The choice is yours: either you can stroll around the nearby market on your own or you can opt for a half/full day guided sightseeing tour in Kathmandu at places of interest. The cost for this extra tour is not added in the trek cost and you have to pay extra depending on the places you choose to visit. This extra tour gives you deep insights into Nepal’s iconic monuments that have been recognized by UNESCO as world heritage sites. You might find time to shop around the city in the evening time if you need any gears for the trek. Overnight at your hotel Meals included: 1 breakfast

After an early morning b/fast, we take the super flight from Kathmandu to Lukla at 2827m. Flight time is about 35 minutes to the airstrip built by Sir Edmund Hillary and the Sherpas in the mid-1960s. After landing we will have time to explore the village while the Sherpa crew sort out and load the trekking equipment.

From Phakding, we cross the river and head up valley where we’ll see porters from the south ferrying supplies to Namche. The trail keeps close to the river valley and is lined with beautiful blue pine and rhododendron forest that is quite spectacular in the spring months when the flowers are in bloom. We cross the Dudh Kosi at Benkar where there are tantalising glimpses of the snow peaks Kusum Kanguru (6369m) and Thamserku (6623m).

Today the walking is a little roughshod and includes the steep ascent to Namche Bazaar. From Monjo, it is a short walk to the entrance of the National Park before we cross the Dudh Kosi to Jorsale at 2805m. The trek continues upstream on generally flat terrain, crossing back to the right bank, to the confluence of the Bhote Kosi and Dudh Kosi rivers. It is here that we start the steep ascent to Namche Bazaar. After crossing a large and stable suspension bridge high above the river we slowly ascend at a steady pace towards Namche. There are some fantastic photographic opportunities as the peaks of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam and Taweche (6542m) come into view for the first time.

We remain at Namche for a second night to allow for proper acclimatisation to the altitude. Namche is a prosperous village, situated in a large protected hollow. It gained its importance during the period when Tibetan salt was traded for the lowland grains of Nepal. Today a limited amount of trade exists at Namche and Tibetans are often seen in the village trading rugs and Chinese-made goods, clothing, salt and dried meat. 

From Namche, we ascend steeply to the airstrip at Shyangboche and then continue on to our lunch spot in Khumjung, the largest village in the region. Towering above the Khumjung village is the sacred rocky peak of Khumbilya (5761m). It is the home of the guardian goddess of the region, often depicted in religious paintings, or Thangkas, as a white-faced figure on a white horse. The trail contours around Khumbilya's lower slopes, passing through beautiful birch forest and on to treeless, grassy slopes to a stupa (3992m) on top of a rocky ridge at Manla. Once again the views of the mountains are magnificent. Phortse can be seen across the valley, a picturesque village set in a patchwork of stone-walled fields. From the stupa we descend on a series of switchback trails to the Dudh Kosi River, 300m below, at Phortse Bridge. Meals included: 1 breakfast, 1 lunch and 1 dinner with tea/coffee

The trail to Gokyo is pretty unreliable, and we can ascend too quickly if we do not plan our trekking days sensibly. So in the interests of acclimatisation, we will take three days to reach Gokyo. Leaving Phortse Bridge, we ascend steeply at first and then contour high above the valley, enjoying excellent views of Kantega, Thamserku, and Ama Dablam (6856m). About an hour's walk from Phortse Bridge, we gain our first views of the mammoth Cho-Oyo (8153m) at the head of the valley. We are now trekking above the tree-line and we pass some cascading waterfalls en route to the yak-herding settlements of Tongba (4015m) and Gyele (4050m).

Today it’s another short day starting with a climb out of the small Dole Valley before ascending more gradually up the Dudh Kosi valley, high above the river. The walking is easy, but we will still feel the effects of altitude on even the smallest hillock. The barren alpine scenery with only small clusters of scrub juniper is a stark contrast to the snowy white peaks and deep blue skies. After two hours, we will arrive at Luza (4360m), and after a further hour's walk, we reach our lodge at Machhermo (4465m) where you will spend the evening. After lunch, there is an option to take an excursion across rocky moraines to the base of Kyajo Ri (6168m) and Machhermo Peak (6073m). However, keep an eye open for the Yeti! It was here, in 1974 that three yaks were killed and a Sherpa girl injured when trying to fight off a hairy, ape-like intruder that could have been a hungry grizzly bear! Meals included: 1 breakfast, 1 lunch and 1 dinner with tea/coffee.

A short, steep climb leads from the Machhermo Valley onto the steep grassy slopes of the Dudh Kosi Valley. Keep an eye open for the colourful Tibetan Snow Cocks often found in this area. The valley widens as we pass through Pangka (4,390 m) and onto the jumbled, terminal moraines of the Ngozumpa Glacier, the largest in Nepal and the source of the Dudh Kosi River. Climbing steeply over a rocky trail we keep to the western side of the glacier to reach a small lake at the head of a wide valley; we soon pass a larger lake at Longponga (4.690 m) before following the lateral moraines to the third lake at Gokyo (4,750 m). Gokyo consists of a number of stone dwellings surrounded by stone-walled yak pastures.