Now that we’re here, a PANGAEA representative will be waiting outside the airport gates to take us to our hotel. Depending on when everyone arrives, we’ll plan to have our briefing meeting once we’ve settled in.

Good morning! We’re transferring to the airport to board one a stunning 45-minute mountain flight through the Himalayas. From Lukla (2,652 m), we trek downhill toward the Dudh Koshi (Milky River) – a raging river that flows from the glacier of the highest mountains. This fairly easy and well-marked trail meanders around the fields of potatoes and wheat, passing through many traditional villages to reach Phakding. After about three hours of trekking, we’ll spend our first night in Phakding.

trek after breakfast, passing through pine forest, rhododendron, magnolia, and cultivated terraces to get to Sagarmatha National Park in the mountain capital, Namche Bazaar. Spectacular mountain peaks like Nupla (5,885 m), Kongde Ri (6,093 m) and Thamserku (6,808 m) rise majestically above us throughout most of the day.

It’s important to spend an extra night at Namche Bazaar for acclimatization purposes before venturing higher. We’ll do a short day hike up to the hotel in Shyangboche at 3,833 m for stunning views of Ama Dablam and Mount Everest. Average trekking time is 2 hours.

We leave for trek to Thyangboche (3,780 m) early in the morning after breakfast following a trail around the ridges for some spectacular views of Ama Dablam. Everest can be clearly seen on the horizon before we descend through splendid rhododendron forests for lunch. After lunch, we cross Dudh Koshi River once again and begin a long winding ascent that takes us to the famous Buddhist monastery of Thyangboche – built in 1912 and considered the spiritual and cultural center of these highlands. The monastery has been recently re-built with the assistance of Sir Edmund Hillary after it was destroyed by fire in 1989. As this area is a devout Buddhist region, the wildlife is unharmed so there is always a possibility that we may see some wild animals such as musk deer, mountain goat, and pheasants in the forest..

The trail now ascends up to Imja Khola before an easy climb along a wide open trail to a small mountain village named Pangboche, sitting at 3,901 m. We may take a slight detour to visit an old monastery where Lama Geishi gives his blessings to those attempting to stand on Sagarmatha’s highest point. Then we gradually head uphill to Dingboche at 4,365 m as the trail passes through the valley surrounded by awe-inspiring mountains..

Another acclimatization day in Thyangboche before venturing higher.

Walking on barren slopes above the tree line, trek will have us see impressive peaks like Cholatse, Lobuche, and Pumori unfold before us. Rock Cairns dedicated to the memory of climbers who have died attempting the world’s highest mountains can be seen at Dugla Ridge. Further up, we begin to follow the longest glacier in Nepal – the Khumbu Glacier – to the Lobuche settlement at 4,955 m for our overnight stay. We will feel the temperature drop here as we become more elevated and exposed to the upper.

The trail follows the rocky moraine of the Khumbu Glacier toward the high settlement of Gorak Shep at 5,395 m where we stop for lunch before continuing our journey toward Everest Base Camp at 5,340 m. We’ll be spending some time here taking in the view before we descend back to Gorak Shep for the night. This spectacular village is surround by beautiful mountains, including Pumori (7,145 m), Lingtren (6,697 m), Nuptse (7,745 m) and of course Everest (8,850 m). Our average.

We’re up early this morning to climb Kalapattar at 5,545 m, which can take anywhere between 2 to 3 hours. If the weather’s on our side once we reach the top of the hill, we may be treated to one of best views of the great black pyramid that is Mount Everest. We then embark on our 8-hour descent into the village of Pheriche at 4,252 m.

Headed on a roughly eight-hour trek back to Namche Bazaar at 3,440 m, we’ll make a stop at Pangboche Monastery – the oldest in the region – if we haven’t done so already on the way up. Otherwise, we can stop at the village to admire the view of Ama Dablam.

We’re retracing our steps along the Dudh Koshi River – a beautiful and easy walk through pine and rhododendron forest with a view of Kusum Kanguru. Climbing out of the river valley, we head back to Lukla at 2,652 m to savour our final mountain sunset after around 6 hours of trekking.

We’re boarding our beautiful flight through the Himalayan mountain range bright and early this morning to get back to Kathmandu. We’re transferred to our hotel upon arrival and have the remainder of the day to explore the city freely.

We will be transferred to the airport according to the schedule of flights specified for each participant…