Destinations

Moving on from Namche Bazar the trail follows the valley of the Imja khola with some spectacular views of the mountains including Thamserku, Kangtega and Ama Dablam and, dominating the skyline ahead, Everest and Lhotse. The most common night stop after Namche is at the top of a steep climb from the Imja khola, at Thyangboche. This is the site of one of the most significant Buddhist monasteries in Solukhumbu and a visit is well recommended. Tours of the monastery are conducted each afternoon. If the teahouse and campsites at Thyangboche are full, a common occurrence in the main season, then more lodging can be found a further thirty minutes along the trail at Deboche. The ramshackle nunnery, an extension of the Thyangboche monastery, at Deboche makes an interesting site trip.

Following the Imja khola from Thyangboche the trekking route climbs gradually through pangboche and emerges above the tree line. Eventually, after a long day's trek, you reach the next night's stop at either Pheriche or Dingboche. Here another rest/acclimatization day trip being to Chhukung, around three hours walk above Dingboche. The mountain panorama around Chhukung is nothing short of amazing with the massive south face of Lhotse rearing above it to the north and a ring of lesser peaks surrounding it.

From Dingboche or Pheriche it takes another six hours of trekking to reach the cluster of teahouse at Lobuche sited on the lateral moraine of the khumbu glacier. Above Lobuche it is another three hours walk to the last settlement on the trail at Gorak Shep. Here a few basic teahouses provide shelter for the night before undertaking the final leg of the trek up the glacier to Everest base camp. Above Gorak Shep rises the well-known landmark of Kala Pattar. A climb of two to three hours will reward the trekker with a marvelous vista. Barely eight kilometers to the east is the summit of Everest and just to the most beautiful mountains to be found anywhere.

The trek along the glacier to base camp can take up to five hours depending on the trail conditions. Care should be taken while traveling here, as route finding can be a problem and there are no facilities at base camp (expeditions are generally reluctant to entertain visiting trekkers) so it is important to make sure that you have food and drinks for the return trip. Descending from base camp, most trekkers will reach at least Lobuche, if not further, by nightfall.

The return trek to Lukla basically follows the upward route but rest days are obviously not necessary. The route can be varied, to make the return more interesting, by diverting through upper pangboche and returning to Namche via Phortse (looks for herds of tahr on the hillsides), Mong La and Khumjung. Pangboche, which has few teahouses and campsite, is an interesting place to spend a night. The monastery here is one of the oldest in Solukhumbu and also has yeti relics.

Khumjung would make an interesting alternative stopping place to Namche Bazar if trekkers wished to avoid the hustle and bustle of the bazaar.

If you haven't arranged for somebody to reconfirm your flight out of Lukla for you, be sure to reach there as early as possible on the day before departure in order to make sure that your seat doesn't disappear. Arriving in Lukla on the day of departure is inviting a lost seat.

Getting There
Access to the Everest region can only be made by air or on foot. By road, the only practical road ahead at this time is Jiri, a seven to ten hour bus ride from Kathmandu. A new road is under construction to Salleri, the district headquarters, but this will probably be complete for another five years at least. It is also possible to trek to the Everest region via the Arun valley where roads head is at Hille, a twenty ride from the capital. These times are all by local bus as there is no tourist bus service available at this time. Private cars and taxis could be used and would reduce the traveling time considerably but obviously at extra cost. Buses to Jiri currently leave from the old bus park in central Kathmandu.

By air there are three options. The most convenient for Everest treks is Lukla, which is serviced by many daily flights from Kathmandu. Three days walk to south, near the district headquarters, is Phaplu air strip, which is service by daily flights. This is useful for treks in southern parts of the region or for Everest trekkers who want to gain extra acclimatization and see some of less developed part of the district.

The last choice is the small air strip at Syangboche, which is located above Namche Bazar. While this is an option, its altitude (3760 meters) makes it an impractical and unwise choice as an arrival destination for acclimatization reasons.

»	Everest Information	»	Chailsa - Chiwong Trek
»	Gokyo Valley Trek	»	Hinkhu & Hongu Valley Trek
»	Jiri to Lukla Trek	»	Everest to Arun Valley Trek
»	Trek Around Salleri

• Annapurna Region Trek
• Everest Region Trek
• Langtang Region Trek

• Annapurna Base Camp Trek
• Round Annapurna Trek
• Ghorepani Poonhill Trek
• Gandruk Village Trek
• Kaligandaki Muktinath Trek
• Annapurna Base Camp & Muktinath Trek
• Everest Base Camp Kalapather Trek
• Jiri Everest Base Camp Kalapather Trek
• Everest Base Camp Gokyo Trek
• Gokyo Chola Pass EBC Trek
• Gokyo Trek
• Langtang Valley Trek
• Langtang Helambu Trek
• Langtang Gosaikunda Trek

• Round Dhaulagiri Trekking - 22 Days
• Mustang Lo-manthang Trek - 19 Days
• Arun Valley Trekking - 17 Days
• Pike Dudhkunda Taksindu - 16 Days
• Kanchenjunga Trekking - 24 Days
• Makalu Base Camp Trekking - 13 Days
• Limi Valley Simikot Hilsa Simikot Trek
• Renjo Pass Trekking - 13 Days
• Round Manaslu Trekking - 20 Days
• Dhorpatan Jaljala Pass Trek - 16 Days

• Mera Peak Climbing - 20 Days
• Island Peak Climbing - 19 Days
• Pisang Peak Climbing - 23 Days
• Lobuche Peak Climbing - 25 Days
• Yala Peak Climbing - 16 Days