EVEREST IN CLOSE UP -
17 Days. Max. Altitude 5,545m. 
Tea-House Trekking with guides and porters.
Flights: Kathmandu-Lukla-Kathmandu.
Pre-trek Briefing: HE Office (Kathmandu Guest House) 5pm on day prior to Day 1.

If your intention is to summit Everest then best head straight to Base Camp. If not, then much better to take a far less frequented trail that rewards tough trekking with a whole album of awesome views. This trek involves three commanding, east-facing vantage points – progressively closer to Everest. The first objective is the Sherpa village of Namche Bazaar, then through the 4,500m contour to trek up the west flank of the Longponga Glacier and the ascent to Gokyo Ri with Everest to the east in a halo of sunrise.

The route then continues by cautiously crossing the lower section of glacier and an early start is required to cross the Cho-La. If indeed Yeti lives, then surely he’s hidden from us here in one of the most remote, awe-inspiring places on Earth. The landscape is 6,000m mere hillocks and the horizon is 7,000m and 8,000m giants including Cho Oyo, Nuptse, Lhotse and, the reason you’re here, Everest towering above them all.

Kala Pattar, our final objective, puts Everest right there, just beyond and above the Khumbu Glacier. Nuptse and Lhotse are poised as forward sentinels and the incredible icefall bars all further direct approaches.

On our descent home, via Lukla, we pass the Thyangboche Monastery, its tranquility casting a different mystical spell.

DAY TO DAY PLAN –

Day 1: Fly to Lukla (2,820m/45mins) & trek to Phakding
(O/nt Altitude 2,610m/4hrs approx.) An early morning stunning flight to the gateway to the region of the legendary Sherpas. Start trekking north towards Phakding - meandering trails lined with stone walls.

Day 2: To Namche Bazaar
(O/nt Altitude 3,440m/ 6hrs approx.) Following the torrent of the Dudh Koshi, the trail climbs north through forests of rhododendron, magnolia and giant firs, to the village of Jorsalle for lunch, before ascending to Namche Bazaar, the largest village often called the ‘Sherpa Capital' of Khumbu.

Day 3: In Namche Bazaar
 Today is for acclimatisation to the high altitude; adjust by exploring the local markets, mingle with the people, walk up to the Everest view point, breathing deeply and happily lazing around in sunshine.

Day 4: To Dole
(O/nt Altitude 3,780m/6hrs approx.) The beginning of the trail is almost level-stretched and abruptly the passage ascends on a staircase made up of rocks embedded in a narrow cleft in a large boulder and continues towards a large chorten (a smaller version of Stupa) on the top of the ridge which is in Mong La, the birth place of the saint Lama Sange Dorje, the reincarnate lama of Rongbuk monastery in Tibet who introduced Buddhism to Khumbu.

From Mong La, the trail descends in steep switchbacks down a sandy slope to the Dudh Koshi river for a short period and then climbs steeply out of the valley through rhododendron forests, which give way to fragrant stands of juniper and large conifers as the elevation increases. The trail passes a herder’s hut at Tongba, then ascends smoothly to Dole with few lodges and predominant views of Khumbila, the abode of the patron god of the Khumbu region, and Tawache. From here on it‘s possible to climb a ridge behind Dole for a broader view up and down the valley.

 Day 5: To Machhermo  (O/nt Altitude 4,470m/4 hrs. approx.) This day the route is steep in a few places as it climbs through scrub junipers and along the way, Kharkas (grazing field for yaks) are seen wherever there is a flat spot and the slightest hint of water.

The trail carries on to climb along the side of the valley, high above the river, traversing sandy spurs to Machhermo, where ‘a yeti has killed three yaks and had attacked a Sherpa girl’, the most credible yeti incident ever reported in Khumbu, so be on guard as you visit this region!