Trekking

It is a challenging trek, mainly because of the Thorong La pass at 5416 m, not because of technical difficulty. There is no climbing or ropework. What makes it hard is a run of long walking days, big daily ascents and descents, and one very high pass crossed on a pre-dawn start. If you are fit enough to walk six to eight hours on consecutive days and you respect the acclimatisation pacing, it is achievable for a determined first-time high-altitude trekker on the right tier. The pass day is the hardest, around eight to nine hours with a climb to 5416 m and a long descent after.

It is a moderate trek with a few genuinely demanding parts, not a technical climb. The hardest single day is the climb from Deurali through Machhapuchhre Base Camp to Annapurna Base Camp at 4130 m, close to 900 m of gain in one push. The other tester is the long stone staircase below Chhomrong, thousands of steps down and back up. You do not need climbing skills, but you should be comfortable walking five to seven hours a day on steep steps for several days in a row. Trekking poles help, especially on the long descent.

This is the hardest trek we run. It is strenuous, not because of technical climbing, but because of what it stacks together: Everest Base Camp, Kala Patthar at 5545 m, the glaciated Cho La Pass at 5420 m, and Gokyo Ri at 5357 m, across about two weeks of walking with several long days. The Cho La day is the hardest, a pre-dawn start, a steep climb, a glaciated section crossed on crampons or microspikes, and a careful descent, eight hours or so in total. You should be fit enough to walk six to eight hours on consecutive days and, ideally, have been at altitude before. There is no ropework, but the altitude and the sustained days are real.

It is a moderate trek with no technical ground - steady walking of five to seven hours a day. The one genuinely hard part is the viewpoint morning, which climbs past 4,700 m and back in a single day. Sleeping altitude stays under 3,900 m, which is why we hold two nights high to take that day well.

This is one of the gentlest ways to reach the high Himalaya. Most of the route is covered by vehicle, and all the walking is optional. There is no mountain pass and no multi-day trek. It is built for couples, anniversary trips, and slower travellers who want big mountain scenery and Tibetan-influenced culture without days of hiking.

The one real physical day is optional and only on The Transformation: the walk to Ice Lake at 4620 m. Everything else is short strolls you can take or skip.

You do not need to be a mountaineer. Every trek we operate is a walking trek no technical climbing, no crampons, no ropes. What you do need is cardiovascular base fitness the ability to walk 5–7 hours per day on uneven ground, carrying a daypack (roughly 5–7 kg), for multiple consecutive days. If you currently walk 10 km in 2–3 hours without exhaustion on varied terrain, you have the baseline.

You also need leg strength and endurance stone steps, long descents, and altitude add up. Three months of preparation with at least two weekly walks of 2+ hours on hilly terrain makes the difference between arriving sore and arriving broken. And no untreated cardiovascular, respiratory, or altitude-sensitive medical conditions. We ask direct medical questions on the pre-trek documentation, not because we are gatekeeping, but because the altitude does not negotiate.

Specific trek difficulty varies. Mardi Himal is the gentlest. Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Circuit are moderate-to-challenging. Manaslu Circuit is the hardest. The trek pages list the honest difficulty assessment for each. If you are unsure, write to the CEO with your current fitness baseline and he will tell you which trek fits.

Partly. The high point, Gokyo Ri at 5357 m, is lower than the Base Camp route's Kala Patthar at 5545 m, and the Gokyo valley is far quieter once the trail turns west above Namche. On those two counts, yes, it is the gentler option.

But it is not easier on acclimatisation, and that is the part the marketing usually skips. The Base Camp route has two acclimatisation stages, at Namche and Dingboche. The Gokyo valley has only one, at Namche, before climbing steadily to a 4790 m sleeping altitude. Your body gets less time to adjust, which is why pacing matters more here, not less, and why we will not sell the rushed eleven-day version as a safe shortcut.

It is one of the easier Himalayan treks. The highest point is Muktinath at 3800 metres, there is no high pass, and the walking days are short - four to six hours at most on The Journey. The real challenge is not altitude or distance but the Kali Gandaki's strong afternoon wind and dust, which is why we move in the mornings where we can. The Trail involves no walking at all.

It is a challenging trek with one very demanding day. Most days are moderate walks of four to six hours, but the pass day is a pre-dawn start, a climb to 5416 m, and a descent of roughly 1650 m to Muktinath, eight to nine hours in total. There is no technical climbing, but the altitude and the length of the pass day make it genuinely hard.

The front half is deliberately gentle to prepare you for that day. Four nights acclimatising in Manang, including the Ice Lake day and a full rest day, are built in precisely because the pass is hard. This is why we pre-qualify the trek rather than sell it to anyone.

Yes. The Manaslu Circuit is consistently rated harder than the Annapurna Circuit and roughly comparable to Everest Base Camp in physical demand, with three meaningful differences. First, the daily distances on the lower Manaslu trek are longer than Annapurna and the terrain is more aggressive "Nepali flat" sections of repeated 200-metre ascents and descents. Second, the Larkya La pass at 5,106 metres has a brutal 1,600-metre descent on a single day, on loose moraine harder on knees than Thorong La. Third, the route is more remote: fewer lodges, fewer evacuation points, no road access between Jagat and Dharapani. The pass altitude itself is slightly lower than Thorong La (5,416 m) but the overall physical and logistical demand is higher. Trekkers who have completed Annapurna comfortably will find Manaslu a step up. Trekkers considering this as a first high-altitude trek should be honest with themselves about cardiovascular fitness and joint condition before booking.

It is a moderate trek, not an easy one, even though it is short and has no technical climbing. What makes it moderate is the altitude and the summit morning. The trek reaches 4500 m at Base Camp, and the morning from High Camp to the top is a pre-dawn start, a sustained climb on an open ridge, and a long descent the same day, around eight hours in total. The rest of the walking is straightforward. If you are comfortable walking five to seven hours on consecutive days and you respect the acclimatisation, it is achievable for a fit first-time high-altitude trekker, especially on The Journey with its extra acclimatisation night.

It is a challenging trek, mainly because of the altitude and one long exposed high day, not because of technical difficulty. There is no climbing or ropework. What makes it hard is reaching nearly 5000 m at the lake, a run of consecutive walking days, and the lake day itself, which starts before dawn, climbs a steep set of switchbacks, and crosses exposed ground. If you are fit enough to walk five to seven hours on consecutive days and you respect the acclimatisation pacing, it is achievable for a determined first-time high-altitude trekker on the right tier. The lake day is the hardest, a long day out and back from Base Camp.

It is challenging but not technical. There is no climbing or rope work on the standard route. The difficulty is the altitude and the accumulation of days, with five to seven hours of walking on most days and a high point of 5545 m at Kala Patthar. If you are fit enough to walk long days back to back and you respect the acclimatisation pacing, you can do this trek.

Cho La is a genuine mountain pass at 5420 m, not a walk-up. The crossing starts before dawn so you are over while the snow is firm. The approach is a steep rocky climb, and near the top there is a glaciated section where you use crampons or microspikes, which we provide. The descent off the western side is on loose rock and ice and needs care. We run the trek anticlockwise specifically so you cross from the Dzongla side in the east, which is more manageable than the steep, icy scramble up from the Gokyo side. Your guide and an assistant guide are with you for the crossing.

Every trekking day follows roughly the same rhythm. 6:30 AM wake-up tea in your room (the guide brings hot ginger tea to your door). 7:00 AM morning SpO2 check above 3,500m, logged in the Daily Trail Log. 7:30 AM breakfast (porridge, eggs, toast, or Tibetan bread). 8:30 AM first hour of walking in Silent Hiking. No conversation. Just the sound of your boots, your breath, and the valley.

9:30 AM – 12:30 PM walking at a steady pace; the guide decides rest stops based on group energy. 12:30 PM lunch at a trail teahouse, usually dal bhat. 1:30 PM – 4:00 PM afternoon walking to the day's lodge. 4:00 PM arrival, hot drink, shower if available and altitude allows. 4:30 PM evening SpO2 check. 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM rest, reading, group conversation, or evening co-practice. 6:30 PM dinner. 8:00–9:00 PM lights out. Early nights are non-negotiable at altitude.

The pattern is consistent. The variation is the landscape.

Gokyo Ri stands at 5357 m. It is a steep climb of roughly 600 m straight up from Gokyo village, done before dawn so you reach the top for sunrise, and it takes most people two to three hours up.

From the summit you look across at Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu four of the six highest mountains on earth with the turquoise Gokyo lakes and the long grey sweep of the Ngozumpa Glacier directly below. Many trekkers rate it the equal of, or better than, the Everest view from the Base Camp side.

It is often marketed as easy because it is short and the trail is well made, but that description leaves out the altitude. Reaching 4500 m is a serious height, and the summit morning is the hardest part of any short trek in the region. We call it moderate on purpose. The walking is not technical and most reasonably fit people can do it, but going in expecting an easy stroll is how people get caught out on the summit ridge. We would rather you arrive prepared for a real mountain morning.

Yes. Since April 2023 foreign trekkers have been required to trek in the Annapurna region with a licensed guide or registered agency rather than fully independently. As of a rule change in March 2026 the previous two-person minimum was removed, so a solo traveller can now trek with a guide. We treat the guide as a safety measure as much as a legal one, especially on a high-pass route, and a licensed guide is included on every tier. NEEDS VERIFICATION: confirm the current rule with operations before the season starts, as Nepal's trekking rules have changed more than once.

Yes. Since 2023 a licensed guide is required to trek in Nepal's national parks and conservation areas, including the Annapurna region, and this is enforced in 2026. You book through a registered agency rather than hiring privately. Beyond the rule, a guide matters on this route for the avalanche-aware timing of the Dovan to Deurali stretch, for altitude judgement on the Base Camp day, and for lodge coordination in the busy season. We include a licensed, insured guide on every tier.

Two reasons, both about safety. First, acclimatisation: by going to Everest Base Camp first you spend your first week on the main Everest trail, with real villages and two acclimatisation days at Namche and Dingboche, so you reach the Cho La already adapted to the altitude. Going the other way pushes you up the quieter Gokyo valley faster, with less margin. Second, the pass itself is easier and safer crossed from the Dzongla side in the east than scrambled up the steep, icy western side from Gokyo. Some operators sell the clockwise direction without explaining this trade-off. We run anticlockwise and tell you why.

They are different, not ranked. Kyanjin Ri (4,773 m) is closer, steeper and quicker, with a balcony view over the glacier. Tserko Ri (4,984 m) is higher, longer and wider in outlook. The Journey does both across two days - Kyanjin Ri to acclimatise, Tserko Ri for the high view. The Trail does Kyanjin Ri only.

You can. The Small Group Promise (max 8 trekkers) and our guide authority over pacing mean the group can accommodate a slower walker, a photographer, or someone who needs a five-minute sit-down without a schedule crisis. On private departures (The Journey and The Transformation), this is fully yours the only "schedule" is the acclimatization plan, and the guide will adjust the walking pace to match your group.

On fixed-date departures (The Trail), we ask returning travelers to be considerate of their companions but an 8-person group is small enough that individual needs rarely collide with group needs. If you know you are a slow walker and want the full privacy, The Journey is the right product for you.

The standard route passes the first three lakes Longponga, Taboche, and Dudh Pokhari, the third, where Gokyo village sits at 4790 m. The fourth and fifth lakes lie further north along the Ngozumpa Glacier and need a dedicated day to reach. The sixth is rarely visited.

On The Journey that dedicated day is built in. You walk out to the fourth and fifth lakes and up to Scoundrel's Viewpoint at around 5000 m, which is both the finest scenery on the trek and a textbook acclimatisation hike. The Trail, which is a day shorter, keeps to the first three lakes and Gokyo Ri.

It can be either, and we are deliberate about telling you which. A dirt road now runs the length of the valley to Lo Manthang, so many trips sold as treks are really jeep tours. Our Trail tier is an honest jeep tour - fast and accessible, but you gain altitude quickly with little walking acclimatisation, and we say so plainly. The Journey walks the classic trail to Lo Manthang and back on foot. The Transformation walks a full circuit. We tell you, day by day, what is driven and what is walked.

It depends on how much of the lower route you walk versus drive. Our Trail is a 13-day trip door to door with 11 active trekking days, driving in to Chame to save the lower road section. The Journey is 16 days door to door with 13 active trekking days, starting on foot lower at Chyamje. The Transformation is around 19 days door to door with 17 to 18 active trekking days, walking the full classic line from Besisahar, adding a second acclimatisation night and a Poon Hill finish. We list both the door-to-door length, so you can book flights, and the active trekking days, so you know what you are actually walking.

It depends on how much of the lower route you walk versus drive, and whether you add anything. Our Trail is a 7-day trip door to door, Pokhara based, with around 5 to 6 active trekking days, jeeping in and out at the trailhead. The Journey is 10 days door to door with 7 active trekking days, including the Kathmandu to Pokhara travel. The Transformation is 12 days, adding a Ghorepani and Poon Hill start and a second acclimatisation night. We list both the door-to-door length, so you can book flights, and the active trekking days, so you know what you are actually walking.

There is no flight. You drive from Kathmandu to Syabrubesi, the trailhead - roughly 117 to 122 km but six to nine hours on a winding, sometimes rough road. Monsoon rain can slow it further. We use a shared vehicle on the Trail and Journey, and a private jeep on the Transformation.

Ice Lake (Kicho Tal) sits at 4620 m above Manang. It is included on The Transformation as a guided day: a jeep takes you part of the way up, then it is a walk of around three hours to the lake, with a packed lunch at the top. It is the one genuinely steep, high day in an otherwise gentle trip.

We only attempt it after two nights in Manang, so your body has adjusted. Mild altitude symptoms are normal on the climb. If they worsen, we turn back - no exceptions. It is worth the effort, but it is honest work.

No. Silent Hiking is the first hour of each trekking day only a branded protocol where the group walks in silence to start the day without conversation, to let the landscape land before the chatter does. The rest of the day is conversational.

Silent Hiking is framed as altitude physiology and presence practice, not as a vow of silence or a spiritual exercise. You can talk over lunch, ask your guide questions about the trail, swap stories at the lodge in the evening, and call your family from a satellite phone window if you need to. The co-practice sessions (breathing exercises at 10 AM before departure) are voluntary the guide does them; you join if you want to.

If you are hoping for a fully silent retreat, write to us directly that is a custom engagement, not a standard trek.

Yes, and there are two good ways to do it. To add Everest Base Camp, the two valleys link over the Cho La pass at 5420 m. We run that as a separate, longer combined trek, and we run it anticlockwise Base Camp first, then Cho La, then Gokyo because that direction acclimatises you on the village-rich Base Camp side before the pass, and because the Cho La is safer crossed from the east than scrambled up from the Gokyo side.

To make Gokyo itself into a circuit without adding Base Camp, our Transformation tier crosses the Renjo La pass at 5360 m on the way out and descends the quiet Thame valley, so you never retrace your steps. If you want the full Base Camp combination, see our combined Gokyo, Cho La and Everest Base Camp trek.

It depends entirely on the tier, and we are deliberate about this. The Trail involves no walking; it is a guided pilgrimage by bus and jeep. The Journey drives the Pokhara-Jomsom road and walks the part worth walking: Jomsom to Kagbeni to Muktinath and back, plus the villages on foot. The Transformation walks the most, descending the full gorge and climbing to Poon Hill.

Because the body needs them. The jump from Manang to the pass is faster than standard acclimatisation guidance allows, and the most reliable way to make the pass safer is to spend more nights adapting before it. The four nights are the Ice Lake day at 4620 m, a rest day, and the village days that surround them.

Most short crossings give Manang one night, or skip it, to keep the trip cheap and short. That choice raises altitude risk on the hardest day. We made the opposite choice, and it is the whole reason this route exists as its own product.

With us it is five days on The Trail and six days on The Journey, both starting and ending in Pokhara. The walking core is the same: up the ridge to High Camp, the summit morning to Base Camp at 4500 m, and the long descent out to Siding. The Journey adds a second night at High Camp to acclimatise before the push, plus a buffer day in Pokhara at the end. You will see the trek sold elsewhere as anything from three to ten days, but the short versions usually skip the acclimatisation that makes 4500 m safe, and the long ones pad the count with Kathmandu transfer days.

It depends on how much of the lower route you walk versus drive. Our Trail is an 11-day trip door to door with 9 active trekking days, driving in to Chame to save the lower road section. The Journey is 13 days door to door with 11 active trekking days, starting on foot at Chyamje for better acclimatisation. The Transformation is around 15 days door to door with 12 to 13 active trekking days, walking the fuller line from the lower valley and adding a second acclimatisation night. We list both the door-to-door length, so you can book flights, and the active trekking days, so you know what you are actually walking.

The sleeping altitude is moderate - Lo Manthang sits at 3,840 metres, and the highest pass on the standard route is around 3,950 metres, lower than most major Nepal treks. The difficulty is not altitude but distance, wind, and aridity: long days across an exposed desert plateau with a strong afternoon wind. The Transformation circuit crosses higher ground, up to around 4,320 metres. With a measured pace and the Lo Manthang rest day, most reasonably fit walkers manage the Journey comfortably.

More than most operators admit. Roads now reach Chame on the Manang side and Muktinath on the far side, so the lower valleys can be driven. We tell you exactly which parts you walk and which you drive on each tier. The Trail drives in to Chame and exits by road from Jomsom. The Journey starts walking lower at Chyamje. The Transformation walks the full line from Besisahar. The high heart of the route, Manang over Thorong La to Muktinath, is walked on every tier; there is no road over the pass. The reason this matters is not only scenery: walking the lower sections also helps you acclimatise gradually, which the jeep-heavy short versions skip.

It can happen, and we plan for it. In spring and autumn the flight runs from Manthali in Ramechhap, with an early-morning drive from Kathmandu, and Lukla has no instrument landing so weather can close it. We build schedule slack into the itinerary so a lost day does not threaten your international flight, and your guide manages rebooking and accommodation if you are held.

The lower valley is a road now, and we are honest about it. A jeep takes you from Pokhara in to the trailhead at Siwai or Jhinu, and brings you back the same way, which replaces what used to be a day or more of lower walking. Everything from the trailhead up into the Sanctuary, through Chhomrong, Bamboo, Deurali and on to Base Camp, is walked on every tier; there is no road into the Sanctuary itself. We tell you exactly which sections are road and which are trail so there are no surprises at the trailhead.

Eighteen days door to door, with fifteen active trekking days. That includes two acclimatisation days on the Everest side at Namche and Dingboche, a held acclimatisation day at Gokyo for the fourth and fifth lakes, and a buffer day in Kathmandu at the end for Lukla flight weather. We build in that buffer day on purpose, because mountain flights are regularly delayed and we would rather protect your international connection than run a tight one. The shorter fifteen and sixteen day versions sold elsewhere usually drop an acclimatisation day or the buffer; on a trek with a glaciated pass and three objectives over 5300 m, we do not.

No. A vehicle takes you into Manang and picks you up again at Jomsom, but no road crosses Thorong La. The pass is a foot crossing, and the day from the high camp over the pass to Muktinath can only be walked. This is a guided trek, not a tour.

If you want the Manang valley by vehicle without the pass, that is a different LHJ product, the Manang Valley journey, which is road-based and stays well below the pass. This route is for people who specifically want to cross Thorong La on foot.

Yes. Since 2023 foreign trekkers have been required to trek in Nepal's main regions, including the Annapurna Conservation Area where Mardi Himal sits, with a licensed guide or registered agency rather than fully independently. We treat the guide as a safety measure as much as a legal requirement, especially on a route that reaches 4500 m, and a licensed guide is included on both tiers. NEEDS VERIFICATION: confirm the current rule with operations before the season starts, as Nepal's trekking rules have changed more than once.

More than the short itineraries admit. Roads now reach Chame, and some operators drive all the way to Manang to sell a five-day version. We tell you exactly which parts you walk and which you drive on each tier. The Trail drives in to Chame and then walks the route to the lake and back. The Journey starts walking at Chyamje for better acclimatisation. The Transformation walks the fuller line from the lower valley. The heart of the route, Manang to Khangsar to Tilicho Base Camp and the lake day, is walked on every tier. The reason this matters is not only scenery: walking the lower sections helps you acclimatise gradually, which the jeep-heavy short versions skip just before the highest part of the trek.

As of now the Khumbu region still allows solo trekking with the right permits, unlike most of Nepal where a guide is mandatory. We run all our treks guided anyway, because on this route a guide is your altitude monitoring, your logistics when a flight is cancelled, and your fastest path to help if something goes wrong. We think it is the right call here, not a legal formality.

We recommend spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November). Manang itself sits in the Annapurna rain shadow, but the access road from Dumre to Besisahar and on to Chame is prone to landslides in the monsoon, with closures that have lasted from days to months. We do not recommend June to August.

If you book a monsoon-season departure, we will tell you the risk plainly, and we will reroute or reschedule at no penalty if the road is impassable. In deep winter, snow can close the road above Chame, so winter trips are weather-dependent and confirmed case by case.

Mountain flights to and from Jomsom are weather-dependent and do get delayed, particularly in winter and the monsoon shoulder. This is exactly why we build a buffer day into the Pokhara end of the itinerary. On The Trail and The Journey the flight is an optional add-on, so a road alternative is always available; on The Transformation, where the flight is included, the buffer protects the schedule.

Spring, from March to May, and autumn, from September to November, are the best seasons, with the clearest mountain views and the most stable weather. Spring brings the rhododendron forest into bloom on the lower ridge. Autumn tends to have the crispest air after the monsoon. Winter is possible and very quiet but cold and sometimes snowbound high on the ridge, which can close the final approach to Base Camp. The monsoon months of June to August bring cloud, rain and leeches in the forest, and the views are unreliable, so we do not recommend them.

It means the government controls who enters and how. North of the Kagbeni checkpost you must hold the restricted-area permit, which only a registered agency can obtain, and you must travel with a licensed guide. You cannot trek here independently. The rules exist for both border-security and cultural-preservation reasons - Upper Mustang borders Tibet and holds a living Tibetan-Buddhist culture that the permit system is meant to protect. Overstaying or entering without a permit carries heavy penalties, so we keep the paperwork exact.

A guide is strongly recommended and is included on every tier. Tilicho is not a restricted area, so the strict guide rules that apply to places like Manaslu or Upper Mustang do not apply here in the same way, but this is a route where a guide earns their place. The trail above Khangsar is harder to follow, the landslide section near Base Camp needs a daily judgement call on conditions, and at nearly 5000 m in a remote valley your guide is your main safety resource if altitude sickness develops. We treat the guide as a safety measure first. NEEDS VERIFICATION: confirm the current guide rules with operations before the season, as Nepal's trekking rules have changed more than once.

On the out-and-back tiers the descent is real work. Coming back down the same valley, the standard route compresses the return into a couple of long days the kind of seven-to-eight-hour stretches that the short eleven-day itineraries sold elsewhere make even harder. On The Journey we ease this by looping out through Phortse rather than retracing every step, but it is still a demanding way home and we say so.

The Transformation is built partly to solve this. By crossing the Renjo La and descending the Thame valley over an extra day, it spreads the height loss across more, shorter days a gentler descent as well as a finer and quieter one. If the back end of a trek is where you tend to struggle, that is the tier to look at.

Yes, as a paid add-on with its own acclimatisation profile. Tilicho Lake sits at 4919 m, and adding it before a 5416 m pass is a serious, committing piece of high-altitude routing, so it is built deliberately with extra nights on the Tilicho side, not bolted on casually.

Because it raises the overall demand of the trip, the same pre-qualification applies and we will talk it through with you before confirming. It is for trekkers who are well acclimatised and want the bigger route, not a casual checkbox.

The difference is time, and the safety is identical on both. The Trail walks the standard line and reaches Base Camp on the third morning, the day after first arriving at High Camp; it includes breakfast and dinner and an included porter. The Journey adds a second night at High Camp with a short acclimatisation walk, so your body has time to adjust before the push to 4500 m, which makes the summit morning safer and more likely to happen; it also includes full board. The licensed guide, the oxygen-saturation monitoring above 3500 m, and the descent protocol are the same on both. Above Forest Camp the teahouses are basic on either tier, because no operator can change the lodging up there. We recommend The Journey, but The Trail is the same trek done correctly on a tighter schedule.

They share the lower valley but they are different trips with different shapes. The Tilicho Lake Trek goes up to the lake at 4919 m and turns back, descending the way it came; the lake is the point. The Annapurna Circuit carries on from Manang over Thorong La at 5416 m and down the far side into Mustang; the pass is the point. On the Circuit, Tilicho is an optional detour. On this trek, Tilicho is the whole objective and there is no pass crossing unless you choose to add it. If you want to do both, you can extend this trek to complete the circuit over the pass, which we set out as an add-on, or look at our Annapurna Circuit Trek directly.

Lukla flights are weather-dependent and delays are common, which is exactly why we build a buffer day into the trek at the Kathmandu end. If a flight slips by a day, the buffer absorbs it rather than eating into your international connection. In the peak spring and autumn seasons the Lukla flight runs from Ramechhap rather than Kathmandu, which means an early road transfer of several hours; we tell you which applies to your dates. If weather causes a longer disruption, your guide and our Kathmandu operations work through the options with you, which can include a helicopter transfer at additional cost when one is available.