Everest: The Hard Way

You arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport where a representative of Vertcial Expedition will greet you and take you to your Three Star Hotel by private car. You will enjoy a welcome drink as well as an evening orientation about your trip as well as equipment check.  Spend the night in the hotel.

There is plenty to see and do in the Kathmandu Valley, and with our private vehicle and your own personal guide, you will spend the day seeing the highlights of the Valley. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, plus a chance to see local culture, taste local foods and to immerse yourself in all the Kathmandu Valley has to offer.

After breakfast, we will take a domestic flight to Lukla where we begin our trek in the Everest region. It is just a 45 minute flight, and what a flight it is! We literally follow the backbone of the Himalayas eastward. On the flight you will see not only Mt. Everest, but also the peaks of Kanchenjunga III, Mt. Lhotse IV, and Makalu V. Each of these peaks is over 8,000 meters, literally forming the roof of the world. We land in Lukla village where we begin our trek. There are no roads to Lukla, so this village is only accessible by air or a seven day trek from Jiri village. We will be heading toward Phakding village. We actually go downhill from Lukla as we travel through the rugged foothills of the Everest region. Trekking time is around three hours and we will stay in a local lodge at Phakding.

Our walk begins early in the morning. It is a fairly easy trek, even starting out rather level as we follow the Dudh Koshi River. The land will start to move uphill gradually as we make our way toward the main district city of Namche Bazaar. We will cross the Hillary suspension bridge, and until we finally come to the steepest part of today’s trek that leads us to Namche Bazaar. There are plenty of views of the high mountains along the way, as well as becoming immersed in the local Buddhist culture of the Sherpa people. We will check into a local guesthouse for the night.

It is important to spend a day acclimatizing to the higher elevation as altitude sickness can be quite serious. The day will not be spent just lying around (unless you want to), but we will hike to Everest Viewpoint for a magnificent view of Mt. Everest. From here, you will see the spectacular peaks of Everest, Amadablam, Nuptse and many more. It is only a two hour hike to Everest Viewpoint and we will spend a few hours there enjoying the view as well as having lunch. We will return to Namche Bazaar where you can spend the afternoon exploring the village. There is a lot to see here. We will spend the night in our local guest house.

Today’s trail winds its way past Buddhist stupas and chhortens with prayer flags fluttering in the ever present breeze. There are some great views along the way as we make our way to the village of Thame, spending the night in a local lodge. Trekking time is 5 – 6 hours.

The trail takes us across a moraine as we follow an ancient foot path toward Tibet. Centuries ago, traders used this route to bring gold and black salt from Tibet while food grains were taken upwards to the north. We follow the path of these early traders to our destination of Lunde Village where we will spend the night at a local tea house. Trekking time is 4 – 5 hours.

Today we climb to one of the highest elevation of our trip at Renjo-La Pass where we will have a breathtaking, 360° panoramic view of the peaks of the High Himalayas. We can see from up here Mt. Everest along with Lhotse, Cho-Oyu, Makalu and many more. There are at least four 8,000+ meter mountains to see as well as beautiful alpine valleys below. You will see beautiful glaciers as well as the rooftops of Gokyo village below. Gokyo is our destination for the night as we descend down the mountain. Trekking time is 7 – 8 hours. We will spend two nights here at a local mountain lodge.

Today is a day to explore the beautiful Gokyo Valley. There are hikes to several of the Gokyo lakes as well as stunning views of Cho-Oyu. Gokyo itself is a very pleasant and picturesque village to experience.

The morning starts early as we hike to the top of Gokyo-Ri for a fantastic sunrise over the highest peaks of the Himalayas. From here are incredible views of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Makalu, Lhotse, Cho-Oyu, Pumori, Ama Dablam and others, all in their brilliant white snowcapped peaks. The effulgent sun dramatically displays these mountains in a rare glory that only those who come for sunrise can truly appreciate. After our visit to Gokyo-Ri, we pass Ngozumpa Glacier on our way to the village of Thangnak. We will have lunch and dinner here, and will spend the night in a local mountain lodge. Trekking time is 2 – 3 hours.

Today is one of the highest elevation of our trip as we ascend to the top of Cho-La Pass for a magnificent view of the high peaks of the eastern Himalayas in Nepal. It is a steep ascent, but rewards the trekker with more incredible mountain views. After Cho-La Pass, we descend to the village of Dzongla where we will spend the night in a local tea house. Trekking time is 6 – 7 hours.

We do some backtracking to reach the village of Labuche where we will join the more popular trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC). We will probably encounter more tourists today and tomorrow than any other time on this trek. It is the only way to reach EBC where we will see the Khumbu and Changri Glaciers. There are great vistas along the way where we will see the mighty Himalayas. Trekking time 6 – 7 hours to reach Gorak Shep where we will spend the night in a local mountain lodge.

This is where history was made as Sir Edmund Hillary and his party begin their ascent of Mt. Everest in 1953. While we can’t go any higher without a climbing permit, we will have time to explore EBC.  There are great views of the high peaks that surround Mt. Everest along with seeing Everest Ice-Fall and numerous glaciers. We will return to our local mountain lodge in Gorak Shep.

We get to enjoy another great sunrise from Kala Pathar (elev. 5545 m). Rising early, we make our way to this overlook where we will see the sun rising over Mt. Everest and a number of other great peaks of the Himalayas. It is a breathtaking scene as the rays of the morning sun rise over the mountains, turning them from grey to reddish-orange and finally brilliant white. We return to our lodge for breakfast and then begin the trek to Lobuche village. Total trekking time is 2 – 3 hours.

It is another day of trekking at high altitudes as we take a rocky trail to Khongma-La Pass for more great views of the mountains. Here we can see Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Island Peak, Lhotse and more. Each of these mountain passes offers us different mountains to view. The panoramas are superb as we behold the wonders of Creation. Today’s trek is between 6 – 7 hours, and we will overnight in a local mountain lodge.

It is another day of a high mountain pass, this one is Chhukung-Ri at 5550 m. Today is a great view of Mt. Makalu along with Island Peak, Barunte Himal, Ama Dablam, Lhotse and more. We continue to descend to the village of Chhukung and then cross a yak pasture on our way to the village of Dingboche. We will stop for lunch at Dingboche before we continue on to Pangboche village where we will spend the night in a local mountain lodge. Trekking time is 4 – 5 hours.

The first stop on our trip is the monastery at Tengboche, which is the highest Buddhist monastery in the world. Located in the Khumbu region, it is famous for its views as well as its monks. We will tour the monastery before we start to descend toward the Dudh Koshi River where we will have lunch. Follow lunch, we continue downhill until we reach the principal city of the region: Namche Bazaar. We will spend the night in a local mountain lodge.

Today is our last day of trekking as we make our way through rhododendron forests and across a suspension bridge over the Dudh Koshi River. We reach Phakding village, and then continue south until we reach the village of Lukla where we will catch a plane tomorrow back to Kathmandu. We will spend the night in a local mountain lodge.

We catch an early morning flight back to Kathmandu where we will return to our Three Star Hotel to rest or do some additional sightseeing in the Kathmandu Valley.

This is a buffer day. If the weather is good in Lukla, then we will fly back to Kathmandu today. And enjoy a free day exploring the Kathmandu Valley. Your representative at Vertcial Expedition can put together  fun day of exploring the temples and sites in the Kathmandu Valley

All good things must come to an end, and your trip to Nepal is no exception. Before leaving, why not talk to your representative at Vertcial Expedition about returning to Nepal for your next holiday. The vast majority of people make a return trip to Nepal because they are impressed by not only the beauty, but also the local people.  Vertcial Expedition offers trips into neighboring Tibet, Bhutan and India. Be sure to discuss your interests and plans with them today.