaar. We can spend the day exploring the market at Namche Bazaar and pay a visit to Namche Gompa. If you are interested in day hiking, then we can take a fairly challenging approx. 6 hours uphill hike to the Hotel Everest View. This is an exclusive vantage point to witness the splendid mountainous vistas of Mt. Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Tawoche. Or we can trek to nearby Khumjung or Khunde village and explore the traditional Sherpa life, Khumjung Hillary School and enjoy flora and fauna found around such altitude.

As we resume our trek this morning, proceeding towards Tengboche, the fascinating sights of Mt. Everest. Mt. Nuptse, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Thamserku and Mt. Ama Dablam, greet our eyes. The trek is occasioned by trivial ups and downs through forests filled with a variety of lush trees of birch, conifers and rhododendrons. We can even get an opportunity to catch quick glimpses of musk deer, Himalayan Thar and multicoloured pheasants. We ascend down to Kayangjuma, which lead us to Sansa, which is the junction to Everest Base Camp and Gokyo valley. A tough climb through the pine forests again from thereon gets us to Tengboche. Tengboche is famous for its biggest monastery- the Tengboche monastery which is believed to be founded by a monk from Khumjung and holds the history of legends- Lama Sange Dorje.

We relish the morning view of the Tengboche Monastery and continue our journey to Dingboche. This journey again rewards us with a tremendous view of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. The picturesque trail dips down to Devuche crosses the Imja River and takes us to Pangboche. The Pangboche trails reward us with a pristine view of Himalayas and Pangboche Monastery. The trek moves ahead towards the Imja Valley and Lobuche River. We descend only to make a tough climb which leads us to Dingboche. In Dingboche, we can witness the barley and buckwheat fields guarded by stone frontiers keep the adverse winds and grazing animals away from the fields.

Today is our second rest day for acclimatization. Dingboche is a beautiful village with an array of fields enclosed by stone walls and a popular stop for trekkers and climbers headed to Mt. Everest, Ama Dablam or Imja Tse. After breakfast, we will head off to one of the most popular hiking destinations, either Chhukung (4730m) or Nagarjun Hill. These are a vantage point that caters you the sensational views of snowcapped mountains including Makalu, Lhotse, Chalotse, Tawache and Ama Dablam.

Every next day from here now, we get up to a higher elevation. We make our way to Duglha through the Khumbu Khola valley. We then arrive at Dusa, a yak herder’s place and advance further through Phulung Karpo, the campsite of the first-ever mountain expedition in 1953. We continue to trudge up the terminal moraine of Khumbu glacier to a ridge top, Chupki Lhara, where you can find an array of stones with prayer flags used as memorials to Scott Fischer (American mountaineer) and 10- times Everest submitter Babu Chiri Sherpa ( Nepali mountain guide). We descend to Khumbu glacier moraine facing several peaks- Khumbutse, Lingtren, Pumori and Mahalangur Himal. Bidding farewell to the Khumbu glacier, we finally get to Lobuche.

Today is the most important day of our trek as we get to our designated destination- Everest Base Camp. We geared up for the challenging ascent and come across the Indian army mountaineers’ memorials. The path from here can be misleading so it is very important to follow the lead of our Sherpa guide. The walk can also get strenuous due to thin air in the high altitude and yet interesting as we can enjoy the seemingly 3D views of the apexes of north ridge Mt. Everest, Mt. Pumori and Mt. Nuptse etc all the time. Passing through several rocky dunes, moraine and streams, we finally reach Everest Base Camp. Upon reaching the Everest Base Camp, we can see tents of climbers that stand out in bright colours against the monotony of grey surrounding of Everest Base Camp. Nuptse, Khumbuste and Pumori are the mountains we can view from the base camp. Indulging ourselves at the base camp for some time, we make our way back to Gorakshep for overnight halt. Overnight at teahouse in Gorakshep.

Get ready for the ecstasy! Despite the predawn darkness, piercing chilly wind and dripping mercury levels (-10 to -14 deg cel), we set off to Kala Patthar as it happens to be the vantage point of relishing the captivating view of Mt. Everest and several other peaks. As we make our meticulous ascent to Kala Patthar, we can see the mountains like Lingtren, Khumbutse and Changtse, hooding up gradually to reveal their majesty. The trail is touch so we can’t help panting. We need to stop at different points to rest and catch our breath and at the same time click anything that tempts you. After trekking up for several hours, we eventually reach Kala Patthar. Here, you will literally be flabbergasted to witness the grandeur of one massif after another mainly Mt. Everest. We spend some time here and embossed the beautiful view of our memorandum and then make our way back to Gorak Shep for breakfast. In the afternoon, we have our lunch and then descend down to Pheriche.

After an adventure-packed previous day, we cross the Khumbu stream and descend down following the primary Everest route passing through several villages such as Tsuro Wog, Orsho, Pangboche, Dingboche and Tengboche. Finally, we get to see hillside blanketed by rhododendron and juniper trees. We cross the prayer-flag decorated bridge over the Dudh Koshi River and descend rapidly through pine forests which will eventually take us to Sansa from where we can enjoy views of Ama Dablam, Thamserku and Nuptse mountains. Continuing along the curvy and steep maze, we finally reach Namche Bazaar. If you are lucky, we might spot some wild lives like mountain Thar, snow leopard and colourful pheasants on the way.

We continue to descend downward. From Namche, we take a steep downhill route and cross the suspension bridges over the fast flowing Dudh Koshi and its tributaries. As we pass Monjo village, the trail becomes more level and natural. Crossing the Dudhkoshi River through suspension bridges at three different points, we finally reach Lukla. The descending down might look easy but it can tire your legs easily and you can experience knee pain. After our arrival in Lukla, we stretch those aching legs and recall the experiences of the last couple of weeks. 

Capturing the beautiful mountain views for the last time, we catch an early morning flight to Kathmandu. You will find our private vehicle outside the domestic airport which will take you back to your hotel. After reaching the hotel, you can freshen up and relax in your room. If you like to go for souvenir shopping and want to explore any other areas of Kathmandu, we may do that today. Our team can help you with souvenir shopping and sightseeing. If you are interested we can arrange for a farewell dinner in the evening to celebrate the successful completion of our journey. 

Today is your last day in Nepal. A representative from Lapha Holidays will escort you to the airport 2 hours prior to your flight schedule. Have a safe flight back home. Please let us know if you like to extend your trip. We can try out some of our other adventurous packages like Bungy Jumping, Mountain Biking, Jungle Safari, White River Rafting and sightseeing tours etc.