Landing at Kathmandu valley is an amazing experience, very much so, on a clear day. As the plane approaches from the southern west vector, the Himalaya are seen on the distant north. The approach beautifully navigates between low mountains, passing over picturesque views of small villages, terrace fields and lush forests, before the urban city and its intrigued network of roads and buildings is sprawled below us.

As you make your way through the formalities of the immigration and custom procedures, our Office Representative will be awaiting at the airport and assists during your hotel check-in. Hopefully, the long flight has not been too exhausting to enjoy a pleasant evening. 

Overnight: Four-star Hotel

Meals: Breakfast  

Every mountain adventure should begin with an early morning flight on a tiny plane. On boarding the plane, make sure to take the seats on the left side of the aisle for they offer uninterrupted views of the high Himalaya as we fly east. The spectacular flight is made memorable as the plane negotiates over turbulences and flies above low mountain passes with close sights of the trees and trails over the Lamjura Pass and Lumding Danda, below. The approach to the Tenzing-Hillary airport may have you scanning the surroundings and nervously ask, “where’s the airport?” It arrives with a short sloping runway on a 11.7% gradient that rises to around 60 metres from one end of the runway to the other. At an elevation of about 2,845m / 9,334 ft, Lukla sees multiple air traffic of passengers and cargo flights, daily, as road accessibility is not yet available. 

After checking-in at our lodge, many prefer to spend the remainder of the morning enjoying a cup of tea and watching tiny planes land and take off at the impressive airstrip. In the afternoon, we take a short hike, to aid in acclimatisation, along the trail heading east toward Meera Peak in the Makalu Barun National Park. The short walk let us test our footings, warm up our muscles and get accustomed to the rugged foot trails of the Himalaya. Nangbu Kharka (3,000m/9,800ft), a pasture to graze livestock, is far enough for our first day in Everest. We head back to Lukla to visit the market street and the shrine to Green Tara just above the end of the sloping runway. 

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Lukla

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

After a hearty breakfast, we are excited to finally get going. The trail steadily drops as we leave the Lukla entrance gate and head down the Dudh Koshi valley. The trail is gentle, offering us views of tiny settlements scattered across the valley, and is often crowded with everyone using the trail for their commutes, including yaks and mules. The views of the mountains are quite here though, with the spear-headed Nupla Peak (5,885m/19,308ft) dominating the staggering walls of Lumding Danda (hill) rising from across the valley floor. We pass through dotted settlements that tempt us in for warm drinks and minutes of rests, we come across elaborately painted mani stones and concrete mani walls, and cross the Dudh Koshi river on numerous occasions over swaying suspension bridges.  Soon the villages of Nachi Pang and Thado Koshigaun arrive from where we can take in the view of the summit of Kususm Khangaru (6,367m/20,890ft) rising over us. A small climb and a gentle contour later, we arrive at the village of Ghat with her small private chapel of the Rinpoche (honourable monk) of Phakding Monastery. An elegant mani stone hill marks a pass from where the trail descends down to Phakding, and follows into pleasant pine forests. The trail continues to contour gently along with the Dudh Koshi river, while passing tiny settlements with delightful names such as Zamfute, Toktok, Bengkar and Chhamuwa. Finally, after a small steady climb we arrive at our plush lodge in Monjo (2,820m/9,252ft). 

The staggering peak of Thamserkhu (6,623m / 21,729ft) rises toward the sky behind the village and sets a stunning backdrop to enjoy your evening drink as the sunset hues the Himalayan sky.

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Monjo

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

Acclimatisation and regular hydration play vital roles in ensuring our body stay healthy in the high altitudes, and helps to avoid our holiday from being marred by discomforts and uneasiness. “Climb high, sleep low", “Take it slow" and “Drink plenty of fluids" are the secret mantras many have successfully adopted in the Himalaya.

The trail above to Thakchok Danda (hill) rises behind our lodge through pine forest. The initial climb is steep on a foot trail used by the locals to collect firewood and graze their livestock, and mostly stays the same all the way up. The trail does grade down occasionally as we pass herders’ huts and farms. Good way to climb up the steep gradients would be to take smaller steps using as minimum efforts to push ourselves up - “Bistaria, bistaria!” (slowly, slowly) and not put too much stress on our knees and muscles. A technique that we often see porters and farmers use to carry heavy loads up a climb. The hill continues up and up and up to the rocky ridges of Thamerskhu Peak, and it is not necessary to go all the way up. Once we are comfortable with the height gained, we can head back down, a job well done. At around an elevation of 3,240m/10,630ft, there’s a rocky cliff that offers hangs over the Dudh Koshi valley and offers excellent views of the towering Kongde Ri, Namche Bazaar and the settlement of Thame far across the valley. Again, using the same mantra of “bistarai bistaria” we make the descend down slowly and safely. Our trekking poles should take some of the stress away from our knees. 

Monjo boast of a judo academy that helps young children from the neighbouring villages to discover the elegant discipline. Richly painted mani rocks line the village, and a ‘kani’ (entrance gateway) decorated with notable Tibetan-Buddhist icons and figurines bless travellers on their way. 

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Monjo

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner 

Immediately pass the kani, the entrance checkpost of Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park offers information about the park, the rich wildlife and guides to avoid altitude sickness. The trail drops to a shaded area before climbing back up to meet a suspension bridge to Jorasalle. Shortly, hereafter, we arrive at the confluence of two rivers, Imja Drangka flowing from the east and Nango Drangpo flowing from the west, that forms the Dudh Koshi river. Just ahead the high hanging Hillary bridge has been a fascinating subject to many photographers and video bloggers. The bridge also marks the beginning of the steep climb to Namche. It is advised to take the climb slowly with plenty of rest stops, though one may not feel necessary to do so. Many hikers see the climb as their first worthy challenge in the Himalaya and rushes uphill in good shape, only to find themselves suffering from the onset of acclimatisation issues in the coming days. Midway up the climb, a rest stop offers a promise of our first view of Mt. Everest and Lhotse to our north, if not shrouded underneath the afternoon clouds. The gradient of the climb gently lessens as we arrive at a check post and enter Namche Bazaar, 3,440 m/11,290 ft, the trade centre of Khumbu region. 

Namche is the largest village and the epicentre of the region. Thamserkhu mountain looms in the east, the hugewalls of the Kongde Ri ridge to the west, and the sacred mountain Khumbi Yul Lha (5,761m/18,901ft) in the north dominates the skyline. After a stopover for lunch, we climb out of Namche, toward the Namche Gompa and head west to the helicopter landing pad. The peak of Ama Dablam (6,812m/22.349ft) can be seen protruding out above the meadows in the east as we climb through a field of mani rocks. The path surprisingly levels off to a gentle gradient with easy ups and downs through sweet-smelling juniper and blue pine forest. The delightful afternoon is quiet and away from the busy Everest Base Camp route. Keep a look out for Blood Pheasants, Himalayan Monals, blue sheep and musk deer foraging around the forest without much human intrusions to disturb them around. The snow-capped ridges of Kongde Ri accompanies the high trail over the Bhote Koshi river, all the way to the village of Teshyo.

Mende (3,690m/12,106ft) sits high above the trail from Teshyo, and the climb to reach our lodge is steep and snakes up the ridge marked with chortens (stupas). The lodge overlooks the jagged summits of Kongde Ri and the Nangpo Drangpo valley in the south, Thamserkhu in the east, and Sunder Peak (5,373m/17,628ft) to the west. Sunsets and sunrises are always beautiful here, and the night sky is almost reachable.

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Mende

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner 

Sitting high above Mende is the Lawudo Cave monastery retreat where a prominent ‘lama’ (a spiritual leader) Dechen Korlo spent 13 years meditating at the cave. The hike to the holy meditation centre takes about 40 minutes on an inclined trail above our lodge. From here, we continue on a foot trail high above the main Namche-Thame route, through wooded areas, pastures and bluffs. Himalayan Eagles build their nests high in the rock-bared hills above and can often be spotted soaring the sky. We join the main trail before the village of Samde where an image of Guru Rinpoche, the Second Buddha, Green Tara and Buddha are painted on a mani wall. The trail drops to the bridge over Bhote Koshi before quickly gaining altitude to arrive at the entrance kani. 

The spread-out settlement of Thame (3,820m/was not only, once a home to Tenzing Norgay the first Sherpa to climb Mt. Everest alongside Sir. Edmund Hillary, but is also the birthplace of the legendary mountaineer Apa Sherpa who climbed Everest for a record 21 times.

An hour’s climb along the ridge above the village takes us to Thame Monastery (3,947m/12,949ft) perched at the side of a cliff. Every year in May, the monastery and its, around 35 monks in residence celebrate the big festival of Mani Rimdu. As we trek along the ridge, the corridor to Nangpa La, a pass to Tibet, extends into the distance to the north. The pass had been a primary trade route between Nepal and Tibet for hundreds of years. Reaching the monastery, the terrace has a fabulous view of Thamserku, Kusum Kangru, and mountains beyond Namche to the east. A Game of Thronesque like majestic wall of Kongde Ri range and the notorious crossing to Rolwaling lies to the south-west. 

Our return to Mende is on the main trail, which was established by early Tibetan traders and their yak caravans, heading down from the high crossing of Nagpa La, to trade essential commodities with their Nepali counterparts at Namche and the lower valleys. 

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Mende

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner 

Leaving the scenic lodge at Mende, we retrace our trail toward Teshyo and Namche. The path to Syangboche and Khumjung trails off to our left climbing steadily and levelling off at high scenic ridge. From here, the walk gets pleasant and easy, occasionally making small climbs before arriving at the end of an unpaved airstrip of Syangboche (3,841m/12,600ft). The small fascinating village lies at the lap of Khumbi Yul Lha and boasts an airstrip that counts as one of the highest elevated airports in the world. Though not extensively used for its concern for reasonable acclimatisation elevation, the airstrip does welcome occasional helicopters carrying tourists on a brief visit to Namche Bazaar.

The path divides shortly, with the left fork heading toward Kunde (3,840m/12,598ft), a quaint village that locates the famous Kunde Hospital built by Sir Edmund Hillary. The right heads toward a stupa that delivers a stunning panoramic view of Khumbi Yul Lha, Taboche Peak (6,495m/21,309ft), Mt. Everest (8,848m/29,029ft), Lhotse (8,516m/27,940ft), Ama Dablam, Kangtega (6,782m/22,251ft), Thamserku and the twin villages of Kunde and Khumjung down in the valley. Here, we can almost hear ourselves murmur the ‘Theme to Jurassic Park’, the classic John Williams compositions, for the Jurassic giants are awe-inspiring.  

The descent down to Khumjung is easy over meadows and rhododendron forest, and opens out to a wide valley. A long mani wall and lines of chortens welcome us to this picturesque settlement, sheltered from the cold winds by fortifying rock-faced peaks. The Khumjung monastery is a must visit site as it houses a purported "Yeti Scalp" on exhibition.

The trail down to Tashinga is easy and passes through numerous stone-walled fields and huts, before joining the EBC trail and then trailing off into the woods. Ama Dablam looms over as we arrive at our lodge and the tranquil settings of Tashinga (3,447m/11,309ft).

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Tashinga

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner  

A quick drop to Phunki Tenga and the Imja Drengkha Khola (Imja River) finds us at a river crossing and a check post for the Sagarmatha National Park at the base of Kangtega Peak (‘The Yak Saddle’ 6,782m/22,251ft). This is immediately followed by a climb that snakes up through rhododendron and conifer forests on a busy morning trail with smiling monks, attentive trekkers, singing porters and uninterested herds of yak caravans. Keep a look out for Blood Pheasants and Himalayan Monals scratching the ground underneath for food or for Red-Headed Bullfinch calling out atop a branch.

At the end of the excursive climb, a chorten marks the arrival at the village of Tengboche (3,867m/12,687ft). Sitting on a forested ridge of Kangtega, the village is famous for its big Buddhist monastery and the magnificent panoramic views of the Himalayas that include Tabuche Peak (6,495m/21,309ft), Mt. Everest (8,848m/29,029ft), Lhotse (8,516m/27,940ft), Nuptse (7,861m/25,791ft) and Ama Dablam (6,812m/22,349ft). The stunning panorama has been photographed and stunningly captured many times for various publications and media. 

The Dawa Choling Gompa, known popularly as the Tengboche Monastery, is the oldest and the holiest pilgrimage site in the region. Built in 1916, the monastery has seen many renovation projects and has survived earthquakes and fire. The Rinpoche (honourable special monk) of the monastery blesses the general public at the end of the auspicious festival of Mani Rimdu, held during the tenth lunar month of the Tibetan Calendar. In the afternoon, the monastery allows visitors who can receive special blessings from the residing monks.

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Tashinga

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner  

From the wooded trails we meet the main Everest Base Camp, and continue along the gently contours above the Imja Khola. The shops and teahouses at Khyangjuma mark the end of the steeper section. Pass few vendors selling colourful Tibetan souvenirs and items our trail gently heads toward Namche. A picturesque chorten is a good opportunity to take our last photos of the Himalayan panorama now behind us. An eagle-eye glance down the valley floor can find the Hillary Bridge hanging between the forested walls. Couple more corners later we arrive back at Namche Bazaar where a quick stop at the Sagarmatha National Park Museum offers insights into the history and cultural of the region. Taking time to explore the local farm market and inviting shops selling everything from Tibetan souvenirs to expensive mountaineering gears, we descend down to the Hillary Bridge. 

Little more than an hour later we reach the riverbed from where a gentle stroll alongside the Dudh Koshi takes us back to the Sagarmatha National Park checkpoint at Jorsalle and to the quiet village of Monjo, where warmer climates welcome us back.  

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Monjo

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner 

Our final day trekking in the Himalaya comes with a celebratory mood. Or maybe it’s the trail, which is now mostly downhill with easy climbs. A little detour to Gumela Monastery takes us across the Dudh Koshi river and into a secluded trail. It takes about 30 minutes or less to climb upto the small farming village of Gumela, on a hill right over Phakding. The Pema Chholing Gompa or the Gumela Monastery has around 20 monks and nuns in residence, and houses the learning centre for all Sherpa culture, languages and religion to the region. Do not be surprised when little children, on their studies at the monastery, are eager to guide you around the Gompa. There are views of Thamserku and Kusum Kanguru (6,367m/20,899ft) on the rises directly before the hill of the monastery. 

We head back down to re-join the main foot trail at Phakding and head toward Ghat (2,530m/8,350ft) for our lunch. The final climb leading to Lukla is deceptively long, with collections of houses and mani stones playing their part in keeping our attention. One final climb later, the houses and hotels of Lukla slowly approaches and soon we are back in the noisy Lukla where trekkers are celebrating their final evening in Khumbu.

Overnight: Everest Summit Lodge, Lukla 

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner

An early breakfast provides us with ample time to make our way to the airport which is ... just across the lodge. The airport, in itself, is very small and gets crowded easily with few passengers, airport staffs and security.

Lukla is notorious for its unpredictable weather which may cause flight delays or even cancellations. We shall do the utmost to ensure best services are available. The extra day in Kathmandu should offer a cushion should our Lukla flight be cancelled overnight.

And of course, before we leave the Himalayan mountains behind, we are offered one last enthralling experience as the tiny plane gathers speed while awaiting stationary at the top of the short runway before launching a sudden acceleration to catch enough lift for an amazing take off. A quick climb over the Lamjura pass and then the plane descends slowly toward Kathmandu valley. 

Overnight: Four-star Hotel

Meals: Breakfast 

After an amazing adventure in the Himalaya, we reserve today to unwind, rest and take leisurely activities among the colourful crowds of Kathmandu. There are shopping and souvenirs to hunt and complete our travel memorabilia, or a city tour and sightseeing programs at the many cultural heritage sites, or just simply relaxing with drinks in our hands. 

There are numerous heritage sites, all with short distances of each other, inside the Kathmandu valley. None more significant than the Hindu pilgrimage complex of the holy Pashupatinath Temple and the serene Buddhist stupas of Bodhanath and Swayambhunath. The ancient royal courtyards of the three Durbar (Palace) Squares of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, offers fantastic insights into the golden age of Newa cultures and their rich architectures and craftsmanship. The programs in Kathmandu are not included in the cost nor part of our itinerary. They are optional activities you can participate on your arrival. 

Our evening is shared with a one last hurrah. A celebratory farewell dinner in honor of you and the many more adventures to come. 

Overnight: Four-star Hotel

Meals: Breakfast and Dinner 

Here we bid our farewell and wish you a nice flight back home. Our office representative will pick you up at the hotel for your transport to the international airport.