 High
lakes, gleaming sapphire in the bright, white light of
the snow mountains around them. Everest and
surrounding peaks looming over you, and also Nepal's
longest, highest glacier, behind sunny alpine forests.
Prayer flags fluttering over stony trails, and the
largest Buddhist monastery in Nepal. Spunky,
apple-cheeked little children and thoughtful,
hospitable adults. Silence, only broken by the
occasional deer or pheasant. Nothing compares to being
in the Everest region.
|
Day |
Program |
|
Day 01 |
You will be picked up by
our representative from airport and transfer to
the hotel. |
|
Day 02 |
Free day
in Kathmandu, night at hotel |
|
Day
03-12 trek as per program given below
; |
|
Day 03 |
Fly
from Kathmandu to the remarkable short landing and
take-off airstrip in Lukla (2,850 m). |
|
Day
04 |
Walk
past a gomba (Buddhist monastery) set high into a rock
face, a mani wall, through forest, and over a couple
of bridges to reach Phakding (2,640 m). |
|
Day
05 |
Today's path takes you through still mixed (Sherpa,
Tamang, Chhetri) villages. As you walk through the
oak, fir, rhododendron and magnolia, across bridges
and rocky ridges, and by waterfalls, you'll reach the
entrance to the Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park.
Eventually you come to the confluence of two major
rivers - the Bhote Kosi and the Dudh Kosi, which you
have been following until now, and which you cross on
a very high suspension bridge. A long walk up through
switchbacks gets you to Namche Bazar (3,420 m),
the bustling district headquarters. |
|
Day
06 |
Because you've ascended fast to Namche, it's
best to spend a day getting acclimatised. You can walk
around slowly, but remember not to exert yourself too
much here. |
|
Day
07 |
Walk
through birch forests and past potato fields and up
the hill to Khumjung village (3,790 m), the
largest in Khumbu. In the shadow of the sacred
Khumbila, where Khumbu's patron god lives, Khumjung
boasts the school and health post run by Sir Edmund
Hillary's Himalayan Trust, a gomba, and great views of
Thamserku, Ama Dablam, and Kangtega. |
|
Day
08 |
Stone
stairs, ridge walks, switchbacks, yak trails, juniper
and rhododendron forests, potato fields, chhorten - a
solid day's walk brings you to Lhapharma (4,328
m). |
|
Day
09 |
Less
walking today, and more time to acclimatise and start
making sense of the scenery as you get from Lhapharma
to a kharka (traditional pasture) where memorials to
those hit by avalanches provide a sobering reminder
that as spectacular as the mountains are, they must be
treated with the respect they deserve. Walk high above
the river to spend the night at Pangor or
Pangka (4,480 m). |
|
Day
10 |
Leave
the valley on a ridge that looks upon Cho Oyu,
Kangtega, and Thamserku. Stone steps high above the
two streams, one clear, the other still milky from the
glacier's sediment, bring you to a small wooden bridge
across the first small lake, beyond which are the
second and third lakes, and the little village of
Gokyo (4,750 m). |
|
Day
11 |
It
takes two to two-and-a-half hours to climb up to the
top of Gokyo Ri (peak, 5,340 m), but it is
worth every minute - and every strained muscle. The
reward is feeling like you truly are far above the
world, with the strange and utterly delightful feeling
of floating in a large balloon of intense blues,
whites, greys, and browns. |
|
Day
12 |
Follow the terminal moraine of the Ngozumpa
glacier to reach the foot of the Lungsampa glacier
(approx 5,000 m?????). If you thought the view from
Gokyo couldn't get better, you'll see that you're
wrong along the way, with views of Cho Oyu, Gyachhung
Kang, and the Kangshungs. |
|
Day
13 |
The
landscape here is astounding - neverending folds of
mountains, ridges and lakes, rocky patches that seem
to hold together the blinding spun-sugar peaks all
around you. Ascend to Cho Oyu Base Camp (5,150
m). |
|
Day
14 |
Descend to the Lungsampa glacier. No point
writing much - nothing matches up to what you see. |
|
Day
15 |
Make
tracks back to Gokyo. |
|
Day
16 |
Enjoy
the view from Gokyo, and recover from the tough
past couple of days. |
|
Day
17 |
Walking almost touching a glacier through classic
Khumbu country - white snow, ice, brown and grey
shale, stone, scree, and massive views of Everest,
Lhotse, and Makalu. Walk by the lake and over large
smooth stone slabs, past many cairns, and up a
challenging scree slope to reach the top of Renjo La
(pass, 5,417 m). Descend carefully down the somewhat
unstable 'trails' to another lake, where there is a
small rock shelter at Lundeng. |
|
Day
18 |
Walk
till you see another shelter, another sheep herding
post, down towards the floor of the valley, through
the lower, greener slopes, to Thame (3,750 m). |
|
Day
19 |
Leave
Thame, a major village on the trade route between
Nepal and Tibet, with yak caravans filling its wide
valley. You're back to walk along dizzying bridges,
steep ups and downs, past chhorten and a hydropower
plant - classic lower Khumbu stuff - to reach
Namche Bazar. |
|
Day
20 |
Back
to Phakding, for a last good look at the abode
of the gods. |
|
Day
21 |
Down
to Lukla, enjoy the ease with which you
breathe, and your more familiar interactions with the
local people. |
|
Day
22 |
On
the flight to Kathmandu. Night at hotel. |
|
Day
23 |
Free day
in Kathmandu for shopping.
night at hotel . |
|
Day
24 |
Airport transfer or back
to home. |
Cost
on your request
Cost
quoted in itineraries includes:
ü
Airport-hotel transfer at arrival and departure
ü
Domestic land and air transport as described in
itinerary Ktm-Lukla-Ktm US $ 238 per person
ü
Four nights
2 stars
accommodation in Kathmandu
with breakfast Hotel UTSE or Similar.
ü
All trekking and conservation area and national park
permit fees,
For Camping or Tented Trek
ü
All meals, camping gear (except sleeping bags) such as
tents, kitchen equipment etc, salaries and insurance
for guides, sherpas, cooks, porters (who will carry 15
kilos of personal belongings per person) etc during
tented treks.
ü
Re-confirmation of flight
Cost
quoted does not include:
ü
Your international flight into and out of Nepal
ü
Travel insurance
ü
Domestic and international airport taxes
ü
Lunch, dinner, drinks in Kathmandu (US$6-15 per day)
ü
Tips, souvenirs or other shopping
|
