Everest Gokyo Lakes Trek

Early in the morning you transfer to the airport to board your flight. This sometimes involves a period of waiting around, so remember to pack a book in your daypack! Once up and away, your destination on this breathtaking 45 minute flight is the Sherpa village of Lukla, perched above the Dudh Kosi or ‘River of Milk’; so named because glacier melt-water makes it appear pale. Years ago, Lukla was a herding pasture (its name actually means ‘Place for Sheep’), but it is now the gateway to the Everest region and many trekkers pass through this prosperous village.

After your first trek lunch you commence your trek with an afternoon’s walking to reach Phakding (2610m). At 3-4 hours in duration, you’ll be broken in gently with the easiest trekking day of the trip as ultimately, you will actually lose 200m in altitude along the walk.

One of the first things you’ll notice as you start trekking are the differences between the Newari people of the Kathmandu Valley and the local Sherpa people, who migrated from Tibet 500 years ago. Sherpas dress similarly to the Tibetans and their language is closely related to, though not easily understood, by the remaining ‘true’ Tibetans.

Along the trail are mani stone walls, made from hundreds of stone tablets and giant carved boulders, brilliantly decorated with brightly-coloured paints. Buddhists hold these sacred and believe they gain merit in their next life by praying as they go past. As a sign of respect to the local people, you must always pass these in a clockwise direction. Teahouse - 1 night (B)

After a relatively relaxing acclimatisation day yesterday, this is a tough day of walking which will take approximately six to eight hours. The morning’s terrain is again Nepalese flat (up and down).

On leaving Namche the mountain pass abruptly ascends through the rocks to Mong La, birthplace of the Lama Sange Dorje who introduced Tibetan Buddhism to this area. From Mong La, the trail descends in steep switchbacks down a sandy slope to the Dudh Koshi River and then climbs steeply out of the valley. 

The rhododendron forests give way to fragrant stands of juniper and large conifers as the elevation increases. The trail ascends towards Dole where the lodges begin to disappear and the peaks of Khumbila, abode of the patron god of the Khumbu region, and Tawache dominate the horizon. 

On this day you really notice a change, you’ll be adding an extra layer permanently, and there are fewer people and yaks freely roaming the paths.

You may be feeling some effects from altitude sickness at this point, such as dizziness, headaches and lack of sleep, as you’re now over 4000m high (there’s 60% oxygen in the air compared with sea level). Just make sure you inform your guide how you feel and they can offer advice to help you feel better. Teahouse – 1 night (B)

There are no teahouses on way to the final destination of Gokyo. This represents how remote you now – far off the well walked trail to EBC. Today you’ll gain around 300m on a five hour walk, following Dudh Koshi River which carriers the melt water from the Ngozumba Glacier. Once you arrive at Gokyo Lake One, on the high plateau, you’ll feel like you’ve arrived in different world. It’s really remote and you can see why this region is sin ominous with the yeti.

You pass the three beautiful and vast lakes on the way to Gokyo itself with the snowy mountains completing the backdrop reflecting into the turquoise waters. Goyko itself is an old yak herding settlement and that influence is still very strong. It’s only a small settlement with a handful of teahouses. Here you’ll be able to charge your camera and if the wind is blowing in the right direction, there’s the internet and a phone. Again in the afternoon you’ll take a walk along the moraine of the neighbouring glacier to help acclimatise as you’re now at 4790m.  

The following day is another acclimatisation day. You can either choose to stay in Gokyo or get up early (6am) and walk three to four hours total to the top of Gokyo Ri, the mountain which overlooks Gokyo, and back. It’s a steep ascent but once at the summit (5360m) you’ll have stunning views across the Himalaya including Everest itself. The views are normally the best of Everest you’ll get on the whole trip.

This really is a staggering wilderness it’s beautiful looking out from your room over the lake with mountains in the background. It’s also cold – so this is where the down jacket comes in. Teahouse – 2 nights (Bx2)

This is the toughest day of the trip – you’ve a long walk, including Cho La, a 5368 pass, with a steep ascent and descent either side, which involves a bit of scrambling.

Due to the length of the day you’ll start early, around 5am, cross a high mountain plateau to the foot of Cho Lo. It’s around a 90 minute ascent up Cho La, where you stop to take in your achievement and then it’s down the other side. The day ends with around a one hour walk on the flat until you reach Dzongla teahouse.

Although the scheduled night stop after the Cho-La Pass is in Dzongla, due to limited availability in the very basic teahouses there, it may be necessary to elongate the day's trek by a couple of hours to reach better teahouses in Thukla. This will be decided depending on the fitness and walking ability of the group, when you get to Dzongla. Teahouse – 1 night (B)

This is the summit day so to speak, and it’s another long, challenging day. Again it’s an early start, 6am, for the three hour walk up to Gorakshep, your destination for the night. After a quick cup of tea, it’s another 3 hours onto Everest Base Camp; following the glacier you’ll eventually get on it for those shots of you at the foot of Everest. Here you’ll have lunch and soak up the fact that you’re at Everest Base Camp!

Everest Base Camp is marked by a sign and prayer flags and a selection of other trekkers all having their photo taken. During the months of April and November, you may see the encampments of expedition teams from all over the world, whose common aim is to successfully ascend the world’s highest mountain. You’ll then return to Gorakshep to complete your nine to ten hours walk, for a well deserved dinner. Teahouse – 1 night (B)