This is the route which was used by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary in their summit of Mount Everest. The route passes through several villages as you gain altitude gradually towards the Everest Base Camp.
We will take the traditional route to Mount Everest which begins in Jiri, quite far from the Everest region. In the first part of the trip, you will have to trek towards the Everest region and from there set forth to the Everest. You will reach the base camp towards the end of your trip and hike up to Kala Patthar at over 18,000 feet in elevation before returning.
One of us will be there to pick you up as you land into Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (4,600 feet). Stay overnight at your hotel where we will brief you on your big trip ahead while you muse on your Himalayan adventure of a lifetime.
The Kathmandu Valley is dotted with ancient temples, monasteries, and former royal courtyards so you will be thoroughly entertained hopping from one monument to another. The city is also a good place to go shopping and the food here is also amazing. And if you want to go out for drinks, there are several good cafes and bars that cater well to tourists. In the evening, we will meet up to brief you on your trip ahead.
We head east toward Jiri in a public bus. It is an eight hour trip through serpentine roads carved into the hills with stops for lunch and snacks in villages along the way. Jiri is a small and beautiful town and used to be the starting point of the original trail to Mount Everest used by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary.
We will start our long trek ahead by a hiking up to Bhandar. It takes about six hours to get here and we have to pass through several villages and make steep climbs. At Bhandar, you can visit local monasteries to take your mind off all the exhaustion from the first day of the expedition.
It again takes around six hours to trek to Sete village. First, we make our way downhill from Bhandar which is relatively easy but then comes a steep climb towards the end. You will surely be in a lot of pain after this day but the view of the Himalayas in the distance will be there to comfort you.
The Himalayas will accompany you (from a distance) throughout the way to Junbesi as we pass through forests and by some monasteries. The first part of the trek is a half a mile ascent of a steep hill and then a short descent till we reach the valley. It takes six hours to get here.
The day begins with a relatively flat trek past the village of Junbesi. You will be slowly gaining elevation till there comes a point where you have to make a sharp downhill journey which will be the most difficult so far in the trip. The whole ordeal takes about five hours but you will be walking past forests and monasteries to keep your mind off the pain.
You will have to trek downhill for five hours this day. We make our way through forests towards the Dudh Koshi River after which comes the ascent to Kharikhola. The beautiful Sherpa village is perfect if you like taking leisurely walks in the evenings.
The way trek to Puiyan is very difficult because you will have to climb uphill in rugged terrain and rocky trail. You have to hike up to the Khari La Pass before arriving at Puiyan. The entire trek takes six hours.
It is a day of walking five hours downhill to Phakding. The village is deep inside the Everest region and we will move towards the Gokyo Valley from here.
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.
Trek for about five hours and you will reach Tengboche. The village is located at the confluence of the Imja River and the Dudh Koshi River and is home to the largest monastery in the region the Tengboche monastery.
We follow the Imja River towards Mount Everest. We will reach Dingboche in about six hours. The village lies on the bank of the Imja River and is known for stone walls that run throughout and beyond the village.
A great day to rest as your body and legs will definitely need it after so many days of high-altitude expedition. You might like to see those stone walls or meet with around 300 people who live here.
We will hike through snow and pass Thukla village and reach Lobuche at the foot of Khumbu glacier in not more than four hours. Mount Everest will just be a day away.
A very short trek will take you to Gorakshep, a village sitting on top of a frozen lake bed at 16,942 feet. This village will serve us lunch and will be our final stop on our trek to the Everest Base Camp. It’s a two to three hours walk to the base camp from here and you will get to stand on the foot of the tallest peak in the world. Gaze at the Everest as much as you want but you cannot camp here with your trekking permit so we will have to return to Gorakshep before night.
We will hike up to Kala Patthar, which lies on the southern ridge of Mount Pumori (23,494 feet). It’s a two-hour climb. Here you will get the best panoramic view of the Everest along with the Khumbu Glacier and other Himalayan peaks. We will descend to Pheriche, a small village full of yaks, and rest for the day.
We will again walk through forests, suspension bridges and alongside mountain ridges to reach Namche Bazaar, 5,000 feet below Kala Patthar, the highest point in your travel. It is an easy downhill trek and upon reaching Namche, you will feel like you are back to the society after your ordeal with wilderness. It’s a great place to share your experience with fellow trekkers and look back on the feat you just achieved.
It will be a five-hour trek down to Lukla, the place where it all started. Your Everest Base Camp trek ends here and Lukla is famous for hosting your end-of-journey party. You will not have to walk anymore.
You will reach Kathmandu in no time and the hustle and bustle of the city will be a noisy reminder of your serene Himalayan adventure.
You might want to visit some landmarks of the city before we have a farewell dinner to officially end your vacation. We suspect you will have mixed feelings throughout the night: excited to get back home but sad to leave Nepal behind.
We will drop you to Tribhuvan International Airport and you will be gone with recollections of your Himalayan journey to keep you busy throughout the flight.
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 50.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.
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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.
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