Detailed Itinerary

Days 1-3  Your exciting journey begins as you depart your home country/city.  Depending on your travel arrangements, you may spend the night at a layover destination such as Bangkok Thailand (See Travel Information) or you may travel directly through to Kathmandu.  Once you arrive at the Kathmandu Airport, you are greeted by a member of our team and taken to the famous Yak and Yeti Hotel, a wonderful 5 Star Hotel in the heart of Kathmandu.  Everyone is treated to a welcome dinner at one of Kathmandu's finest restaurants.  This gives us all a chance to get to know one another and discuss the adventure ahead.

Days 4-5  After some rest, you are ready to explore Kathmandu.  The group assembles after breakfast, we discuss the day's itinerary, local customs and the sites we will visit.  The day takes us to some wonderfully exotic sites such as the 2000 year old stupa of Swayambhunath (also known as the Monkey Temple).  We'll also visit the Bodhnath stupa with it's 130 ft dome making it the largest stupa in Nepal and the Pashupatinath temple.  The excitement builds as we return to the hotel.  We conduct our gear check in preparation for our flight from Kathmandu to the remote mountain village of Lukla (2840m).  From Lukla, we begin our trek through the Khumbu Region of the Himalayas.  Our first night is spent in the small village of Phakding (2610m) which sits along the beautifully flowing Dudh Koshi River.

Days 6-7  We continue our journey following the Dudh Koshi River up the valley arriving at the bustling village of Namche Bazaar (3440m).  Here we enjoy a rest day to allow our bodies to continue to acclimatize to the higher altitudes. Namche is often referred to as the gateway to the Himalayas as trails branch off in various directions to other distant villages.  It is also the location for the Sagarmatha National Park headquarters.  In Namche, we enjoy visiting the local shops for beautiful handmade items and local bake goods.  For those looking to send a message to friends or loved ones from a very remote location, there is even internet access and a post office available in Namche.  We will also visit the Sherpa Cultural Center and Museum to learn about the traditional Nepali home to gain a deeper appreciation for their way of life. Namche and nearby Kunde are locations for a Sir Edmond Hillary hospital and school.  In Namche you'll also get a chance to review a well kept record of Mt Everest climbing history.  There is a great historical photographic display as well as a log book you can sign to mark your trip.

Days 8-9  After exploring Namche, we continue our trek west through the village of Thamo on our way to Thame (3820m).  It's a beautiful hike through juniper and pine woods overlooking the Bhote Koshi river.  We pass by three large colorful Buddhas painted high on a rock wall.  Just past the Buddhas, we cross over a suspension bridge which provides some great views of water erosion carved into the rock gorge below by the seasonal changes in the river.  Thame was home to Tenzing Norgay who together with Ed Hillary were the first to successfully climb Mount Everest in 1953.  Thame is nestled between beautifully picturesque peaks rising on all sides.  It's here we spend a night and make a short climb to the Thame Gompa which is situated high on a hill overlooking Thame.  From here we enjoy some spectacular views before moving on.  We depart Thame traveling east to the village of Khumbu (3753m) which allows us to rest before we turn north toward the glacial region of Gorky.

Day 10-11  Today we begin our journey north up the valley through some forests, some with beautiful moss hanging from the trees as we pass by several waterfalls.  Soon we leave the trees behind us as we make our way to our first stop at the village of Dole(4200m).  In the morning we continue up the grass covered plateaus of the valley toward our next stop of Machhermo (4470m).  All the while we have wonderful views up and down the valley as well as across the river valley to the very steep ridges on the other side where small settlements are precariously perched.

Days 12-13  After breakfast we head out on the trail once again.  We continue to climb higher and enjoy the labors of those who built some wonderful stone steps near the upper part of the valley as the trail approaches the southern end of the Ngozumba Glacier.  As we climb, we can see the water gushing forth, coming out from the end of the stone covered glacier as it feeds the river running down the valley.  Today we arrive at one of our more beautiful stops as our lodge at Gokyo (4790m) is at the edge of turquoise colored glacier lake.  The next day, we enjoy another acclimatization day with the option of hiking up Gokyo Ri (5463m) or continuing up the valley past several glacier lakes.  Both destinations offer incredible views of the Mt. Everest, Mt. Cho Oyo and the amazing Ngozumba Glacier. 

Day 14 -15  Fully acclimatized, it is time for us to begin our journey east toward Mt Everest.  We enjoy a short day as we depart our lakeside lodge at Gokyo for the small village of Dragnak (4700m).  This is our last stop before making our journey up and over the Cho-La pass to the town of Dzonglha (4860m).  The top of the Cho-La Pass at 5368m offers some breathtaking views throughout the Khumbu valley.

Day 16  We depart Dzonglha making our way to the Khumbu Glacier valley and our next stop at the village of Lobuche.  The excitement is building as we are now heading up the valley leading to Mount Everest and base camp.  We spend the night at Lobuche which is our last stop before Gorak Shep which will be our launch point for our hike on to Mt Everest Base Camp (5364m).

Days 17  We depart Lobuche early and pass through Gorak Shep (5140m) on our way to the top of Kala Patthar (5550m).  Weather permitting, as we climb the hills leading up Kala Patthar, some truly breathtaking views of the Khumbu Ice Falls flowing off of Mt Everest and on down the valley we just hiked up, will unfold before us.  After some hopefully wonderful picture-taking, we descend to spend the night at Gorak Shep.  Conversations quickly turn to the events of the next day which is the final step to Mt. Everest Base Camp (5364m). 

Days 18  The day has finally come!  In the morning we leave Gorak Shep for Everest Base Camp (5364m).  Upon arrival at Mt. Everest Base Camp, you'll be able to get close-up photos of the Khumbu Ice Falls where the climbers begin their ascent of Mt Everest from the Nepal (South) side.  The summit is actually situated on the Nepal / Tibet border and climbers also attempt the mountain from the Tibetan (North) side.  You'll also get a sense of what camp-life is like for the climbers that dedicate themselves to the multi-month quest to climb the highest mountain in the world.  After our visit at camp, we point our compasses back down the valley and spend the night again at Gorak Shep.

Days 19-20  After our experiences of the past couple days we are ready to make our way back down the valley.  Near the village of Dugla we say farewell to our friends that have decided climb either Mt Lobuche East or Island Peak.  As the group continues south, we pass through the village of Pheriche.  Here we will have the opportunity to visit the Himalayan Mountain Rescue medical research center as well as see the monument erected in tribute to the people that have lost there lives on Mt. Everest.  We travel back down the valley spending the night at Pangboche and Namche.  On the way, we stop at the Tengboche Monastery for a glimpse of monk life at this beautiful location.

Days 21-22  From Namche Bazaar we make easy work of the trail back to Lukla.  We spend our last night of the trek in Lukla where we awake to have breakfast and catch our flight back to Kathmandu to the wonderful comforts of the Yak and Yeti Hotel.  Assuming an early arrival back in Kathmandu, there may be time for shopping in the afternoon.  We gather one last time in the evening as a group to celebrate our amazing adventure with a delicious farewell dinner.

Days 23-24  Depending upon your travel arrangements, you may have time to enjoy some 'free time' in Kathmandu before your flight where you could wander the shops for gifts and truly unique items to remember your trip.  When the time comes, you will be taken to the airport for your safe journey home with feelings that will truly be difficult to describe to anyone about what you have just done!