Tour Guide, Kathmandu, Nepal
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Everest region Trek is one of the popular trekking destinations in the world due to its feature of exceptional highest altitude and distinct complex landscape, remarkable natural beauty, diverse natural flora, and fauna. Everest region of Nepal offers to adventure travelers an exciting opportunity to explore up to the base camp of the world’s highest mountain Mt Everest (8848m). Mount Everest Base Camp (5364m) and Kalapatthar trek have been popular trekking destination after the first successful expeditions to Mount Everest Summit (8848m) on May 29, 1953, by Sir Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. The Everest region trek reveals some of the most breath-taking and spectacular scenery of the Himalayas, traditional Sherpa culture, Everest National Park with diverse flora and fauna, the lifestyle of Sherpa people, hidden Buddhist cultures, and their religion in the Khumbu region.
How to get there?
Everest region Trek begins with half-day sightseeing and trek preparations in the Kathmandu Valley. Then next day, we take a 30-minute mountain flight to Lukla and continue the trek. Up to Namche Bazar trekkers has to follow the same route then it will be split into different parts of the Everest region.
The total trekking days will be fro 5 days to 12 days trekking days including 2 days acclimatization days in Namchebazar and Dingboche. Namche Bazar is the gateway to reach the astronomical Himalaya that comes after landing in the Lukla airport where you reach in the second night from Lukla. Before entering one should have to have the TIMS & the Sagarmatha National park permit, which can be easily available from the approved trekking agencies in Kathmandu. The Everest Base Camp trek, which is also known as Khumbu region takes trekkers to the where the grand Dudh Koshi River originates. The Ngojumba Glacier, and Kala Patthar and the Everest Base Camp offer you the joy of a lifetime. Once you finish the trekking you reach the Lukla and take the flight to come back to Kathmandu.
Popular Trekking package in Everest Region
There are various trekking options in Everest region to satisfy the trekkers according to their needs and expectations. Everest region trekking offers from Short and easy trekking staying in the deluxe lodge (Everest View comfort Trek) to strenuous challenging trek, (Three High Passes Trekking). Then Everest Base Camp & Kalapatthar trek is Teahouse trek staying in basic teahouse and mountain lodges. It is graded as moderate-to-difficult, which requires trekkers to have prior trekking experience and some level of physical fitness.
Everest View Trekking: 10 days
Everest Base Camp & Kalapatthar Trekking: 18 Days
Everest Base Camp via Gokyo Lakes Trek 20 Days
Everest 3 High Pass Trekking: 21 Days
Highlights of the Everest Region Trekking: Those highlights are based on the trekking we did it in last October
Explore & experience Lukla, Namche Bazaar and surrounding villages
In total, it was 16 days trip departing from Kathmandu. We took scenic breathtaking mountain flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. Weather conditions frustrated us, but not that long. Airborne, we managed to land at the Lukla airport, one of the most dangerous airports in the world, at 2:30 pm. As we were pretty late, there was no question of embarking on the trek that day, so we put up for the night at the Mountain Lodge. Next day we started trekking from Lukla to Monjo nd Monjo to Namche Bazar.
Namche Bazaar is a major trade point for the Sherpa people. Here, visitors can purchase traditional art and crafts. At the bazaar and surrounding villages, we had a great time. On the acclimatization day, there was no question of confining ourselves to the lodge, doing nothing. So off we went all the way up to Shyangboche and Khumjung villages and descended to Namche for an overnight stay. On the way to Shyangboche, we visited the Sherpa Culture Museum and Everest Photo Gallery in the morning. Then we hiked to the Everest View Hotel through the Syangboche Airport. Situated at an altitude of 3700m ASL, it is said to be the airport located at the highest altitude. We climbed further to reach the EVH for a majestic view of the Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Tawache and several other peaks.
Observing Sherpa culture, tradition and mountain village life in the heart of the Himalaya
In the afternoon of the acclimatization day, we visited the Khumjung village where we interacted with Sherpa and other local people in a bid to know a bit more about their culture, lifestyle, and tradition. It was an enjoyable experience that will remain etched forever in our memory.
Sparkling lakes, Gokyo Valley & Gokyo Ri
On the sixth and seventh days, we visited the Gokyo Valley. A sparkling stream connects first and second Gokyo lakes. The Gokyo village sits on the edge of the third Gokyo lake with the Cho-Oyu Mountain in the background, offering a rare splendor. After lunch, as the day was sunny and clear, we decided to climb up to the Gokyo Ri for a clear view of the mountains. By the time we reached there, the weather had worsened, enveloping the attractions with clouds! But we still had a good view of the Everest from atop Gokyo Ri.
Climbing Gokyo Ri is strenuous, given a steep path to the top. It took us about three hours to reach the top. From the trail, we had splendid views of Gokyo on the edge of the third lake and the Nogzumpa Glacier (Nagzumpa glacier is on of the biggest glacier in Everest region).Felt as if mountains were all around us.
Beholding the beautiful scenes, we descended to the Gokyo valley, completing all of the day’s activities in about eight hours.
Awesome views of snow-capped peaks, hiking over the ice and glacier from Cho La (5420m), one of the highest passes
Cho La Pass is another highlight of this trip. The journey to the Cho La pass was the toughest and we had to embark on it at 4 am. Though not that difficult, the pass is steep and involves a glacier traverse on the eastern side. We had to be careful as the trail is vertical and the rocks glazed by ice add trouble to trekkers by making the path slippery. However, the journey from Phedi involves climbing through a ravine and a rocky trail. Trekking through the side of a frozen lake, we reached atop the pass decorated with prayer flags.
The pyramidal Ama Dablam presides over a range of mountains on the south, Cholatse soars in the west, while Lobuche East and Baruntse rise sharply to our right. We had to pass through some crevasses before reaching Dzongla, another beautiful place that offers a full view of Mt Cholatse, Mt Ama Dablam, Lobuche peak and the Pheriche village far down below. Dzongla offered a spectacular view.
Visit highest mountain base camp (Everest Base Camp 5364m) in the world
The trail from Lobuche to Gorak Shep goes ahead through the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. Ahead on the trail, we saw the crest of the north ridge of Everest along with Mt Pumori, Mt Mahalangur, Mt Lingtern, Mt Khumbutse and Mt Nuptse, among others. We started trekking at 7 am and reached Gorak Shep in 4 hours. We had our lunch there. Gorekh Shep is the last place where you see the Mountain lodges. From here 2 hours hike to reach to Everest Base Camp and 2 Hours hike uphill to reach to Kalapatthar. Normal trekkers can go up to Kalapatthar and Everest Base Camp. If you want to go above the Base Camp you need to have climbing equipment, training and need permission from the government.
After lunch and short rest, we took the trail to the Everest Base Camp through the Gorak Shep. The base camp offers spectacular views of the Nuptse, Khumbuste, and Pumori.Reaching EBC, we reached the ultimate destination of our trek. We then trekked back to Gorak Shep, with the Khumbu Glacier, the EBC and the icefalls etched in our memories.
Hiking up to Kalapathar (5555m): Best view Point for Everest & Entire Mountain Ranges.
Hiking from Gorekh Shep to Kalapatthar (5555m) is the toughest part of this trek. Trekkers can have breathtaking views of sunrise on surrounding snow-capped mountains. We had to get ready for the trek at 4 am, braving temperatures of about -10 to -140C.
Cold winds blow too often, though the day we embarked on the Kalapatthar trip turned out to be just fine. While ascending the peak, we paused several times to catch our breath and snap pictures of outstanding views of spectacular mountains. From Gorak Shep, it took us two hours to reach Kala Patthar. Then we ascended the rocky ridge marked by prayer flags, close to the summit. We sat atop Kala Patthar and had an eyeful of the Himalayan Panorama. We took pictures and spent about half an hour there. It was kind of hard to stay that long, given the cold weather. Our hands were turning blue, and water kept in bottles was freezing. With loads of pictures and loads of memories, we descended back to Gorak Shep and had breakfast.
The Everest region has Buddhist culture, colourful festivals, varied vegetation, and astonishing sceneries, warm hospitality and welcoming people, diversity of landscape and high-altitude trekking on offer. It offers a lifetime experience, and something trekkers should savor, health permitting. So enjoy experiencing and exploring on the top of the world with natural beauty and diverse landscape.