Everest Gokyo Ri Trek

Upon arrival at Kathmandu International Airport our staff will greet you and escort you to your hotel in Kathmandu. Depending upon your arrival time you may spend free time visiting nearby cultural sites, shopping or simply resting at the hotel. 

Today we will be finalizing your trek preparations and permits. You will have the afternoon to explore the shops and cultural sites of Kathmandu and do any last minute gear shopping. In the afternoon or evening (your preference) you will enjoy a traditional Nepali welcome dinner and a trek briefing with your guide.

Early in the morning you will be picked up by one of the ITrekEverest staff to go to the airport, from where you will take the 35 minute flight to Lukla.  The Lukla flights depart from Ramechhap during peak season and Kathmandu during the off-season. You can read more about this here – (Lukla flights) At Lukla we will meet with our porters and head north to Chablung (2700m). Here we will cross the Tharo Kosi river on a local-style suspension bridge. Just past the bridge we can see the peak of Kusum Kangru (6367m), which is the most difficult of the so-called “trekking peaks”. Beyond the Tharo Kosi the trail climbs a bit towards Ghat (2590m), we will cross a ridge marked with painted mani stones and then cross a bridge over the Dudh Kosi river to our overnight lodge in Phakding (3 hrs).

From Phakding we follow the valley of the Dudh Kosi river, staying on the west bank of the river. We climb steeply over a rocky ridge towards Benkar (2710m). From here the trail continues alongside the river. All along this part of the trail, villages are interspersed with magnificent forests of rhododendron, magnolia and giant firs. In both the early autumn and late spring, the flowers on this portion of the trek make it a beautiful walk. We cross the Kyashar Khola river and climb out of the valley to Monjo (2840m). Just beyond Monjo the trek enters the Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park, which was established in 1976 to protect a 1148 sq km area surrounding Mt Everest. Beyond the national park entrance station, the trail makes a steep rocky descent and crosses the Dhud Kosi river on a 120m-long suspension bridge towards Jorsale (2830m). After crossing this river a few times while climbing our way up the valley we will reach Namche Bazaar (3420m). Namche Bazaar is the main trading centre in this region and features numerous shops, hotels and restaurants (6 hrs).

The Himalayan Rescue Association doctors have determined that you must acclimatise before we begin our trek to Gokyo. It is easy to get to high too fast and succumb to altitude sickness. Today we will do the trek to Thami and back again. Thami lies at an elevation of 3750m, near the foot of a large valley west of Namche Bazaar. The route passes the settlements of Phurte (3390m), Thamo (3440m) and Somde (3580m) before arriving in the Sherpa village of Thami (3750m). We will have good views of the snow peaks of Teng Kangpoche (6500m) and Kwangde (6187m) to the south. After our lunch we will return to Namche Bazaar for the night (6 hrs).

The trek of today climbs the hill to Khumjung and descends to the valley of Dudh Koshi. The route to Goyko turns north, climbing above the more frequented route to Tengboche and Everest base camp. It climbs gently to a ridge top at 3973m. From here we descent in steep switchbacks down a sandy slope to the Dudh Kosi river. After crossing this river on a suspension bridge we arrive in Phortse Thanga (3 hrs).

In aid of acclimatisation the time spend trekking today is short. The trail first climbs steeply out of the valley through rhododendron forests, which give away to fragrant stands of juniper and large conifers. This part of the trek is especially beautiful in spring when the rhododendrons are blooming. We pass a herders’ hut at Tongba (3950m) and then climb gently to Dole. From here the views of Khumbila and Tawachee are tremendous throughout the day, and it is possible to climb a ridge behind Dole for an even broader view up and down the valley (2 hrs).

The trail starts today by climbing steeply through scrub junipers to a single lodge at Lhabarma (4330m). We pass the small settlement of Luza (4340m) and continue to climb along the side of the valley, high above the river to Machhermo. It was here that a yeti supposedly killed three yaks and attacked a Sherpa woman. This is the most credible yeti incident ever reported, so be watchful as we visit this region (2 hrs).

Beyond Machhermo the trail climbs a ridge for an excellent view both down the valley to Kantega and upwards to Cho Oyu. Beyond the ridge the valley widens as the trail reaches the small village of Pangka (4390m). After passing Pangka the trail drops briefly, then climbs to a large cave known as Nilibuk. After Nilibuk we climb steeply along a narrow, newly crafted staircase trail. Atop the staircase the trail crosses a simple wooden bridge to the first small lake, Longponga, at 4650m. The trail now becomes almost level as it follows the valley past a second lake, known as Taujun, at 4710m and finally up a boulder strewn path to Gokyo. Gokyo is a collection of stone houses and walled pastures on the shores of a large lake known as Dudh Pokhari (4 hrs).

The views around Gokyo are tremendous. For the best views we will climb Gokyo Ri (5357m) today. From here we will have a panoramic view of Cho Oyu, Gyanchung Kang, Everest, Lothse, Makalu, Cholatse and Tawachee. After we enjoy the view we will return to Gokyo village for the night (4 hrs).

To return to Phortse we use a different route than we used on our way up. We will follow the eastern side of the valley to gain different views of Khumbila. Climbing across the terminal moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier we will reach the village of Na (4400m). The descent from Na along the eastern side of the Dudh Kosi valley is straightforward and we eventually arrive in Phortse (7 hrs).

A slippery trail descents from Phortse to a bridge at Phortse Tange and rejoins the original route from Khumjung. From here it is easy to continue to Namche Bazaar where we will spend the night (4 hrs).

It is a long walk from Namche Bazaar to Lukla, but we are probably all in good shape by now. From Namche, we will descent steeply back to the Dudh Kosi river and continue our way past the national park checkpoint at Monjo. The trail then continues back towards Lukla, where we will reconfirm our flight tickets for the next day and spend the night (7 hrs).

Taking the early morning flight from Lukla will bring us back to Kathmandu. Overnight stay at hotel.

Departure from Kathmandu.