When you arrive at Tribhuwan International Airport, a representative from Open Trail will be there holding your group name or leader name. He will taxi you to drop off you at the hotel. After checking in, you are welcome to rest or visit Open Trail’s office in Thamel, which is located in the heart of a major shopping district. In the evening, there will be a welcome dinner hosted by Open Trail Treks, where you will be served authentic Nepalese cuisine. This is a great introduction to Nepalese food and culture.

We will begin our second day with breakfast before starting a guided tour to some of the historical and religious sites of Kathmandu, which are listed as World Heritage Sites. We will visit Kathmandu Darbar Square, Buddhist Stupa (Buddha Nath), and the Hindus secret temple, Pashupatinath. We will end our tour by visiting the Monkey temple – Swayambhunath. In the middle of the tour, we will take you to a very special local restaurant for lunch.

After we finish the tour we will meet our trekking guide and leader for discussion and preparation for our upcoming days of trekking.

Today we start with an early morning 45-minute flight to the busy village of Lukla which sits at an altitude of 2,800 meters. The left-hand side of the plane will offer you an amazing view of the Himalayas. Once we arrive at Lukla a quick traditional breakfast will be prepared for us before an easy three-hour hike, crossing the mountain ranges via high suspension bridges (not for the faint of heart). The trail will take us to our first guesthouse along our journey in a little village called Phakding.  We will warm ourselves by the fireplace in the evening which will help your muscles be best prepared for tomorrow’s strenuous trek.

Total Trekking Time: 3 hours

Today we will start our trekking with a gasping climb over 600 meters to Namche Bazar. This trail tests the fittest of trekkers. The hike takes us over the Dudh Kosi River and then we follow the eastern side of the mountain ranges. Although this hike will test your fitness, the trail will continually reward you with magnificent views of mountain ranges we ascend further and further.  During this climb to Namche, you will notice the altitude and once reaching the village, tomorrow’s rest day will feel very well deserved.

Total Trekking Time: 5 hours

Namche is the hub of the Khumbu region and many locals gather here in the marketplace for trade. This market gives you a great opportunity to explore the city center and pick up any last supplies you may need for the rest of our trek. There is a famous German Bakery here where you can indulge in freshly brewed coffee and cake. Today is also a good opportunity to walk up to the Everest View Hotel, which will not only provide your first views of Mt. Everest, but will also assist your body in further adjusting to the high altitude.

Total Trekking Time: 4 hours

We start our day with the steep climb to the top of Namche. From there, we will climb slightly uphill toKyanguma. Our trip will be of great pleasure from this point as we are afforded views of the mountains like Mount Everest, Amadanbalam, Thamerkuetc from Kyanguma.  We continue onward with an ascent through a steep uphill trail to the settlement of Momg. From there we descend down to PhotseThenga and then ascend again through forests of rhododendron and pine. In this forest, we may have the luck of encountering wildlife such as colorful pheasant, mountain goat, and the musk deer. The beautiful view of the surrounding mountains will reward us throughout our journey to Dole where we will spend a restful evening.

Total Trekking Time: 6 – 7 hours

We will start today with steady uphill climbing through beautiful scenery to Lhabarma (4220 m) and Luza (4380m). Most of the trail today will be steep uphill climbing. We will enjoy the magnificent views of Cho Oyu, Kantega, and Themserkualong this climb. Thorny bushes cover this area and will be surrounding us at times along the trail.  Machherma is the last big village in this area and will be our stopping place for the evening.   While inMachherma, we can visit the Himalayan Rescue Hospital for more information regarding altitude sickness.

Total Trekking Time: 4 -5 hours

We will begin today with an ascent to a small ridge.  From here we can see the superb view of the valley down to the Mt. Kangtega and also the valley up to Cho- Oyu (8153m). Further on, we will walk to the Pangka (4480m) through the wide valley. From here we will descend down to the river and to the Ngozamba Glacier where we will trek through the ice/snow. We will pass the first lake of this area called Langpongo, followed by Lake TabocheTsho and shortly thereafter Gokyo Lake. Gokyo village is established along the shore of Gokyo Lake. We enjoy the splendid view of the surrounding mountain including Cho- Oyu as we overnight in Gokyo.

Total Trekking time: 4 -5 hours

Today is another acclimatization day, but we will not stay at the teahouse all day. Gokyo region has 6 lakes in total, and after breakfast, we will visit at least two of the other lakes, ThonkTsho and NgozumaTsho.  If we trek further from the fifth lake, Ngozuma, we arrive at the Base Camp of the Cho – Oyu. If we want, we can also trek to the sixth lake in this region. We will overnight in Gokyo after a day of hiking in the area.

Total Trekking Time: 4 -5 hours

Climbing up to the Gokyo Ri is one of the main highlights of this trek and will be on our list of accomplishments this day. Gokyo Ri is one of the finest and most splendid viewpoints in the entire world! It offers views of the major peaks which are above 8,000m (Cho- Oyu, Mount Everest, Makalu, and Lhotse) along with hundreds of minor peaks. We start early as the trek up to the Gokyo Ri is a very steep uphill trail for about 3 to 4 hours. When we reach the Gokyo–Ri, we will be completely surrounded by mountains. We will be in the exact middle of hundreds of high mountains. We can enjoy the breathtaking 360-degree panoramic view, and it is guaranteed to be an unforgettable memory for us. After spending time in Gokyo–Ri, we come back down to our tea house and eat breakfast. After breakfast, we will trek further through the Nogzumpa Glacier to reach our resting place for the night in Thaknak.

Total Trekking Time: 8 hours

Cho La pass is another highlight of this trek and will be on our accomplishment list for today. It is considered one of the hardest days of our trekking for most. We have to start early utilizing headlamps to light our way through the rocky and icy trail which can prove very difficult at times. The trek up to the base of the Cho La is steady but after this, the steep climb is tough because of the slippery rocky trail. As we reach the top of the pass, we will be rewarded with the stunning view and the happiness of the victory of reaching one of the world’s highest mountain passes! We will continue from Cho La passing through crevasses in our descent through steep downhill to the Dzongla where we will be afforded a restful evening.

Total Trekking Time: 7 -8 hours

Today we will descend down to and cross the river. We will walk through gentle grasslands, which will be a real treat to ourselves and a much easier day(and short one too). In today’s walk, we will have a stunning view of AmaDablam, Taboche, and Kangtega. As we arrive at Labuche, we can trek onward a short bit further to a small hill by the side of the Khumbu Glacier where we can observe the glacier and enjoy the view of the surrounding mountains. We will overnight in Labuche.

Total Trekking time: 3 hours

Today we will start early with an alternating up and down trek for 3 hours until we reach Gorakshep. Here we will have a quick lunch and we will leave our large bags and porters behind to go on a 5 hour round trip to Everest Base Camp. It is today that all your hard trekking will be made worth it as you gaze upon the pure beauty and realization of where you are. We will overnight again in Labuche.

Total Trekking Time: 7 hours.

This morning is a great chance to view an early morning sunrise on the top of Kala Patthar. This mountain is famous for showcasing the best views of Mount Everest. It will also provide excellent views of the Khumbu Glacier. The round trip takes just 3 hours. Once we arrive back to Gorakshep, we will have our breakfast before heading back down the mountain.  We will descend to Pheriche where we will have restful accommodations for the evening.

Total Trekking Time: 6 hours

We will cross the Khumbu Khola and trek steadily downhill following the beautiful valley today. On the way, we will pass through the settlement of Somare and Pangbuche. We will cross the river again and walk for half an hour through the rhododendron forest to Dibuche. It is a small uphill climb to the Tengboche from there followed by a one hour steep downhill to the river and another uphill trek to the settlement ofKyangjuma.  We will overnight in Kyangiuma.

We will start our day trekking to Namche Pass through some easy up and downhill trail sections. If we are lucky enough, we may observe some wildlife beauty such as colorful pheasants, mountain goats, or the elusive and majestic snow leopard. In Namche, we will make time to enjoy coffee and cake before we head further. We will continue our downhill trekking through the pine forest and cross the suspension bridge over the Dudh Koshi River. We cross the Dudh Kosi River again for the second time before we get to the village of Manjo where we will spend our evening.

Today will be an easy day of trekking as we walk through the valley of Dudhkosi. The trail will lead us through mostly up and downhill terrain with several suspension bridge crossings. We will enjoy the walk through the village and observe the daily lifestyle of the inhabitant Sherpa people. After we get back to Lukla, we can look around the town and celebrate the completion of trekking. We will spend an evening in Lukla basking in our accomplishments. We can even celebrate our last day at an Irish Pub.

Total Trekking Time: 5 hours

Early in the morning, we will head back to the Lukla Airport for our flight to Kathmandu enjoying the 45 minutes of breathtaking views of beautiful mountain scenery.  We can spend the rest of our day exploring the old town of Kathmandu and of course some souvenir shopping in and around Thamel if interested.  In the evening, we will have a farewell dinner hosted by Open Trail Treks.

It’s the last day of your adventure and you are welcome to have breakfast with us. After breakfast, if you have time before your flight you can do some shopping or go sightseeing. If you want to go sightseeing inform us a day earlier and we will help provide you with a car.  When your adventure is coming to a close, a representative from Open Trail Treks will drop you at the airport 3 hours before your flight.