Everest Base Camp & Gokyo Cho La Trek

An early start, and one of the most dramatic short flights anywhere, onto Lukla's cliff-edge airstrip at 2,860 m. In peak spring and autumn the flight leaves from Ramechhap instead of Kathmandu, which means a very early road transfer, and we tell you which applies to your dates. From Lukla it is a gentle walk down the Dudh Koshi valley to Phakding, short on purpose to ease us in: pine forest, the river below, our first prayer-flag bridges, and a low first night before the climbing starts.

A bigger day up the valley. We cross the Dudh Koshi several times on high suspension bridges and enter Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo, where permits are checked, then take on the long, steady climb to Namche, with a first glimpse of Everest on a clear day. Namche Bazaar is the natural hub of the Khumbu, a horseshoe of lodges, bakeries and gear shops built into the hillside at 3,440 m. It is where the altitude starts to feel real, and where we spend two nights.

Our first acclimatisation day, spent active: climb high, sleep low. The usual hike goes up to the Everest View Hotel above town for a wide view of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam, with the option to continue to Khumjung village and its monastery. This is the first of two Everest-side acclimatisation days that make the anticlockwise route work. We sleep in Namche again tonight, letting our bodies catch up before the trail climbs higher.

A classic Khumbu day, with Ama Dablam on the skyline for much of it. The trail contours high above the river, drops to Phunki Tenga, then climbs through forest to Tengboche. Tengboche is home to the largest monastery in the Khumbu, set on a ridge with Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam behind it. If the timing is right, we can sit in on the evening prayers.

We leave the trees behind today. The trail drops through rhododendron forest to Deboche, crosses the Imja Khola and passes Pangboche, one of the oldest villages in the Khumbu, before the land opens into high alpine country. Dingboche is a patchwork of stone-walled fields at 4,410 m, with Ama Dablam and Island Peak in view. We spend two nights here for our second acclimatisation stop.

Our second acclimatisation day, and an important one before the highest part of the trek. We climb Nangkartshang, the ridge above Dingboche, to around 5,083 m, with a long view up the Imja valley toward Island Peak and Makalu. It is a real climb to over 5,000 m and back, exactly the climb-high, sleep-low pattern the body needs before Lobuche, Base Camp and the pass. We sleep in Dingboche again.

A sobering, quiet day into the bare upper valley. We climb to Thukla, then up a steep slope to the line of memorials at Thukla Pass, remembering climbers and Sherpas lost on Everest and its neighbours. Above the memorials the path follows the edge of the Khumbu Glacier to Lobuche at 4,910 m, a small cluster of lodges in a stark setting. The air is noticeably thin now.

Today we reach Everest Base Camp. The walk to Gorak Shep follows the rocky edge of the Khumbu Glacier, slow going over uneven moraine, and after dropping our bags there we continue to Base Camp at 5,364 m, beneath the Khumbu Icefall. Base Camp is a sprawl of rock and ice and, in spring, expedition tents. Standing here, reached the proper way on foot, is the heart of the Everest side. We return to Gorak Shep for the night.

We climb Kala Patthar in the dark to meet the sunrise. At 5,545 m it is the highest point of the whole trek and the classic viewpoint for Everest itself, glowing above Nuptse and Pumori at first light. After breakfast back at Gorak Shep we leave the main Everest trail and traverse to Dzongla, a small huddle of lodges on the eastern side of the Cho La. Tomorrow's pass sits just ahead, and tonight we get ready for it.

This is the hardest day. We start before dawn to reach the Cho La at 5,420 m while the snow is still firm, up a steep rocky approach and onto a glaciated section near the top, where we use the crampons or microspikes we provide. Your guide and the assistant guide set the pace and the line across the ice. From the prayer-flag top the view runs to Cholatse and Ama Dablam. The descent off the western side is careful work on loose rock and ice, down to Dragnak. It is a long, committing day, and the reason we walk this trek anticlockwise: from the Dzongla side, the pass is more manageable than the steep scramble up from Gokyo.

A shorter day, but a striking one. We cross the Ngozumpa Glacier, the longest in Nepal at about 36 km, a wild jumble of rubble, ice and meltwater ponds whose route shifts with the glacier, so we stay close to our guide. On the far side is Gokyo, a handful of lodges on the shore of the third lake, Dudh Pokhari, a startling turquoise at 4,790 m with Cho Oyu behind. After the pass, it feels like arriving somewhere quieter and kinder.

A held day at Gokyo, and the finest scenery on the whole trek. We walk north along the Ngozumpa Glacier to the fourth and fifth lakes and the rise called Scoundrel's Viewpoint, at around 5,000 m, with Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu on the horizon and the full length of the glacier below. It doubles as a real climb-high, sleep-low hike before Gokyo Ri tomorrow. The rushed versions skip this day; we keep it, because it is both the best use of the day for our bodies and the most beautiful.

One last dawn climb, up Gokyo Ri at 5,357 m, the west-side answer to Kala Patthar. From the top the lakes lie like coins below, and four of the six highest mountains on earth stand on the horizon: Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu. Back down for breakfast, then the long descent begins, down the Gokyo valley through Machhermo to Dole. Losing height feels good, and the forest and birdsong return as we drop.

A long descending day back to the main trail. We drop through Phortse Thanga, climb briefly over Mong La, then take the easier traverse to Namche as the vegetation thickens and the walking gets noticeably easier. Namche feels almost like a town after the high country, with its bakeries and hot showers, a good place to rest tired legs on the way out.

Our last full day on the trail. We descend the Dudh Koshi to Lukla, recrossing the high bridges and passing back through Monjo and Phakding. The evening in Lukla marks the end of the walking: a chance to thank the guides and porters who carried this trek with us, with tired legs and the whole circuit behind us.

A morning flight off the Lukla airstrip to Kathmandu, or to Ramechhap with a road transfer into the city in peak season. Mountain flights depend on the weather, so an early slot gives the best chance of leaving on time. Back in Kathmandu the rest of the day is yours: a hot shower, a proper meal, and the slow realisation of what we have just walked.

Today is built in as a buffer for Lukla weather. Mountain flights are regularly delayed by cloud, and on a trek this long it is not worth risking your international flight on a tight connection. If everything ran to plan, it is a free day in Kathmandu to rest or explore. If we needed the buffer, this is when we fly out of Lukla and reach Kathmandu. Either way, we take you to the airport for your onward flight when the time comes.