Everest Explorer

• 19 days demanding trekking in the high Himalaya (maximum elevation 5,643m / 18,514′)

• Spectacular views of five of the world’s ten highest peaks

• See Everest from the two famed vantage points of Gokyo and Kala Patthar

• Plentiful cultural encounters with the legendary Sherpa inhabitants

This is the ultimate trek to explore the high-mountain area around the Khumbu Himal, a challenging and rewarding adventure; the highlight is the traverse of the 5,420m / 17,780′ Cho La pass, crossing from Lobuche to the Gokyo valley.

Starting at Lukla, we trek up the beautiful Dudh Kosi valley to Namche Bazaar, the administrative and commercial hub of the Khumbu region. After a day acclimatizing, we detour through the less-visited settlements of Thame and Khumjung to Tengboche monastery. Up the Imja Khola valley at Dingboche, we have another day for acclimatization. We then head northward to climb steeply up a terminal moraine the Khumbu glacier to Lobuche; here on the trails on glacial moraines are ill-defined, marked by stone cairns.  Based at the hamlet of Gorakshep, we trek to the Everest Base Camp and take a pre-dawn climb of Kala Patthar – a ridge of the 7,165m / 23,500′ Pumori – for the classic panorama of the highest summits on earth including Everest, Lhotse, Cho Oyu, and Makalu. On the return, we turn west at Lobuche trekking past high summer pastures to Dzonglha. Crossing the usually snow-covered pass isn’t particularly difficult, and atop it, we are greeted with fresh mountain views. We trek across the Ngozumpa Glacier, at 24km / 15mi the longest in Nepal and descend into the Gokyo valley. Staying by the turquoise blue waters of the lake, we spend a day exploring the surrounding area and climb the Gokyo Ri (5,350m / 17,550′). Many will prefer the view from here to the one from Kala Patthar a few days ago. We then descend along the lateral moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier to lodge near its snout at Dole. Following the Dudh Kosi valley, we trek through alpine meadows past the cliff-side village of Phortse back to Namche Bazaar. Our 3-week adventure ends at Lukla with a flight back to Kathmandu.

Everest Explorer is a worthy contender for the caption of the ultimate Everest trek.