Everest Region
Home of Miyo-langsangma, the protector Goddess of Mt. Everest.
... offer stunning views of the highest mountains in the world, brilliantly clear blue sky, and invigorating high altitude hiking. But most importantly for us at Nepal Sherpa Treks, Everest treks- take us to Nepal's eastern Solu-Khumbu (Shar-khumbu) district, where most Sherpas were born and raised.
- Our Sherpa family guides at Nepal Sherpa Treks are Everest Experts. We know every trail in Solu-Khumbu! Let us show you our homeland, with knowledge and warmth.
Everest Trek Daily Itinerary - 12 days: Lukla-Kala Pattar-Lukla
Day 1 Flight to Lukla then trek to Phakding (2650m)
Fly in to a stunningly narrow Lukla airstrip at about 10 a.m. Stop in a local tea shop of this busy Sherpa village for a snack of tea & noodle soup. While you are relaxing, your Sherpa guide will enlist porters & distribute carry loads. With your Sherpa guide & porters, begin the leisurely uphill walk toward Phakding (about 4 hours).
Tea House Style: Stay the night at Lodge in Phakding.
Camping Style: Sherpa guides set up tents in an empty barley field. Cooks prepare a delicious hot supper, and you fall asleep in alpine quiet, under the stars.
Day 2 Phakding to Namche Bazaar (Nauje) (3440 m.)
Leaving our Phakding lodge early in the morning, we proceed upward toward Sagarmatha National Park gate. Passing through Benkar (2700 m.), and Jorsale (2850 m.), the trail criss-crosses the Dudh Kosi [Milk River] by means of long swaying bridges. After Jorsale it's a demanding uphill hike up to the edge of the tiny plain of Namche Bazaar. About 6 hours.
Day 3 Rest Day in Namche Bazaar (Nauje)
In the days of the Sherpa kings, Namche Bazaar [Sherpa = "Nauje"] was the capital of the Khumbu. Through trade with India & Tibet, the Sherpa village of Nauje became a prosperous bazaar on the cold, dry Himalayan frontier. When the Tibet border closed in 1959, Nauje (and most Sherpa trading villages) went into decline. But trekking & climbing services soon replaced mercantile trade as major income producers, and Namche Bazaar bounced back to health in the late '60's.
Peopled by world-traveled climbing Sherpas, Nepalese government officials, and scores of international tourists, Namche is beginning to resemble a Swiss resort village! You will find good food, hot showers, moneychangers, peddlers, and many tales of adventure. A day hike west to Thame Gompa [Monastery], while optional, is much recommended for benefit of acclimatization.
Tea House Style: Linger in lodge. Buy meals in lodge kitchen. Private rooms, if available, have a padlock for securing your gear. Dormitory accommodations… Listen to many trekking stories told by westerners. Few local Nepalese frequent tourist lodges.
Camping Style: Your gear secure in your guarded tent, wander the streets of Namche or walk up to Thame for acclimatization. Cook prepares all your hot drinks & meals. Socialize with fellow trekkers and your Sherpa staff.
Day 4 Namche Bazaar to Tengboche Gompa [Monastery] (3870 m.)
Leaving Nauje in the morning, we walk gradually uphill toward the flat helicopter landing zone called Syangboche (3720 m.). Walking across the Syangboche ridge, we continue across a relatively flat trail to the twin Khumbu villages of Khunde & Khumjung, hosts of the first Hillary school & hospital for Sherpas. Then, a definitely steep hour's climb through dense blue pine forest bring us to Tengboche. About 6 hours.
Tengboche Gompa was built by Sherpa merchants in the early part of this century; it collapsed once after an earthquake in the 30's, and burned to the ground in an electrical fire in 1989. The gompa, an important center of Sherpa Buddhist learning, has been splendidly rebuilt. Lodging at offers stunning views of Mt. Everest [Sherpa = Chomolungma] & Ama Dablam [Mother's Necklace].
Day 5 Tengboche to Dingboche (41840 m.)
Gradual but persistent uphill walking through yak pastures above and fields of ripening barley below. Visit the Sherpa Culture Center started by Frances Klatzel & the Tengboche Rinpoche, just north of the gompa. Devoche Nunnery's gate can also be seen along the trail, and donations can be made if you are inspired. However, these hardy Sherpa & Tibetan Buddhist nuns prefer to remain in seclusion. Reach the stone yak & sheep enclosures at Pheriche after walking all day - about 7 hours.
Day 6 Rest day in Dingboche (41840 m.)
Today in Dingboche we rest & allow our bodies to acclimatize. After the luxury of a slow morning sipping tea in the lodge kitchen, we can hike to Dingboche ridge and enjoy the himalayan views.
Day 7 Pheriche to Lobuje (4930 m.)
The trail climbs from Pheriche up a series of treeless glacial moraines to the yak herder's huts at Phalang Karpo (4340 m.) and Duglha ( 4620 m.). Begin to see many chorten, ritual stone-piles representing travelers' prayers to the gods for a safe mountain crossing. Lodge at Lobuje. Walking day about 5 strenuous hours. Nights can be very, very cold up here.
Day 8 Lobuje to Gorak Shep (5160 m.) & Kala Pattar (5545 m.)
Today's plan depends entirely on the trekkers' comfort. If people are feeling good, the best possible day involves waking at 4:30 a.m. - not difficult since you will not have slept much at this altitude!
Then walk three hours up to Gorak Shep.
If we still feel comfortable, we can continue another three hours up on the strenuous hike to Kala Pattar [black rock] for some otherworldly photos, before the clouds roll in.
Ideally we would be returning down Kala Pattar by 10 a.m., return to Lobuje by noon, and race downhill drinking the oxygen like exquisite wine, all the way down to Pheriche by early afternoon. A well-deserved toast will be raised by all!
Alternative plans for some or all trekkers include walking from Lobuje to Gorak Shep only, then coming back to Lobuje & winding down to Pheriche; or simply leaving Lobuje in the early morning for a slow & easy descent all the way to Dingboche.
Day 9 Lobuje to Pangboche (4110 m.)
Whew! All downhill today! Trekking day lasts about 7 hours, with a nice break for lunch.
Day 10 -12 The last few days - mainly downhill! - follow the trail through, Tengboche Monastery, Namche Bazaar, and finally to Lukla Airpstrip board an airplane for the 40-minute trip back to Kathmandu.
Everest Camping/Tea-house Trek Daily Itinerary - 22 days: Jiri - Kala Pattar - Lukla
Day 1 Kathmandu to Jiri
· Drive from Kathmandu to Jiri (1,867m.) over the 170 Km.
· Swiss-built mountain road.
· Climbing to the ridge above Jiri (2400 m.) gets our blood pumping!
· Descend to Shivalaya (1,768m.) to camp near the riverbank.
Day 2 Deorali/Bhandar
· Up again to Deorali/Bhandar (2,194m.).
· Bhandar marks our entrance into Nepal's predominantly Sherpa Solu District.
Day 3 Junbesi
· Next morning, we follow the thundering Likhu Khola, passing through Sete then down to the village of Junbesi. [Jung-Yul] (8,755ft.).
· Junbesi is Mingmar's Home Town!
· Resembling a Swiss alpine village, clean and prosperous Junbesi (called Zhung Gompa in Sherpa language) boasts the second-oldest gompa [Tibetan Buddhist monastery] in SoluKhumbu, dating from approximately 1600.
Day 4 Junbesi
· Junbesi's large Hillary school founded in 1966 receives Nepal government funding for about 150 children in grades 1-8.
· Sir Edmund Hillary's tireless fundraising pays operating costs for about 35 students in grades 9-10.
· Look above the green valley to see the sacred peak Shorong Yul Lha "God of Solu Kingdom", also known as Numbur (22,826').
· Cross the clear glacial melt of Junbesi Khola and take the broad upper trail leading Southeast and up the ridge toward Takshingdo, Khari-khola.
Day 5 Solu
· We pass through a number of traditional Sherpa villages with their spacious, whitewashed homes and carefully terraced wheat & barley fields.
· Each village features a central chorten, which houses the bones of a Tibetan Buddhist saint.
· Sherpas are fervent Buddhists, who sustain a deep devotion to PadmaSambhava and also to the living Dalai Lama.
· In Sherpa country we see many brightly-colored prayer flags flapping in the wind, carrying heartfelt prayers to heaven on each new breeze.
Day 6 Pharak
· [Fly-in itinerary begins here.] Now starts some serious ukaalo baato - uphill walking - on the way up the steep Dudh Koshi (river of milk) gorge..
Day 7 to Khumbu
· The dry, rocky trail flattens near Surkye, then ascends continuously through huge boulders toward Namche Bazaar, the Sherpa capital of the Khumbu.
· Each new vista reveals stunning views of the Khumbu peaks, topped by massive Mount Everest .
Day 8-10 Namche Bazaar
· After an exhilarating uphill trek through thick forest, we emerge into famous Namche Bazaar (3,436m.), Sherpa capital of the Khumbu.
· We relax for 1 or 2 important accliatization days in bustling, modern Namche, where you can bargain for Tibetan turquoise, hand-carved horse saddles, and prayer wheels - or sip an espresso drink.
Day 11
· In the high, dry Khumbu, we trek past Thame and Khumjung, site of the original Hillary School built in 1964.
· We may visit Khunde hospital, established and supported by Sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust.
· Breath-taking mountain vistas surround us at every turn, as we admire the ice-capped peaks of Thamserku, Kwangde and Ama-Dablam ("Mother's Necklace") jutting magnificently into the brilliant blue sky.
Day 12-13
· From Gokyo, a high yak pasture land filled with two jewel-like lakes, we can see sparkling Cho Oyu (8,201m.)
· Climbing the "trekking peak" Gokyo Ri (5,483m.) we gain a panoramic vista of the upper Khumbu, including Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and distant Makalu.
· After walking through Na and Phortse, we return to the main Everest trail at historic Pangboche.
· Pangboche gompa, the oldest Sherpa settlement in Khumbu, dates from the first Sherpa migrations out of Kham (Tibet), in the early 1600's.
Day 14-15
· Completing a well-deserved rest day in Pheriche, home of the Himalayan Rescue Clinic, we continue toward Khumbu Glacier stopping at Lobuje high camp and Gorakshep's tiny tea house.
· If we summit Kala Pattar (5,545m.) here, we get an awe-inspiring view of Ama-Dablam, Tawoche and Kusum Kanguru, as well as Changatse in Tibet.
Day 16-21
Tengboche, Nauje, Lukla
· The last few days - mainly downhill! - follow the trail through Dingboche, Tengboche Monastery, Namche Bazaar, and finally to Lukla Airpstrip
· board a light airplane for the 40-minute trip back to Kathmandu.
Lukla-Gokyo -Lukla: 10 days
A high-altitude trek to a valley east of Everest base camp. Excellent views of Everest small lodges on the entire route and usually less crowded than the base camp trek. The trek to Gokyo offers an alternative to the traditional trek to Everest base camp. From Gokyo, more of Everest itself is visible, though from a slightly greater distance, than from kalapattar above gorak shep.
The mountains are more spectacular, the Ngozumpa Glacier is the largest in the Nepal Himalaya, and from a ridge avove Gokyo, fur 8000m peaks (Cho Oyou, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu) are visible at once. The view of the tremendous ice ridge between cho Oyu and Gyachung Kang (7922m) is one of the most dramatic panoramas in Khumbu. There are many options for additional exploration and high-altitude walking, including the crossing of cho La, a 5420m-high pass into Khumbu.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival into Kathmandu.
Meet upon arrival with traditional garland ceremony and transfer to your hotel. Evening cultural program depicting the folk dances of the various tribes of Nepal followed by an authentic Nepali dinner. Return to hotel for overnight.
Day 2:
After breakfast at the hotel, transfer to the airport for your flight to Lukla. . The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (2804 m) has to be one of the most spectacular in the world! After luggage claim and a cup of tea, the trail leads north west and descends to the Bhote Koshi river. Campsite at Phakding(2652 m) a 2 hours walk.
Day 3: Namche Bazaar (3445 m).
The valley is dotted with small Sherpa settlements. After the national park entry point at Jorsale continue up river and cross the river. Along switchbacks trail while going up the trail to Namche Bazaar there are the first views of Everest (8848 m) and Lhotse (8511m). Views of Thamserku, Kwangdi and the sacred mountain of Khumbila can be seen from here. A 6 hours walk
Day 4: Phortse Tenga (3620 m).
Campsite on the right bank of the Dudh Koshi. A 6 hours walk.
Day 5: Gokyo Lakes (4750 m).
We climb from Machermo to Cho Oyu (8201 m) to see the mountains surrounding Ngozumba Glacier. After passing the Mani stone wall we reach Gokyo. A 5 hours walk.
Day 6: Gokyo Ri excursion (5363 m).
Unlike the Kala Patthar hill from Lobuje the foot of Gokyo Ri lies 5 minutes away across a stream that feeds the lake. A 3 hours walk leads to the summit from where the views are magnificent. Return to Machermo (4465 m).
Day 7 - 10:
The last few days - mainly downhill! - follow the trail through Khumjung, Namche Bazaar, and finally to Lukla Airpstrip board an airplane for the 40-minute trip back to Kathmandu.
We detail two of the most popular of these peaks - the highest, Mera Peak, and one of the most stunning, Island Peak. These trips are ideal for those wishing to combine a trek with an ascent of an accessible Himalayan summit.
Island Peak (Imja Tse) 6,189 meters / 20,305 feet .....More Details
Mera Peak, 6470 meters / 21222 feet ......... More Details
