Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes Trek: 15 Days

The day will begin with a gentle walk to Monjo, another beautiful Sherpa settlement of the trek; the official entry into the Sagarmatha National Park where you will have to show your permits (SNP entry permit and TIMS card) at the office in Monjo. The walk to Namche Bazaar involves a tough uphill climb of about 590 meters, taking approximately 2.30 – 3 hours. However, halfway up the hill, you will be able to see Everest and Lhotse for the first time. As you approach the town of Namche Bazaar (3440 meter), the peaks
of Thamserku (6648 meter) and Kwangde (6224 meter) are visible in the east and the sacred Khumbila mountain (5707 meter) appears in front of your eyes in the west.

As gateway to the Khumbu region, Namche Bazaar, at an altitude of 3440 meter, is famous for its many bakeries and the local market (Haat Bazaar) which is held each Saturday. Built on a steep mountain bowl with excellent views of high Himalaya on either side, the town has restaurants, shops, banks and currency exchange. Remarkably, for such a remote location,
there are also availability of cyber cafes and pool halls.

It is important to walk to higher altitudes while you stay two days in Namche bazaar. We todaymake a day hike to to Thame village, the hometown of the great Everest Sherpa, TenzingNorgay.

Or, you could visit the Everest view hotel, which was set up by the Japanese to bring affluent tourists into the region for the best views of Everest. The scheme was brought down by the fact the hotel was at a height of 4000 meters and many suffered from altitude sickness.

As proceed towards Dole (4038 meters) from Namche. The first part of the journey is relatively easy and flat. After we cross this beautiful town, we come across a junction that leads up to Dole. During the spring season, this region is full of stunning blooms.

We then climb gradually all along the side of the gorge, where we can see lush rhododendrons making way to scrub juniper as the elevation keeps increasing. Tremendous views of Cho Oyu can also be seen. This is a short day trek and we will reach Machermo in no time.

After walking for two hours from Gokyo you get to see fourth lake known as Thonak Tsho (4840 meters). We walk along the trek which leads us up to the fifth lake, Ngozumpa Tsho (4980meters).

We can see a small hill adorned with prayer flags on the periphery towards the east of the lake. From here, you will see the stunning views of Mt. Cho Oyu, Ngozumpa glacier, Gyachung Kang,Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Makalu.

Today, moving ahead from Machermo, we continue towards the lakes at Gokyo (4750 meters) which pour down the west part of the Ngozumpa Glacier. We go across the three eye-catching Lakes and the third lake known as Dudh Pokhari. To the east, lies the settlement of Gokyo.

Walking alongside the lake, you will recognize the panorama of glorious summits such as Cho Oyu and Gyachung Kang.

We trek to Gokyo Ri, also known as Gokyo Peak, at an elevation of 5357 meters for panoramic views of snowcapped mountains such as Mount Everest, Mount Lhotse, Mount Cho Oyu, Mount Nagpai Gosum, Cholatse Peak, Tawoche Peak and more as well as the views of Ngozumpa glaciers and Gokyo Lakes.

We then return to Gokyo Lake for breakfast and continue journey to Thangnak. From Gokyo to Thangnak, we cross the Ngozumpa Glacier which is rocky, icy and sandy, all at once. Thangnak is a small place and has just three tea houses, but it is incredibly stunning. The Chola pass from Thangnak is quite steep as well, but the views of Amadablam and Lobuche East are phenomenal.

To reach the peak of the pass, we will have to start early in the morning. We cross rocky chunks and come across a small saddle. From here, we carefully follow a narrow rocky path to the Nymagawa Valley.

Once we reach the snowfield, the trail becomes easier and we soon get to the top of the pass (5420 meters), where the views offer the incredible Baruntse (7129 meters) and Ama Dablam (6812 meters) as well as a sea of lesser-known peaks. We then descend to Dzong La for overnight stay.

Keeping on trek along the moraine of the glacier; we get to see views of Kala Patthar (5545meters) and Mt. Pumori (7161 meters). Today, we walk above the Pheriche village. About 5 hours of walking along the Khumbu glacier takes us to the beautiful Gorakhshep via Lobuche.This is also an important day for acclimatization. We rest for the rest of the day.

This is another challenging day. We walk along the Khumbu Glacier and up to Everest BaseCamp at 5380 meters, the closest you can get to Mt. Everest without climbing equipment. The views of the Khumbu Icefall from Base Camp are spectacular.

A steady walk permits us to build the slow, steady pace necessary when walking at high height. When we arrive at the moraines of Changri Nup Glacier, we make cross an unsteady trail that ultimately leads to the glacial sands of Gorak Shep (5164 meter).

We consequently head off towards the Everest Base Camp. We return back to Gorakshep for the night.

This day is one of the most difficult yet worthwhile days of the trek. In the morning, we climb the iconic Kala Patthar (5545 meters). The climber gets the most wonderful mountain panorama: Everest, the highest point on the planet at 8848 meters, towering directly to the front with other giants such as Nuptse, Pumori, Chagatse and Lhotse surrounding you from other sides.

We make a quick descent to Gorakshep, a tiny settlement at 5164 meters then trek down to Pheriche.

From Pheriche, we take a different way down to Orsho, moving to the Pangboche village. Here we can see the oldest monastery in the region which supposedly contains the scalp and bones of a ‘Yeti’, the legendary abominable snowman.

Leaving the mountains behind us, our descent takes us through Tyangboche Monastery at an elevation of 3887 meters before continuing back to the town of Namche Bazaar at 3440 meters. We arrive Namche Bazaar in the afternoon.

After having breakfast, we head back over the main track down to Dudh Koshi retracing our journey to Phakding. Following the track, we reach Lukla, scaling different Sherpa villages and crossing a suspension bridge above Thado Koshi.

Catch your connecting flight back to Kathmandu with great memories of Mt. Everest and the great Himalayas.