Everest Base Camp Trek

Day 1 is arrival day. We’ll be picking you up from the airport and checking you in to the Kathmandu Guest House. Kathmandu airport can be a bit of an experience unto itself. Once you’ve navigated your way out you’ll be met by your LHO team leader. Depending on what time you arrive you’ll benefit from a tour of Kathamdu which includes Durbar Square, Boudhanath Stupa and Thamel. At 8:00pm we’ll have a team dinner and briefing before heading back to the hotel for gear checks and last minute preparations.

We’ll be staying in Namche Bazaar for a second night as we allow our bodies to adapt to the high-altitude environment. After a late breakfast we’ll visit the local museum and then ascend to the Everest View Hotel 400 meters above the town. From there we’ll be able to see Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Everest in the distance. Lunch will be in Namche Bazaar and the afternoon will be free for us to roam around and explore. If any of us need to purchase extra gear that too is possible at this point.

This is one of the longer days of our adventure together as we breach the 4,000 meter elevation mark and put the better developed low altitude villages behind us. The trail to Dingboche is mostly a gradual ascent as we turn around the iconic Ama Dablam that will accompany us on our right side throughout the day. Depending on the pace of the group we may have lunch in Pengboche or continue straight on to our final destination. Although remote, Dingboche actually has one of the best coffee shops on the trail. We’ll be sure to visit it.

We’ll be staying in Dingboche for two nights to rest and acclimatize. The tea houses in this area are relatively comfortable, giving us the opportunity to relax before pushing into the higher altitude environment. We’ll do a short trek before lunch to a nearby viewpoint but for the most part this day is dedicated to rest.

Dingboche is the last village on this trail. The tea houses from both Lobuche and Gorakshep are mostly to service trekkers and mountaineers. There are only a handful of inhabitants in both villages. The day will start with a gradual ascent towards the Thukla pass. Just before arriving to the pass we’ll be traversing what appears to be a ditch with loose rocks. This is actually the terminal moraine (end point) of the Khumbu glacier that starts on Everest itself and is one of the longest and largest high-altitude glaciers on the planet. Lunch will be at a tea house just below Thukla after which we’ll cross the pass, home to the memorials of the many mountaineers who’ve perished in the region. The final leg of our trek is less steep than the ascent to Thukla as we make our way to Lobuche (4,900m) at the foots of the south face of Mt Nuptse.

We’ll be getting another early start on this day and make our way to Gorakshep. Here we’ll check into our tea house, have an early lunch and then make our way along the glacier moraine all the way to Everest Base Camp (5,365 m). The trek to the base camp is not as steep as previous days however the high-altitude environment can make it feel challenging. Our aim is to reach the base camp and return to Gorakshep by 3pm at the latest. For those of us who’d like to, it is possible to catch the sunset above Gorakshep on Kalapathar (5,555 m) although this depends on how we’re feeling.

For those of us who’d like to catch the sunrise on Everest it is possible to go for a pre-breakfast trek up to Kalapathar to do so. For those of us who’d rather sleep in, we’ll be having an early breakfast in order to begin the long descent back to Dingboche via Lobuche. We’ll once again have lunch just below the Thukla pass before continuing the gradual section down to the town. The way back is no less spectacular as we’ll be facing first Cholatse and Tabouche summits and then Ama Dablam from an angle we won’t be familiar with from previous days. Dinner will be in Dingboche with the possibility of free time to explore, visit the coffee shop and take pictures.

From Dingboche we’ll once again wind our way down the path in the direction of the Tyangboche monastery. Lunch will be at Pengboche on the way. The descent will place Ama Dablam on our left and Tabouche on our right. There are no ascents on this day and it will be the first in 5 days that we’ll be back below 4,000 meters in altitude.

Our last night on the mountain will be exactly where we flew into on the first day. Reaching Lukla straight forward as compared to previous days but it still is a considerable trek. We’ll be passing through the village of Phakding for lunch before following the gradually ascending trail that leads to the finish line of the trek. Lukla is also a pretty vibrant village with bars and coffee shops to explore.

The last day together is dedicated to airport transfer and farewells. Breakfast is included on the day. Please make sure to provide us with your departure details before the first day of the trip so that arrangements can be made. We’ll be arranging your shuttle 3 hours prior to departure so please do make sure to be near the hotel at the time so as not to be late. For those of us departing late we’re happy to recommend places to visit or arrange for a city tour if you weren’t able to attend it on the first day.

Can’t take too many days off?
You can shorten this trip to 11 days by taking a helicopter back down from Everest Base Camp. The price of the shortened itinerary is 3,240 GBP. Please ‘contact us’ to learn more about this option.