It is very crucial to ensure that you are equipped with all the necessary gear for a safe and enjoyable trip. That’s why a preparation day has been allocated in the trip. Check your gears and clothing thoroughly and make a checklist of any missing or damaged items that you need to acquire. Then go buy or rent those essential items and be ready to embrace the trip and its challenges.

The day starts early in the morning as you fly to Lukla. Flights from Kathmandu to Lukla usually operate early in the morning because the weather in Lukla tends to become unstable in the afternoon. You will begin your 13-day trek by taking a 35-minute scenic flight to Lukla. The flight itself is an adventure as you will fly amidst towering snow-capped mountains. Once you land in Lukla, you will meet all the staff members and begin the trek. The trail initially descends and follows Dudh Koshi River with some uphill climbs towards the end. After three and half hours walking, passing through beautiful Sherpa villages such as Chaurikharka, Chhaplung, Thadakoshi and Ghat, as well as picturesque terraced green fields and forests you will reach Phakding, situated on the bank of Dudh Koshi River.

Breakfast will be served at 7:00am. You must pack your luggage and day bag before breakfast. Right after breakfast, you will start walking. This will be your usual routine for the next 12 days. The path follows Dukh Koshi River, which is relatively easier for the first two and a half hour, and becomes steep uphill in the second half. After five hours walking, passing thorough beautiful villages such as Toktok, Benkar, Monjo and Jorsale, dense pine forests and crossing suspension bridges over Dudh Koshi River five times you will reach Namche Bazar, the unofficial capital of Sherpa villages.

Rest days are important while travelling to high elevation zones, as your body needs time to acclimatize to the new environment. The objective of the rest days is not to stay idle in the hotel, but to hike to higher places and return to the hotel to rest. You will hike to Everest View Hotel (3,880m) which requires a three-hour walk to reach the destination and an hour’s return. You will spend some time at the hotel enjoying hot tea with panoramic views of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Amadablam, Thamserku, Kusum Khangru, Tabuche peak and many more. You will also get picturesque views of Phortse, Pangboche and Tengboche villages.

Rest days are important while travelling to high elevation zones, as your body needs time to acclimatize to the new environment. The objective of the rest days is not to stay idle in the hotel, but to hike to higher places and return to the hotel to rest. You will hike to Everest View Hotel (3,880m) which requires a three-hour walk to reach the destination and an hour’s return. You will spend some time at the hotel enjoying hot tea with panoramic views of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Amadablam, Thamserku, Kusum Khangru, Tabuche peak and many more. You will also get picturesque views of Phortse, Pangboche and Tengboche villages.

This is one of the shortest days of the trek, covering six kilometers. You will conclude the day’s journey before lunch. The journey begins in the chilly morning as the path slowly starts to ascend. For the first two hours, the path is much steeper until you reach a place called Lhaparma. From there, the path is relatively easier for another two hours until you reach Machhermo. The journey offers picturesque views of valleys and surrounding mountains such as Cho Oyu, Kangtenga, Thamserku, and many more.

Gokyo, the last village of this trek, is situated beside the third lake, which is also the biggest among the Gokyo Lakes. The day begins with a gradual ascent for 30 minutes to a ridge, from where you can have a stunning view of surrounding mountains, including Mt. Cho Oyu. From the ridge, the path slopes downwards for an hour to the Dudh Koshi River bank, passing Pangka village. Then, the path ascends steeply upwards until you reach the first lake, called ‘Longpongo Lake’. From the lake, the path follows relatively easier and straight trail for another two hours until you reach Gokyo village.

Today is the excursion day to the fifth lake, known as ‘Ngozumpa Tso’. “Tso” in Sherpa language refers to ‘lake’. There are no hotels or settlements beyond Gokyo village. Therefore, you will need to take pack lunch for the hike. It takes two hours to reach the fourth lake, called ‘Thonak Tso’. From there, it is another two hours to reach the fifth lake. Since the path is not steep uphill, the return journey will also take a long time, approximately three hours. Close to the fifth lake, there is a cliff with some prayer flags. From the cliff, you will have a very close and clear view of Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhostse, Mt. Makalu and Mt. Cho Oyu, including other many mountains.

The hike to Gokyo Ri is the apex of this trek. With a headlight and worm clothes, you will begin the journey at 5:00am. As you slowly climb up, the daylight begins, and your headlight begins to dim. After two and a half hours of strenuous ascent, you will reach the top of Gokyo. The scenery you see from the top mesmerizes you and makes you forget all the suffering you experienced as you climbed up. After spending some time and capturing beautiful photographs, you will return to the hotel. Following breakfast, you begin your return journey, retracing your steps all the way to Dole, passing Pangka, Machhermo, Luza and Lhaparma villages.

After an hour’s descent, you will reach Phortse Tanga, from where the trail starts to climb up for another two hours. The path gets much steeper before reaching Mong La Danda. From there, the path becomes much easier, as you have completed the longest steep ascent of the return journey. Upon reaching at Kyanjyuma, you can stop for lunch.  From there, it is an hour’s walk to Namche.

Today marks the final day of the trek. After a steep descent of an hour down to the Dudh Koshi River, the trail become much easier. Retracing your steps through dense pine forests, verdant fields, and villages such as Jorsale, Monjo, Benkar, Toktok, Phakding, Ghat, Thadakoshi, Chhaplung and Chaurikharka, you will reach Lukla in the late afternoon or early evening. As it is the last day of the trek, you can celebrate the success of the trip with your staff members and offer them tips.

Early in the morning, you will walk to Lukla airport escorted by your staffs with you luggage. After 35 minutes’ scenic flight, you will land at Kathmandu Domestic Airport, from where you will be picked up by our driver the dropped off at the hotel. Upon your arrival, our office representative will meet you and get your feedback about the trek.

Today is a leisure day. This leisure day in Kathmandu at the end of the trek has been allocated to compensate if the flight from Lukla gets canceled due to bad weather or if you require an extra day in the trek due to an emergency. Today, you can have a good rest before departing for your home country or you can explore the city on your own.

Today marks your final day in Nepal. We will drive you to Kathmandu International Airport three hours before your flight time.