Gokyo Lake Trek

After your arrival at Tribhuwan International Airport in medieval and modernized Kathmandu, you will be warmly greeted by our office representative and transferred to the hotel. After check-in and some refreshments, our senior Sherpa guide will come to meet you and give you a brief orientation about Everest Gokyo Lake Trek.

You can then go for a stroll down the street to get familiar with the neighborhood, have supper and go to bed. This is your first overnight in the valley of temples and cows, probably the most in the world. Overnight at hotel inclusive Breakfast.

A thrilling scenic flight to Lukla and a landing on a steep mountain runway bring us to the start of our trek at the village of Lukla [2850m]. After meeting the crew, we head up the Dudh Kosi Valley on a well-marked trail and then stay overnight in Phakding.

After a good breakfast at Phakding, we set out for the mountain junction town of Namche; we cross and re-cross the river on high airy suspension bridges. Beyond Monjo is the entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park which was set-up in order to protect and preserve the fragile mountain environment. We then take a steep hike to Namche. If the weather is clear, we get the first glimpse of Mt Everest.

Namche is the main trading village in the Khumbu and has a busy Saturday market – a meeting place for the Hindu traders from the lowlands and the Tibetan yak caravans that have crossed the glaciated Nangpa La. Namche is the gateway to the Khumbu. This is where we crash out for the night.

Namche is tucked away between two ridges amidst the giant peaks of the Khumbu and has an abundance of lodges, tea shops, and souvenir shops. It is an ideal place to spend a day, acclimatizing to the new altitude before heading off towards Syangboche. To acclimatize, you visit Khunde Hospital set up by Sir Edmund Hillary, or take a one-hour walk up to the Everest View Hotel above Namche for the sunset view of Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse, and Everest.

We then go to Khumjung where we visit a school established by Hillary. We begin our hike after enjoying lunch; bypassing the route of Khimde. There are also good views from the National Park Centre and Museum just above the town. After going through our acclimatization drills, we head down to our lodge for some beers & a night of good sleep.

We are now approaching 4000m, and the air gets thinner. Today is a spectacular day in terms of scenery as we follow the main trail north out of Mongla. A short climb to a crest reveals a wonderful view towards Everest and Lhotse. We follow this main trail for a while longer, passing many traders selling Tibetan handicrafts, to a crossroads high above the Dudh Kosi.

The trail to Everest drops down the hill but we turn off here and climb to cross the Mong La before reaching Phortse Tenga. From Phortse Tenga, the trail climbs steeply to Dole, through rhododendron and birch forest festooned with hanging mosses and lichens. This is natural nature at its best. We crash out at Dole for the night.

Heady Gokyo Ri looms above the village on the northern edge of the lake. We leave camp just after first light, following a steep path up the hillside. As we climb, the summits of Everest, Lhotse and Makalu slowly come into view and the sight from the summit of Gokyo Ri itself, is said to be one of the premium sights to behold in the Everest region – some say it is even better than that from Kala Pattar. Overnight at guesthouse.

Today we will take rest at Gokyo village and relish views of charming sites of Gokyo village. If the day is fine then we can climb Gokyo Ri and enjoy views of the lovely Everest Region. The Gokyo region not only provides you views of Gokyo peak but also gives you wonderful chances to contemplate at the series of six emerald lakes.

You can also see Thonak Tsho Lake (forth lake) and Ngozuma Thso lake (fifth lake). The forth lake of this series has a high cliff and peaks rising above the lake just about 3 km north. We can savor the views of the turquoise-colored water of the lake. Moreover, we can climb on the hill and get amazing views of Mt. Cho-Oyu, Mt. Gyachung Kang, Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Nuptse, and Mt. Makalu.

Cho-Oyu base camp is situated beyond the fifth lake, from where we can get closer views of Mt. Cho Oyu and Gyachung Kang. Cho-Oyu base camp and the biggest glacier of the world – the Ngazumpa Glacier is a view we can catch from the northern part of the fifth lake. If possible we may even head to the sixth lake too. We then return to Gokyo village and spend overnight at our lodge.

We follow the same trail back for an hour. Before Phang, the route turns left to the Dudhkoshi where about two or three teahouses are available after we cross the Dudhkoshi. It follows the river and sometimes brings you higher trails than going up to Gokyo via Dole/Machhermo.

It is just the opposite trail that you could have seen when ascending to Gokyo. This route gives you an opportunity to see more beautiful scenery. This then leads us via Thare to Phortse village where we sleep overnight.

After breakfast, we start our trek towards Tengboche enjoying a superb view of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and a close-up view of Thamserku. Our trek follows on the gradual trail with few ups and downs overlooking a magnificent view of the great Himalaya.

Along the way, we can spot wild lives like pheasant, musk deer, or a herd of Himalayan Thar. The trail goes gradually down up to Kyangjuma. The path eventually reaches Sanasa which is the major trail junction to Gokyo valley and Everest Base Camp.

The track then follows through the pine forests and after we cross the prayer flags festooned bridge over Dudh Kosi River, we reach Phunki Tenga, a small settlement with a couple of teahouses and a small army post amidst the alpine woods.

After having a relaxed lunch at Phunki Tenga we then have a little tough climb steep up through the pine forests while before we reach Tengboche. Tengboche is a great place for close-up views of Ama-Dablam, Nuptse, and Everest and it has the biggest Buddhist Monastery all over in the Khumbu region. Overnight stay at lodge in Tengboche.

We continue to follow the river and, after crossing it, climb back up through the birch and rhododendron forest to the famous monastery at Thyangboche. The views from here are splendid and Kwangde, Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Kantega and Thamserku are just a few of the Himalayan giants to be seen.

From Thyangboche we descend to the bridge over the Dudh Kosi at Phunki Tenga, where there are water-driven prayer wheels, before making our way back to the shining lights of hustling Namche for a great hot water bath. Overnight at Namche

Our final day’s trekking follows the Dudh Kosi back down to Lukla. This last evening in the mountains is the ideal opportunity for a farewell party with the Sherpa guides and porters, where we can sample some ‘Chhang’ (local mountain beer – a favorite drink on the mountains brewed from fermented rice), we do a jig to some Sherpa dancing, enjoy a special meal and reflect back on a memorable trekking experience before we crash out for the night.

Most flights from Lukla to Kathmandu are scheduled early morning to avoid the strong winds. It’s a scenic flight from Lukla to Kathmandu for about forty-five minutes. We touch down at Kathmandu and transferred to our hotel. But please note, sometimes the flight can be delayed or canceled in the mountain regions of this type due to inclement weather and other unpredictable reasons beyond our control. Our guests are expected to be patient.

After breakfast and our last day in Kathmandu, our vehicle and escorts will be on standby to drop you at the international airport three hours before our scheduled flight back home. We pray for your Safe journey and will reflect on the wonderful times we spent together. Bon Voyage!!! We hope to see you again someday.