Everest Base Camp Trek with Island Peak

We will take off from Kathmandu and quickly view the Kathmandu valley from the plane. Then we will be heading to the Tenzing-Hillary Airport at Lukla. The airport runway might seem scary due to its narrow runway; nevertheless, the views after take-off make up for it. This whole flight will cost you 35 to 40 minutes worth of time.

After landing, you will have to trek to Phakding on foot. Guides and porters will accompany you as you trek. You will have to cross the Dudh Koshi river through suspension bridges. The view of the river and landscapes through this part of the trek will be immaculate.

A total of 3 to 4 hours worth of walking will bring you to the wonderful place of Phakding. Local tea houses will accommodate you in the area. You will be spending your night of the first day in these tea houses.

The second day of the trek will start by departing from Phakding to Namche. Similar to the previous day’s travel, you will again have to cross suspension bridges along the banks of Dudh Koshi. There are five suspension bridges to be crossed this day, and the last one is the world’s 123rd-tallest bridge

After walking for about 3 hours, you will enter the Sagarmatha National Park area. The area houses various rare species of flora and fauna. A little bit up the hill from Sagarmatha National Park will bring you to the end point of your second day’s trek. You will reach Namche and be welcomed very hospitably. The environment of this region will be very quaint and peaceful. You will be able to interact with the local Sherpa people or buy souvenirs from Namche Bazaar. You will be accommodated within a lodge in the Bazaar and spend the night here.

This will mark the end of the second day.

Traveling to high-altitude places like the Himalayas requires you to go slow and get familiar with the altitude. It is essential to avoid altitude sickness and other health hazards. On this day, you will get to explore the Sagarmatha National Park Headquarters. Through this point, you will catch a glimpse of many mountain ranges as well as Mount Everest. There is a museum you can visit as well.

After that, you will walk uphill to the hotel Everest View for a while. Then we will take a brisk walk down the twin villages of Khumjung and Khunde. After we are done with that, we will go back to Namche for lunch. The rest of the day can be spent exploring Namche Bazaar, talking to locals, and observing their cultures. You can also go shopping or cafe hopping here. Such a flexible itinerary will not be available later in the trek.

The day will end as such, and once again, you will be lodging in the same place as the previous night. This overnight stay will be the last here at Namche before we return.

After staying at Namche for two days, we will trek uphill to Tengboche. The trek will take about 5 hours. This walk will give you views of the spectacular snow-capped mountain ranges of Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Thamserku, Kwangde, and Nuptse.

The trails of this trek are quite steep till Sanasa, and then the steeps decrease a little. Phunki Thanka. From here, you will reach Tengboche within 2 hours. The road you will walk will have beautiful trails of rhododendrons along with pine and fir trees.

Upon arrival at Tengboche, you will notice the spiritual monastery of Tengboche. The area near the monastery has a bakery too. This place houses a few tea houses as well as lodges. You will be accommodated in a teahouse near the Tengboche monastery. You will have to spend the night here, marking the end of the fourth day of the trek.

The fifth day’s trek starts by slightly going downhill from Tengboche for about an hour till you cross a wooden bridge. Then the trail continues uphill towards a dusty forested village of Pangboche.

En route, you can see various Yak herds. Further ahead, you ought to cross a river and then climb uphill. Further ahead of Pangboche will be Somare at an altitude of 4000 meters, where you will stop for lunch. You can notice that you can no longer see vegetation above this landmark.

At a certain distance, there is again a viewpoint that shows the exotic views of Mount Ama Dablam. From this point on, you will have to travel around 30 to 40 minutes further to reach your destination village of Dingboche. You will again be accommodated in one of the lodges of the village to rest overnight. This will mark the end of day five.

This will be your second acclimatizing day of the whole trek. You will get a chance to hike Nagarjun Hill, which is straight up from Dingboche. You will get to observe various mountains from this peak. Mountains like Ama Dablam, Makalu, Lhotse, and Island Peak are a few of the mountains that can be seen from here.

The Nagarjun hike will also allow you to explore the flora and fauna of the area. Glimpses of wild animals can also be seen during this hike. Before returning to Dingboche, explore the Nagarjun area, take some pictures, observe the beautiful mountain range, and take a breather.

Then you will descend back to Dingboche. You will have the rest of the day after the Nagarjun hike to yourself until dinner. You will again dine in the same place and sleep in the same lodge. This acclimatization will mark the end of the fifth day of the trek.

A step further from the Everest Base Camp, the 7th day of the trek will start with a gentle walk to Thukla. After a short tea break or lunch at the spot, after visiting the Thukla pass, you will start climbing the steepest trail so far. You will have to climb the Dughla pass. Dhugla Pass has a park that is a memorial place for climbers across the globe who have lost their lives during their expedition to Everest.

The higher and further you walk from there, the more mesmerizing the view gets, and the more tiring the journey gets. You will reach the Khumbu glacier on the road ahead. From there, you will get a glimpse of Kala Patthar as well.

From this point onwards, you will only take 30 more minutes to reach Lobuche. After reaching the destination, you will be dining and accommodated here. This will be the end of day 7 of the trek.

The trek from Lobuche to Gorakshep and Everest Base Camp will be the longest travel so far in the trek. You will first walk through a relatively easy trail along the road with many rocky boulders and slippery trails. You will reach Gorakshep for your lunch, then continue aiming for the Everest Base Camp.

It isn’t possible for us to be camping or staying overnight at the base camp, so you will be lodging in Gorakshep. It will have convenient lodging options and tea houses. It is among the final settlements in this region before the trail goes barren and lifeless.

So, before leaving for the Base Camp, you will drop your bags in the hotel room when we stop for lunch and then continue your trek. After around 2 hours of trekking from Gorakshep, you will pass through the Khumbu Glacier and reach the Everest Base Camp.

Upon arrival, you will see tons of tents and camps in the region. There will be various mountaineers who will be starting to climb Everest from the base camp. After exploring the base camp area and hiking a little, you will return to Gorakshep. You will dine and sleep in the local teahouse where you dropped off your luggage.

This will end our Everest Base Camp trek and day 8 of the package.

The 9th day of the trek will consist of sightseeing of the mountain range from Kala Patthar. You will be waking up early in the morning to catch a glimpse of the sunrise view from Kala Patthar. People often consider this viewpoint one of the Earth's most beautiful observation points. The Kala Patthar viewpoint gives the best glimpses of Mount Everest, even better than that of the Everest Base Camp.

After you leave Gorakshep for the Kala Patthar hike, you will go downhill for a bit and then go back to climbing. It will take you about 2 hours to complete this hike. Once you reach the viewpoint, you will cherish the environment. The viewpoint will let you see the Himalayas of Mount Everest, Changtse, Nuptse, Lhotse, and others. The early morning sun rays hitting these mountains will be a sight you will reminisce about for a lifetime.

After the hike, we will descend back to Gorakshep, take our luggage, and move back to Dingboche through Periche. The hike will end with you being accommodated in the lodges of Dingboche as you had been before. You will dine and sleep in Dingboche. This will mark the end of day 9 of the hike.

You will leave for Chukkung with quite a steep trek from Dingboche. The trek will allow you to pass through the beautiful Himalayan settlement. It will take about 2 to 3 hours before you arrive in the settlement area of Chukkung.

Chukkung will greet you with mesmerizing views of mountains like Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, and Imja Tse(or the Island peak). The Chukkung valley will give you views of the scenically mesmerizing Imja Khola. You will also explore the Imja Khola glacier along with the glaciers of Lhotse Shar.

The Chukkung village trek will be a short and sweet one. The village provides you with facilities for lodging through lodges and tea houses. You will be accommodated here for the day. The next day of the trip will be a bit more exhausting, so you will rest well for it this day.

You will dine here and sleep in one of the local lodges or tea houses. This will end our 10th day of the trek with the commencement of the Island Peak scaling journey the next day.

This will commence our journey to summit Island Peak. After breakfast in Chukking, we will leave the place and hike to reach the Island Peak Base Camp. The journey will involve us climbing uphill to the south and then towards the main valley in the east.

The trip will show us serene waterfalls and glacial streams on the trail. We will once again be able to catch the majestic views of the Imja Khola glacier region. En route, you will also pass the glacier moraine of Lhotse.

After our trek to base camp, we can observe the Island Peak (also known as Imsa Tse) in its glory. From the base camp, you will see a very proper southwestern view of the mountain. You will get an aggregate idea of what your journey will comprise the next day.

The guides will be helping you set up tents in the base camp. You will be camping in tents for the night, as there won’t be any other means of lodging. This overnight stay at the Island Peak base camp will mark the end of day 11 of the trek.

You will wake up early at 2 am to start this day’s trek. The weather in the morning is more appropriate for climbing, as the harsh winds during the day could be a hassle. The weather is also way clearer in the morning than at any other time of the day.

A professional mountain guide will be assisting you in climbing the mountain. You will face steep, slippery slopes and glaciers during your climb. After 2 to 3 hours of climbing, you will summit Island Peak. From the peak, you will get an immensely beautiful scene. You can get views of mountains like Baruntse, Ama Dablam, Makalu, Lhotse, Nuptse, and many more from the summit. You will also likely get a 360-degree panoramic view of the aforementioned mountains from here.

The adrenaline rush you will have when you summit the peak will be an experience of a lifetime.

After you are done with your summit, you will descend back to the Island Peak Base Camp. The guides will help you with the tents, and you will pack your luggage to go back to Chukkung.

You will again be accommodated in one of the local lodges or tea houses of Chukkung to dine and sleep. This will mark the end of our Island Peak trek before returning to the starting point.

After completing your Island Peak summit, you will walk down to Pangboche from Chukkung. Then you have to ascend through Debuche and then to Tengboche. The trek will have already taken you to these places in the earlier days, so you will likely be more familiar with it now.

You will observe the settlement of Pangboche village through the trails. It will take about 2 to 3 hours of trekking till you reach a settlement area. You will be staying overnight at a lodge after you reach Tengboche. This will mark the end of day 13.

On the 14th day of the trek, you will leave Tengboche and march down towards the vibrant Sherpa town of Namche. Namche will not be as barren or empty as other settlement areas you have trekked. You will have stayed two nights at Namche during the earlier part of the trek. Hence, you will be more familiar with it.

After arrival, you will have most of the day to yourself and can indulge in the local tour. You will have various options for refreshment and relaxation here. You can hop onto local cafes and pubs here. The Irish pub located here is the highest altitude pub in the world. Visiting the pub would be a lifelong experience. You will be accommodated in a lodge here again to stay the night. This will mark the end of day 14.

Like Namche, you will trace your steps back to where you came from. We will now walk down towards Lukla. Upon arrival to Lukla, you will be hosted with a celebration for completing the trek, especially the exhausting yet joyous summit of Island Peak.

You will be staying overnight at a lodge. This will mark the second last day of the journey and almost the end of the package.

On the last day, you will fly back to Kathmandu early in the morning. Once again, during your flight back, you will catch a glimpse of breathtaking views of mountains, rivers, forests, and many more. Upon landing in Kathmandu, you will be provided with a ride back to your hotel in Kathmandu through a private vehicle.

This will officially mark the end of our 16-day-long trip.