16-Day Everest Base Camp Trek from Kathmandu with Kala Pattar

• Pick up at Tribhuvan International Airport, meet your guide, and transfer to the hotel.
• Enjoy your first impressions of Kathmandu with a walk to medieval Kathmandu Durbar Square, and explore the beautiful palaces, temples, shrines, and courtyards built by the ancient Nepali kings between the 12th and 18th centuries.
• Head to Thamel, a vibrant tourist area with hotels, restaurants, and outdoor shops. Attend the briefing at the hotel, where we will discuss the technicalities of the trek.
• In the evening, enjoy a welcome dinner with cultural dance.

Overnight stay at the hotel.

• After breakfast at the hotel, start sightseeing by private van to Pashupatinath, the most important Hindu temple in Nepal, with your Nepal tour guide. Visit the sacred burning ghats on the holy Bagmati River, Boudhanath, the biggest Buddhist stupa in South Asia, and Swoyambhunath, also known as the Monkey Temple.

Overnight stay at the hotel.

• In the early morning, drive to Tribhuvan Airport to connect with your flight to Lukla - approximately 40 minutes from Kathmandu.
• After breakfast in Lukla (2850 m), start trekking through beautiful settlements and soon join the main trail in Churi Kharka.
• Follow the east bank of the Dudh Koshi - the River of Milk - where you witness the typical Nepal terrace culture, slate-roofed houses, and views of Kusum Kanguru (5579 m).
• Reach Phakding (2640 m) after 3-4 hours of gentle walking.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Phakding.

• Today, make a challenging hike to Namche Bazaar (3440 m), situated 6-7 hours' walk from Phakding.
• Climb along the west bank of the Dudh Kosi to the tiny village of Toktok.
• Get your first glimpse of Thamserku peak (6608 m) and reach Benkar (2710 m). See the cliffs above the village decorated with huge paintings of Buddhist deities.
• Cross the colourful suspension bridge and enter Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo (2840 m).
• After Jorsale, follow the riverbank over gravel, climb through a pine forest, and cross the Dudh Kosi by a big suspension bridge.
• Then face a continuous zigzag ascent of 2 hours through dense pine forests.
• In the early evening, reach the vibrant centre of Namche Bazaar, one of the most attractive settlements of the Solu-Khumbu district.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Namche Bazaar.

• Rest day in Namche. Optional walk to the Sherwin Khangba Sherpa Culture Museum, or a day hike to the Hotel Everest View in Khumjung village (3700 m) and Khundi Hospital in Khundi Village, the first hospital built in the Khumbu Region by Sir Edmund Hillary and the Himalayan Trust in 1966.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Namche Bazaar.

• Trek to Tengboche (3860 m), a 5-6 hour hike from Namche Bazaar. The first part of the trail is a smooth winding path that offers fantastic views of Mount Everest (8848 m), Thamserku (6618 m), and Ama Dablam (6814 m).
• After the trail goes down to the riverbank, make a strenuous 2-hour ascent to Tengboche.
• Walk through the rhododendron forests, where you can spot musk deer and Himalayan tahr, or mountain goat.
• At your place of rest, enjoy the views towards Kantega mountain (6783 m). Tengboche is famed for the Buddhist Tengboche Monastery, where you can attend the daily puja, Cafe Tengboche, and the viewpoint.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Tengboche.

• Trek to Dingboche (4410 m), with 6-7 hours of walking from Tengboche.
• Descend through conifer and rhododendron forest to the beautiful settlement of Deboche, where you have a close view of Ama Dablam.
• Cross the suspension bridge and look over the surging white waters of the Imja River. Soon after, a snow-white stupa with gorgeous all-seeing eyes mirrors Ama Dablam; this is a marvellous place for a picture.
• Then the trail ascends gently to the village of Pangboche (3860 m), where you climb above the treeline.
• After that, the trail passes numerous farmer pastures with significant yak populations before you reach Dingboche valley.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Dingboche.

• Rest in Dingboche. Optional acclimatization trek (5-6 hours) to the remote village of Chhukung (4730 m) and Chhukung Ri, whose summit is located at 5550 m. From here, you can enjoy magnificent sights of Island Peak (6189 m), Amphulapche (5663 m), Baruntse Base Camp (5400 m), and the white ice lake of Imja Tsho.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Dingboche.

• After ascending 150 m up to the main road, reach a viewpoint where you have outstanding sights of Tawachee (6495 m) and Cholatse peak (6440 m).
• After your lunch camp in Dugla (4620 m), the trail goes directly up the gravelly terminal moraine of the Khumbu glaciers for about one hour.
• The trail leads to a row of memorial monuments for lost climbers and Sherpas.
• The trail then drops a little and follows the western side of the valley to Lobuche.
• After four to five hours of hiking, reach the small settlement of Lobuche, situated at 4930 m.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Lobuche.

• The ascent to Gorak Shep (5160 m) becomes steeper and rougher as you cross several moraines.
• Soon you see the peak of Pumori (7145 m). You also have your first views of Nuptse (7864 m), Kala Pattar (5545 m), and Mount Everest.
• On the right side, look over the Khumbu Glacier, an enormous tongue of ice that marches down the slopes of Everest.
• Reach Gorakshep by lunchtime and trek to Base Camp in the afternoon.
• In total, hike six to seven hours today. Sleep in a lodge at Gorakshep, a semi-permanent village at the bottom of the Khumbu Icefall.
• Enjoy being in the shadow of the highest peak in the world.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Gorakshep.

• Early in the morning, climb to Kala Pattar - the Black Rock - located at 5545 m and marked by a tangle of prayer flags. From this viewpoint, one of the most astonishing views on earth, you have a 360-degree panorama of Himalayan giants from Pumori and Lobuche West to Nuptse, Lhotse, and Everest.
• Return to Gorak Shep via the viewpoints of the ice lakes of Pumori and Everest.
• After breakfast, return in 4 hours to Pheriche, located at 4240 m.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Pheriche.

• Descend the valley of the Imja Khola and trek through the village of Dingboche with its stone-walled potato fields, the highest year-round settlement in the valley. The Pangboche Gompa (monastery) is the oldest in the Khumbu Region.
• From there, make a gentle climb to the tiny village of Deboche past mani walls deep in a rhododendron forest, then continue along the trail to Tengboche through a forest of birches, conifers, and rhododendrons. The singular beauty of Ama Dablam, standing isolated from all other mountains, provides a spectacular backdrop and reminder of the height of Himalayan peaks.

Overnight stay at a lodge in Tengboche.

• From Tengboche, the trail drops sharply down to the Dudh Kosi and the village of Phunki.
• Here, cross the river and walk up toward Namche Bazaar, winding high above the river with views north towards Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse.

Overnight stay at Namche Bazaar.

• Start this 6-hour trek with a strenuous descent from Namche Bazaar to the Dudh Kosi, hard work for the knees. After that, the path climbs up to Monjo and then continues to Benkar, Phakding, and Lukla.

Overnight stay at Lukla.

• After breakfast, fly from Lukla to Kathmandu in about 40 minutes.
• Arrive at Tribhuvan Airport and transfer to the hotel.

• After breakfast, do sightseeing activities in Kathmandu.
• Free from late afternoon, spend the rest of the time shopping and then depart for your onward journey.