Everest Sherpa Luxury Trek

 

Starting the trip in some of Kathmandu's bet boutique hotels, we fly to Lukla and stay at the best luxury lodges in the Everest region during our Everest trek, all the while enjoying the breath-taking mountain views and world-renown Sherpa hospitality.

Our Everest Luxury Trek is a wonderful journey through some of the most spectacular landscapes in the Himalaya, a window into traditional life and culture of the high Sherpa villages, their Tibetan Buddhist gompas (monasteries) and their sacred peaks and valleys.

Not only peaks, the Everest region is an incredibly spiritual place, and we have the chance to visit its many colorful gompas: Tengboche, Pangboche, Namche, Khumjung, Khunde and Thame. Throughout, we are surrounded by spectacular 8000 meter peak panoramas and hosted by welcoming Sherpas in their cozy lodges.

Early Spring & November are the perfect times to trek in the Everest region, the peaks accentuated by clear, blue skies and without the hoards of trekkers who come during the peak months. Wildlife such as the Himalayan tahr, musk deer, danphe (Himalayan pheasant, Nepal's national bird), blood pheasant, Himalayan snow-cock and snow-pigeon and chukkar roam the mountain-sides, and if you come in the Spring, it's rhododendron season, so the valleys are filled with reds, pinks and whites ...

Join us for this wonderful trek in the Solu Khumbu region of the Nepal Himalaya!

*** Private departures also available for this trek ***

ITINERARY

Day 1 - Saturday, 14 April 2012- Arrive Kathmandu
Day 1 - Sunday, 18 October 2012 - Arrive Kathmandu
(Shangri La, Yak & Yeti or Dwarikas)

2 - Kathmandu
(Shangri La, Yak & Yeti or Dwarikas)

3 - Fly to Lukla. Trek to Monj0
(Summit Lodge)

4 - Trek to Namche Bazaar
(Yeti Mountain Home)

5 - Namche Bazaar
(Yeti Mountain Home)

6 - Trek to Thame

7 - Trek to Khunde

8 - Trek to Phortse

9 - Trek to Pangboche
(Summit Lodge)

10 - Pangboche
(Summit Lodge)

11- Trek to Namche
(Yeti Mountain Home)

12 - Trek to Lukla

13 - Fly Kathmandu
(Shangri La, Yak & Yeti or Dwarikas)

Day 14 - Saturday, 28 April - Depart
Day 14 - Sunday, 11 November - Depart

Trekker's Comments & Kamzang Style

The Route
The trek starts at the Hillary Airport in Lukla, continues to the quaint village of Monjo and heads on to the Tibetan trading center of Namche bazaar (with views of Everest, Lhotse & Nuptse en route) where we spend an extra night exploring and acclimatizing. Continuing up the more remote Thame valley, we stay in Thame, one of the oldest villages in the Khumbu with one of the oldest monasteries, Thame Gompa. Taking the back route to Khunde, we are afforded more spectacular mountain vistas (Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Tarboche and Kusum Kangaru) and visit two more of the Khumbu's oldest villages, Khunde and Khumjung, both with gompas (Khumjung is home to the yeti scalp and is one of the oldest in the Everest region). Another wonderful back trail leads to Phortse, one of the least visited and most traditional villages in the Everest region, also with its own gompa. From Phortse, we take one of the most spectacular trails in the Everest region, with Ama Dablam to the right and Everest in front of us, to Pangboche, another of the oldest Sherpa villages. Upper Pangboche where the ancient Pangboche Gompa sits, is the more traditional section of the village. Returning to Namche, we stop to visit Tengboche Gompa, the largest monastic school in the Khumbu. This trek is a unique chance to see some of the less visited Sherpa villages with a local guide who knows the region well, to see fantastic views of the world's highest peaks and to visit with our many Sherpa friends ...

*** We stay at the best available luxury hotels when they are available. When luxury hotels not available, we stay at the best hotels in the village.

Detailed Itinerary
NOTE: Although we try to follow the itinerary below, at times local trail or weather conditions or lodge accomodation may make slight changes necessary. The trekking itinerary may also vary slightly depending on our trekkers' acclimatization rates.

Early Arrival
You will be met at the airport by one of our representatives and dropped at either the Hotel Yak & Yeti, Dwardikas or the Shangri La Hotel where your rooms will have been booked for you.

Day 1 - Arrive Kathmandu 1340m/4355'
You'll be met at the airport by Lhakpa Doma Sherpa (Khumbu Adventures), so look for a sign with your name on it when you leave the airport. They will bring you back to the wonderful Hotel Yak & Yeti, Dwardikas or Shangri La Hotel (depending on occupancy) where your rooms have been booked for you. Enjoy your boutique room and take the afternoon to relax by the pool and recover from your long flight out to Nepal. There are several top-notch restaurants, cafes and bars within all of the hotel complexes.

Day 2 - Kathmandu
You have a free day to explore the Kathmandu valley. Options: Climb the many steps to Swayambhunath (the monkey temple), with its commanding views of Kathmandu (at 1420 m), its whitewashed stupas and its unique synthesis of Buddhism and Hinduism. The striking Buddha eyes of Boudhanath Stupa watch over a lively and colorful Tibetan community and attract pilgrims from all over the Himalayan Buddhist realm. In the midst of traditional gompas, and hung with long strings of multi-colored prayer flags, Boudhanath attracts Sherpas, Tibetans and tourists alike for daily circumambulations (koras) of the stupa. Durbar Square, one of the old capitals of the Kathmandu valley, is a synthesis of Hindu and Buddhist temples, stupas and statues, and is often the site of festivals, marriages and other ceremonies. Hindu Pashupatinath and its sacred temple complex on the banks of the holy Bagmati river. Here, monkeys run up and down the steps of the burning ghats, and trident-bearing saddhus draped in burnt-orange and saffron sit serenely meditating - when they’re not posing for photos-for-rupees.

*** We can help to arrange a guide and car for you, or you can arrange any sightseeing in Kathmandu or the Kathmandu Valley directly through the hotel.

Day 3 - Fly to Lukla 2850m/9350', Trek to Monjo 2835m/9300'
A little after sunrise, you'll be indulged with a spectacular 30-minute flight over the Kathmandu valley and along the snow-capped Himalayan ranges to the airport at Lukla. At Eco-Paradise Lodge near the airport you will have your first Himalayan breakfast while the Sherpa guide sorts out the loads with the porters or yaks. And then you'll start trekking! The quaint village of Chaunrikharka lays below; the trail takes you above a rhododendron-choked forest, over the school and gompa and past the checkered fields of barley, spinach and potatoes of the village. Ahead is Karyolung peak, covered in snow.

You are trekking along the Dudh Kosi (river) along a centuries-old trading trail from Nepal to Tibet. It is well traveled by stout, heavily loaded Nepali porters and Tibetan traders (Khampas, most distinguishable by the length of red or black tassel wrapped around their heads) conducting business between the weekly markets of Lukla and Namche with Chinese and Tibetan goods brought over the 5700m Nangpa La (pass) from Tibet.

From the small hamlet of Thado Kosi, while crossing a small, shaky bridge, you will view the three sister peaks of Kusum Kanagaru to the east. More beautiful walking over cobbled trails takes us through Ghat and the best-maintained cluster of mani stones and prayer flags in the Khumbu. The local lama, owner of the Lama Lodge in Ghat, is responsible for this magical setting. At Phakding, a lively village a half hour's walk away from Ghat, you will have lunch at Ang Sani and Jangbu's Shangri La Lodge.

Passing by the small tea-houses servicing the locals and workers in Phakding, cross the long suspension bridge over the Dudh Kosi and trek above the river, climbing a bit to reach the first lodge of Benkar on the left. Continuing over a small bridge, you continue through the rest of Benkar, the first village to attend the Monjo school. Another suspension bridge, another climb, and you reach Chumoa. One more small bridge and larger climb on uneven stone steps, and you finally reach Monjo, where you will stop at the luxurious, Tibetan-style Summit Lodge for the night. You'll order off the menu and enjoy your 'five-star' mountain experience.

Day 4 - Trek to Namche 3450m/11,315'
Descending down to the main trail in Monjo, you will pass the small school on the left, just beyond the large cluster of mani walls. Soon afterwards you enter the gateway to the Sagarmatha National Park; descend to the river and cross yet another suspension bridge to reach Jorsale village, and one more bridge before continuing along the sandy riverside trail, the shores peppered with large, rounded rocks.

Bring your five-colored Tibetan prayer flags to hang on the long suspension bridge over the confluence of the Dudh Kosi (milk river) and the Bhote Kosi (river from Tibet) and send prayers out into the Everest region! The steep hour and a half climb to Namche is broken half-way up the hill by our first view of Everest, Lhotse & Nuptse, and will prime you for the bakery once you arrive at this old trading village.

Namche Bazaar, once called Nauje and now the most prosperous trading village on the old trade route with Tibet, sits in an amphitheater surrounded by mountains. From here, we have perfect views of Kongde Ri in front of us, Kangteiga, Thamserku and Kusum Kangaru to the east and Khumbila behind us. Down-valley, the hills and valleys of the route from Solu to Khumbu from Jiri sit shrouded in hazy shades of grey.

You'll stay at the wonderful Yeti Mountain Home, a new hotel with attached Western-style bathrooms, a restaurant and small bar and local decor, where you'll be treated to spectacular mountain views all day.

Day 5 – Namche
Today is an acclimatization day in Namche. Everyone is free to relax and explore the crowded main streets of Namche, the Sherpa Cultural Center (photographic museum, fantastic), the reconstructed traditional Sherpa house (next door), the National Park Headquarters Museum (where you'll have easy views of Everest, Lhotse & Nuptse+), colorful Namche Gompa with its own new museum and the Tibetan market. The Tibetans are often encamped in the center of town in a muddy bazaar (potato fields in the summer) touting their goods from China. Indulge yourself at one of the many bakeries, shop for some yak bells or hand-woven Himalayan hats, chat with the sociable Sherpas in the village, or just relax in preparation for the trek. There are now new Mountain Hardwear and Sherpa gear shops as well as Tsering's older shop with a variety of real trek gear if you find that you're missing something (or just want to shop). Watch out for dzobkios and cows wandering the narrow streets! The Yeti Mountain Home is so nice that there is really no reason to leave at all if you're feeling lazy (or feeling the altitude).

For some peak-spotting and acclimitiazion your guide will take you on a short hike north of Namche. Climb steeply to a viewpoint an hour’s walk straight up the ridge (above the huge mani stone at the top of the steps), just past Syangboche airstrip, worth the effort for the panoramic views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Thamserku, Kantega, Kusum Kangaru, Taboche and Ama Dablam. climb steeply to a viewpoint an hour’s walk straight up the ridge, worth the effort for the panoramic views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Thamserku, Kangtega, Kusum Kangaru, Taboche and Ama Dablam.

If it's Saturday Market day, take the morning to explore the bustling market, a feast of colors, smells (not all of them appealing), and colorfully-clad Sherpa women up from their villages for the weekly event. It’s as much a social gathering as a produce, meat and essential goods market, so the atmosphere is spirited and lively.

Day 6 - Trek to Thame 3700m
It's a lovely four to five hour hike along the Bhote Kosi to the traditional Sherpa village of Thame. Heading back down to Namche, take the route to the left of Namche Gompa high up above the village to the old mani stone hill, now being excavated to build Namche's new lodges. Continue north on this relatively flat trail, contouring around several old Sherpa villages, past many mani walls and around white-washed chortens with Buddha eyes until you reach the lively village of Thamo. There is a newly-renovated ani gompa (nunnery) above the village, worth a visit. Another few hours of contouring with small ascents and descents brings us to the Thame bridge high over the river.

You will probably also share the trail with Tibetan yak caravans, trading en route to and from Namche and Tibet with the villagers. Thame is an old village of snaking rock walls, paddocks and traditional slate-roofed Sherpa houses. Thame Gompa, perched up to the north of the village, is one of the oldest in the Khumbu, and one of the gompas that celebrates the Dunche festival in the summertime. You will stay the night at Dr. Kami (of Khunde Hospital) and his wife Dawa Dolma's Valley View Lodge, a newly renovated lodge with en suite rooms, a wonderful wood dining room and the best tongba (fermented millet beer, served in a bamboo container with a long straw and hot water) in the Khumbu. Take the afternoon to climb to the gompa and wander around the walled village ...

Day 7 - Trek to Khunde 3900m
Re-crossing the bridge over the Bhote Kosi, trek back along the trail to Namche until you reach a large intersection leading to Khunde and Khumjung. Heading up, we ascend a hundred meters to the airstrip at Syangboche. On the ridge just above the airstrip, still used for cargo, there are great views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse, and a yak-breeding center. We may see some Himalayan Tahr en route, as there is a large herd living in the vicinity. Stone steps lead us to the chorten above Khunde, which looks out over Ama Dablam, and we descend back down to this green-roofed village. Once in Khunde, you will stay at the lovely, personal Khunde Guest House right next to the hospital.

Khunde's hospital was founded by Edmund Hillary and treats many cases of AMS along with the local Sherpas. You can visit the local gompas of both villages, Khumjung's gompa housing a Yeti scalp. These adjoining villages are some of the original villages in the Khumbu region, both about 600 years old, and are wonderful examples of local Sherpa architecture with their winding stone walls, yak paddocks and wood and slate houses. If you are lucky, your guide will run into Sherpa friends who will invite you in for some salt-butter tea, climbing up a wooden ladder over the straw-lined manger to get into the main house on the first floor. Both villages sit below Khumbila, the sacred Sherpa peak, and near a famous rock-mural of Guru Rimpoche. The views of Ama Dablam from Khunde and Khumjung are breathtaking.

Day 8 - Trek to Phortse 3780m/12,400'
You'll have a wonderful walk through the walled villages of Khunde and Khumjung before leaving the villages along the high trail, soon meeting the main route from Namche. Continuing along the main trail, veer left at the intersection to Gokyo and take the steep trail up to the bridge which intersects with the old trail from Khumjung, and climb gradually for another hour of so to Mong La, where you will have a well-deserved lunch (with fantastic views) at the small Boudha Lodge, perched spectacularly on this 4000 meter pass.

You'll have a steep descent to Phortse Tenga followed by a short but steep climb up to Phortse, one of the first villages of the Khumbu region, at 3800 meters. On the way up, keep your eyes open and cameras out as there are many musk deer, danphe and blood pheasants hiding in the rhododendron forests bordering the trail and the village. The danphe dig for potatoes in the lower fields of the village in the mornings and evenings. You will stay for the night at a lovely guest house, the Phortse Lodge, which boasts a wonderful dining room, great views and good electricity for re-charging and perhaps watching a movie. The lodge is run by a lovely Sherpa couple, the husband a many-time Everest climber and one of the main participants in the Phortse Climbing School, founded by Conrad Anchor and his wife. Enjoy some local Sherpa and Nepali food at this local lodge ...

Day 9 – Trek to Pangboche 3975m/13,040'
You have a breath-taking hike in store for you this morning, leaving Phortse on the northeastern side heading towards Tengboche Gompa across the deep river gorge below. The trail skirts the high ridges of Tarboche Peak, often precipitous but always safe, and offering fantastic views around every corner. Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse dominate the northern skyline, while Ama Dablam is close enough to touch to the east and our old friends Kangtega and Thamserku grace the valley below us. Climb a small pass and eventually reach Upper Pangboche, where we you can wander the old alleys and take a peek inside one of the four oldest gompas (monasteries), approximately five hundred years old, in the Khumbu.

Contouring high above the newer (Lower) Pangboche, you will pass a high mani wall, some memorial chortens and the school before dropping down to the lodge in Lower Pangboche. It's a lovely village to stop in for the evening, with views across the river to the trail to Ama Dablam Base Camp and the old airstrip at Mingbo. You will stay the stylish Pangboche Summit Lodge and will be treated to a glowing sunset over Ama Dablam, Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse.

Day 10 - Pangboche
Pangboche is such a lovely village, and the lodge one of our favorites, so we have scheduled an extra day to enjoy the wonderful mountain views. An worthwhile option for the day is to take a five hour round-trip hike to Ama Dablam Base Camp (4450m) where Lhakpa Doma's relatives, Nima and Gyurme, own the Ama Dablam Support Lodge. It takes two and a half hours of beautiful hiking towards the base of Ama Dablam to reach the base camp, where we will visit the higher base camp, ablaze with colorful tents, before dropping a bit to the lodge for lunch. The views throughout the day are sublime, especially of Pumori and Taboche. The hike back down is shorter, only an hour and a half or so, so enjoy the rest of the afternoon at the Summit Hotel.

Day 11 - Trek to Namche
Continuing back down the valley, you leave Pangboche by passing by the numerous trekking lodges and shops of Lower Pangboche and exiting the town through the open chorten (kane). You'll descend, on a beautiful and well-worn trail lined with ancient mani walls and whitewashed chortens with Bouddha eyes, down to the Imja Khola far below. After crossing the river on a new metal bridge (look below to see the old bridge), you hike on wide yak-trails through the hamlet of Devoche, passing ancient, moss-covered mani stones and the ani gompa (nunnery) of Devoche on the right. Stop for a peek into this old monastery, the equally ancient looking nuns often perform mid-day pujas. Soon after passing the nunnery you will pass the few small lodges of Devoche and then ascend a relatively steep, switchbacking trail through a dense rhododendron forest for a good half an hour to reach Tengboche (4000 meters), backed by the massive wall of Kangtega and well-known for its large monastery, Tengboche Gompa. Tengboche is the largest monastic community in the Everest region and one of the Khumbu's most important monasteries.

Take some time to visit Tengboche Gompa before the steep, hour-long descent on a dusty, hill-side trail to Phunki Tenga. From here, you will cross the Dudh Koshi on a new bridge and head back up steeply through pine forests, and past small local settlements to Tashi and Lhakpa's Amadablam Lodge at Kyangjuma. You will probably stop for a scenic lunch on the terrace, gazing out on the majestic Ama Dablam. Don't miss the shopping; Tashi is famous for her jewelry which she also sells in Colorado in the summertime. From here, it's an easy hour and a half contour around many brushy hillsides to reach Namche, the Tibetan market, the Moonlight lodge, hot showers, good food and a glass of wine or a cold beer.

Day 12 - Trek to Lukla 2850m/9348'
You'll have an early start as you have a long day ahead of you to get back to Lukla. The descent of that long hill that you plodded up less then a fortnight ago seems amazingly short and easy on the way down. After one last steep hill to the National Park gate, you reach the welcome sight of Monjo. Afterwards, it's just another hour back to Phakding along the same trails that you trekked up a few weeks ago. You will finish the trek back at Dawa Phuti & Ang Pasang's Eco-Paradise Lodge where everyone stays in the new en-suite rooms. In the evening you will have yet another Sherpa feast (after hot showers) and perhaps try some of Dawa's famous Sherpa tongba. This cozy dining room is one the nicest in the Everest region, so it's always an added treat to return there after the trek. Ang Pasang works for the airport, so you are in good hands for your flight out the next morning.

Day 13 - Fly to Kathmandu
Bags packed and ready to go before the sun rises as you fly out of Lukla to Kathmandu early; taking off from the Hillary Airstrip is just as exciting as landing! Once in Kathmandu, board the private van for the ride back to Dwarika's, Shangri La or Yak & Yeti where the wonderful rooms will be much appreciated.

Day 14 - Farewell
Sadly, we send you off to the airport for your flight home

NOTE: We suggest you leave an extra day in Kathmandu on your itinerary if you don't have an evening flight out of Kathmandu. Flights out of Lukla are sometimes delayed or cancelled. We can book the extra nights at Dwarikas for you.

Extra Days in Kathmandu
If you wish to stay longer, we can offer plenty of suggestions: mountain biking or rafting in the Kathmandu valley, an Everest sightseeing flight, trips to Bhaktapur or Patan (Kathmandu Valley's other historic capital cities), a night at the Fort Hotel in Nagarkot for a bit of luxury and expansive sunrise/sunset mountain panoramas, visits to interesting temple villages such as Changu Narayan, a few days at Barahi Hotel in Pokhara or a relaxing excursion to Chitwan National Park (staying at Maruni Sanctuary Lodge) or Bardia National Park. Kim can help to arrange any of these excursions for you.

NAMASTE & TASHI DELEK