Everest Circuit Trek

This trek takes you through the beautiful and awe-inspiring regions of the popular Sagarmatha National Park, home to the world’s highest mountain, Mt Everest. This trail journeys into the heartland of the Sherpa people. Sherpas live in this lush low alpine landscape of ever changing vegetation and dry high altitude scrubland, alongside the highest mountains in the world.

This adventure will provide an insight into the rich Buddhist culture of the Sherpa people and their traditional way of life. Expect to see sights of Ama Dablam (6,856m), Mt Everest (8,848m), Lhotse (8,516m) and Cho Oyu (8,201m) and glimpses of Makalu (8,463m) and Shishapangma (8,013m), as you make your way along the trail. In the northern spring, the valley is awash with towering rhododendron trees of various colours and large white magnolia trees. The northern spring also brings mountaineers from around the world with their goal being to stand at the summit of Mt Everest.

Our route begins from the gateway airport village of Lukla at 2,840m. We will follow along beside the Dudh Khosi river on the valley floor, passing through farming villages of mixed Tamang, Rai and Sherpa communities. After Monjo, we then make a steep ascent over several hours up to Namche Bazaar, the main village of the Khumbu and the traditional trading centre of the Sherpas. On our way, however, we have a chance if weather permits to get our first view of Mt Everest, part way up to Namche. After Namche, we will continue up the valley to Tengboche Monastery, and we will finally reached the 4,000m mark in altitude near the village of Pangboche and then up to Dingboche, a famous potato growing area, where we will also rest and acclimatise for an extra day. Then, we continue up the valley to Everest Base Camp at around 5,350m. There is also an option, for those who would like to trek up to Kala Patar at around 5,500m, for an excellent and seemingly very close viewpoint of Mt Everest.

Then, we head back down the valley to Lobuche before then making a right turn off the main trail in order to trek over Cho La (pass) – another highlight - towards Gokyo Lakes, and for those who feel like an extra trek for more amazing views, there is the option of trekking up to Gokyo Ri. The magical beauty and colour of the glacial lakes will leave you breathless.

After the magical experience of the Gokyo Lakes, we will start our descent down to and through the small settlements of Macchermo and Dole, in the valley parallel to the Everest region, and back to the village of Namche Bazaar, before continuing on down to Lukla, before flying back to Kathmandu.

There is also a variation of this trip - to do it in the reverse and divert to different villages, therefore please contact us to see if and when this option is available as we are flexible in order to offer client’s desired routes. Sometimes clients who have done it in one direction before come to us and ask us to do it in the other direction the next time, with some deviations to different places. Please contact us at Expedition Base to discuss your requirements.

Please note: the 15 April 2018 itinerary varies slightly but for the same duration, for those wanting slightly shorter trekking days and varied stopping points. Please contact us if you would like to receive this itinerary.