Everest Base Camp and High Passes with Berg Adventures – Trip Itinerary

Day 1 - International departure (most trekkers fly to Bangkok and then on to Kathmandu).

Day 2 - Overnight in Bangkok (transit)

Day 3 - Arrive in Kathmandu. We will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel, the Yak and Yeti or another of Kathmandu's 5 - star hotels. Briefing in the afternoon. Welcome Dinner early evening.

Day 4 - Kathmandu: Our first day in this famous city will be spent touring major temples and sites. Each tour is different and is led by an accomplished and scholarly city guide. We normally schedule a workshop or seminar about art, history or religion as well. Kathmandu is a rich cultural destination. Your introduction will only skim the surface, but it will be a unique and fascinating beginning.

Day 5 - The flight to Lulka. This spectacular mountain landing strip is the gateway for expeditions, trekkers and Sherpa people to the Everest Region. You will be transported from Kathmandu to a bright and colourful scene in clear mountain air. It will feel good to stretch your legs, stiff from days of travel, as we walk downhill to the village of Phakding, along the bank of the Dudh Kosi River. Times have been good in the area recently and the trail is full of new Buddhist art, prayer flags and small monasteries. We sleep tonight with sounds of the roaring glacial water of the Dudh Kosi in the background.

Day 6 - Today we hike along the Dudh Kosi, entering Sagarmartha National Park just after lunch. In the afternoon we climb the notorious "Namche Hill", our first real taste of "ukalo", the Nepalese word for "uphill." With some luck our first view of Everest will be on the way up the hill. Mid afternoon we enter Namche Bazaar. Namche is small, scenic beyond belief, and surprisingly cosmopolitan. A mixture of Tibetan traders, tourists from around the world, expedition climbers, proud Sherpas, monks, Nepalese civil servants, dust, mud, colourful costumes and yaks.

Day 7 - Namche will be our home base for this trip. The “rest” day will allow us to begin to learn about this fascinating town. We stay indoors in a classic Sherpa style lodge, one that has been a center of many of our expeditions since 1987. Before breakfast we usually take a 10-minute walk to the National Park overlook just above our lodge. The views of Everest, Ama Dablam and Lhotse are exciting and promise much about the adventures ahead.

Day 8 - We trek out to Thame, 12,500 ft (3809 m). This walk takes us away from the main corridor of travel towards Everest Base Camp. At the same time it takes us toward the home of many of the most accomplished Sherpa Everest Climbers. Tenzing Norgay is from Thame. Ang Rita with his 10 Everest Summits and Apa with his 14 both call Thame home. We will stay in the family lodge of good Sherpa friends.

Day 9 - In the morning we hike to a ridge above town to visit the Thame Monastery. Perched high above the village, looking north toward Cho Oyu and the Nangpa La, this classic Himalayan monastery is home to a Rinpoche, or reincarnate Lama. In the afternoon we walk to Khunde, with a stop at the small but impressive hydropower project on the Bhote Kosi river.

Day 10 - Today we hike from Khunde to the world famous Tengboche Monastery. Only in the Khumbu could one visit two major mountain monasteries with Rinpoches (reincarnate lamas) in residence in three days. At Tengboche we will gaze up valley toward the plume blowing off Chomolunga (Everest). Sometimes we make a quiet visit to the discreet memorials for some of the members of the 1963 American Everest Expedition in the forest nearby.

Day 11 - A classic hiking day in the Khumbu. Ama Dablam still rises above us and we watch its shape change as we walk up the valley and see it from a different perspective. We pass through Pangboche, another home of many famous and accomplished Sherpa mountaineers. Our goal for the day is Pheriche, 14,000 ft (4267 m) home of the Himalayan Rescue Association clinic. Pheriche is in the shadow of Everest Base Camp. Yak trains returning from Base Camp make their first overnight stop here.

Day 12 - We awake to awesome mountain views in this cold valley. Towache Peak towers above the town. Kantega is sunlit and sparkles to the south. In the other direction we see Loboche Peak and Cho Oyu, at the border of Tibet. We return from early morning photographs to a warm lodge. Today is an acclimatization day. We will sleep a second night in Pheriche. We might attend the HRA altitude lecture, or hike up over the ridge to the village of Dingboche.

Day 13 - Today we walk up onto the Khumbu Glacier! The lateral moraine of this famous glacier is visible as we walk out of Pheriche. Distances are short now, but each step is measured and deliberate as we move higher in the thin air. We take a break for tea and a trekking style lunch at Tukla. In the early afternoon we climb the moraine past the Chortens that have been constructed for Sherpas lost in expeditions over the years. Cholotse Peak and Lobuche Peak loom above. Our destination is Lobuche at 15,800 ft (4815 m). We stay at a lodge above Lobuche.

Day 14 - Each day the distance we trek is shorter. But our walks are more measured and slow, in part due to thin air, in part due to the ice and rubble of the massive Khumbu Glacier and all the photographs we will be taking. We arrive at Gorak Shep, 16,800 ft (5120 m). This old yersa, or seasonal yak grazing area, has become the last outpost before Everest Base Camp. Pumori and Nuptse tower above us and in the afternoon we may hike up to Kala Patar to view the summit of Everest.

Day 15 - Today we visit Everest Base Camp at 17,500 ft (5333 m). This is the day we get a small taste of what an Everest climber's life is like living at Base Camp and above for many weeks. You will feel the challenge as you hike up the glacial moraine towards Base Camp. It will not feel much like the movies when you get there. The realities of living at altitude will be very tangible. Everest Base Camp is a famous but temporary habitat among the glacial boulders and ice of the upper Khumbu Glacier. The full mass of the Khumbu Icefall will not be viewed until you walk into Base Camp, but the creaks and groans of the glacier and the roar of avalanches from the slopes around will be heard during the entire day's hike. In the evening we return to our tents at Gorak Shep with memories that will last a lifetime.

Day 16 – Gorak Shep to Dzonglha via Lobuche. Cholatse Peak and Lobuche Peak loom above. Our destination is Dzonglha at 15,945 ft (4860 m) where we will camp for the night.

Day 17 - We will cross the Cho La Pass and descend all the way into Gokyo, 15,748 ft (4800 m).

Day 18 – Rest day in Gokyo. There are many wild peaks and valleys to explore in the region.

Day 19 - Climb Gokyo Ri at 17,576 ft (5357 m). Rest and explore in the afternoon.

Day 20 - Early morning departure to Renjo pass, 16,306 ft (4970 m). For those familiar with the rocky passes of Colorado you will find this pass really similar. There is no glacier and it is easier than the Cho La pass. We will descend all the way into Langden where we will be staying at the new Renjo Pass Lodge; 14,436 ft (4400 m).

Day 21 – Langden to Thame. Our walk will take us down the trading route from Tibet, the famous trail from the Nangpa La.

Day 22 – Thame to Namche where we will stop for lunch and carry on to Phakding, along the Dudh Kosi River.

Day 23 - Hike to Lukla. At Lukla in the evening we have a party with our Sherpas and staff. They will remain in their homeland, and we will return to Kathmandu.

Day 24 - Kathmandu. This is an alternate flight day from Lukla in case flights there are delayed. But, if we are back on schedule we have a full day to shop, see the sights we missed the first time, or perhaps lay by the pool.

Day 25 / 26 - Return flights to your home country.