Everest Base Camp

Like the early bird catches a worm, the early riser today catches quite many a stuff; a tiny aircraft for flying into Lukla, the early fight schedule and the best views over the Himalayan Peaks and its foothills!

The flight to Lukla is very much weather dependent; making it 'earlier the better'.

A smaller twin otter or similar aircraft shuttles you to Lukla. Upon arrival at Lukla airport, you will be greeted by the trekking crew and luggage load will be reorganised while you sip a cup of tea in awe of the local environment.

The trek starts a moment later; the target today is Phakding.

The walk is gradual most of the way, with few ups with view of Kusum-Kangru 6,369m crossing a short suspension bridge, a short climb brings to the Ghat village, and another 1.5hr of gradual walk brings you to Phakding village for the overnight stop near the bank of the Dudh-Koshi River.

Its going to be quite a day today since we negotiate one of the steepest uphill trails of the entire trek. But it still falls below the line of high altitude and goes through the dense forest, hence, no need worrying about the toughness. And, most importantly, if you are lucky with the weather, you can have the first view of the mighty Everest today from Topdanda.

From Phakding after crossing the suspension bridge over the Dudh-Kosi, the walk is pleasant with few short uphill and downhill and re-crossing the same river again with magnificent view of Thamserku 6,608m, then reaching a small village of Monjo after the last 20 minutes climb from the stream. After Monjo, comes to the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park, from here a short descend with a gradual walk till the Jorsalle village is reached. The last village and the only place to shop till Namche Bazaar, a second bridge is reached over the same river, the walk is still pleasant on the river bed till the last bridge over the Imjatse river, from here the walk is along the winding uphill path all the way to Namche Bazaar, with magnificent view of Kwangde peak, Kusum Kangru Mt. Everest- Nuptse wall, Lhotse and the closer view of Taweche peak can be seen all the way up, from here another 1-2 hour walk up brings to the famed Namche Bazaar, the colorful houses are situated in an amphitheatre U shaped bowl.

A day's halt at Namche Bazaar is a vital procedure to get oneself acclimatized. It does not mean of staying in the lodge itself. There are plenty of activities one can do while at Namche Bazaar. The most popular of the activities trekkers carry out include with walking up to the National Park Headquarters, walking up to Thamo Village to the northwest of Namche or walking up to Shyangboche or Khunde. There is a magnificent view of Everest both form the National Park Headquarters and Shyangboche.

The walk today in terms of distance is not much but is going to take a lot of time as the route is extremely scenic. There is a clear view of Everest and Amadablam throughout the morning. The terrain up to the half day in pleasant and easy. For the other half, there is a sharp descent to be taken and then a sharp climb for at least an hour and half. There you arrive at the mesmerizing village of Tengboche.

Tengboche houses one of the most ancient monasteries in the entire Himalaya and considered the holiest place in the entire region.

After breakfast, we bade adieu to the Tengboche monastery, there is a quick descent into the dense forest of rhododendrons and pine. The trail continues to stretch at ease up to the Imja River and then surges up towards Pangboche. Pangboche provides the best views over Ama Dablam. The environment beyond Pangboche starts to portraying that of a the high altitude nature. The tree-line is gone and the barren landscape is in the sight.

Dingboche is located behind a ridge and beneath the Island Peak and Nagarjun Peak.

One more day for getting adapted to the environment. There is an option to walk up to the Nagarjun Hill or go hiking towards Chhukkung village.

The daily trek distances are getting shorter but are giving the feeling of being it much longer due altitude and harsh climate. There is one good uphill to be climbed right after Thugla and then the trail connects with the village of Lobuche. The views of Lobuche East, Nuptse and Lhotse are crystal clear from here.

The big day! Today is the day for doing the ultimate. Its going to be a pretty long day, hence, it is advised to start early in the morning. There are small upohills to be negotiated at occasional intervals. After having negotiated a long rocky moraine, Gorak Shep valley comes at the sight. Take some food, hot drinks and then start the journey towards the Everest Base Camp. The one-way distance from Gorak Shep to the Everest Base Camp is 11km. By now, most people have started feeling the altitude sickness by signs of headache, dizziness and loss of appetite. But no problem, its quite normal to have these at such an altitude.

It takes around three hours to reach the Base Camp from Gorak Shep and another two hours to come back. You have been there and done that, finally! Congratulations!

The Base Camp is so popular among the trekkers because its an ultimate point that a person can walk up to in a normal outfit and setup. Kalapathar is for the best views towards Everest itself and its neighboring massifs. There is no place on Earth that matches the views from Kalapathar.

Kaplapathar is a hilltop that stands just opposite to Gorak Shep valley and it should be scaled early in the morning to catch the sunrise over the great peaks.

After the observation of the views of the lifetime, descend down to Gorak Shep, exit the amphitheatre and descend down to Pheriche.

Now you have seen and experienced everything you should in the area, you are longing for the city atmosphere and city food. You will like running down to Namche Bazaar. Luckily, Nache has pizzas, bakeries, nice coffee and mostly everything that a city can offer.

Feels a long way down to Lukla, but doesn't matter because its going to be the last day of the walk; don't know until when next. Lukla is the dearest place; for both, going up and going down as it is the only point that connects the Everest with Kathmandu on wings.

Rush to the airport early in the morning, throw your luggage and also yourself in that tiny aircraft and fly back to Kathmandu. If the weather has been fair to you, then you can reach Kathmandu as early as eight in the morning. You have a full day to explore the city, treat your aching legs and other parts of the body and clean your stinking boots and socks. you can also just relax by the hotel garden.

The trip ends here today. You will be transferred to airport for your onward fright or switch over to your onward journey.