Everest Base Camp Trek – Grace Trekking

Everest Base Camp Trek (17 Days)

Everest captures everyone’s imagination. This is a challenging trek – exciting and invigorating.

Everest captures everyone’s imagination. The highest mountain in the world of course, and the story of Tenzing and Hillary is the ultimate in adventure. You’ll follow their footsteps and those of porters and Sherpas who used the same trails to get to the 1950s Basecamp at Gorakshep, and then we’ll go higher to the current Basecamp.

Day 1 Kathmandu

We’ll meet at the airport and transfer to the hotel. In the evening a Nepali dinner will be served with a cultural program.

Day 2 Kathmandu

After breakfast you have the option of a city tour with one of our guides. There are many historical landmarks in Kathmandu and many Buddhist and Hindu temples. In the evening, we’ll prepare for the upcoming trek.

Day 3 Flight to Lukla and trek to Phakding (2,680m)

After an early morning breakfast, we fly to the Tenzing-Hillary airport in Lukla. On arrival in Lukla we’ll trek to Phakding, a nice calm walk along the Dudh Kosi river valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Day 4 Namche (3,440m)

Our trek undulates uphill and downhill. We’ll trek across the rivers, through villages and get the first view of Mount Everest. Namche is a colourful town with small shops selling Tibetan and Nepali artifacts, climbing gear and trekking gear.

Day 5 Namche (3,440m)

In Namche we’ll acclimatize and explore the Sherpa villages and the Visitor Centre which has fabulous displays of local climbs, memorabilia from previous expeditions and information on the Sherpa people. It will get you into the aura of Everest.

Day 6 Debuche (3,710m)

We’ll begin with a gentle walk as we approach Mount Everest. When we reach Tengboche we’ll see the amazing scenery of the surrounding areas and the Tengboche, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Sherpa community. It was built in 1916 by Lama Gulu with strong links to its mother monastery in Tibet. In 1934, it was destroyed by an earthquake and was subsequently rebuilt. In 1989, it was destroyed for a second time by a fire and then rebuilt with the help of volunteers and international assistance.

Day 7 Dingboche (4,410m)

This village has a reputation for being sunny, and less affected by the icy winds that descend through the Valley of Khumbu. There are no roads that go to the village, only trails, and with some exceptions of agricultural products produced around the village, yaks and mules carry most of what is consumed locally.

This is the last checkpoint before we cross the green line. After this there will be no more greenery. We’ll see mountain goats, yaks, domestic animals, and beautiful and lovely scenery.

Day 8 Dingboche (4,410m)

We’ll stay for another night in Dingboche to acclimatize. One of the best ways to acclimatize is to climb higher and descend. We’ll climb a small peak about 5,600m and see how the village in the Imja Khola valley is surrounded by the Himalayas.

Day 9 Lobuche (4,910m)

In Lobuche the scenery will be amazing, mountains everywhere, and we’ll feel the change of weather, sometimes extreme. The village is near the foot of the Khumba glacier and is often very busy with porters and Sherpas taking climbing gear and supplies on yaks up to Base Camp. It feels primitive and yet it’s bustling.

Day 10 Gorakshep (5,140m)

We’ll be very close to Mount Everest as we go through the Khumbu glacier, one of the largest in Nepal. By lunch time we’ll reach Gorakshep, then trek to Everest Basecamp.

For those climbers who want to ascend to the highest point on the planet, this is where it starts. For some, Basecamp is unpleasant, a waiting room of four or five weeks to get a chance to climb the mountain to the next stages. For others, it’s the ultimate summer camp, a place and community unlike any other on Earth.

We’ll trek back to Gorakshep, a primitive village which is only open during the climbing season. Nobody lives here permanently, and you’ll see why. Gorak Shep means “dead ravens,” because of the complete lack of any kind of vegetation in the area. Gorakshep used to be the main base camp for Mount Everest. However, the main base camp shifted to the upper part of the region, and Gorakshep became the ending stop for the Everest base camp.

Day 11 Pheriche (4,210m)

Today is an easy trek down. The village was primarily known for agriculture and animal husbandry. Later, with the introduction of tourism people got engaged in trekking and porter business. Fewer people grow potatoes and buckwheat and rear yaks for a living but you’ll still see that activity.

Day 12 Khumjung (3,650m)

We’ll walk past the Tengboche monastery again. Khumjung is very popular as there we’ll see the Edmund Hillary School and a Typical Sherpa Village. Khumjung school was built by Sir Edmund Hillary’s Trust in 1961. The school began with two classrooms but now caters to pre-school, primary and secondary sections with over 350 students.

Day 13 Munjo (2,875m)

We’ll walk past Everest View hotel and Syangboche which is a very small airport. The scenery is very green, very beautiful and welcoming, like being on a jungle safari.

Day 14 Lukla (2,840m)

Back to where we started, this is the last day of the trek. It will be relatively easy. There will be time to explore the town and in the evening we’ll have a meal with the Nepali staff.

Day 15 Flight to Kathmandu

From Lukla we’ll catch a flight to Katmandu and check into the hotel.

Known as the gateway to Mount Everest, Lukla’s Tenzing Hillary Airport (LUA) in Nepal has also been given the nickname “the world’s most dangerous airport.” As it happens, this is not without good reasons: short runway, second highest in the world, weather, air density . . . We’ll fly when the pilot is ready!

Day 16 Flight to Kathmandu

We fly from Pokhara’s modern airport to Kathmandu and enjoy a final view of the Annapurna circuit of mountains. Relax in the high-quality hotel and enjoy our final Nepali dinner.

Day 17 Kathmandu and flight home

You may have time for final sightseeing and, if so, The Garden of Dreams is within walking distance of the hotel and the perfect quiet place to reflect. Today we transfer to Kathmandu airport and fly home.