Trekking to Everest Base Camp is definitely an epic journey. And it becomes even more marvelous when an additional wonderful trekking section to Gokyo and Cho La is added to it.
Overview
Yes, definitely, Everest Base Camp Trekking via Gokyo Lakes and Cho La pass is a grand epic Himalayan journey. The trekking journey goes to explore the charismatic charm of the Gokyo region and the lakes, glacier and mountain views before proceeding towards the Everest Base Camp. The pristine lakes at Gokyo, challenging hiking to Gokyo Ri, tough yet rewarding walk over Cho La pass, joy of being at the base of the highest mountain in the world, panoramic mountain views with incredible sunrise from Kalapatthar, Sherpa culture and spiritual riches and much more make this trip wonderful beyond explanation. Enjoy being at the one of the most spectacular places on earth and take lovely memories back to cherish.
Itinerary
Today is the day of your arrival in Kathmandu, Nepal. As soon as you come out of the Kathmandu airport, you will find our representative waiting for you in the waiting area right outside the arrival lounge. You will be warmly greeted and welcomed by the representative and led to the vehicle. Our vehicle will take you to the trip hotel, most of the time in Thamel, that is 20-30 minutes drive, depending upon traffic, from the airport.
Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel. We come to take your for a wonderful cultural heritage tour of Kathmandu valley. As part of the tour, we are going to visit four of the UNESCO Heritage monuments in Kathmandu valley. The places we visit today are incredible mixture of culture, history, spirituality, art and stories. Overnight in Hotel.
Swoyambhunath
Believed to have been created on its own, this Budhhist stupa is the oldest of all the monuments in Kathmandu valley. Standing atop a small hillock, Swoyambunath, known as monkey temple amongst tourists, provides a fascinating view of the valley, surrounding hills and snow-capped mountain at the distance on a clear day.
Patan Durbar Square
One of the three medieval palace squares, Patan Durbar Square holds its medieval art and architectural grandeur. Amazing skill of the artisans is evident in each and every building that stands in the square. The square comprises of medieval palace, temples and museum.
Pashupatinath
This site is the most sacred Hindu temple area in the country. But, as the temple is strictly a Hindu only area, non-Hindu tourists go there to watch the unique Hindu cremation rituals on the bank of River Bagmati. The death rites of Hindu family there are so engrossing and heart-touching which make you feel the moment. It’s not any kind of intrusion in being there and watching somebody being cremated in an open ground. It’s a great cultural experience.
Boudhanath
This giant Buddhist stupa is considered as the biggest one in the world. This small square with giant shrine has a powerful presence of the spiritual vibrations. It’s an important pilgrimage site for the people following Tibetan Buddhism.
After a day of wonderful immersion into Kathmandu vibes, we are ready to fly and trek into the higher elevation. We drive to airport early morning to board our flight to Lukla to enter the Everest region. About half hour of spectacular flight takes us to the small but beautiful town of Lukla where magical mountain peaks extend their warm welcome to us.
Once we prepare for the day walk, we proceed walking towards Phakding as the destination for the day. The first day of walk in the Everest region goes along the Dudh Koshi River passing through several mani walls, chhortens and beautiful landscapes. Phakding village lies beautifully on the bank of Dudh Koshi River where we spend the night. Overnight in Lodge.
It’s a beautiful day of walking into the Sagarmatha National Park. We relish the mouthwatering breakfast as a gentle breeze comforts the morning. We set off on the trek for the day and reach Monjo to enter the national park zone. After checking into the park, we head up towards Namche Bazar. Crossing suspension bridges over the river in several places; passing through forested parts and many wonderful views, we finally reach Namche Bazar. Namche Bazar is a beautiful settlement on a mountain slope with the view of Himalayan peaks right in front. It is also an important trade center in Everest region. Overnight in Lodge.
An additional day of exploring around Namche is required to acclimatize with the thinning air as we go higher. We hike to the Everest view point to get the very first glimpse of Mt. Everest along with other impressive peaks in the region. We can hike up to Khumjung if you like to. The hiking to a higher elevation will help us acclimatize properly so that we can walk further higher. We return back to Namche Bazar in the afternoon and wander around the bazar. A relaxing afternoon will reenergize and prepare us for the next day. Overnight in Lodge.
After spending an acclimatizing day at Namche Bazar, we are ready to move ahead on our journey. We head towards Gokyo valley on our trek today. Before the Everest Base Camp, we are going to explore Gokyo valley. Thus, we are trekking to Dole today. Dole is a small and beautiful village where the serenity and good vibrations prevail in abundance. As soon as we start walking on the route to Dole, we feel the difference, in terms of number of trekkers. The region has fewer trekkers than on the Everest Base Camp trekking trail. We enjoy this incredibly peaceful atmosphere in the region. Overnight at a lodge.
We trek to Machhermo today. As we go higher, we feel the change in the vegetation, landscape and oxygen level. The thinning oxygen level creates a little bit challenge but, with the excitement and strong determination, we can overcome this challenge. After all there are a lot of such challenges that we are going to face during our adventure journey. The challenge of the walk becomes easier as we can enjoy some unearthly views during the walk. Eventually we reach Machhermo, just below the Ngozumpa glacier, to stay overnight. Overnight at a lodge.
We are going to reach the region where beautiful Gokyo lakes are located. We begin the day with an ascent with the views of beautiful mountain peaks of Cho Oyu and Kangtenga. The trail traversing between Machhermo and Gokyo takes us via two beautiful lakes, Longponga – the first lake and Taujun – the second lake. We also come across an ancient cave called Nilbuk along the trail. We reach on the shore of Dudhpokhari, the third of five lakes in the region, to stay overnight. Overnight at a lodge.
An adventurous day is ahead of us today. A challenging uphill walk early in the morning tests us before reaching Renjo La. We need to face the steep uphill walk just near the Renjo La pass. Although the trail to Renjo La feels challenging, it rewards us with the fabulous view of mountain panorama and Gokyo lakes. After spending some beautiful moments at the pass, we start descending down towards Gokyo. We reach Dudh Pokhari, the third of five lakes in Gokyo and stay overnight there. Overnight at a lodge.
We trek to Thagnak today. After spending a wonderful day at Gokyo and hiking to Gokyo Ri, we walk on easy pace on easy trail, easy for the high altitude trail. We walk along the glacial path towards the destination and reach there early in the afternoon. We will have enough time to explore around Thagnak after lunch.
On our walk to Dzongla today, we are going to walk over a high mountain pass called Cho La. Cho La pass, at the elevation of 5,420 meters above sea level, provides a marvelous view of the mountains. But the breathtaking view is rewarded only after a strenuous uphill walking effort from Thagnak. The trail is quite tricky one and sometimes, if there is too much ice on it, we need to use our climbing skills although not highly technical. But the view from the pass makes us forget all the challenges we go through to reach there though for a moment. We carefully descend to Dzongla after enjoying the view from the pass. Overnight at a lodge.
Our walk today takes us to meet the trekkers to Everest Base Camp on the regular route. When we reach Lobuche today, we join the trekkers who took the normal EBC trekking route up from Namche Bazar. The trekking from Dzongla to Lobuche is a beautiful and short walk with the views of the mountains to keep our motivation high. We reach Lobuche little early allowing ourselves time to explore around. Overnight at a lodge.
Today is the day when we make it to the destination of this epic journey. We trek to the Everest base camp via Gorakshep after stopping for the lunch there. Gorakshep serves as our overnight site for the day. After checking in the lodge at Gorakshep, we set off on the journey to the epic Everest base camp. The trail to the base of the highest mountain in the world is full of glacial moraine and boulders. We reach the base camp and spend some wonderful time there taking pictures and absorbing the mountain vibes. We, later, walk back to Gorakshep to stay overnight.
We trek back to Namche bazar today. The route we take goes via Tengboche where we will visit the monastery there. Later we descend to a river and cross it to go an uphill section. Later we follow a gradual downhill trail taking us to Namche Bazar. We can stay relaxed at the comfort of the lodge or go for a wandering around in Namche Bazar. Overnight at a lodge.
We trek back to Namche bazar today. The route we take goes via Tengboche where we will visit the monastery there. Later we descend to a river and cross it to go an uphill section. Later we follow a gradual downhill trail taking us to Namche Bazar. We can stay relaxed at the comfort of the lodge or go for a wandering around in Namche Bazar. Overnight at a lodge.
The final day of this trek is eventually here today. We walk back to Lukla via Monjo and Phakding along the Dudh Koshi River. A round trip on the Three High Pass Trekking trail comes to end here. We celebrate the end of the trekking part of the journey and thank our wonderfully amazing supporting crew members for their service and effort to take us to the base camp and back safely. Overnight at a lodge.
We get ready for the flight back to Kathmandu. We board the plane at Lukla airstrip and fly back to Kathmandu. Once we land in Kathmandu airport, we go to hotel and spend the whole day at leisure on our own. Finding relieving massage, good food, souvenir shopping, and wandering around can keep you busy for the day. A farewell dinner is scheduled for this evening. We will let you know the departure time for dinner once we reach Kathmandu.
This is an additional day in the itinerary to compensate any possible delays on the trekking or cancellation of the flights. We extremely recommend that you have at least 2 extra days after the itinerary days so to maintain any possible delays or cancellation of the flight. If everything goes without any problem, you can utilize those extra days doing some other activities.
The final day of the trip, we drive you to airport for your scheduled flight homebound or other destination. We will pick you up 3 hours prior to your flight schedule.
The Trip Cost Includes
- Airport Pick and Drop in Kathmandu by Private vehicle.
- Welcome and Farewell dinner with cultural program.
- 4 Nights Tourist Standard Hotel Accmmodation in Kathmandu with B/B basis.
- Half day guided city tour with entrance permit.
- Round Flight ticket for Kathmandu-Lukla-Kathmandu with airport TAX.
- Standard Lodge Accommodation (best available) with twin sharing basis during the trek.
- Full Board Meals (3 Meals a day) while on the trek.
- Trekking Permit and Trekker's Information Management System (TIMS) card fees.
- Professional & highly expertise government licensed holder Trekking Guide.
- 2:1 Porters to carry luggages.
- All expenses of the staffs (Guides/Porters) that includes Food, Accommodation, Salary, Insurance, Equipment during your travel period.
- All the necessary trekking gear for porters like jacket /trousers, trekking shoes, gloves, shocks, sunglasses etc.
- Friends Adventure Team's Sleeping Bag, Walking Poles and Duffel Bag, to be return after trip completed.
- Comprehensive First Aid Kit.
- Arrangement of all rescue and evacuation promptly, in Worst Condition
- Group Trekking Gears.
- Trekking Map, Friends Adventure Team's special Souvenir.
The Trip Cost Excludes
- Meals in Kathmandu.
- Any packed food/snacks, aerated drinks, energy drinks, mineral water, alcohol, cigarettes, chocolates, nutria-bars.
- All desserts, sweet things like chocolate, cake, pie, pudding.
- Items of personal nature, Laundry Expenses.
- Clothing, Packing Items or Bags, Personal Medical Kit, Personal Trekking Gears.
- Any additional staff other than specified.
- Medical and Travel Insurance and Emergency rescue by any means of Transportation including Helicopter evacuation if required.
- Rescue, Repatriation, Medicines, Medical Tests and Hospitalization expenses.
- Airfare of international flights.
- Nepal entry visa fee (Visa issuance is easy at the arrival).
- Gratuities to guide, porters and driver (Not mandatory but expected as customizetripomary thank you for the service).
- Any other item not included in "Cost Includes" Section.
Frequently asked Questions
Everest Base Camp Trek via Gokyo Lakes is a Grade B or a moderately difficult trekking route. So any fit person can do this trek, even if you do not have any previous experience. You should be aware of what to expect and mentally prepare for it. Then, as long as you will to, you can.
On average, you walk about 4 to 6 hours per day. One or two days can be as less as 3hrs and one or two days can be as long as 7hrs.
The highest altitude reached is 5545m. This is the elevation of Kalapatthar. Kalapatthar is the highest we will climb in this trek.
Yes, you can charge batteries en route. Charger should be brought. There are hot shower facilities as well. You may have to pay certain amount for both ($1-$2). Negotiate. Also, hot water facility could be free at lower elevation.
No. There are no ATMs on this trek route. You will have to draw enough cash in Kathmandu/Lukla or Namche. There are a number of ATMs in these cities. Everything is paid in Nepali rupees. So money should be exchanged before the start of the trek.
Yes. Internet can be accessed in most places. Sometimes, there might be some technical problems. Internet in Nepal is not as fast as you are used to and at times you can just lose connection.
Not really. It depends on you. If you want, Everest 3 High Passes trekking can be done independently. You could hire a guide and a porter by yourself instead of going through an agency or not hire a guide at all. Although, not having a guide can be a little problematic during off season.
It really depends on you. Is it your first time in Nepal? How confident are you of being able to find your way around? How pressed on time are you? If you go through an agency, it will be costlier but everything will be planned. You will only have to come, trek and return.
For Everest region, pay for guides range from $20 to $30 per day and porters take $15 to $25 per day.
