Set foot on Everest, climb a mountain, and walk on glaciers passing through the Himalayas in this adventure. You will be in the Everest region for almost a month.
The first week of your trip will take you past several Sherpa villages to the Gokyo Valley. In the second week, you will reach the Everest Base Camp. And in the third, you will summit the Island Peak. Isn’t that three weeks best spent?
A Mountain Kick representative will receive you as you land into Kathmandu (4,600 feet) and take you to your hotel.
We will drive you from one monument to another in Kathmandu so you get a sense why this ancient city is so popular among tourists. Kathmandu has been included in Unesco’s list of World Heritage Sites for its cultural, aesthetic, religious and historical importance so you won’t be disappointed. We have a pre-trip meeting scheduled for the day where we run you through the itinerary.
Lukla, which is right inside the Everest region, is just a half-an-hour flight away. We begin our Gokyo Valley trek here from a three-hour downhill walk to Phakding village. The first day of the trip is never easy as you will be quite rusty. So rest well.
We will climb up for six hours through forests and past gorges to reach Namche Bazaar. This small town bustling with tourists is a must-see place on its own and is famous for its night clubs and bars.
We will rest up at Namche for a day for acclimatization purposes. In the middle of the Everest region and at temperature nearing or below 30 °F, you will need it. But you can spend the day leisurely walking around town talking to the local Sherpas or fellow travellers. And if you want to go for a last minute shopping, you will find almost everything at the Bazaar.
It is a long day of trekking as we have to trek uphill for as long as five hours to reach Phortse. Phortse is a model ecotourism village surrounded by exotic trees, birds, and animals. The Sherpas here are always happy to perform cultural shows for tourists.
The terrain starts getting more rugged and barren this high from sea level. It’s only bare mountains and valleys for five hours till we reach Maccherma village. View from up here is amazing as you will see the Dudh Koshi River Valley below and Himalayan peaks above.
We will reach the Gokyo Valley after six hours of trekking. There are mountain streams and lakes to watch as we reach the beautiful valley that is surrounded by the Himalayas. Fatigue starts to creep in this far and this high in your journey but the amazing view of Mount Everest and the Himalayas make the trip worth it.
In the Gokyo Valley, we will walk to the base of GokyoRi or the Gokyo Peak (17,575 feet). You can make to the summit in three hours if you wish to. You will be treated with clear views of Mount Everest, Mount Makalu, Mount Lhotse and Mount Cho Oyu from there. The mountain is located just next to the largest glacier in the Himalayas, the Ngozumpa Glacier. After gazing at the Himalayas for a few hours, we will walk back to the Gokyo Valley and rest for the day.
It’s a four-hour trek to Thangna beginning with a tricky section past the Ngozumpa Glacier. After that it is a quite smooth walk to Thangna which is located at the base of the Cho La pass.
This is a tough day of trekking. We have to climb up the snow to reach the top of Cho La pass. The route is tricky and offers a pure mountain climbing experience. After crossing the pass, there is a steep descent down to Dzongla. It all takes about seven hours.
We will hike through snow and reach Lobuche at the foot of Khumbu glacier in not more than four hours. Mount Everest will just be a day away.
A short three-hour trek will take you to Gorakshep, a village sitting on top of a frozen lake bed. After lunch, we will walk for two to three hours to reach the Everest Base Camp. You will get to stand on the foot of the tallest peak in the world. But, however much you might want, you cannot camp here with your trekking permit so we will have to return to Lobuche before night.
We make our way through and past the Khumbu glacier and take a trail up towards the Kongma La pass. Here at more than 18,000 feet altitude, you can see the beautiful Himalayan valleys below and the picturesque Himalayan range above you. After crossing the pass, we make a sharp descent towards the Chukung Valley. Chukhung is surrounded by Mount Lhotse and Mount Nuptse from the north, by Mount Cho Polu and Mount Baruntse from the east and by Mount Ama Dablam from the south. This means you will be right in the middle of the Himalayas cornered by mountains and glaciers.
It takes four hours of hiking to reach the base camp of Island Peak or the Imja Tse. The mountain appears as an island in the sea of ice and hence the moniker. We will camp here in a tent for the night.
We will summit Island Peak, which rises over 20,000 feet above the sea level, the next day so you will need all the rest you could get. Be mentally prepared and physically acclimatized.
Island Peak is the most climbed mountain in the Himalayan range. It has a difficulty grade of Alpine PD+ so that means it requires some climbing skills but is possible with the help of a guide. There is a tricky crevasse near the summit but don’t worry we will get you over it. As weather condition may hamper our plans, we have two days separated for this part of the trip.
Island Peak is the most climbed mountain in the Himalayan range. It has a difficulty grade of Alpine PD+ so that means it requires some climbing skills but is possible with the help of a guide. There is a tricky crevasse near the summit but don’t worry we will get you over it. As weather condition may hamper our plans, we have two days separated for this part of the trip.
We start to get back now. We will walk for six hours to get to Tengboche, a village located at the confluence of the Imja River and the DudhKoshi River. Tengboche is home to the largest monastery in the region the Tengboche monastery.
Khumjung is a relatively large village which lies on our way back to Namche. The village lies next to Mount Khumbila and the local monastery is believed to be made of a Yeti scalp. Past the village and after a few hours through forests, suspension bridges and alongside mountain ridges will get you to Namche Bazaar, back to the society after your ordeal with wilderness. It’s not too early to celebrate, so you might want to head out and share your adventure over a couple of drinks.
We will climb up the place where it all started, Lukla. Your Everest Panorama trek ends here. You will not have to walk anymore.
In about no time, you will be back to Kathmandu. The bustling city will be a sharp contrast to the calm of the Himalayas.
Spend the day it as you like it. You might want to visit some more heritage sites or wander around happening parts of the city like Thamel. We will have a farewell dinner planned for your last night in Nepal.
You will be headed home and recollections of your Himalayan expedition will keep you occupied on your long flight back.
In Kathmandu, you will stay in a three-star hotel while you will be staying at standard guesthouses during your travel. There will be electricity, internet, laundry and hot showers in all of the places you stay. You will have to share your room with a fellow traveller in our typical package. Single supplement will be served on request and will cost an additional USD 250.Also note that single rooms is easily available in Kathmandu and the trekking regions at lower elevation but it might be difficult to find them at higher elevations.
General
We give you the power to choose the departure date that suits your group best. A private trip is a perfect solution if you can’t find a published departure date that you and your companions agree on. You can set up a private departure for most of the trips we offer.
We never force our customers to follow our set itinerary.You can customize your itinerary exactly the way you want. Please share with us your ideas.
As one of the core guiding principles for Mountain Kick, we always give back to the mountain community in any way we can as a means of gratitude. The people who live in the Himalayas and share their homes with us deserve to have all their little problems fixed which seem very basic for outsiders but are commonplace in rural Nepal. The people lack proper access to healthcare, sanitation and education but a little effort from travellers goes on a long way to solve these issues. Mountain Kick has made it its corporate social responsibility to help improve the living standards of the local community. We make donations to their cause, organize social campaigns and programs and also have a few trips designed to mix a little volunteer work in your holiday.
READ MORE ABOUT CSR