A trek in the Everest Region is now considered to be one of the best journeys in the world, combining a strenuous trek with extremely rewarding cultural and ecological experiences.
To make your journey exclusive, we take you to the little visited Renjo-La pass, which lies at 5390m. The view from the pass in December 2004 is in the picture.
We go off the beaten track for about 3 days on this 16 days trek, and it is worth every minute, where you experience authentic Sherpa Culture, relatively untouched by the hustle of tourism in the main circuit. We stay in Sherpa homes in Thamo and Phortse, both stunning villages.
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Itinerary
Day 01: Kathmandu – Lukla –Monjo
Early morning flight to Lukla from where we start our trek. After breakfast, we trek 2-3 hours to reach the village of Monjo.
Overnight in Monjo.
Day 02: Monjo – Thamo
After breakfast we trek to Thamo via Namche Bazaar. The trek will be around 5 hours with stopover in Namche Bazaar. Thamo is also for acclimatization.
Day 03: Thamo – Thame.
This day is meant for acclimatization and hence we do not embark on any serious trekking. Instead we go to a slightly lower altitude of Thame, the birthplace of Tenzing Norgay, the first man on Everest. We conduct some sightseeing of the monastery there and generally rest.
Day 04: Thame – Lungden (4300m).
Today we start our serious high altitude trekking. We walk for about 4 hours through a stunning landscape on an old trade route to Tibet to the village of Lungden. This village has only one lodge and very aptly called the Renjo La Support Lodge
Day 05: The High Pass: Lungden – Renjo-La (5390m) – Gokyo (4400m).
The big day starts real early and it is a long day, as we have to walk about 5 hours to reach the pass, going slow because of the high altitude. After a brief stopover to enjoy the stunning beauty of the Everest Range and take photographs, we start on a remarkably difficult downhill journey for about 3 hours to reach the village of Gokyo walk along the stunning and beautiful Dudh Kunda (Milk Lake)
Day 06: Gokyo Ri (5483m) and Return.
Unlike the Kalapatthar hill from Lobuche, the foot of Gokyo Ri lies five minutes away from the stream the feeds the Gokyo Lake. After two to three hours "huff and puff" you reach the summit not to be disappointed for your effort at all, as the views from here are well worth the effort you put in. Everest (8848m), showing more of it's northern flank than from Kalapatthar, with Makalu (8475m) further to the east and Cho Oyu (8153m) towards the north make a mesmerizing view to watch.
Return back to Gokyo Ri after spending a wonderful break at the summit.
Day 07: Gokyo – Phortse.
It takes four to five hours of walking to reach the very beautiful village of Phortse, for our second home stay component in Sherpa houses. This village has over 23 Everest summiteers, and you meet a lot of them right there in the village. The village is famous for its tolerance and conservation of wildlife, so sights of deer and pheasants is common here.
Day 08: Phortse – Dingboche (4350 m).
The route passing through the moraine gradually loses altitude before reaching the windswept village of Pheriche. Here, the Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA) has its Aid Post.
A climb over the ridge past Chortens and Main walls you reach the Chukung valley and the prosperous village of Dingboche. This village with their own irrigation scheme is probably the place at highest altitude to grow crops.
Day 09. Dingboche- Chukung (4730m)
The three or four scattered stone and slated huts provide in the summer months the base for good high ground grazing but during the rest of the year this huts are run as tea house for trekkers. The path from Dingboche is ill-defined but follows the main line of the valley ascending gently towards the Ama Dablam to the high ridge leading to the difficult Amphu Labtse Pass (5780m) on the right and the massive flank of the Nuptse (7890m) on the left.
It takes two hours from Dingboche to reach Chukung and an early start would allow plenty of time to get a clear view of the famous south face of Lhotse (8501m) towards the north and the Island Peak (6189m) the most famous peak among the trekkers on the east end of the valley.
Day 10: Chukung- Lobuche (4931 m). The trail to Lobuche starts with an ascent to a ridge and then continues to contour along the ridge until it joins the main trail coming up from Periche and the trail from Cho la pass on to the left. On the way you can watch the beautiful view of the Mt. Cholatese (6442m) back on the Westside of the route and Mt. Ama Dablam to the rear. After arrival at the ridge, descend, for about ten minutes, cross a bridge and arrive at Thugla for lunch. After a quick lunch, there is a very steep ascent for about one hour to the ridge where there is a Sherpa memorial in remembrance to those brave mountaineers who died during expeditions. The memorial Chortens dots the skyline facing the mountains and overlooking the valley below. Further on the trail leads to the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier with views of Pumori or Widow’s Peak in the foreground. The stark and the rugged beauty create almost a moonscape. Lobuche is reached after another hour of steady trekking through the moraine and is situated in a wind swept valley with the enchanting views of the Tawatse (6501m) and Nuptse (7855m).
Day11:Lubuche-GorakShep (5160m).
From Lobuche, a short climb brings one to another valley. Travel along the Khumbu Glacier through the jumbled moraines and scattered rocks. The trail continues to slowly contour on the open landscape through an ablation and after about an hour, there is a steep ascent for about 20 minutes. Climb slowly to a ridge and then continue on a trail of rocks caused by rockslides. On a clear day Mt. Everest can be seen looming behind Nuptse. Arrive at the ridge above GorakShep and then descend to GorakShep. This was the base camp for the 1952 Swiss Everest expedition. In 1953 the British Everest expedition called this “lake camp’. GorakShep or "graveyard of the crows", has a small lake that is usually frozen and several monuments to climbers who have died during various Everest expedition.
Lunch at GorakShep.
After lunch, take the left-hand side trail and head straight up the hill to Kalapatthar (5545m) for views of Mt. Everest. The trek up to the top is an arduous one and takes about an hour to reach it. The late afternoon is the best time to view Mt. Everest from this vantage point as the sun is behind the observer and directly on the mountains in front. The climb to the Kalapatthar though tough, is well worth it as the views from here are breathtaking. The giants of the earth are all around Pumori (7145m), Everest (8848m), China's peak Changtse (7553m), Nuptse (7855m), Lhotse(8516m), Ama Dablam and many others. Later return to GorakShep. 3 – Hrs.
Day 12: GorakShep- Periche (4220 m./14,052 ft.) - 5 hrs.
After breakfast set out backtracking on scattered rocks and jumbled moraines to return to Lobuche which takes about 2 ½ hours. Cross the stream and then head towards the Sherpa Memorial for an hour before descending to Thugla. The going is more easier as we lose altitude. After lunch, cross the Thugla bridge and climb the ridge before descending on a level trail in an open landscape to Pheriche which is reached in about an hour.
Dinner and Overnight at Pheriche.
Day 13: Periche-Thyangboche After breakfast, set out through the village, cross the river on a wooden bridge and ascend to a ridge. Descend along the flanks of the hills to join the main trail coming from Dingboche. The route then passes through the village of Pangboche (3985m), an ideal place for a lunch break. Continue to backtrack and then descend to the spectacular little bridge over the Dudh Kosi River and head through the fir and rhododendron forest for a lovely afternoon's walk to the meadows of Debouche. From here it is a steep 45 minute ascent to Thyangboche. 6 hrs.
Day 14: Thyangboche-Monjo The decent to the Imja Khola and the small village of Phunki (3250m) with its water powered Prayer Wheels takes about one and half hour. The original bridge built by Sir Edmund Hillary was washed away when a flood caused by the land side from the Ama Dablam caused a flooding in this region. Cross the river over the smaller bridge and start the climb towards Khumjung. As the gradient lessens there are many beautiful lunch spots. After lunch start the trek towards Namche by following the path round the eastern flanks of the hills. At the rear is the beautiful west face of the Thamserku (6608m) and Kang Taiga (6685m). Continue through the edge of the Namche Village and then descend steeply for about 1 hour through the forest trail, cross the river on suspension bridge and then climb upto the Police Check Post, then descend to Monjo for overnight stay. 7 hours
Day 15: Monjo-Lukla From Monjo, it is interesting to watch others starting enthusiastically on the trek ahead as we head down to Phakding which is reached in about 1 ½ hours.
From Phakding, it is a surprising hard uphill climb to Lukla, which should take about 3 hours. It is a delightful ending to the trip as one enters into this busy village of Lukla.
Day 16: Lukla-Kathmandu Early morning, fly from Lukla to Katmandu on a twin Otter. Upon arrival, meet and transferred to the Hotel. Rest of day free for leisure
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