Island Peak & Lobuche East Climbs | Everest Base Camp Trek
Nepal Himalaya Treks & Climbs

Everest Base Camp Trek, Island Peak + Lobuche East Climbs – Nepal Himalaya Trekking & Climbing

Day 1 – Arrive Kathmandu 1340m (4395′) | Transfer Kathmandu Guest House
Welcome to Nepal! You will be met at Tribhuvan International Airport by a representative from Kamzang Journeys or Khumbu Adventures (our partners in Kathmandu) Doma, Lhakpa and Nuru Sherpa). Look for a sign with your name on it as you leave the arrival area. We strongly suggest purchasing a NTC (Nepal Telecom) SIM card as you leave the airport if you have an unlocked phone. It’s very useful for data in the remote regions of Nepal. We will transfer you to the Kathmandu Guest House (or see Great Stays tab for luxury, boutique, and other hotel options in the Kathmandu Valley) where your room has been booked for you. Drink plenty of water to hydrate after your flight, and enjoy your first evening in Kathmandu …

We’ll need your travel medical insurance, a copy of your passport and Nepali visa, and one (or more) visa-sized photos (inquire if we need for your trek); please have them ready to give to Lhakpa, Doma or Nuru. And please ask if you need your gear checked, or have shopping or sightseeing questions!

Thamel is a myriad of shops of all imaginable varieties, bakeries, cafes, restaurants, bars, hotels, spas, climbing walls, colorful banners and signs, and eccentrically clad backpackers. Enjoy dinner at Roadhouse Cafe, New Orleans, Yin & Yang, Third Eye, or one of Thamel’s other restaurants … (B)

Day 2 – Kathmandu
Enjoy a free day exploring Kathmandu’s many World Heritage sites or embark on a tour of the beautiful Kathmandu valley, surrounded by Himalayan snow peaks (See Kathmandu Valley Tours for optional tours with a qualified guide, car, and entrance fees included). Or just relax at the hotel, visit the spa, have a massage, wander Kathmandu’s fascinating streets, pop into neighborhood Hindu temples and Newari-styled courtyards, join in on koras of the Buddhist temples. (B)

Cafe Caravan & Dolpo Gallery
Dolpo Artist Tenzin Norbu creates wonderful Dolpo paintings, the prints (and some originals) are available from our Cafe Caravan at Boudhanath Stupa, housed in one of Boudha’s original historic buildings, decorated in a bright, Tibetan style and overlooking the magnificent stupa!

Sightseeing in Kathmandu
Nuru Wangdi Sherpa (Khumbu Adventures & Café Caravan) has his Kathmandu guide license and a large SUV vehicle, and can arrange any sightseeing you might want to do in Kathmandu and the Kathmandu valley. He is often available for guiding your excursions as well. Mobile + WhatsApp: +977 9803633783 (WhatsApp)

Massage in Kathmandu (Ramji of Relieving Hands)
Ramji is a blind masseur trained by Seeing Hands in Kathmandu, who now offers wonderful at home (or hotel) massages, with his own massage table and oil. He is truly a master masseur, a real healer and VERY highly recommended. His prices are extremely reasonable. Let us know if you want help to arrange a massage.
Relieving Hands by Ramji

Kathmandu | World Heritage Sightseeing Tours – Pashupatinath, Boudhanath, Durbar Square & Swayambunath
Kathmandu is filled with World Heritage sites and sacred destinations, crowded with traditional neighborhoods and colorful festivals. Spend a few days exploring Nepal’s exotic capital and the history-laden Kathmandu valley. We can arrange sightseeing guides and vehicles as required. See Kathmandu Heritage & Happenings for more details.

We recommend beginning with Pashupatinath in the early morning and moving on to Boudhanath mid-morning. Hindu Pashupatinath on the sacred Bagmati river and its sacred temple complex is one of Nepal’s most important sites, a powerful cremation site, and Nepal’s most important Hindu temple. Here, monkeys run up and down the steps of the burning ghats, and trident-bearing saddhus draped in burnt-orange and saffron sit serenely meditating when they’re not posing for photos-for-rupees. Local guides can explain the significance of the complicated ceremonies. Please be respectful when taking photos.

Boudhanath, in the midst of traditional monasteries (gonpas in Tibetan) and hung with long strings of multi-colored prayer flags, attracts Sherpas, Tibetans, and tourists alike for daily circumambulations (koras) of the iconic stupa. The striking Buddha eyes of Boudhanath Stupa watch over a lively and colorful Tibetan community and attract pilgrims from all over the Himalayan Buddhist realm. There are wonderful spots for lunch at Boudhanath (Roadhouse Cafe has wood-oven pizzas and a breathtaking view of the stupa and colorful Nepals circling it), and it’s a good place to learn the technique of thanka painting and purchase a thanka (Buddhist mural). See also Bhaktapur for more options for shopping for thankas.

Wander through the many temples, pagodas, courtyards, and the museum at Kathmandu Durbar Square, a timeless gathering spot and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Kathmandu Durbar Square, including the old royal palace, is Kathmandu’s ‘Palace Square’, a showcase for the world-renowned artisans and craftsmen of Kathmandu and a synthesis of Hindu and Buddhist palaces, temples, stupas, and statues. The Malla and Shah kings ruled over the Kathmandu Valley during the centuries of the building of the layers of this Durbar Square. Along with their opulent palaces, the square surrounds numerous courtyards and temples, all works of art with intricate and often erotic carvings. Kathmandu Durbar Square is known as Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square, a name derived from a statue of Hanuman, the monkey devotee of Lord Ram, at the entrance of the palace. The social, religious and urban focal point of the city, Durbar Square is often the site of festivals, marriages, and other ceremonies such as Teej. Some important structures are Hanuman Dhoka Palace, Kumari Ghar (Abode of the Living Goddess), Taleju Temple, built between the 12th and 18th centuries, the 17th century stone inscription set into the wall of the palace with writings in 15 languages.

In the evening (take the interesting back streets from Durbar Square) climb the many steps to the gilded Swayambhunath stupa (known as the monkey temple) which rises from the Kathmandu valley floor at 1420 meters and is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in Nepal. Swayambunath, the ‘self-created’  stupa, was founded over 2000 years ago at a time when the Kathmandu valley was filled by a large lake, with a single lotus in the center. Mythology says that Manjusri, a bodhisattva, drained the lake with one cut of his sword and the lotus flower was transformed into the stupa. From its commanding views of Kathmandu, circumambulate Swayambunath’s white-washed stupa, painted with distinctive Buddha eyes, the complex a unique synthesis of Buddhism and Hinduism. Another interesting time to visit Swayambunath is in the mornings when Nepalis visit the temple dedicated to the God of Smallpox with colorful offerings for the goddess.

Stop to photograph reflections in Kathmandu’s many pokharis or ponds, including the beautiful Rani Pokhari (queen’s bath) near New Road, and the Naga Pokhari (pond of the snake gods of the underworld) just beyond the palace gates. The many bathing ghats, square enclosures with steps leading down to water spouts, often decorated with naga heads, are also interesting and colorful gathering spots.

Day 3 – Fly Lukla 2850m/9350′. Trek Monjo 2835m/9300′
Lhakpa or Doma Sherpa will transfer you to the domestic airport. Just after sunrise, you embark on a spectacular 25-minute flight over the Kathmandu valley and along snow-capped Himalayan peaks to the renowned Hillary Norgay Airport in Lukla. You will have time to organize your duffel bag for the porter(s) and then enjoy a hearty breakfast at Paradise Lodge on the other side of the airstrip before you start trekking into the incredible Everest region!

Leaving the bustling village of Lukla, packed with colorful shops, restaurants, bars and still a bit of Sherpa character (as well as dzobkios or dzos, a mix of yak and cow) you being to trek north, with snow-capped Karyolung peak in the distance. The quaint, checkered and green village of Chaunrikharka, with its many whitewashed chortens and a Hillary school, sits in the valley just below the trail. The trail takes you above a rhododendron-choked forest, over the school and gonpa (monastery), and past the checkered fields of barley, spinach, and potatoes of the village. You are trekking along the Dudh Kosi (river) on a centuries-old trading trail from Nepal to Tibet. It is well-traveled by stout, heavily loaded Nepali porters and used to be used by Tibetan traders (Khampas, most distinguishable by the length of red or black tassel wrapped around their heads) conducting business between the weekly markets of Lukla and Namche with Chinese and Tibetan goods brought over the 5700m Nangpa La (pass) from Tibet. The pass, and customs, have been closed for about a decade over trade issues between Nepal and China, sadly. The Khumbu has now lost a bit of its unique character without the border trade from Tibetan, and these lively Tibetan traders. 

Half an hour out of Lukla you will reach the idyllic hamlet of Chheplung. Up valley rises the sacred peak of Khumbila, a black triangle that dominates the valley. From the small hamlet of Thado Kosi, while crossing the metal bridge, you will have your first view of the three statues peaks of Kusum Khangkaru to the east. Half an hour of lovely trekking over cobbled trails brings you to Ghat and the best-maintained cluster of mani stones and prayer flags in the Khumbu. The local lama, owner of the Lama Lodge in Ghat, is responsible for this magical setting. The inscriptions on the carved mani rocks is either ‘Om Mani Padme Hung’ (‘Hail to the jewel in the lotus”, the mantra for the next lifetime) or ‘Om Ma A Hung Baja Guru Padma Side Hung’ (the mantra to Guru Rimpoche to remove obstacles).

Once at Phakding, a lively village a half hour’s walk from Ghat, you will stop for lunch at Ang Sani and Jangbu’s Shangri La Lodge. Their son, Nawang, has just opened a stylish cafe with great cappuccinos from an Italian coffee maker!

Hiking by the small tea-houses servicing the locals and workers in Phakding, cross a long suspension bridge over the Dudh Kosi, past the new lodges and trek above the river, climbing through evergreen forests to reach the first lodge of Benkar. Look up to the protruding rocks for Himalayan thar, and some of the rocks that we pass are almost remelted granites or migmatypes, rocks similar to gneiss but with more swirls. Continuing over a small bridge, you continue through larger Benkar, the first village to attend the Monjo school. Another suspension bridge, several small tea houses serving local fare, and another climb, and you reach Chumoa, with apple and peach trees that bloom in the springtime. One more small bridge and a last climb on uneven stone steps to reach Monjo, where you will stop at the wonderful Kailash Lodge, run by Yangti Sherpa, for the night. Many of the cottages with views also have hot showers.

Monjo is a small Sherpa village tucked away in the forests high above the Dudh Kosi where Kim taught English years ago, only the newer part of the village visible from the trail. There is a newly reconstructed monastery above the school, and above that a steep drop-off and good view of tomorrow’s hike. (6 hrs) (B, L, D) 
Distance:13km

TRAVEL NOTE | Lukla flights are presently being run out of the Ramechhap Airport, about a 6-hour drive from Kathmandu (150 km). Options are to drive at night and catch the early morning flight to Lukla, or to stay a night in a basic to mid-range hotel in Ramechhap. Another option (which we recommend) is to book a shared helicopter from Kathmandu to Lukla and/or Lukla to Kathmandu, an additional $325 each way (5 passengers per helicopter).

Day 4 – Trek Namche Bazaar 3465m/11,365′
After a short walk past the school with Khumbila Peak (or Khumbu Yul La) looming majestically ahead, you enter the gateway to the Sagarmatha National Park. Descending steeply on a stony trail to the river, you cross a long suspension bridge to reach the hamlet of Jorsale, and then cross one more long bridge before taking the high trail up the stone steps and through the forest, trekking above the lower trail that follows the sandy riverside trail, the shores peppered with large, rounded river rocks. You have to trek for another 45 minutes to reach the long, iconic suspension bridge.

Bring your five-colored Tibetan prayer flags to hang on the bridge over the confluence of the Dudh Kosi (‘milk river’) and the Bhote Kosi (‘river from Tibet’) and send prayers out into the Everest region! The steep hour and a half climb to Namche on a dusty, rocky, switch-backing trail is broken halfway up the hill by your first view of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse. Local women sell delicious oranges at this resting point, which you will share with other trekkers. Another 45 minutes of climbing, mostly off the main trail amongst the evergreens, and you arrive at the old trading village of Namche Bazaar, now a thriving trekking metropolis. Have a short tour of the shopping and bakeries in Namche before heading up steep stone steps to our guest house, Natang and Pemba’s idyllic Moonlight Lodge, scenically situated at the top of Namche (and with great showers!)

Namche Bazaar, once called Nauje and now the most prosperous trading village on the old trade route with Tibet sits in an amphitheater surrounded by mountains. From Namche you have perfect views of Kongde Ri in front of us, Kangtega, Thamserku and Kusum Khangkuru to the east and Khumbila to the back. Down-valley the hills and valleys along the route from Solu to Khumbu from Jiri sit shrouded in hazy shades of steely-grey and blues. (3½ hrs) (B, L, D)
Distance: 5.5km

Day 5 – Namche Bazaar | Acclimatization Day
If it’s Saturday Market day (which starts on Friday), you might want to spend the morning exploring the bustling market, a feast of colors, smells and colorfully clad Sherpa women up from their villages for the weekly event. It’s as much a social gathering as the produce, meat, and essential goods market, so the atmosphere is spirited and lively, a great photographic opportunity.

You are free to relax and explore the crowded main streets of Namche, the Sherpa Cultural Center (wonderful photographic museum), the reconstructed traditional Sherpa house (next door), the very interesting Namche Gonpa Visitors Center at the colorful Namche Gonpa and/or the National Park Headquarters Museum (where you’ll have easy views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse and more). The Tibetans used to encamp in the center of town in a muddy bazaar (potato fields in the summer) touting their goods from China. Indulge yourself at one of the many bakeries, shop for some yak bells or hand-woven Himalayan hats, chat with the sociable Sherpas in the village, or just relax in preparation for the trek. There are now new Mountain Hardwear and Sherpa Gear shops as well as Tsedam’s Gear Shop with a great variety of real trek gear if you find that you’re missing warm clothes. All often have gear on sale, bonus! Watch out for dzobkios and shaggy Himalayan cows wandering the narrow streets.

For some peak-spotting at sunset, hike up ten minutes just past the National Park headquarters. For a higher viewpoint, climb steeply to any of several viewpoints an hour plus walk straight up the ridge (above the huge mani stone at the top of the steps). Continue just past Syangboche airstrip, worth the effort for the panoramic views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Thamserku, Kantega, Kusum Khangkuru, Tarboche and Ama Dablam.

Moonlight Lodge has a great hot shower, a large library, beer and wine in the cabinet, and delicious home-cooked food so there is really no reason to leave at all if you’re feeling lethargic or enjoying basking in the sunny dining room. (B, L, D) 

Extra Day or Day Trip | Trek Thame 3805m/12,480′
You have a lovely four to five-hour mountainside hike through evergreens and rhododendrons, trekking high above the Bhote Kosi river to the traditional Sherpa village of Thame. Your Sherpa guide will show you the route to the left of Namche Gompa high up above the village to the old mani stone hill, now being excavated to build Namche’s new lodges. Continue north on this relatively flat and wide trail, contouring around several old Sherpa villages, past many mani walls, and around white-washed chortens with Buddha eyes, until you reach the scenic village of Thamo where the Nepal army used to have a customs post to control the Tibetan trade over the Nangpa La. The pass is now, sadly, closed to Tibetan traders. Leaving Thamo, stop for a visit to the beautifully reconstructed Khari Nunnery (ani gompa), which houses lovely nuns originally from Tibet.

KHARI GOMPA | “In 1959, as the Chinese Cultural Revolution raged through Tibet destroying Buddhist monasteries and artifacts and killing thousands of monks and nuns, Khari Rinpoche Lobsang Tsultrim and some of his students fled Tibet. He and his followers crossed over the treacherous Nangpa La (pass) into Nepal and found refuge in the foothills of the Himalayas near Mount Everest. They settled in the village of Thamo. In 1962 some Thamo villagers offered land and in 3 days built a monastery for the nuns and their Lama on the hillside above the village. This became Khari Gonpa, a small Tibetan Buddhist nunnery. By 2002 the prayer hall (lhakang) at the nunnery was too small to accommodate the nuns and local community of Sherpas and Tibetans, and it was in serious disrepair. At that time, His Holiness the Dalai Lama requested the 3rd Khari Rinpoche Tenzin Yonten to design and build a new prayer hall in the same location as the original one. Today the magnificent new lhakang is finished.” – Tara Foundation USA

After a visit to the nunnery, you trek through lovely Samde, which has small shrines to mountain deities in the middle of their fields. Another hour of contouring, with small ascents and descents along the trail,
brings you to the Thame Bridge. Just before crossing, gaze up at the wonderful murals of Guru Rimpoche and other Buddhist figures on a rock face high over the Bhote Kosi. You’ll hike for 20 minutes along the intersecting stream to reach Thame, an old village of snaking rock walls, yak paddocks, and traditional slate-roofed Sherpa houses. Thame Gompa, perched up to the north of the village, is one of the oldest in the Khumbu, and one of the gompas that celebrates the Dunche festival in the summertime.

You stay the night at Lhakpa’s uncle Doctor Kami (of Khunde Hospital) and his wife Dawa Dolma’s Valley View Lodge, with the best tongba (fermented millet beer, served in a bamboo container with a long straw and hot water) in the Khumbu. The lovely cook’s lively daughter is named Chandika, and was 10 years old studying at Thame School in 2021, and The Kamzang Fund now sponsors Bipana Rai, age 12 and in class 3 in 2021, who used to stay with Sonam Chhuten’s family. 

Take the afternoon to climb to Thame Gonpa, one of the oldest in the Khumbu, and wander around the walled village. Lhakpa’s niece Doma Tenzing teaches at the Thame School, and was also aided in finishing her college degree in Kathmandu The Kamzang Fund. She is now married and living along tomorrow’s trail to Namche. Kunga Palmo, her sister Doma Rigzin’s 5-year-old daughter, also attends kingergarten (2021) in Thame. Just around the corner (or over the ridge) in Thame Thang, Lhakpa’s sister Serki and her husband Pasang live in their modest Sherpa house. Their daughter Mingma Choki, who attended Khumjung School, now studies in Kathmandu. Mingma’s older sister Pasang Lhamu, finished her schooling at Khumjung and college (+2) in Kathmandu, and in 2022 was applying to universities. And she now works at our Cafe Caravan in Boudha! Their cousin Sonam Chhuten, used to attend Thame School (where she walked 2 hours each way every day from Mende) but now boards at Khumjung School. The Kamzang Fund has sponsored these three lovely girls for their educations for many years, as well as their other cousin Zangmu, also from Thame.

To the west of Thame near the Tashi Labsta La (5755m) which leads to the Rolwaling Valley is Papchermo Ri (6273m), and Sundar Peak (5360m) is just to the north of Thame, a day-climb. (5 hrs)

Day 6 – Trek Khumjung 3800m/12,465′ + Khunde 3855m/12,638′
Your Sherpa guide will lead a scenic and cultural high trek through the twin valleys of Khunde and Khumjung valley, finishing the hike at Doma Tseri’s Khunde Guest House. Taking advantage of the crisp morning light, hike up to large mani stone, turning right around the rock and switchbacking up the hill, stopping at the prayer flag-covered rock along the way. You are heading for the Sherpa villages of Khunde and Khumjung, passing through the airstrip at Syangboche en route. On the ridge above the airstrip, you climb gradually on tundra to a large, whitewashed chorten to the right of the yak-breeding center. From here, you climb briefly to a small hill topped with chulung (memorial chortens) for fabulous views of Kumbila, Tabuche, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Kangtega, Kusum Khangkuru, Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse. We trek down to Khumjung along a small, scenic trail through rhododendrons. We may spot Himalayan tahr grazing on the hillsides, and possibly iridescent danphe and chortling chukars.

Descending into magical Khumjung (marketed as the Green Valley), you walk through the entrance chorten and past a long, beautiful mani wall and the old Khumjung school, established by Hillary in the 70s. You’ll contour through ancient rock walls through the lower half of the village to Khumjung Gompa, one of the oldest in the Khumbu (approximately 500 years) and home to the only existing Yeti scalp on the planet.

The adjoining villages of Khumjung and Khunde are some of the original villages of the Khumbu region, both about 600 years old and wonderful examples of local Sherpa architecture with their winding stone walls, yak paddocks, potato patches, and wood and slate houses. Perhaps you will run into Sherpa friends of your guide who will invite you in for some salt-butter tea, climbing up a wooden ladder over the straw-lined manger to get into the main house on the first floor. Both villages sit below Khumbila, the sacred Sherpa peak surrounded by lhaso (shrines to mountain deities), above a famous rock mural of Guru Rimpoche. The views of Ama Dablam from this valley are breathtaking. Heading up the valley to neighboring Khunde, you continue to trek through trails lined by lichen-covered stone walls, past traditional Sherpa houses, to Khunde Hospital, where Lhakpa’s uncle Dr Kami Sherpa is the head doctor.

Next door, at Khunde Guest House, you will enjoy a delicious Sherpa lunch in the sunroom, including their famous chili sauce. The lodge has expansive mountain views from the warm, glass-windowed dining room. After dropping extra gear in your lodge rooms, you have the option to head out with your Sherpa guide for a great hike up to the Hillary Memorial and then return to the lodge, happily tired and ready for a home-cooked Sherpa meal back in the dining room for sunset.

HILLARY MEMORIAL | The side trip to Hillary Memorial (4250m), locally referred to as Gong Ri, is a relatively easy hike (approximately 45-minutes) along a gradually ascending trail through a hillside lightly wooded with fir and juniper above Khunde Monastery. Just before reaching the monastery, take the intersecting trail heading left to a scenic ridge with a nearly 360-degree view of Himalayan peaks. The dramatic ridge top setting was dedicated as a memorial to Edmund Hillary’s wife, Louise, and his 16-year-old daughter, Belinda, who died tragically in a plane crash just outside of Kathmandu in 1975. The plane was heading to Phaplu Airstrip. Just above the memorial to Louise and Belinda Hillary is a chorten built by local Khunde inhabitants to honor Sir Edmund Hillary.

Views from the memorial include Everest, Lhotse, Nupte, Tabuche, Ama Dablam, Kangtega, Thamserku, Kusum Kangkaru, Kwongde and Pharchamo, as well as the twin villages of Khunde and Khumjung just below Khunde Gompa, Shyangboche, Namche and Monjo down the valley, and Tengboche and Pangboche to the north. From the ridge, look to the west to the Thame valley leading to the Nangpa La, once an important Tibetan trade route. The narrow valley before the Thame valley is rumored to be the home of several yetis. (IF returning to Namche, descend from the memorial along the same trail, or head straight down the ridge towards Shyangboche, cutting back towards Khunde to meet the main trail back to Namche as well as the trail leading west towards Thame. You can bushwack your way directly down to Namche but it takes some work, and the trails are only for woodcutters or musk deer. On the plus side, you’ll encounter the many colorful Danphe en route!) (4+ hrs) (B, L, D)
Distance: 5.4km

LOW ROUTE TO KYANGJUMA | Stay high, contouring around several hillsides far above the Dudh Kosi and stopping for views of Everest and Lhotse at the two whitewashed chortens. (The first chorten is a newer memorial to Tenzin Norgay). Two hours after leaving Namche you reach Tashi and Lhakpa’s Ama Dablam Lodge in Kyangjuma, perched dramatically on a steep hillside overlooking the peak of the same name. Continuing along the main trail through a lovely rhododendron forest you take a sharp left at the intersecting trail leading to Gokyo and ascend the steep trail up to the bridge which intersects the old trail from Khumjung. 

Day 7 – Trek Phortse 3780m/12,398′
Leaving Khunde, trek down through the walled villages to the end of the plateau, Ama Dablam looming majestically (and photographically) ahead. Taking the left fork, your trail intersects the trail from Namche at a metal bridge that spans a gap in the trail. From here you climb up stone steps, and stop for a rest at the top of the steps. Along the way you are likely to see wildlife such as Himalayan thar and the spectacularly hued danphe, Nepal’s national bird.

Continuing to climb gradually for another hour or so, you reach Mong La, where you will stop for a scenic lunch at Boudha Lodge, perched spectacularly on this (nearly) 4000-meter ridge pass. Across the valley sits Tengboche Gompa, backed by Thamserku and Kusum Kangaru, its gilded rooftops glittering in the afternoon sun.

You have a steep descent through pine and rhododendron forests on a sandy, switchbacking trail, with stone steps hugging the cliffside on the lower half, to Phortse Tenga. Just past the lodges and ancient, mossy mani walls, hiking through woods of birch, cross the river on a steel bridge and start the short but steep climb up to Phortse, one of the oldest villages of the Khumbu region. Keep your eyes open and cameras out as there are many musk deer, danphe and blood pheasants hiding in the rhododendron forests bordering the trail and the village. The danphe dig for potatoes in the lower fields of the village in the mornings and evenings, near the ancient chorten at the end of the fields.

You stay at Phortse Guest House, which has a wonderful dining room, great views and good electricity. The lodge is run by a lovely Sherpa couple, Ba Nuru and his wife Pasang. Ba Nuru is a many-time Everest climber and one of the main participants in the Phortse Climbing School, founded by Conrad Anchor and his wife. The new Climbing Center, medical post and climbing wall are right in back of the lodge. (5 hrs)
Distance: 8.2km

Day 8 – Trek Pangboche 3900m/12,792′
Leaving Phortse on the northeastern side and climbing for 20 minutes to the small chorten which signifies the top of the ridge, you will look across the Imja Khola towards Tengboche Gompa across the deep river gorge. The trail skirts the high ridges of Taboche Peak, often precipitous but always safe, with fantastic views around every corner and more Himalayan thar grazing along the steep hillsides. Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse dominate the northern skyline, while Ama Dablam is close enough to touch to the east and Kangtega and Thamserku grace the valley below. After an hour of scenic walking, climb a few hundred meters to a small pass (4080m), descend with a few dips on stone staircases, and you will soon reach Upper Pangboche. Take some time to wander the old alleys and take a look inside Pangboche Gompa, at approximately 500 years old one of the four oldest gompas (monasteries) in the Khumbu.

Contouring above the newer Lower Pangboche, trek to the left of an ancient mani wall and contour above the newer lodges before dropping down to our lodge at the end of Lower Pangboche. Pangboche is a lovely village with views across the Imja Khola to the trail to Ama Dablam Base Camp, the old airstrip at Mingbo and Ama Dablam. You will stay at Sonam Lodge, the last in the village, owned by Lhakpa’s (ex) brother-in-law, Gyurme. Gyurme is one of the many lodge owners who has summited Everest and Ama Dablam many times. From the three-sided windows of the dining room you will be treated to a magnificent sunset over Ama Dablam, Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse.

As it’s been a short day, you can enjoy a leisurely lunch at Sonam Lodge. Feel free to enjoy the afternoon resting at the lodge, or take a hike through the trekking shops of Lower Pangboche or up to a strip of memorial chortens on the high trail from Upper Pangboche. One of the original partners of Project Himalaya, Joel Schone, has his memorial chorten at this beautiful spot. (3 ½ hrs)
Distance: 6km

Day 9 – Pangboche | Day Hike Ama Dablam Base Camp 4580m/15,040′
We’ve scheduled an acclimatization day in Pangboche with a great hike up the Mingbo valley to Ama Dablam Base Camps (4580m + 4535m). Lhakpa’s sister-in-law Nima Lhamo owns the Ama Dablam Support Lodge, popular with Ama Dablam climbers, at the lower base camp.

After descending to the river and crossing on a small bridge, you’ll have a steep climb to the plateau above which has several doksas or summer settlements on either side. Continue to climb along a rocky, ridgeline trail to reach lively Ama Dablam Base Camp, dominated by Ama Dablam. The views throughout the day are sublime, especially of Pumori and Tabuche which tower above us to the east. We’ll visit the higher base camp first, ablaze with yellow and orange tents, and perhaps get to watch climbers ascending towards the snowy summit before descending to Nima Lhamo’s lodge for a Sherpa lunch. The descent is much quicker, and you’ll be back at the lodge early afternoon with time for a shower. (5 hrs r/t)
Distance: 8.2km

Day 10 – Trek Dingboche 4300m/14,015′
It’s a short trekking day today since you are gaining altitude, so enjoy the beautiful walk and another lunch at the lodge. Leaving Pangboche, you wll trek above the Imja Khola along a rocky trail to tiny Somare and then along wide yak trails past the one lodge of Orsho and then past the intersection to Pheriche (home of the HRA health post). Just past the intersection descend to the intersecting Chola Khola which you cross on a small, wooden bridge to reach the scree hillside leading to Dingboche. Dingboche is another old Sherpa village, now a primary stop on the Everest Base Camp route, a semi-permanent village whose inhabitants traditionally would stay in nearby kharkas, keeping their livestock away from their precious barley crops.

The lower half of Dingboche is a line of trekking lodges interspersed with a few local shops and internet cafes, while the upper half is still local Sherpa dwellings, fields, rock walls and yak enclosures, reminiscent of Sherpa villages of yore. Three whitewashed chortens with Buddha eyes lead up the ridge to the peak called Dolma Ri, topped with prayer flags. Look on top of the peak for the eagle, or ‘lak’, perched there. Above, nestled in the hillside, is an old Buddhist hermitage called Nangar Dzong, the summer meditation place of Lama Sangwa Dorje. You will stay at the bottome of Dingboche, at Nima Yangjin and Samden’s welcoming Snow Lion Guest House; enjoy the afternoon at the bakery in the sun! (3 hrs)
Distance: 5.3km

Day 11 – Dingboche | Day Trip Chhukhung 4750m/15,580′
To acclimatize, as well as being an incredible day trip, you will trek up to Chhukhung for a day of mountain views in this lovely, relatively remote valley. The trail ascends the grassy left bank of the boulder-strewn Imja Kola to Chhukhung, a seasonal herding village nestled under Ama Dablam, Lhotse, the Nuptse wall, Peak 38 and Island peak, to name just a few of the peaks that make this such a superb setting. The trek up to Chhukung is only 3 hours so there is time to absorb the great views en route.

You’ll have lunch at the Chhukhung Resort, owned by Chunti Sherpa, a lovely lodge with a warm sunroom and a slate deck, perfect for peak-gazing in the afternoon. You might want to hike up to 5000 meters on Chhukhung Ri, or to wander up the glacial moraines just north of the lodge. Take it easy as you have gained quite a bit of altitude! (4 ½ hrs r/t)
Distance: 11.2km

Day 12 – Trek Lobuche 4935m/16,186m | Visit Chupki Lhare Memorials
After breakfast, you will start the day by cresting the chorten-topped ridge to the west of Dingboche and traversing the plateau for nearly three hours, looking down on the trail to the Cho La Pass and Dzongla. Walking along the flat, grassy grazing pastures, you pass the summer ‘doksa’, or yak-herding settlement, of Dusa before heading down to the stony river coming from the Khumbu Valley, crossing it on a small bridge. A quick five minutes up the hill to arrive at Thugla and Tsering Lhakpa’s Yak Lodge, probably the most genuine alpine lodge in the Khumbu and your lunch stop. It’s worth a trek up to Thugla just to meet Tsering, who often takes out his Tibetan ‘damnye’ to play some traditional Tibetan songs.

From Thugla, it’s straight up the steep, yak-trodden trail to the memorials to the many climbers who have died attempting one of the many peaks in the area (including Babu Chiri and Scott Fischer’s). The Sherpas call this place Chukpi Lhare, meaning ‘wealthy persons’ kharka’. Check the Himalayan mountain views behind you when you reach the memorial crest, they’re spectacular. Next, you head up the valley towards Lobuche, where you stay the night at the wonderful Eco Lodge. The views from the edge of the glacier down-valley are superb, almost more so as the clouds move up the valley, so don’t miss an afternoon walk up to the ridge with your camera. At Lobuche, almost 5000 meters, it is especially important to take it easy, stay hydrated and get plenty of rest. (6 ½ hrs)
Distance: 9km

Day 13 – Trek Gorak Shep 5180m/16,990m | Climb Kala Pattar Peak 5645m/18,516′
You will leave Lobuche early, trekking up a rocky yak trail on the right side of the Khumbu Glacier towards Gorak Shep, a walk of about three hours. The walk isn’t difficult, but there are a few hills to crest, more memorials along the way, and you should feel the altitude. The last stretch of the trail snakes up and down glacial scree, and just before Gorak Shep we get a view of Everest. Gorak Shep, with Kala Pattar just to the left, is a welcome sight; the Himalayan Lodge has expanded, the rooms are lovely, the toilets are inside and the dining room is always lively and warm. The food is even good, quite a feat at 5180 meters, many days walk from the markets! To the east of Gorak Shep, Nuptse looms magnificently above, now a triangular rock face that turns pink with the evening light.

You have a chance to climb the 5645-meter Kala Pattar trekking peak later in the morning, a steep, 2 to 2 1/2 hour climb from the lodge. From the rocky, prayer-flag strewn summit, actually a spur from Pumori, you are rewared with in-your-face views the 6000,7000 and 8000-meter peaks as Everest, Lhotse (the tip), Nuptse, Amadablam & Kangtega to the south and Lhola Peak, Changtse, Khumbutse, Lingtren, Pumori & Chumbu. Changtse is fully in Tibet, and the others for the most part form the border of Nepal and Tibet.

Descending is much faster than the ascent, and hot drinks are waiting back at Ang Tsering’s Himalayan Lodge. For the remainder of the day: a late lunch (if you didn’t have it earlier), rest and lots of water! (3 hrs + 4 hrs r/t)
Distance: 8km

Day 14 – Trek Lobuche 4935m/16,186m | Day Hike Everest Base Camp 5365m/17,597m
The morning is free for a hike to Everest Base Camp (5365 meters), a 4 to 5-hour round-trip walk along the glacial ridge leading to the Khumbu icefall, descending right onto the glacier. At ‘Korean Base Camp’ there is a rock strung with 5-colored prayer flags which looks out at the Khumbu Ice Fall, a perfect spot for a group photo. If you have time and your guide thinks it’s okay, (carefully) venture into the ice pinnacles just a few minutes from the prayer flags, a sign of the melting glaciers and global warming.

If you didn’t do it yesterday, you have another chance to climb Kala Pattar in the morning. Rob Hall’s memorial makes a nice side-trip up the valley if you’re short on energy. Back at the lodge, you’ll have lunch and then head back down the glacial valley to the Eco Lodge at Lobuche, showers, a warm stove and a good dinner! (4 hrs r/t + 2 hrs)
Distance: 13.3km

Day 15 – Trek Pangboche (or Tengboche)
Leaving Lobuche, descend for an hour along the Khumbu glacier to the memorials above Thugla, and then switchback very steeply down the network of trails to Thugla that you climbed a few days ago. Keep to the right and take the lower trail to Pheriche, then climbing the small pass and descending back to the wide valley of yak trails and along the narrow trail to Pangboche. You’ll stay the night again at Sonam Lodge and enjoy the intimate dining room with sunset views of Ama Dablam. 

You have the option to continue on to Tengboche, another 1+ hours of hiking, if you prefer to stay near the monastery. (5 ½ hrs)
Distance: 12.6km

Day 16 – Trek Namche
Continuing back down the valley, you leave Pangboche by passing by the numerous trekking lodges and shops of Lower Pangboche and exiting the town through the open chorten (kane). You’ll descend on a beautiful and well-worn trail lined with ancient mani walls and whitewashed chortens with Boudha eyes, down to the Imja Khola far below. After crossing the river on a new metal bridge (look below to see the old bridge), we hike on wide yak-trails through the hamlet of Devoche, passing ancient, moss-covered mani stones and Devoche (Deboche) Gompa, a nunnery (ani gompa) established in 1925 on the right side of the trail. Stop for a peek into this old monastery, the equally ancient-looking nuns, many from Tibet, often perform mid-day pujas.  Deboche is associated with Tengboche monastery up the hill. Soon after passing the nunnery you will pass the few small lodges of Devoche and then ascend a relatively steep, switchbacking trail through a dense rhododendron forest for a good half an hour to reach Tengboche (4000 meters), backed by the massive wall of Kangtega and well-known for its large monastery, Tengboche Gompa. Tengboche is the largest monastic community in the Everest region and one of the Khumbu’s most important monasteries. Also known as Dawa Choling Gompa, was built in 1916 by Lama Gulu and has strong links to Rongbuk Monastery in Tibet. In 1934 the monastery was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt. In 1989, it was destroyed for a second time by a fire and again rebuilt.

Take some time to visit Tengboche Gompa before the steep, hour-long descent on a dusty, hillside trail to Phunki Tenga. From here, you cross the Dudh Koshi on a new bridge and heading back up steeply through pine forests, and past small local settlements to Tashi and Lhakpa’s Amadablam Lodge at Kyangjuma. You’ll stop for a scenic lunch on the terrace, gazing out on the majestic Ama Dablam. From here, it’s an easy hour and a half contour around many brushy hillsides to reach Namche, Moonlight lodge, hot showers, good food, and a glass of wine or cold beer. (5 ½ hrs)
Distance: 13.3km

Extra Day – Trek Chhuserma | The Beyul Hermitage Lodge 2660m/8725′
If you’d like to break up the last long day from Namche back down to Lukla, consider adding an extra day, stopping at the wonderful boutique Beyul Lodge in Chhuserma, a small village across the river from the main trail. This lodge is a unique, traditional yet modern retreat, a jewel in the Everest region run by the lovely Nima Sherpa!

Leaving Namche along the same trail that you hiked up over a week ago, you’ll trek down the steep hill past the Everest viewpoint to the prayer flag-covered suspension bridge, continue on an hour to Jorsale where you cross the river yet again on a suspension bridge. Jorsale is the home of Phuru Diki, one of the girls the Kamzang Fund has sponsored since class 3 (she finished nursing school in Kathmandu and is now studying nursing in Sydney). After one last steep hill to the National Park gate, you reach the welcome sight of Monjo. You might run into Dali, the mother of Dawa Yangi and Nimalee, two Monjo sisters that the Kamzang Fund has sponsored for school. Dawa Yangi is now finished with her degree in Hotel Management & Tourism in Kathmandu and is working at Cafe Caravan and as a Kathmandu city tour guide, while Nimalee is married with a young daughter, living in Pangboche.

It’s another hour and a half of hiking back to Phakding, where you cross the bridge over the river and hiking along the opposite side of the river, well away from other trekkers. Your destination is Nima’s charming The Beyul Hermitage Lodge where you will enjoy Himalayan views on their terrace, sit around the stove with the welcoming family, eat an organic meal from their own garden and enjoy true peace. This is a unique ’boutique’ lodge and a chance to get to know Sherpa culture with Western amenities a serene atmosphere! (5 hrs)
+ $150 Per Person

Day 17 – Trek Lukla 2850m
Leaving Namche along the same trail that you hiked up over a week ago, you’ll trek down the steep hill past the Everest viewpoint to the prayer flag-covered suspension bridge, continue on an hour to Jorsale where you cross the river yet again on a suspension bridge. Jorsale is the home of Phuru Diki, one of the girls the Kamzang Fund has sponsored since class 3 (she finished nursing school in Kathmandu and is now studying nursing in Sydney). After one last steep hill to the National Park gate, you reach the welcome sight of Monjo. You might run into Dali, the mother of Dawa Yangi and Nimalee, two Monjo sisters that the Kamzang Fund has sponsored for school. Dawa Yangi is now finished with her degree in Hotel Management & Tourism in Kathmandu and is working at Cafe Caravan and as a Kathmandu city tour guide, while Nimalee is married with a young daughter, living in Pangboche.

It’s another hour and a half back to Phakding, and another three back to Lukla. IF you’ve come from Chhuserma, you’ll again cross on the bridge and start your hike uphill through Chharikharka. Either route, you will finish the trek back at Dawa Phuti and Ang Pasang’s Eco Paradise Lodge where everyone stays in the new en-suite rooms. In the evening you will have yet another Sherpa feast (after hot showers) and perhaps try some of Dawa’s famous Sherpa tongba. This cozy dining room is one the nicest in the Everest region, so it’s always an added treat to return there after the trek. Ang Pasang works for the airport, so you are in good hands for your flight out the next morning. You will say goodbye to your guide and porter tomorrow morning, to take the evening to hand out their tips and perhaps treat them to a drink! Guides + porters living up in the Everest region are always happy to receive un-needed clothes as well. (2 hrs)
Distance: 18.2km

Day 18 – Fly Kathmandu
Bags packed and ready to go before the sun rises as you fly out of Lukla to Kathmandu early; taking off from the Hillary Airstrip is just as exciting as landing! Back in Kathmandu you will be transferred back to the Kathmandu Guest House (or your hotel) and have most of the day to wash up and relax from a wonderful trek in the Everest region!

TRAVEL NOTE | We strongly recommend scheduling an extra day in Kathmandu in case of flight delays or cancellations out of Lukla or Ramechhap.

Day 19 – Trip Ends | Transfer TIA
Transfer to the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for your flight home. Namaste & Tashi Delek!

Not Enough of Nepal?
We highly suggest taking advantage of your trip to Nepal, adding on excursions into the Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara, Bandipur, Gorkha, the Annapurna Foothills, and Chitwan and Bardia National Park. Enjoy heritage tours, mountain biking, Kathmandu valley hiking, Himalayan panoramas (and a hike down) from the Chandragiri Cable Car, whitewater rafting, yoga and meditation courses, Nepali cooking classes, Buddhist or Hindu retreats, and much more. There are many wonderful, boutique, luxury, and heritage lodges in the Kathmandu Valley, and many options for world heritage sightseeing tours, bicycle trips, hikes, and craft-cuisine tours. Nepal boasts world-class restaurants, chic cafes, timeless alleyways to wander through, countless Hindu and Buddhist festivals, and lots of great shopping.

Don’t miss an Everest sightseeing flight or epic helicopter tour, sightseeing trips to Bhaktapur, Patan, and Panauti (Kathmandu Valley’s other historic and/or capital cities), a weekend at Shivapuri Heights Resort or Dwarikas in Kathmandu, a night at the Fort Hotel in Nagarkot for sunrise and sunset Himalayan panoramas, a spa and wellness getaway at the ultra-luxurious Dwarikas Dhulikhel Resort and visits to ancient temple and monastery complexes such as Namo Buddha, Changu Narayan, and Dakshinkali. Spend a night at The Old Inn in Bandipur or Three Mountain Lodge en route to Pokhara, or The Famous Farm in Nuwakot, and get to know Nepal’s Newar heritage.

Enjoy a luxury 3-6 day trek in the Annapurna Foothills, staying in the wonderful Ker & Downey luxury lodges. Relax in heritage style at Temple Tree Resort in Pokhara for some pampering at the spa and infinity pool, try out paragliding, zip-lining, and enjoy a morning of boating on the lake and the hike to Shanti Stupa. Once refreshed, drive to Chitwan National Park, spending 2 or 3 nights at Maruni Sanctuary Resort or Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge for wildlife and bird spotting, river trips, and safaris in style. Tiger Tops also owns Karnali Lodge at Bardia National Park, reached by flight from Kathmandu, and there are nearby archeological sights to visit nearby.

Namaste!

Nepal Modules
Nepal & Kathmandu Modules | Customize Your Trip!

Day 14 – Trek to Lobuche East High Camp (5400m)Sleep in a bit this morning as you have a short day to Lobuche East High Camp today. Once past Lobuche, you will fork off to the right (east), cross a small floodplains river on rocks and climb gradually, contouring as we head south. At the confluence of the Chola stream and the stream coming from the Khumbu glacier you’ll be treated to magnificent views in all directions, the featured peaks being Ama Dablam, Nuptse and Pumori. Turn to the right and head up the Dzongla valley, past the opaque, turquoise Cho La Lake on our left, followed by Lobuche East base camp in the green valley to the right. Ahead you’ll see the small lodges of Dzongla, which requires a descent, another small stream crossing and one last ascent to reach. From Lobuche East High Camp you’ll have a scenic lunch as we gaze up at the sheer wall of Cholatse Peak and Lobuche East. Don’t miss watching (and photographing) the sunset over Ama Dablam from just outside the lodge, sublime.

Day 15 – Climb Lobuche East (6119m)
Climbing day! You’ll be up around midnight, or just afterwards, for your epic climb of Lobuche East, a magnificent climbing peak of 6119 meters.

Day 16 – Trek Chhukhung 4750m/15,580′ | Cross Kongma La Pass 5540m/18171m
You have two options today, to hike around the valley to Chhukhung or to cross the Kongma La. The pass is very arduous going up from Lobuche so discuss with the guide before making this decision. The total time from Lobuche up the Kongma La (5540m) and back down to Chhukung is 7 hours. To get to the pass you’ll have to cross the Khumbu glacier, an other worldy setting, and then ascend and descend the high lateral morraine on the opposite side of the valley. Then a hard, steep climb on scree to the top of the pass, which is adorned with prayer flags. Great mountain panoramas from the top, and again Makalu stands out. On route down you’ll pass the Kongma Lakes and two diferent base camps for Pokalden peak. From here it’s a straightforward trail to Chhukhung, contouring around many hillsides. Note the Tibetan Snowcock (‘kongma’) along the trail.

The other option is equally spectacular perhaps, but not quite as difficult. The length of day is approximately the same with a stop for lunch at Thugla. You’ll hike back down the valley past the memorials to Thugla, and then cross the high plateau back to Dingboche. From here it’s a new trail, a lovely hike up the sparkling Imja Khola, quickly gaining altitude. Cross a few small bridges once past the small herding hut just before Chhukhung, a seasonal herding settlement nestled under Ama Dablam, Lhotse, the Nuptse wall, Peak 38 and Island Peak to name just a few. The Chhukhung Resort, run by the industrious Chunti Sherpa, is a lovely lodge with sunny, new rooms and a warm sunroom with views, perfect for peak-gazing in the afternoon. Sunsets are sublime, so get out on the nearby moraine with your cameras …

Day 17 – Trek Island Peak Base Camp
Practice for your climb of Island Peak by trekking up Chhukhung Ri, a climbing peak with two summits, the higher at about 5530m. From the summit, the views of Makalu in particular are awesome. It’s a round-trip climb of 3+ hours, more if you climb to the second summit to the trekker’s right of the chorten-topped saddle. After lunch back at the lodge it’s time to head north. It’s a beautiful hike from Chhukung to Island Peak Base Camp, up the rolling valley, very central Tibetan in style,trekking on the ridges of the terminal morraine. En route you’ll pass grassy grazing pastures on the undulating trail, continuing past Imja Tal (lake) to your campsite. It’s a four hour walk but you’re gaining altitude so trek slowly and enjoy the great scenery.

Day 18 – Climb Island Peak 6189m/20,299′. Trek Island Peak Base Camp
Be ready for a long (8-10+) hour day as your qualified Sherpa guide leads you from Base Camp, up the knife-edged ridge to the summit of Island Peak. Enjoy the amazing panorama of 8000 meter peaks before retracing your steps back to Base Camp. Exhausted, crash in your tent and the staff will bring steaming cups of chai around. Congratulations!

Day 19 – Trek Chhukhung
This is one of the least trekked and most spectacular valleys, so you’ll have a chance to enjoy it back at the lodge in Chhukhung, and time to recover from the climb.

Day 20 – Trek Pangboche or Tengboche 4000m/13,120′
After a 1 1/2 hour walk back down the Chhukhung Valley to Dingboche, you’ll continue along the main trail back to Pangboche. Trekking further down the valley, you leave Pangboche by passing by the numerous trekking lodges and shops of Lower Pangboche and exiting the town through the open chorten (kane). You’ll descend, on a beautiful and well-worn trail lined with ancient mani walls and whitewashed chortens with Bouddha eyes, down to the Imja Khola far below. After crossing the river on a new metal bridge (look below to see the old bridge), you hike on wide yak-trails through the hamlet of Devoche, passing ancient, moss-covered mani stones and the ani gompa (nunnery) of Devoche on the right. Stop for a peek into this old monastery, the equally ancient looking nuns often perform mid-day pujas. Soon after passing the nunnery you will pass the few small lodges of Devoche and then ascend a relatively steep, switchbacking trail through a dense rhododendron forest for a good half an hour to reach Tengboche (4000 meters), backed by the massive wall of Kangtega and well-known for its large monastery, Tengboche Gompa. Tengboche is the largest monastic community in the Everest region and one of the Khumbu’s most important monasteries. Take some time to visit Tengboche Gompa before dinner; they often have a late-afternoon puja.

Day 21 – Trek Namche Bazaar
First thing in the morning you’ll brave the steep, hour-long descent on a dusty, hill-side trail to Phunki Tenga. From here, cross the Dudh Koshi on a new bridge and head back up steeply through pine forests, past small local settlements, to Tashi and Lhakpa’s Amadablam Lodge at Kyangjuma. You will probably stop for a scenic lunch on the terrace, gazing out on the majestic Ama Dablam. Don’t miss the shopping; Tashi is famous for her jewelry which she also sells in Colorado in the summertime. From here, it’s an easy hour and a half contour around many brushy hillsides to reach Namche, the Tibetan market, the Moonlight lodge, hot showers, good food and a glass of wine or a cold beer.

Day 22 – Trek Lukla 
Up early as it’s quite a long day back to Lukla. The descent of that long hill that we plodded up less then a fortnight ago seems amazingly short and easy on the way down. Jorsale, just before the bridge to Monjo, is the home of Phuru Diki, one of the girls Kim sponsors (she’s now in school in Kathmandu), and we will probably run into her youngest sibling en route. After one last steep hill to the National Park gate, we reach the welcome sight of Monjo. We might run into Dali, the mother of Dawa Yangi and Nimalee, two Monjo sisters that we sponsor for school in Khumjung. We continue back to Lukla along the same trail, although it always looks different coming from the opposite direction.

We’ll stop for lunch at Shangri La in Phakding, and finish the trek back at Dawa Phuti & Ang Pasang’s Eco Paradise Lodge in Lukla, where the adventurous can try some of Dawa’s famous Sherpa tongba. This cozy dining room is one the nicest in the Everest region, so it’s always an added treat to return there after the trek. Ang Pasang works closely with the airport, so we are in good hands for our flight out the next morning.

Day 23 – Fly Kathmandu
Bags packed and ready to go before the sun rises as we fly out of Lukla to Kathmandu early; taking off from the Hillary Airstrip is just as exciting as landing! Flights our of Lukla are sometimes delayed by bad weather.

In Kathmandu, back at the Kathmandu Guest House, long, hot showers await, and grubby clothes can be dropped at the laundry. Enjoy a well earned dinner + a few beers out!

Day 24 – Trip Ends
Transfer to the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) for your flight home. Namaste!

Trek & Climb Dates
Custom Departures
24 Days

Trek + Climb Price
1 Person – $5180
2 People – $4880
3 People – $4680
4+ People – $4480

Kathmandu Guest House Single & Double Upgrades 
+ Deluxe Upgrade Kathmandu Guest House (3 Nights) – $135
+ Suite Upgrade Kathmandu Guest House (3 Nights) – $225

Kathmandu Guest House | Extra Nights Room Price
Includes Breakfast & Taxes

Standard Single – $55
Standard Double – $65
Deluxe Single – $100
Deluxe Double – $110
Suite Single – $130
Suite Double – $140

Hotel & Lodge Upgrades
+ Single Upgrade Lodges – $200, $225 + $250
+ Chhuserma | The Beyul Extra Trekking Day – $150

Everest Region Helicopter Prices
+ Helicopter Kathmandu – Lukla (and Lukla – Kathmandu) ($325 Per Person. Shared Helicopter 5 Pax)
+ Helicopter Namche – Lukla (+$750 Per Helicopter. Max 5 Pax)
+ Helicopter Tengboche or Pangboche-Lukla (+$1050 Per Helicopter. Max 5 Pax)
+ Helicopter Lobuche – Lukla (+$1500 Per Helicopter – Max 3 Pax)

Custom Treks
Private Departures Available | Choose Your Own Dates!

Includes

• Kathmandu Guest House (or Upgraded Boutique & Luxury Hotel)
• Kathmandu Lukla Kathmandu Fights
• Sagarmatha National Park Permits
• Local Expertise & 20+ Years of Experience in the Everest Region
• Local Khumbu & Kathmandu Support
• Options for Helicopter Flights
• Rescue Service (Cost Not Included)
• Oxygen Saturation Meter
• Airport Transfers
• Kamzang Lodge Trekking
  Meals & hot drinks from lodge menu, French Press coffee, filtered drinking water, double rooms at our Kamzang-approved Sherpa lodges, small medical kit & O2 monitor, Sherpa guide & porter(s), local support in the Khumbu with our network of Sherpa friends, office support in Kathmandu, local knowledge & 20+ years of experience in the Everest region!

Excludes

• International Flights
• Nepal Visa
• Trip Cancellation or Travel Medical Insurance
• Rescue Service Cost
• Helicopter Shuttle
• Meals in Kathmandu
• Equipment Rental
• Beer, Wine, Bottled Drinks + Bottled Water + Toilet Paper
• Bakery Items & Packaged Snacks
• Showers, Laundry & Battery Charging
• Hot Water Bottles or Boiled Drinking Water (To Fill Water Bottles)
• Tips

Tips & Extra Cash
Allow approx $250 – $350 for meals (while not on trek), drinks + extras (see ‘excluded items’) on trek and tips. We recommend $250 per trekker as tips for the staff.

Trip Advisor Reviews

Trekkers’ Comments

Trek Highlights

• Climbs | Island Peak + Lobuche East
• Sublime Himalayan Views From Summits of Island Peak + Lobuche East
• Qualified Sherpa Climbing Guide
• Everest Base Camp Trek + the Khumbu Icefall
• Kala Pattar + Chukhung Ri Peaks
• Kongma La Pass
• Ama Dablam Base Camp
• Chhukhung Valley + Chhukhung Peak
• Pangboche, Namche, Tengboche + Khumjung Monasteries
• Cozy, Traditional Sherpa Lodges
• Rhododendron Season in Spring
• Awesome Trekking + Climbing in the Nepal Himalaya!

Client Comments
Kim and her colleages at Khumbu Adventures arranged a solo trek for me at very short notice in November 2013 – and did it even whilst most of them were leading another trek in Mustang! They made the complex easy. From a wonderful guide to helping me arrange evacuation when I got sick, I was always in knowledeable, kind, efficient hands. I recommend Kamzang Journeys without reservation and I’ll be using them when I return to Nepal in September 2014!
– Nick A (UK), Private Everest Trek 2013

Tsering Sherpa is marvelous, extremely responsible, serious, devoted, very thoughtful, discreet and very pleasant to trek with. He is very helpful, well travelled, speaks good English, is well-mannered and has a good experience as a mountaineer and a climber.  He is very powerful, strong and quick, and smiles a lot! He seems to know everybody on the trail, is active in his community and is respected by other Sherpas. On trek he was a good counsellor on food, and of course respectful of tradition and of the Tibetan Buddhist faith. With him we felt very secure as he knows the trail and all the short cuts.
– Nan & Odette (France), Private Everest Base Camp Trek 2014

Viney was my private guide to trek to Everest base camp in October 2013.  I felt very secure with him the entire time.  He was always attentive to my wellbeing from the time we started in x (kim pls fill in) where we ended up slogging through rainfall and mud due to the cyclone left over from India, all the way through to the end of our trip in Lukla.  I could count on him without a doubt every day of the entire 3 weeks we spent together.  Thanks to Viney for an excellent trek!
– Lori C (USA), Private Everest High Passes Trek 2014

Last May I spent almost three weeks hiking with Mingma in the Khumbu region of Nepal and we explored the Gokyo lakes, Gokyo valley and we climbed Gokyo Ri. Mingma is an experienced mountain-guide, knows all the summits in the region, the Sherpas and routes.  He is responsive of the challenges, strong and kind, but he is very calm in case of difficult situations. While we walked together, he was attentive and he always tried to accommodate my phyisical condition and my spiritual eagerness. We spent wonderful time together and I immensely enjoyed every moment of the trek. I am planning to walk with him again in 2015!
– Kati K (Hungary), Private Gokyo Lakes Trek 2014

Tashi was the perfect guide for me. I was going solo, and looking mostly for solitude; Tashi’s temperament was the perfect match for mine. When he had something to say, it seemed eerily to come right when I was about to ask him a question about the very thing he started to speak about! He has a real passion for the natural world he lives in and for the Sherpa people and their traditions, too. I ended up falling ill with something and here again Tashi was the perfect guide – helpful but not smothering or overly-solicitous. I will be back, and with my family and I’m certain to request that Tashi accompanies us when we return.
– Nick A-H (UK), Private Everest Base Camp Trek 2013

Kim Bannister Photo Gallery | Trip + Trek Photos
Kim Bannister Photography

Travel Reading | Enhance Your Trip!
Travel Books

Online Articles + Documentaries on Everest Region

Glacier Works – David Breshear’s Interactive Site

1953: First Footsteps – Sir Edmund Hillary & Tenzin Norgay – National Geographic Adventure

Sherpas | The True Heroes of Mount Everest – Film

On Mount Everest, Sherpa Guides Bear the Brunt of the Danger – NPR

Lakes Expanding Dangerously in Everest Glacier – BBC

Rivers of Ice – Vanishing Glaciers – BBC

Everest – National Geographic Adventure

Climbing Everest Then & Now – National Geographic Adventure

Everest Revealed: Photos by Renan Ozturk – National Geographic Adventure

Flying a Drone at Everest – Himalayan Aerials

The Everest Avalanche 2014 – YouTube

Living Through the Himalayan Thaw – Himalayan Times

Nepal Quake Caused Minimal Damage to Everest Trails – Reuters

Nepal Before & After the Earthquake – New York Times

Jan Morris: No One Else Needs to Climb Everest – New Statesman

Airport Near Everest is its own Perilous Adventure – New York Times

Sherpa – They Die, We Go Home – New York Times

On Mount Everest – Surviving and Earthquake & an Avalanche – New York Times Lens Blog

Climate Model Suggests Glaciers Could Nearly Disappear – New York Times

Forty Years of Everest – YouTube

Trek Guide
Doma, Tshering or Phu Tashi Sherpa

Climbing Guide
Gyurme Sherpa or Vinek Malla

Kamzang Journeys Contact
Kim Bannister
kim@kamzang.com
kamzangkim@gmail.com
Mobile: +(977) 9803414745 (WhatsApp), 9863196743
On-Trek Satellite Phone: +88216 21277980 (Nepal)

Kathmandu Contact
Khumbu Adventures
hiking.guide@gmail.com
Lhakpa Dorji Sherpa Mobile: +(977) 9841235461, 9705235461
Doma Sherpa Mobile: +(977) 9841510833, 9705510833
Nuru Wangdi Sherpa Mobile: +977 9803633783 (WhatsApp)

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Kathmandu Arrival Hotel
Kathmandu Guest House

Nepal Tourist Visas
You can get your Nepal visa at TIA International Airport (or any land border) when you arrive in Nepal, or before you leave home at a Nepali Embassy or Consulate. When you arrive at immigration in Kathmandu, scan your passport at the visa machines (no photo needed) or produce your online, printed visa-on-arrival form, pay the visa fee, and go to the appropriate immigration line.
15 Days – $30
30 Days – $50
90 Days – $125
Tourist Visa Extension (15 days) – $45 (+$3 Additional Day))
Nepal Visa

Nepal Visa Information
Kathmandu Guest House
Ward: 16, Street name: Saatghumti, Area: Thamel, District: Bagmati, City: Kathmandu, Zone: Bagmati, Phone: +977 14700004‬

Health Information 
Nepal Health Information
CDC

We also recommend bringing probiotics with you to help prevent infections while on trek. Doctor’s recommendation!

Travel Medical Insurance
Required for your own safety. We carry a copy of your insurance with all contact, personal and policy information with us on the trek and our office in Kathmandu keeps a copy. Note that we almost always trek over 4000 meters (13,000′) and that we don’t do any technical climbing with ropes, ice axes or crampons.

Global Rescue Rescue Services
We recommend (but don’t require) that our trekkers sign up for Global Rescue services as a supplement to your travel medical insurance. You can book this directly through our Kamzang Journeys site.
Global Rescue

Medical On-Trek
Please do have a full check-up before leaving home, and inform us of any medical issues. This is for YOUR OWN safety. Your guides bring a small medical kit, but you’ll want your own medications with you. 

DO bring all prescription medications and rehydration powders-electrolytes. We advise bringing your own Diamox, Ciprofloxin, Azithromycin + Augmentin. We do have all of these with us, but the Western versions are generally more reliable than the Indian equivalents. See Gear List for a full list of recommended medications for the trek.

Travel Reading | Enhance Your Trip!
Travel Books

Not Enough of Nepal?
We highly suggest taking advantage of your trip to Nepal, adding on excursions into the Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara, Bandipur, Gorkha, the Annapurna Foothills, and Chitwan and Bardia National Park. Enjoy heritage tours, mountain biking, Kathmandu valley hiking, Himalayan panoramas (and a hike down) from the Chandragiri Cable Car, whitewater rafting, yoga and meditation courses, Nepali cooking classes, Buddhist or Hindu retreats, and much more. There are many wonderful, boutique, luxury, and heritage lodges in the Kathmandu Valley, and many options for world heritage sightseeing tours, bicycle trips, hikes, and craft-cuisine tours. Nepal boasts world-class restaurants, chic cafes, timeless alleyways to wander through, countless Hindu and Buddhist festivals, and lots of great shopping.

Don’t miss an Everest sightseeing flight or epic helicopter tour, sightseeing trips to Bhaktapur, Patan, and Panauti (Kathmandu Valley’s other historic and/or capital cities), a weekend at Shivapuri Heights Resort or Dwarikas in Kathmandu, a night at the Fort Hotel in Nagarkot for sunrise and sunset Himalayan panoramas, a spa and wellness getaway at the ultra-luxurious Dwarikas Dhulikhel Resort and visits to ancient temple and monastery complexes such as Namo Buddha, Changu Narayan, and Dakshinkali. Spend a night at The Old Inn in Bandipur or Three Mountain Lodge en route to Pokhara, or The Famous Farm in Nuwakot, and get to know Nepal’s Newar heritage.

Enjoy a luxury 3-6 day trek in the Annapurna Foothills, staying in the wonderful Ker & Downey luxury lodges. Relax in heritage style at Temple Tree Resort in Pokhara for some pampering at the spa and infinity pool, try out paragliding, zip-lining, and enjoy a morning of boating on the lake and the hike to Shanti Stupa. Once refreshed, drive to Chitwan National Park, spending 2 or 3 nights at Maruni Sanctuary Resort or Tiger Tops Tharu Lodge for wildlife and bird spotting, river trips, and safaris in style. Tiger Tops also owns Karnali Lodge at Bardia National Park, reached by flight from Kathmandu, and there are nearby archeological sights to visit nearby.

Nepal Modules
Nepal & Kathmandu Modules | Customize Your Trip!

Notes on Itinerary
Although we try to follow our trek itinerary, it is ONLY a guideline based on years of experience trekking in many Himalayan regions. At times local trail, river or weather conditions may make a deviation necessary; rivers may be impassible, snow blocks passes, and landslides wipe out trails. The trekking itinerary and campsites may also vary slightly depending on the group’s acclimatization rate or sickness, or improved campsites and lodges.

The Himalaya are our passion, and we take our trekking and cycling trips seriously. Although everyone is here on vacation, please come with a dollop of patience and compassion added to your sense of adventure …