Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes Trek

On day 2 of the Everest base camp Gokyo lakes trek, we will arrive at Lukla. There are three options to get to Lukla:

Option 1: Kathmandu to Lukla by flight. Then trek to Phakding.

You will fly early morning on day 2. You will take a flight to Lukla. On the flight, you can see beautiful mountains like Mount Gauri Shankar (7135 m), Mount Melungtse (7181 m), and Mount Numbur (6959 m). The gateway to the Mt. Everest base camp and Gokyo Lakes trek, and the land of the Sherpas, is Lukla. 

Start group trekking immediately from the Lukla runway towards the north in the Lukla village, then down towards Ghat on the east bank of the Dudh Kosi River. The starting part of the Everest Base Camp-Gokyo Lakes trek is downhill. Then, you will walk for an hour to Phakding.

Option 2: Take a ride from Kathmandu to Ramechhap. In the early morning, take a flight to Lukla. Finally, trek to Phakding.

We will depart early in the morning (5 AM) from Kathmandu to Ramechhap. The ride duration is 4 hours. 

The ride takes 4 hours to complete. Then, we will fly from Ramechhap to Lukla. After the flight, we will start our trek to Phakding.

Option 3:  Take a ride from Kathmand to Surkey. Then fly to Lukla Airport. Finally, trek to Phakding.

Board a taxi at early morning (1 AM) and drive to Salleri, this would take around 7 hours. You are advised to stay overnight at Salleri. The next morning, drive to Surkhet, which would take around 2 hours. Finally, you will trek to Phakding, which takes 3 hours.

Our hike continues along the path of the Dudh Kosi River. Today, our main Everest Base Camp Gokyo Lakes trek journey starts. We will climb through a nice forest consisting of rhododendrons and giant pine forests until we reach Jorsale. Once formalities have been taken care of at the checkpost, cross the Dudh Kosi river on a suspension bridge and go off climbing steeply on our way to Namche Bazaar. On the way, depending on weather conditions, you may have views of our first sighting of Everest and Lhotse. Namche Bazaar is also known as the capital of the Sherpas. It is found on a crescent-shaped amphitheater that rises above the lower Dudh Kosi and Bhote Kosi valleys. It has great views of the mountains across the valley.

Today is an acclimatization day to adjust the altitude. It is an important day before trekking to the Mt Everest base camp and Gokyo Lakes. Shop at the local market, get a feel for the local culture, walk to the Everest viewpoint or just take it easy for the day.

If desired, you have time to take a group trek to either Thamo or Syangboche village. Thamo has the Thamo Nunnery, and to the northeast is the monumental Khumbi Yul Lha, a black rocky mountain considered sacred by the Buddhists. To the west, waterfalls crash down the cliff face to the Bhote Kosi River. This trail is also part of the trade route to Tibet. You can come across yaks guided by Tibetan merchants on the way. The world’s highest airstrip is located at Syangboche. To the west of Syangboche, there stands Mount Kawande. 

On day 5 of the Everest Base Camp Gokyo Lakes trek, we will walk uphill out of ‘Sherpa Capital’ and follow the path along the view of Everest, Nuptse, and Lhotse. Then descend sharply downhill through the rhododendron forest towards a small bridge which leads us to the Dudh Kosi river. After crossing the river, slowly walk towards Deboche. You may get a chance to encounter musk deer, colorful peacocks, and a Himalayan Thar. Visit Thyangboche Monastery with amazing views of different peaks and learn about the Buddhist culture. This day of the Gokyo Lake Trek ends at Deboche.

From Deboche on the Everest Base Camp Gokyo Lakes trek, we will take the downhill path through pine forests nd a small bridge over Imja Khola. Then we climb the hills towards Dingboche, where there are amazing views of Ama Dablam. On the path, we pass through Pangboche. It is the home of the most ancient monastery in the region and the Gompa, which houses the most famous Yeti scalp.

This will be our second acclimatization day. You can either discover the village and the area just outside of the village, or just sit and let the world go by. Prior to doing your dream trek to Everest Base Camp Gokyo Lakes trek, you have to eventually adapt to a new environment. There will be an option for a guided excursion towards the Imaj Khola valley to walk partway up Nagarjun Ri. Within a 30 minute walk from leaving the village on a black rocky trail, there are stunning views of Makalu and Borangche. As you look down towards Namche Bazaar, there are stunning views of the Khumbu Valley. The end of the trail opens up to a boulder field and stunning close views of Ama Dablam and Island Peak. We will move back to the village.

It is day 8 of our Mt Everest base camp and Gokyo Lakes Trek. After our second night in Dingboche and still heading up the wide valley and rising above Cholatse (6,335m) and Taboche (6,367m), and right at the top of the tree line, the trek to Dughla takes approximately two hours. The route becomes steeper as we reach the Khumbu Glacier. From Dungla, we climb up towards Labuche. Along the way, we have great views of Nuptse, Kala Pathar, and Pomo Ri.

The 9th day of the Mt Everest base camp Gokyo Lakes Trek starts early. We aim for the achievement of our dream to conquer Mt Everest base camp, then start our journey towards the Gokyo Lake trek. Our trek starts with a gentle uphill along the Khumbu Glacier. The trek eventually becomes steep, rocky for a short period. With views to die for, the sugar loaf dome of Pomo Ri (7,165m) is directly ahead, on the right, Nuptse (7,861m) rises sheer in a spire, and behind it, mighty Everest (8,848m). The route descends to Gorakshep (5,140m), where we lunch and rest before continuing the trail to Everest Base Camp and the Gokyo Lakes trek. Everest Base Camp is a well-loved destination and we make sure to visit all the highlights, one being the camp itself. Afterwards, we set off for Gokyo Lake, beginning our journey from Gorakshep.

In terms of incredible scenery, today is a major highlight of the Everest Base Camp Gokyo Lakes Trek. It is another early morning start to see dawn break and capture this magnificent view of Everest and some surrounding peaks as they reveal themselves. The route follows through crevasses and moraine ridges. You can see an unforgettable panorama at Kala Pathar’s summit. There is a panoramic view os Ama Dablam, Makalu, Nuptse, and Lhotse. You can also see the black pyramid of Everest. We gather all he memories there and go towards Gorakshep. Finally, we end this day at Zongla village, which sits at the foot of Cholatse.

An early start for the trek over the Cho La (5,330 m) pass with spectacular wilderness between Zongla and our destination, we depart with a packed lunch. The trail is well defined as we leave the grazing pastures behind and start our ascent to the pass. Crossing a small glacier that is usually covered in snow is reasonably straightforward as we continue the ascent to Cho La’s summit; this is also often snow-covered. From here, there are excellent views with a different aspect of the mountains than seen before. A steep descent is made to Thagnag along a moraine and rocky trail to a boulder field and then on down to the small hamlet where we will stay for the night.

Leaving Thagnag, the trail takes us along the eastern side of Gokyo Valley. Shortly, we will be crossing the Nagjumba Glacier, which is well marked with cairns. At the top of the moraine overlooking the Nagjumba Glacier, we climb down beside a tributary, which leads us to the sacred, perfect turquoise waters of the Third Gokyo Lake, where Gokyo village, a small settlement, lies on its shores. The rest of the day is free to explore the village and lakes of Gokyo.

Mountains always appear most spectacular when they are graced by dawn and dusk. With this in mind, we start early this morning on the Gokyo Lakes Trek to ascend Gokyo Ri, a small peak above Gokyo village and lakes. The views on the way up are fantastic but in no way prepare you for the 360 degree view at the summit. It is one of the best views in the world, and some would say the best in Nepal. In front of you are Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and Cho Oyu, four of the fourteen eight-thousanders on earth, dominating the myriad of ‘smaller’ peaks. As we pull ourselves away from this outstanding natural beauty, we retrace our steps to the village. We pass the lake where a family of Brahminy ducks has made it its home, then cross a wooden bridge to the top of a staircase carved into the trail that we descend. The valley widens as we reach Pangka. The descent continues high above the river through juniper forests until we reach Dole, where we have stunning views of Khumbila and Taboche.

Away from Dole, we pass through pastures that are used in the summertime to graze yaks. Our descent takes us through juniper and conifer woodland, then into rhododendron forests until we reach Phortse Tenga. The path is uphill towards Mongdada, then downhill to Sanasa. Then we climb to Khumjung and visit Khumjung Monastery

The route of the Gokyo Lakes trek ends at Namche Bazaar. We eventually pass under the Kongde Ridge (6186m). We then continue along the banks of Dudh Koshi to Phakding. On the way, many rocks are found along the trail painted with Buddhist mantras. 

Our final walking journey of the Everest Base Camp Gokyo Lakes trek is beside the Dudh Kosi River. We will get a little descent to Ghat, then finally to Lukla. It’s time to relax and smile with the amazing experience of this trek journey. We will enjoy Sherpa hospitality and rest for the day.

Weather conditions of the day will dictate the departure time at the airport. The flight itself is approximately 25 minutes long. You can explore and shop at Kathmandu as you want.