Gokyo Valley Trek

Day 1: Arrive Kathmandu (1,338 m/4,390 ft)

The long dream of trekking to Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri comes into action as our international flight lands at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. After all customs and visa formalities are completed, you will meet our office representative at arrival terminals waiting for you, carrying a display board. He will welcome you and transfer you to your hotel in Kathmandu in a private vehicle. After you grab the keys to your room, we suggest you take a rest and feel fresh, avoiding the jet lag. So relax or take a short walk around the busy streets of Thamel.

Day 2: Fly to Lukla (2,800 m/9,184 ft) and Trek to Phakding (2,652 m/8,700 ft)

We board a morning flight from Kathmandu to Lukla that lands us in heart of the Himalayas, the Everest region between two mountains. It shall be more or less 35 minutes of scenic flight on which if you sit on the left-hand side, great eye-level views of snow-capped peaks are visible. The dramatic flight to Lukla is a thrilling experience. At Lukla airstrip, we meet an additional porter crew who will first arrange our baggage and carry them all along the way with us. Our Gokyo trek officially begins as we grab our pair of trekking poles and start hiking through Pasang Lhamu gate. Walking gradually for a couple of hours takes us to Thado Koshi where we shall have lunch or we shall further stretch to Phakding for an overnight stay. On average, we shall have 3 to 4 hours of walking activity today. Meal includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 3: Phakding to Namche Bazar (3,440 m/11,283 ft)

We shall begin our walk after having our early meal today. It shall be full of excitement as we will be getting the first view of Everest today if the weather remains clear. Today we also get an opportunity to see many confluences of Dudh Koshi river along with Thamserku view early in the morning from Benkar village. Today we also do get our permits checked at Sagarmatha National Park at the local site in Monjo. We find huge mani stone today, and it shall be more of descending through refreshing rhododendron trees that take us to our lunch site at Jorsale. Here at Dudh Koshi river bed, after having our lunch, we ascend towards Namche Bazaar crossing the popular Hillary bridge. At Chautara we take a quick stop before arriving at the popular Sherpa village of Namche Bazaar. We shall walk for 6 to 7 hours today with an overnight stay at local lode and meal that includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 4: Acclimatization Day in Namche bazaar – Hike to Everest View Hotel

We will have our first acclimatization day at Namche Bazaar, and this is an ideal site to spend a rest day before pushing ourselves towards a higher altitude. Although it is called a rest day, we shall make it more of an active day today. This means that we won’t be ideally simply staying at lodges. Instead, we will take a couple of meters hike at a higher altitude to Sherpa museum, then climb to Syangboche airport, and finally stretch up to Hotel Everest view for lunch, or we return from there to our lodge for lunch.

Today will be the best view day so far, as we get to see many Himalayan peaks all surrounding us from the office of Sagarmatha National park including a distant view of Everest at the backdrop. Amadablam and Thamserku will be, however, at a close distance. As we see more of these Himalayan views, we will encounter even more impressive and stunning panoramas in the coming days. It shall be late afternoon while we return to our local lodge for lunch. Then it shall be free activities by exploring this beautiful Bazaar until the end of the day. There are many restaurants, shops, and even temples along with local monasteries to visit. Altogether, we shall walk for 6 to 7 hours today. After that, we stay overnight at the local lodge with breakfast, lunch, and dinner included in the meal.

Day 5: Trek to Dole (4,200 m/ 13,780 ft)

Gokyo trail separates today from the main route to Everest base camp. We can clearly see the direction board that shows us how to Kyanjuma instead of Phunki Thenga. This trail is mostly a jungle walk in between beautiful rhododendron, pine, and Juniper trees. We get an opportunity to see the confluence of Dudh Koshi River and Imja Khola flowing from the Himalayas and melting glaciers. There are many pasture lands locally called Kharkas where Yak grazes around in summer. Our Gokyo Ri and Gokyo lakes trekking route then take us to the beautiful culturally rich Sherpa village of Tongba, Gyele, and finally, we stay overnight at one of the teahouses in Dole. Northwestern Himalayas of Everest Himalayas like Khumbila and Tawache is seen more beautifully today. It shall be waking hours of 5 to 6 hours today. Meal includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 6: Trek to Machhermo(4,470 m/ 14,663 ft)

From Dole, our Gokyo trekking trail further ascends to Lhabarma where we get to see a Luza hamlet. Most of the trails are steep and need a careful walk. At this point we have crossed the 4000 m altitude, so we can see bushes and junipers. Altitude also may have affected our body, so gradual ascent while drinking plenty of water is recommended. Climb from Luza takes us to Yak grazing areas, a pasture lands and further, we enter Dudh Koshi valley, above the river, we cross sandy spurs and finally arrive at the destination of the day at Machhermo. There is a local story that once Yeti was spotted here that took the life of Yaks and injured Sherpas too. However, there is no such evidence to prove it. With similar interesting stories, we do get spectacular views of Thamserku, Cho Oyu, and other surrounding peaks from Machhermo. It shall be 4 to 5 hours walking day today with an overnight stay at the teahouse. Meal includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 7: Machhermo to Gokyo (4800 m/15,744 ft)

It shall be the most important day of our trip while we enjoy the great landscapes of local Himalayan settlements at Cholatse, Pangaa. As now we approach near 5000 meters of altitude, there will be many opportunities when we will be surrounded by snow-capped peaks, glacier moraines, and rocky Himalayan environment. Gokyo can be considered as the best place for viewing Himalayan surroundings. We will then leave behind the Gokyo lake named Longpongo and arrive at a second lake called Taboche Tso which is a bigger one than the first one and where we can see Himalayan ducks swimming in the freezing lake. Further pushing ourselves forwards takes us quite at a similar elevation of Ngozumpa glacier passing the third lake from where the Gokyo village amazes us with excellent sceneries from high elevation lakes at a third lake named as Dudh Pokhari. Today we shall walk for 5 to 6 hours with accommodation at the local teahouse and the meal includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 8: Gokyo Valley: Acclimatization Day –4th and 5th Gokyo Lakes Hike

It is an acclimatization day today surrounding numerous Lakes, and then we shall traverse a top of Scoundrel’s viewpoint to catch astounding views of grand Himalayan peaks, Nuptse, Makalu along with Lhotse and other snow-capped peaks like Cho-Oyu and Gyachung Kang. From the further northern side of glacier moraine, spectacular views of Cho Oyu base camp and the largest Ngozumpa glacier are seen. After successful completion of hiking up to Gokyo fifth lake, we do have an option to ascend towards the sixth lake too, but it shall only be possible if you are interested and we have adequate time today. Consult our professional and experienced trekking leader; he will lead the group taking correct steps. As a quick note what we can recommend is that you can walk up towards the Gokyo Ri hike today and push yourself to the fifth day tomorrow. It shall be 5 to 6 hours walking day today. We stay overnight at the local lodge. Meal includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 09: Hike Gokyo Ri (5357 m/17,570 ft) and trek back to Dole

Our trek begins early in the morning today as morning offers more spectacular views than in the afternoon. It shall be the continuous and challenging ascent of Gokyo Ri that takes three to four hours that depending on your physical status. What we must understand is that proper acclimatization is the key to completing any trek. Get awesome views from Gokyo Ri that includes snow-capped peaks like Mt. Everest (8848m), Cho Oyu (8153m), Makalu (8475m), Lhotse (8501m) along with other peaks like Thamserku (6808m), and other surrounding ones. It is believed that spectacular views of four 8000m peaks are available from this viewpoint. Turquoise-colored crystal clear lakes along with the Gokyo villages take us towards Dole via Machhermo. It shall be walking hours from 5 to 6 hours. Overnight stay at a local lodge that includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 10: Dole to Namche Bazzar

The Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri trek then follows downhill as we look behind Cho Oyu. We walk down today enjoying incredible waterfalls, enjoying the interaction with local Himalayan flora, fauna, and rhododendron trees beautifully blooming in the spring season of the year. While descending the valley, there come the chances when we get a dual opportunity towards reviewing the snow-capped Himalayan views of Amadablam, Tawache, Thamserku, and other peaks, along with a distant view of Tengboche too from Mongla. Finally, carrying on our journey, we descend towards Sansa, which connects us to the main Everest trail taking us to Namche Bazaar. After arriving at Namche Bazaar, we take a complete rest, enjoy a free shower at the hotel and relax at your overnight stay quality hotel in Namche. We shall walk for 5 to 6 hours today, and the meal includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Day 11: Namche Bazaar - Lukla

We shall have our Everest souvenir shopping while we are at Namche Bazaar. Every Saturday large marketplace takes place here where various goods and gear especially trekking and climbing related are traded between sellers and buyers. From Namche, we take the same route downwards which had taken our breath away about a week ago while ascending. Crossing the Dudh Koshi river multiple times over a suspension bridge, we get to the ground level of the Himalayas at Jorsale. Surrounding around us becomes greener and denser as we are now descending to lower elevations. The breathing process becomes easier and easier. Leaving behind another checkpoint while exiting from Sagarmatha National Park gate, we also cross Phakding and after a couple of hours of walks with a few quick stops along the route, we finally arrive at Lukla. We give a stretch to our sore legs and celebrate the successful completion of the Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri adventure in the Everest region of Nepal. It shall be walking hours from 6 to 7 with accommodation at the local lodge that includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner in meals.

Day 12: Fly Lukla to Kathmandu

We take a morning domestic flight from Lukla to Kathmandu that concludes our main objective of trekking. Usually, these domestic flights are scheduled for the morning due to clear weather conditions at the early time of the day. After 27 minutes of flight to Kathmandu, we assist you in checking in your hotel, and then after enjoy you are invited to our farewell dinner at one of the cultural restaurants nearby Thamel. Stay overnight at your hotel in Kathmandu with breakfast and farewell dinner included as meals of the day.

Day 13: Final Departure

Eventually, our 14 days of Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri trekking concludes with your time to leave towards your onward destination. Our office representative will assist you in transferring you to the International airport in Kathmandu 3 hours before your scheduled international flight. With a warm greeting from Icicles, we hope to see you again soon shortly, and you give us another chance to organize adventurous trips in the days to come. Farewell! Today's meal includes breakfast.

• All ground transports in private vehicle including airport transfers
• Two nights (twin sharing beds) accommodation with breakfast at a 3-star category hotel in Kathmandu
• Full board meals coffee (Breakfast, Lunch, and dinner) during the trek
• Best available twin sharing lodge to lodge accommodation during the trek, we provide you attached bathroom with hot shower at Lukla, Phakding and Namche
• One highly experienced, helpful and friendly guide, porters (1 porter for 2 people) and their food, accommodation, salary, equipment, and accidental insurance for all staff
• Round trip flight Kathmandu – Lukla, and Lukla – Kathmandu including departure taxes
• Duffle bag for the trekking
• Down jacket and sleeping bag during the trek, if required
• T-shirt, trekking map and trip achievement certificate
• First aid medical kit
• Sagarmatha National Park Permits fee
• TIMS Fee- Trekkers' Information Management System (Please bring 2 passport size photos for permit)
• Government taxes and office service charge

•  Meals not specified in the 'Meal Inclusions' in the itinerary'
• Travel insurance
• International airfare
• Nepal entry visa: you can obtain a visa easily upon your arrival at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu. (a multiple-entry tourist visa good for 30 days can be obtained by paying the US $ 40 or equivalent foreign currency. Similarly, multiple-entry tourist visas for 90 days can be obtained by paying the US $ 100. Please bring 2 copies of passport-size photos.)
• Cold drinks Inc. coke, water, Fanta etc.
• Snacks and other personal expenses
• Hot shower during the trek except for Phakding, Namche and Lukla
• Personal trekking equipment
• WiFi internet during the trek
• Tips and gratuities for trekking staff and drivers

 How do I get Visas to Nepal?

Will somebody come to pick me up at the airport upon my arrival?

Do you offer Airport Drop Off?

Do we book our own international flights to and from Nepal?

Which hotel you use in Kathmandu? Can I extend? And how much does it cost?

Can I upgrade my trip Hotel to Luxury Hotel in Kathmandu?

Where am I supposed to store my stuffs that are not required for the trek?

Do I need to bring any official document papers for the trek?

Are all the departure dates guaranteed?

I am a solo traveler; can I join a group?

Can I do a private trip?

What sort of accommodation conveniences is available during the trek? And what about showers?

Is there a possibility of getting separate rooms during trek? If so, how much extra will this cost?

What type of toilet/bathroom facilities available during the Trek?

Where do we go to toilet along the trail?

Is there any means of Communication and Internet access while on trekking?

What kind of food can I expect during the trek?

Is it safe to drink water in the Everest region? And drinking water included in your package?

How much spending money do I need for each day on the trek?

How is the Typical Trekking Day like?

Are credit cards accepted on the Trail?

Do I need to bring toilet paper for the trek?

Can we get laundry service during Trek?

Can I recharge my electronic gadgets and what kind of plugs, adapter/converter should I use to travel Nepal?

When is the best time to do the Trek?

What is the weather and temperature all year-round during trek?

What is the temperature rating of the sleeping bag that you lend to trekkers?

Are your guides qualified to handle medical emergency?

What safety equipment do your guides carry with them on trek to deal with sickness/accidents?

What immunizations will I need?

If I am sick can I continue the trek next day after a day rest?

Do you guys have a Portable Altitude Chamber (PAC)?

Are your guides certified by the government of Nepal?

Have trekking guides received first aid training for high altitude?

Do I need to tip my guide and porters?

Can I add extra days to my trekking trip?

What are the recommendations if we have multiple free days?

Is it necessary to make a down payment to the reserve a spot in a trek? And how to proceed?