Welcome to Kathmandu! Upon arrival in Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport, you will be met by our Nepalese representatives, who will transport you to your hotel. You are free to explore picturesque downtown Kathmandu.

This will be a full day of sightseeing with a tour of Pashupatinath temple and Boudhanath Stupa. For 2,000 years, Kathmandu has been a center of trade, culture and religious life in Nepal. We will visit several of the city’s best-known sites, starting with the Pashupatinath temple, a World Heritage Site, which is the oldest Hindu temple in Kathmandu and one of the most sacred Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world. We will also visit the 5th Century Boudhanath stupa, the largest in the valley, known for its all-seeing eyes of Lord Buddha. The more than 50 Buddhist monasteries nearby have earned Boudhanath the nickname “Little Tibet.” The ancient stupa is one of the largest in the world. Hundreds of Buddhists spend their days praying at the various temples in the area.

Our trek begins today with an early morning flight to the mountain town of Lukla, in the heart of the Khumbu region. After our arrival, we finish the day with the downhill trek to our night’s lodging in Phakding.
Tonight, and all nights on the trek, we stay at Nepalese “tea houses.” These are simple lodges often run by Sherpa fam- ilies, which provide rooms, meals and a taste for local life.

Today we continue north up the valley of the Dudh Kosi river to Namche Bazaar. Namche is an ancient market center now prospering as a tourist hub and a center of Sherpa culture. Despite its use as a generic term for porter, “Sherpa” refers to a distinct ethnic group originally from the mountains of eastern Nepal. Their reputation as mountain guides has made their name synonymous with the Himalaya and especially Mt. Everest.

We spend this day in Namche for acclimatization. Before breakfast we can hike to a monument to the great Sherpa climber Tensing Norgay for great views of distant Mt. Everest and surrounding 8,000 meter peaks. In the afternoon we may visit neighboring villages, such as Syangboche or Khumjung, for a closer view of Sherpa life, or we may spend time browsing the many local shops in the colorful trading town of Namche Bazaar.

The day starts with the trail descending all the way down to the Dudh Khosi river, crossing at the village of Phunki Tenga. There, we will eat lunch before ascending the long, steep ridge to Tengboche, passing through Rhododendron and pine forests and enjoying the views of the snow-clad mountains.
We stop for the night in Debouche, a small village just below Tengboche. We will visit Tengboche Monastery either today or on our return back depending on timing.

Depending on weather, we may spend this night at either Pheriche, a charming but sometimes chilly village at the foot of the Khumbu Glacier, or at slightly more sheltered Dingboche, around the corner in the adjoining valley of the Imja Khola, but both at relatively the same elevation.

Another day spent resting to fully acclimatize, with options to explore either of these charming villages, visit a local bakery, or hike to a nearby medical clinic to learn about high-altitude/remote medical facilities.

After breakfast, and depending on whether we are in Dingboche or Pheriche, we climb uphill and traverse around a high ridge, or we ascend the alluvial plain of the river. Eventually crossing it in either event, we continue our route to Lobuche by ascending the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier at the village of Dughla, and continue along the lateral moraine to our destination for the night, the high village of Lobuche .

The next two days host some of our trek’s most exceptional highlights. Today we pick our way through boulders and rocks while trekking up about 2.5 hours and approximately 1,000 feet to reach Gorekshep (16900) (17,100’). This tiny outpost resides in the immediate shadow of Kala Patthar (18,190’). We arrive in time for lunch, and then evaluate conditions before moving on. After about a two-hour walk, the sun welcomes us to Everest Base Camp with its world-famous views of Nuptse, Lotse, Pumori and the jumble of lesser peaks that surround us. At 17,300, this is the grandest point on our trek. Saturated with beauty, we return to Gorakshep for a well-earned meal and night of rest.

This morning we have the optional summit of nearby Kala Patthar, a somewhat taller peak that allows you to see the top of Mt. Everest and all of its surrounding peaks. It is a short distance to the top of this rocky embankment but you will find it takes some time to reach the top as the elevation is quite high.
After the culmination of our journey we continue our rapid descent past the villages Gorak Shep and Loboche into the Imja Khola Valley, completing the long descent to the village to Pheriche.

Today we will take a helicopter back to the airport in Lukla. From there we will catch a plane flight back to Kathmandu. Based on weather and flight availability it is possible that we will not arrive back into Kathmandu until the evening time.

This is a built-in layover day in case bad weather prevents us from flying back from Lukla as planned.

You leave Nepal, taking your unforgettable memories with you.