Everest Circuit Trek
Trip Overview
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.
Why join with Expedition Base?
Our goal is to ensure you have the best trip possible with our highly skilled and knowledgeable trekking guides, with a personable team, and with quality services. We do our best to ensure that your experience is in accordance with or better than your expectations. We want you to go home remembering an adventure of a lifetime with memories you will treasure for life. We have a strong reputation for high quality services and we seek to maintain our reputation with every trip that we do. To help keep our mission strong, we value your feedback at any time. It helps us to be better. When some companies keep you to a strict schedule, when needed and where you have time we work with you to adjust your timing to make your experience better. We are not selling ‘trips’ – we are offering great experiences, cherished memories, and personal challenges for you to value into the future. We provide services that many other companies do not offer – to us, they are a natural part of our service. To others, they can be add-ons at an additional fee, or not available at all. Our food offerings can be adjusted to suit your needs, season and area permitting. We have quality resources and a fun, experienced team. Our gear and equipment is fit for purpose. Our trekking guides are well-trained, experienced in leading trips and look after our clients well. We are pleased to have clients who come with us for their adventures time and again. Let us know what you are looking to experience and we will help to make it happen.
Trip Highlights
- Views of Mt Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Makalu and Cho Oyu, and many more
- Buddhist culture and spirited Sherpa people
- Crossing Cho La pass
- Ascents of Kala Patar and Gokyo Ri
- Tengboche Monastery
- Namche Bazaar
