Everest Base Camp Trek

After breakfast proceed for Half day sightseeing tour of Swayambhunath and Kathmandu City

Swayambhunath: The most ancient and enigmatic of the Valley’s holy shrines the golden-spired stupa of Swayambhunath tops a wooded hillock. Records of its history date as far as the 5th century, but its origins are believed to be older. It is the Kathmandu Valley’s most sacred Buddhist shrine and whilst its worshippers include the Vajrayana Buddhists of northern Nepal and Tibet, Newari Buddhists are the most fervent devotees.

Kathmandu Durbar Square: Kathmandu’s number one tourist attraction swarms with life. Though a few of the square’s 50-plus monuments date from the 12th century, most are from the time of the Malla Kings. Probably the most famous building here is the KumariBahal, a building richly decorated with beautiful woodcarvings, which is home to the Royal Kumari, the Living Goddess, a manifestation of the great goddess Durga. Nearby the former Royal Palace is a Mall Dynasty dwelling, once considerably more extensive than today. Within, the courtyard Nassal Chowk, originally hosted dramatic dance performances, now it is the coronation site of the Shah kings and contains some of the finest wood carvings you will see anywhere in the kingdom.

Overnight at Hotel in Kathmandu

Late Afternoon : Meet with trek Guide and preparation for trekking equipment, evening briefing

The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla takes 35 minutes. A hair rising landing on a steep mountain runway, brings us to the village of Lukla (2900m). After meeting the crew, we start your trek. You head up the Dudh Koshi Valley on a well-marked trail and then overnight at local lodge in Phakding

We cross and re-cross the rivers on high suspension bridges from Namche. Beyond Monjo is the entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park. The park was set-up to conserve this fragile mountain environment. We then ascend steeply to Namche and along the way, if the weather permits, catch the first glimpse of Mt Everest. Namche is the main trading village in Khumbu and has a busy Saturday market- a meeting place for the Hindu traders from the lowlands and the Tibetan yak caravans that have crossed the glaciated Nangpa La. You then reach the Namche bazaar.

Namche is tucked away between two ridges amidst the giant peaks of the khumbu and has an abundance of lodges, tea shops and souvenir shops. It is an ideal place to spend a day, acclimatizing to the new altitude before heading off towards Tengboche. To acclimatize, you visit Khunde Hospital set-up by Sir Edmund Hillary, or take a one hour walk up to the Everest View Hotel above Namche for the sunset view of Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest. There are also good views from the Natioanl Park Centre and Museum just above the town.

From Namche thee trail contours on to the side of the valley, high above the Dudh Kosi from Namche. We get our first really good views of the great peaks of the Khumbu including Mt Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam. Passing by several villages and numerous tea shops, we descend steeply to bridge over the river at Phunki Tenga. The village is an ideal stopover for lunch. Here we can rest before making the steep climb to Tengboche. Although the hike up the Zigzag path is tiring, it presents us with `many beautiful sights of rhododendron bushes with beautiful birds and superb mountain scenery. Tengboche is famous for its legendary monastery, the rhododendron bushes with beautiful birds and superb mountain scenery. Tenboche is famous for its legendary monastery, the largest in the Khumbu. A spectacular panorama of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam rising in the horizon can be seen from the campsite.

Today we descend downhill through a forest, cross the Imja Khola and climb steadily to the village of Pangboche. The village is directly opposite Ama Dablam (6856m), and has exceptional views of the mountain, with the gompa, Mani walls and scattered pine trees in the foreground. A further two hours walk us to Pheriche.

Day eight for rest and acclimatization. We also to wander up the valley to look at a lake, the Tshola and the perpendicular walls of Cholatse and Tawache. We can climb up onto the ridge overlooking Dingboche for the view of the Imja Valley and the incredible south face of Mt. Lhotse.

Continue up the wide valley beneath the impressive peaks of Cholatse and Tawache on the left. We then right and take a steep climb towards the foot of the Khumbu Glacier. The tea house at Duglha is a good spot to have lunch. The trail zigzags up through the boulders of the glacier’s terminal moraine. At the top of this there are many stone cairns, built as memorials to the many Sherpas who have died while climbing Mt. Everest. the path then climbs gently along the glacier, to eventually reach the cluster of houses at Lobuche.

To reach our next stop Kala Pattar we follow the Khumbu Glacier. The trail offers superb views of the surrounding mountains, especially where the path is forced to rise to cross a tributary glacier. We stop for lunch at our camping place: Gorak Shep. Later in the afternoon, we make our way to the top of one of the finest viewpoints in the Everest region, Kala Pattar (5554m). As the light begins to fade we stroll back to our camp at Gorak Shep and have an early night in preparation for our trek to Everest Base Camp the following and have an early night in preparation for our trek to Everest Base Camp the following day.

Early breakfast and start trek to reach the Everest Base Camp. It takes several hours as the trail weaves it’s through ice pinnacles and past the crevasses of the Khumbu Glacier. On the return leg, we can take a higher route to get a spectacular view of the Khumbu icefall and the route to the South Col. We return to either Gorak Shep or Lobuche.

Today’s trek is mostly Downhill. As we retrace our steps to Duglha and descend to Pheriche, we arrive at The Himaloayan Rescue Association, a trekker’s aid post and worth a visit. After lunch we cross the Khumbu Khola on a wooden suspension bridge and follow the Imja Khola to the village of Pangboche.

From Namche, we continue to follow the river and, after crossing it, climb back up through birch and rhododendron forest to Tengboche. Kwangde, Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Kantega and Thamserku are just a few of the Himalayan giants to be seen. We descend to the bridge over the Dudh Kosi from Tengboche. At Phunki Tenga, we get to see the water driven prayer wheels, before making our way back to Namche.

Our final day’s trekking follows the Dudh Koshi back down to Lukla. This last evening in the mountains presents an ideal opportunity for a farewell party with the Sherpa guides and porters. We get to sample chang (rice beer), try Sherpa dance steps and end the trek on a merry note.

Breakfast at Lukla, we head to the airstrip for our return journey to Kathmandu, installation in the hotel.

Breakfast at hotel .Rest of the day at leisure till departure. Later transfer to airport to board the flight for onward journey.