Everest High Passes Trekking

After arrive in Kathmandu Everest Trek team will transfer to hotel. Evening welcome dinner near by hotel

Your sightseeing trip will start at 9AM in the morning after breakfast. We will provide a private vehicle and professional city guide. You will visit Pasupatinath temple, Buddhanath, Shyambhunath and Kathmandu durbar square. The evening includes a final briefing and preparations for the trek. Overnight at hotel

After breakfast, we get transferred to the domestic terminal of Kathmandu airport for an early morning flight to Lukla (2,800m), a gateway destination from where our trek starts. After an adventurous 35 minute flight above breathtaking green and white mountains, we reach the Tenzing-Hillary Airport at Lukla. This is one of the most beautiful air routes in the world culminating in a dramatic landing on a hillside surrounded by high mountains peaks. Here we meet our other crew members and after some packing and arrangements, we start our trek through the prosperous village of Lukla until we reach Phakding. To assist in acclimatization, we only have a short hike today. However, if interested in additional activities we can take a side trip to a nearby monastery. Overnight at Phakding

Namche Bazaar known as the Gateway to Everest, there are many good hotels and lodges here, along the whole Everest trail this is quite a big village. Overnight at Guesthouse

We will spend a day here in order to acclimatize and adjust to the thinning of the air. A short trek to a museum celebrating the traditional customs of the Sherpa people. Today we hike up the Syangboche Airport, and around Everest View Hotel. From this point, we have rewarding views of the Himalayas with a stunning sunrise or sunset over the panorama of the Khumbu peaks. Overnight at guest house.

From Namche, we now head away from the main trekking trail to Everest Base Camp and journey towards Tibet. We may meet Tibetans, who have crossed over the high passes from Tibet, coming down the valley to trade their goods in Namche Bazaar. Thame is famous for being the birthplace of Tenzing Norgay and it a relaxing place to take another essential acclimatisation day. It is not possible to continue tomorrow, as we have a large height gain to reach Lungden and we need our bodies to adjust further to the high altitude

Today we will relax and enjoy our surroundings. There are particularly good views from here of Teng Kangpoche and Kwangde to the south and there is a gompa above the town, which we may take a stroll up to

Having left most trekkers behind us, we will not find too many more until we arrive at Gokyo, as Thame tends to be the limit of exploration for groups coming up the valley. So, this high valley area remains the simple domain of yaks, farming and Sherpas, and today we walk by some very old and truly authentic Himalayan Villages that blend almost invisibly into the landscape. We eventually reach the small village Lungden (4,400m), the last place where we can stay overnight in a lodge.

It is a steady walk on a mostly easy-going path to reach our camp site in a beautiful, deserted valley, just below the Nangpa La, situated at 4,900m. The Nangpa La is a historical and important route from Tibet, which was used by the early Sherpas as the crossed into Nepal. This is the only night of the trek that we will spend in tents, but it is important to place us closer to the pass than having to trek all the way from Lungden. The following day we will say goodbye to some of our porters, who will descend back down the valley with the camping equipment, whilst we cross the Renjo La

The ascent of the Renjo La is up a well-made, but rocky path, which the locals frequently cross with yaks. The climb is bound to feel tough at these altitudes, so we make an early start to give ourselves plenty of time, plus the best opportunity for the air to be clear when we reach the top of the pass. The views towards Everest to the east are some of the best that you can expect without having to get off a major trekking route. For the keen photographer, it is a much more open vista than you can expect on Kala Pattar or Gokyo Ri, so now is the time to get your camera out! Laid out before us is the stunning panorama of Everest, Cho Oyu, Gyanchung Kang, Makalu, Nuptse and Ama Dablam - virtually every mountain in the Khumbu and beyond. Having taken some time to enjoy these views, we begin the descent to Gokyo Lakes, down a fairly rough trail at first, before continuing steeply down a blunt ridge line to eventually reach more level ground. From here we skirt he north side of the Dudh Pokhari travelling eastwards towards Gokyo Resort and our lodge for the night

It is timely to have rest day today as most of us would have found yesterday's climb pretty hard work and we have a couple more tough days ahead of us. Gokyo Lakes is a really relaxing place to stay and soak up the breathtaking scenery. It's quieter than the main Everest trail and the mountains are less enclosed. We will have a leisurely breakfast and perhaps a wander down to one of the lakes in the afternoon, or take a gentle stroll up onto the moraine at the edge of the vast Ngozumpa Glacier. However, it is important to remember that this is a rest day, so at no point should we exert ourselves too much

The earlier the better for an ascent of Gokyo Ri. It take between two to three hours to zig-zag our way up to the summit of this famous view point. The summit boulders are draped with prayer flags and the views towards Cho Oyu are particularly fine. We descend back down to Gokyo for lunch, or, if we have made a particularly early ascent, we will continue towards Dragnag. From Gokyo Resort, we trek down the valley to the 'first lake' and then head due east across the Ngozumpa Glacier. The route across the moraine of the glacier is on mostly sandy trails that weave amongst the 'moonscape' of the glacier, before reaching the far side and the small hamlet of Dragnag (2 hours from Gokyo). We will stay at the new lodge in Dragnag

This is a big day. We need to set off very early in the morning to ensure that we cross the Cho La and descend to Dzongla in good time. At first we make a very gradual ascent alongside the river up a small valley to eventually reach a sandy ridge line, which gives a great view of the Cho La ahead and to the north east. There are some impressive 6,000m peaks to be viewed from here. To the north - the rocky Nirekha Peak and Kangshung Peaks, and to the south, the icy bulk of Cholatse. We make a long, gradual descent on a pleasant grassy path to reach a lunch stop below the pass. After lunch the ground becomes more technical and it is time to pack away our trekking poles. The route weaves around boulders at first, before climbing up onto rockier ground and a final steep section to reach the top of the pass. This is on loose ground, which can often be icy, so we need to take great care and it might be that we fix a short section of rope and use crampons. Conditions on the pass can vary considerably, so we err on the safe side and bring crampons with us just in case. The top of the pass is glaciated and we walk across a flat section of snow for about 15 minutes before dropping off the side and back onto rock. With Dzongla now in sight, we pick our way down the far side of the pass and descend into a lovely valley. A stream that meanders along the bottom leads us to the lodge at Dzongla and a well-deserved rest

The trail from Dzongla descends a little, then contours steadily around Awi Peak, before joining the main Khumbu Valley and reaching Lobuche. There are yet more superb views today, including towards the distinctive north face of Ama Dablam. It will probably feel like something of a 'culture shock' arriving in Lobuje, as this is a busy village en route to Everest and one in which all trekking and climbing teams stay on their way to base camp.

About three hours beyond Lobuche we reach Gorak Shep, the site of the 1953 expedition's base camp. This will be our base for the next few days as we explore the surrounding area and visit Everest base camp

Today we will make an ascent of Kala Pattar (5,545m/18,188ft) and organise ourselves for the trip to base camp the following day. It is highly recommended to make an afternoon and evening ascent of Kala Pattar for hopefully a sunset view of Everest. The climb takes between 2 and 3 hours and can be hard work, but the effort is rewarded by the classic view of Everest and the Khumbu Icefall, as well as Lhotse, Nuptse, and Pumori immediately above. For many teams, this is as far as they go on the Everest Trail. For the full experience, tomorrow we will visit base camp itself

Contouring along the valley side, the trail leads on to the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier and becomes quite vague, weaving between mounds of rubble. After about 3 hours we will eventually reach base camp near the foot of the Khumbu Icefall. For those visiting base camp in the spring, it is a chance to meet teams making an ascent of the mountain. Here we hope to meet up with members of the Jagged Globe Everest South Col team, and catch up on their news of the climb so far. Base Camp is actually spread over quite a wide area and we will spend some time wandering through it and getting a sense of what it must be like to be camped here for two whole months, whilst attempting the mountain. To go any further than base camp, you will need to be a mountaineer! Our Everest team cooks will serve us lunch before we make the return trek to Gorak Shep

We retrace our steps to Lobuje and descend down the Khumbu Valley, stopping for a break in Dugla. With more views of Ama Dablam ahead of us, and of the north face of Taweche, we continue along a flat valley to Pheriche. Pheriche has a wide range of lodges and also a Himalayan Rescue Association Medical Post. Hopefully we will have time to drop in and talk to the doctors there

Following the main Everest trail down the beautifully scenic valley, we pass through Pangboche at the base of Ama Dabkam and cross the river before climbing to the monastery at Thyangboche. Here we will no doubt take advantage of the bakery, as well as spending some time exploring the famous monastery. A circuit of the monastery, with its many prayer wheels is not to be missed, as is an exploration of the inside. From Thyangboche, a steep descent of around 1500ft/500m leads through bird filled rhododendron bushes and fir trees to the Dudh Kosi River. From here we will continue to Kyangjuma to spend the night

Crossing on yet another suspension bridge, we climb up the opposite side of the valley to reach the contouring path leading back to Namche Bazaar. We should have enough time in Namche to shop and relax in the bakery with a coffee and a cake, or even to check the Internet. A steep descent for 600m/2,000ft down Namche Hill leads to the suspension bridge crossing the Dudh Kosi river and the small village of Monjo. Not only is Monjo a quieter place to stay than Namche, it also means our porters have a less strenuous walk back to Lukla tomorrow

The trail now flattens out and we cross the river twice more before a rising traverse up the hill-side, past numerous tea-houses to Lukla. Our last day of steady trekking will be a real joy as at lower altitudes, with two weeks behind us, and nothing left to prove, we can soak up the atmosphere in each of the villages we amble through. All excess energy is guaranteed to be exhausted at our party this evening with our Nepalese crew

An early morning flight, We will be met at the domestic airport in Kathmandu and taken to the Summit Hotel. The afternoon can be spent exploring the city and visiting some of the temples, or simply browsing bookshops and shopping in the Thamel area. Evening at Hotel

We transfer you to the airport for your flight home