Everest Base Camp Via Gokyo Chola Pass (5,420M)

Upon your arrival at the TIA, one of our representatives will be waiting to welcome you.After meet and greet, you will be transferred to the hotel booked for you to rest. There you will freshen up and relax. You can go around the streets of Thamel for refreshments.  

On the second day, we will fulfill all our official procedures including necessary documentation, obtain permits, and other formalities needed for our expedition. We will start our preparation for our trek. We will now pack our bags, do some necessary shopping, re-check everything that we need (Especially medicines and essentials). Briefings will be made about each and every aspect of the trek and trip duration, accommodation, facilities at the base camp and during the trek. It is also an opportunity for you to communicate and introduce yourself to your fellow trekkers and teammates.

Early in the morning, after an amazing breakfast, we will take a thrilling flight to Lukla Airport. The flight gives you a bird’s eye view of the valleys, rivers, hills, and gradually mountain ranges. Even though the flight is only for half an hour, it does not fail to mesmerize you now and then. As we land at Lukla Airport, which is already exciting, we start our trek to Phakding, our destination for the day. After obtaining the permit for the region, we will slowly move through the settlements on a mixed trail of dirt, stone pathways, and some rocky sections at times. This is an easy start so make sure to enjoy all the greeneries, floras, and faunas as you walk. The trail takes you over several suspension bridges and along the Dudh Koshi river. Enjoy the rest of the day at Phakding.

After Phakding, we move towards another beautiful destination, Namche Bazaar, which is the commercial point of the Khumbu region. Passing through the dense luscious forests of pine, juniper, Rhododendron, looking out for animals in the Sagarmatha National Park, climbing the stairs, enjoying the rages of rivers at some points, and mostly walking uphills are the major activities of the day’s trek. This trek will be long and tiring as we start gaining significant elevation. As we reach Namche, we rest at our hotel and enjoy our dinner. The next day, we will go around the village area and experience some local sherpa culture. 

After acclimatizing at Namche, we set our feet on the trail towards Khumjung valley, also called the green valley because of its dense vegetation. We follow the rocky pathways, steep uphills, rugged terrain, and most importantly enjoy the glimpses of the mountains at a distance throughout.

After Khumjung, we then approach the most beautiful and tranquil part of this Trek, the Tengboche monastery. This trail is a mix of smooth up and downhill paths with a steep uphill climb through the forests before we reach Tengboche. If we got lucky, we may even be able to spot some musk deer, a herd of Himalayan Thar, and pheasants along our way. 

Tengboche monastery is one of the most popular monasteries among Buddhists around the world. The views of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam are visible towards the north while Thamserku and Kangtega stand towards the south with striking views. We will also join in some prayer ceremonies and rest for the day.

After spending our night in Tengboche, we begin our trek for the day towards Dingboche where we will stay for the next day to acclimate ourselves. Following the path down from Tengboche towards Deboche through the forests of Rhododendrons, we cross a bridge over the raging Imja river. Then, we gradually climb uphill to reach the village of Lower Pangboche where we can witness the spectacular views of Ama Dablam. We then move across the valley to reach our destination Dingboche at the start of the Imja Tse valley after an approximate walk of 5-6 hours. We spend our next day here to prevent any kind of mountain sickness as we go higher. We go on short hikes around the area to get some striking views of the mountain grandeur.

After acclimatizing in Dingboche, we head towards another beautiful stop, Lobuche. The journey starts with a climb to the ridge behind Periche until the tea houses at Dughla followed by a steep ascent to the terminal moraine of Khumbu Glacier. You will encounter a series of stone monuments made in the memories of climbers who couldn’t make it back home. We will reach the memorial of Scott Fisher and 10 times Everest summiteer Babu Chhiri Sherpa who remained in the mountains.

After walking for almost 6-7 hours on rugged terrain we reach Lobuche, a small settlement of Sherpas. It is the final village with lodges on this trail to Everest. We take a day’s rest at Lobuche and enjoy the day with short excursions to view the beautiful mountains in the outskirts. Great Peaks like Khumbutse, Lingtren, Pumori, and Mahalangur Himal are clearly seen during the trek on this trail. With the end of the Khumbu Glacier, Mt Nuptse lies towards the right but Everest is yet to be seen.

The air gradually becomes thinner and there can be high chances of altitude sickness so we recommend you to keep communicating with your sherpa guide all the time about how you are feeling.

After Lobuche, we follow the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier followed by a small ascend to reach Thangma Riju, a viewpoint that offers 360 degrees view of all giant mountains. After a steep climb through the Changri Glacier, glimpses of Kalapatthar and Pumori are visible. After a short lunch break, we head towards the Everest Base Camp. The total trail is about 13 km and demands walking for 8-9 hours which can be strenuous. But the best part is: enjoying the grand views of Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, and many others in the background we finally reach the base of the world’s highest mountain. After spending some time at the base camp, we must return to Gorakshep to stay overnight.

This day will be a relaxing one as we trek for only 3-4 hours. We begin from Gorakhshep through the main trail, later curving round through the rocky riverbed of the stream. We walk along the trail and climb the grassy ridge ahead until we reach Dzongla from where we will view the eye-pleasing sceneries of giant snowy peaks.

On this day, we will be crossing the highest pass during this trek, the Cho La pass at 5368 m. We start early, have our breakfast, and head towards Cho La pass. Later, we will descend down to Cho La Phedi and rest overnight.

Starting early from Cho La Phedi, we will set our feet on the trail to Gokyo. Gokyo is a wonderful gem in the Khumbu valley blessed with beauty. The Gokyo lakes are highly famous for their luring colors and beauty. We will take a day’s rest in Gokyo and use this chance to hike up to Gokyo Ri to overlook the mesmerizing surroundings.

After exploring one of the most beautiful villages in the high altitude, Gokyo, we then head towards Machherma, which lies just at the end of Ngozumpa Glacier. We rest overnight at Machhermo. 

Trekking down the dense forests of pine, birch, Rhododendron and other temperate vegetations, we head to the Sherpa capital, Namche Bazaar. 

We follow the same route back to Lukla. Stopping at Phakding for lunch we reach Lukla to rest for the day. We cover a distance of 19km and walk for about 7-8 hours.

On the 16th day of our journey, we will take the short flight back to Kathmandu collecting and preserving our memories of the Himalayas. In Kathmandu, you can relax in Thamel, a popular street for tourists where you can get anything you want. You may do some shopping, eat in a nice restaurant, get some spa, do some laundry and many other things. There are also many different attractions in Kathmandu including but not limited to Swayambhunath, Pashupatinath, Bouddhanath Stupa, Basantapur, Bhaktapur, Patan, and so on. You may go on sightseeing around these areas with one of our city guides

Our journey of Trek to Everest Base Camp ends on this day. With so many beautiful memories together, we gratefully and delightedly bid you farewell and good luck for your flight back home. One of our representatives from 8K expeditions will drop you off at TIA 3 hours prior to your scheduled flight.