You will be met by our representative in the Airport who will be carrying your name card. Transfer from the airport to the hotel will be provided on a private vehicle. Since no activities are planned for day one, you can arrive on your own time. Afternoon is free to explore the town.
We begin the sightseeing tour by our visit to Boudhanath Stupa; a place of worship for the Buddhist, the shrine is one of great importance to the Buddhist religion. Here we visit monasteries and watch the monks in prayer. We will continue and make our way to Pashupatinath temple, considered one of the holiest sites dedicated to Lord Shiva. This temple holds great importance as a place of worship to the Hindus. It forms a major part of the people on a day to day basis. Here you can watch devotes offering prayers and watch the activities that are undertaken in the temple premises. The afternoon is free for shopping and leisure. Equipment check up will be done in the evening and incase of insufficient equipments, our Sherpa will assist you in buying or renting the equipments.
The whole day is separated for final preparation for the Mount Everest Expedition and a briefing on the expedition will be given in the Ministry of Tourism. The briefing is mainly focused on rules and regulations, waste management and signing the official documents before receiving the climbing permits.
Early in the morning we fly from Kathmandu to Lukla (2827m). The flight offers a spectacular view of the Himalayas as we fly parallel to the Himalayan giants bordering Nepal and Tibetan China. After landing we will meet with our porters for the trek. We will have time to explore the village before starting the trail. The trek starts with a descent towards the Dudh Koshi River where we join the main trail to Namche Bazaar. The walking is easy and we will soon reach our lodge at Phakding. 4-5 hours trek.
We ascend slowly on the route to Everest Base Camp. Advancing slowly will ensure acclimatization. We cross the Dudh Koshi River at Benkar and enjoy great views of the snow peaks Kusum Kangaru and Thamserku. After Monjo the trek will be a little strenuous as it will involve more walking with a steep ascent to Namche Bazaar. From here, it is a short walk to the entrance of the National Park where our permits are checked before we descend quite steeply to Jorsale. The trek continues upstream on a flat terrain to the confluence of the Bhote Koshi and Dudh Koshi rivers. After crossing a large suspension bridge high above the river we climb steeply to the village of Namche Bazaar 3440m. A slow and steady pace is recommended on this section of the climb and we are encouraged to make the most of the fantastic photographic opportunities as the peaks of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam and Tawache come into view. The effects of high altitude will slow down your pace a little, thus we encourage you to advance slowly. In Namche, we move into our lodge in the midst of the village and the rest of the afternoon is free to bargain for artifacts or embrace the spectacular scenery. 6-7 Hours.
We will spend a day in Namche Bazaar resting and allowing our bodies to become acclimatized to the altitude of 3,450m. In the morning, there is the option of walking up to the Everest View Hotel 3,900m, returning to Namche for lunch.
Trek from Namche Bazaar to Thame [3739m] takes about 4 hours. From Namche the route turns west and the trail is almost level as you head up the Bhote Koshi Valley, once a popular trading route into Tibet. Along the way you pass many prayer flags, Mani walls and carved stones, all indicative of the Tibetan Buddhist culture of this area. After descending to the Bhote Koshi the trail climbs steeply to Thame. From here there are good views of the peaks of Teng Kangpoche and Kwangde and to the north is the Nangpa La, the pass leading to Tibet. Thame Monastery is situated above the village overlooking the valley and is the site for the spring celebrations of the Mani Rimdu festival.
Trek from Thame to Khumjung [3790m] takes about 5 hours. You retrace your route down the Bhote Kosi Valley towards Namche and branch off to follow a quiet trail to Khumjung. It is a picturesque village which also has its own Gompa at the top end of town. Here you can have excellent views of Thamserku, Kantega and Ama Dablam.
From Khumjung, the well-worn Everest trail contours around the side of the valley high above the Dudh Koshi. As we follow the path, we will get our first really good views of the great peaks of the Khumbu: Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam. Passing by several villages and numerous tea shops, we will cross the Dudh Koshi River and make a steep climb to Tengboche (3867m), home of an impressive monastery. We have plenty of time to look around Tengboche and in a relaxing lodge. 5-6 hours trek.
In the morning we will visit the monastery before descending through forest of birch, fir, juniper and rhododendron. The walking today is uphill yet done very slowly to adjust to the altitude thus pace yourself slowly .After crossing the Imja river the trail heads to the village of Pangboche, backed by the peak of Ama Dablam, where we will take lunch. Later our trail climbs through open alpine hillsides before we re-cross the Imja River and old glacial remains to our lodge in Dingboche 4260m. 6-7 hours trek.
Before we ascend any higher we will take a day to relax and acclimatize, thus exploring the beautiful Imja Khola Valley. Dingboche is located in a patchwork of small fields enclosed by stone walls protecting the crops. An ascent of the hill behind our lodge will showcase great views of the fifth highest mountain in the world, Makalu, which is not visible from the valley floor. A walk up the valley towards Chukkung is worthwhile. The views are fantastic in this valley; to the north is Lhotse, Island Peak in the centre of the valley, and the crimped ice-walls of unnamed peaks that line the southern end of the valley form a hauntingly beautiful sight. Unfortunately Everest is not visible from the village.
Today the walk is relatively tiring up the valley to Lobuche so we advise you take your time and are well hydrated. From Dingboche we ascend the small ridge behind the village above the Pheriche valley. From the top, the peaks of Tawache and Cholatse dramatically line the valley to the west. To the north, Lobuje Peak and the snowfields of the Cho La can be seen. At Dughla we take a light lunch at the foot of the huge moraines of the Khumbu Glacier flowing off Mount Everest and in the afternoon we will climb steadily to reach a ridge with a line of cairns, built in memory of the Sherpas and climbers who have died on various Everest expeditions over the last 50 years. From here the view is enthralling, Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse, and across the border in Tibet, Changtse are seen at the head of the valley, whilst Everest is hidden behind the towering walls of Nuptse and Lhotse. We then follow the valley stream to our lodge at Lobuje 4930m where we will be arriving early afternoon. 4-5 hours trek.
After breakfast we follow the broad valley running parallel to the Khumbu glacier. The trail ascends only gradually to the moraines of the Changri Nup Glacier but from here we make a series of small ascents and descents over a rocky trail lined with cairns that leads eventually to Gorak Shep 5200m.
After breakfast we will set off uphill to Kala Patar to experience a comprehensive sunrise view from this amazing point. It will probably take a good hour and a half to reach the summit from Gorak Shep, although lower viewpoints will provide views almost as good. Pumori, Nuptse, Changtse, Ama Dablam, Tawache, Kantega and Everest. We descend to Gorakshep for lunch and after lunch we trek along the glacier to Everest Base Camp, which takes around 3 hours. In the popular climbing period of March to May you will almost certainly encounter yaks and porters supplying food and equipment to expeditions here. From Base Camp we do not get views of Everest but we will be able to see the notorious Everest Ice Fall which is regarded as the hardest and most dangerous section of the mountain. Our Sherpas will have set up the camp for you. From this day onwards you will be sleeping in the tents and plan for the great Mount Everest Expedition.
During this climbing period climbers acclimatize to the altitude, some climbers do the side trips; some prefer doing the small climbs in nearby peaks, and some descend to the lower altitudes and trek back to the base camp. All these activities are done to be acclimatized and fit for the climb ahead. Once the ropes, ladders are fixed, groups start their climb crossing crevasses by ladders, getting familiar with the route from base camp to camp 2, spending nights in higher altitudes and getting used to the equipments. Finally the day comes when all climbers get set for the big attempt. After the puja (worshipping) ceremony all climbers start their climb to the Mount Everest Top. A long and challenging climb brings the climbers to the top where they spend the most worthy time of their lives. The descend to the base camp is comparatively easy but a lot of risks remains because climbers spend all their energy to get to the top. A welcome party is organized once the group is back in the base camp.
Hundreds of expeditions have been organized to the Everest and other mountains and the base camp is one of the crowdies place during this period. Naturally there is a lot of rubbish in the base camp so we organize the base camp cleanup program. We request our clients to join the base camp cleanup program.
Our porters and Sherpa pack up the camp and we trek down to Pheriche.
Following the main Everest trail down the beautifully scenic valley, we pass through Pangboche and climb to the monastery at Tengboche.
We continue our trek leading back through Namche Bazaar. We should have enough time in Namche to shop and relax in the bakery with a coffee and a cake, or even to check the Internet. A steep descent for 600m/2,000ft down Namche Hill leads to the suspension bridge crossing the Dudh Koshi River and the small village of Monjo (2,835m/9,300ft). Monjo a quieter place to stay than Namche and it also means our porters have a less strenuous walk back to Lukla the next day. 6-7 hours trek.
The trail now flattens out and we cross the river twice more before a rising traverse up the hill-side, past numerous tea-houses to Lukla. 3-4 hours trek.
An early morning flight to Katmandu. Rest day is free. A cultural fare well dinner is served in the evening where you have the time to chat and share the experience with your Sherpa and friends.
Private vehicles will be sent to the hotel to transport you and the baggage to the airport and we wish you a happy journey back home.
