Lobuche Peak Climbing via Gokyo - 19 Days

Our representatives from Himalayan Partner Treks await your arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. They will help you in transferring to the hotel. The pre-trek meeting will be held at the company office in the evening. This important briefing will let you consider the peculiarities of the trek and guarantee that you will have all the necessary trekking gear for the trip. Your trekking leader will also brief you about the meeting time for the following day via email or WhatsApp in Kathmandu. It helps you be ready for the experience that awaits you in advance.

The adventure begins with a 30-minute flight from Kathmandu to Lukla's Tenzing-Hillary Airport. It is advised to arrive at least an hour early. Even though it only takes 50 minutes, this flight gives a great view of the Himalayan mountains sitting right at the plane's windows. The Lukla airstrip at 2,800m is well renowned, and as soon as the travelers arrive there, sherpa people welcome them, and the trekking starts. When trekking from Lukla to Phakding, the first stop for every trekker, it takes approximately 3- 4 hours to go through forests to reach the village. The trail follows the noisy Dudh Koshi River through mani walls, rhododendron forests, high suspension bridges, and several villages. There are some inclines and declines but not very steep, and thus prepare the rider for the conditions accordingly. After arriving at Phakding, you can take a walk in the village or around the nearby territories before returning to the teahouse for the night.

Today, you will walk between 6 and 7 hours to reach one of the most famous places in Khumbu, Namche Bazaar. You will traverse several suspension bridges over the River Dudh Koshi on the second day from Phakding. When you get to Monju, be ready to show off your permits – this indicates you are now within Sagarmatha National Park.

After slowly descending to the end of a high ridge, a trail begins steeply up the hill, passing through several thickets of pine and rhododendrons. A traveller coming down from Namche Bazaar at 3,440m can see the top of Mount Everest through the trees for the first time.

On your journey, try not to strain yourself, or you may feel the effects of altitude. Before moving forward to Lobuche and Gokyo in the coming days, start getting used to the environment.

This day is a rest day that is spent at Namche Bazaar, the lively Sherpa market of the Khumbu region. There is no need to rush as you start acclimating to the higher altitude above sea level. The following day, one can take an easy ride and take a short trek to the legendary Everest View Hotel to capture the close-up views of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, etc. There are two Sherpa villages, Khumjung and Khunde, and the oldest monastery is there. You can trek here during the day and return at night. Moreover, spend your evening leisure time exploring Namche's interesting markets and restaurants, having dinner, and spending the night in your lodge.

Today, we will trek for 5-6 hours to further the Khumbu region after getting accustomed to the altitude in Namche. It starts with a steep rise from Namche Valley, following the rhododendron forests up to Sanasa and Mong La, passing at 3,975 meters. From Mong La, one has to move downwards for nearly 30 minutes to reach Phortse Thanga, which is situated at a height of 3,680m.

As you gain altitude, the vegetation becomes juniper, with large conifers and yak kharka meadows. The area is most beautiful in spring when the rhododendrons are in bloom. One highlight is exploring the village of Khumjung and visiting Mohang, the birthplace of the reincarnated Rongbuk lama. It will also be possible to see the Khumbila and Tawache mountains during the day on the trek. Phortse Thanga is a small Sherpa village where you will be accommodated in one of the locally available teahouses.

Today, you ascend rather sharply from Phortse Thanga through the most beautiful pine and rhododendron forest. Lunch and a brief rest can be made in the village of Dole. From Dole, one has to climb an ascending path to reach Machhermo. When you make this hike in the spring, the whole trail is covered with rhododendron flowers. This trail traverses steep cliffs, which offer vantage points from which to view the vast valley below. You will also find waterfalls and small streams; the mountains look great. After a steep incline, you arrive at another small alpine village called Luza. Macchermo is near Luza, but it will take only several minutes to get to the second village. Once you get to Machhermo, you go to a teahouse, and then you can take a bit of a break.

As per the schedule of Day 7, after having breakfast in the morning, one has to hike from Machhermo to Gokyo (4750m/15584ft), trekking beside the Ngozumpa Glacier. Along the way, you can admire charming views of the Mt. Mountains of Nepal: Cho Yo and Gyachung Kang. After walking by a lake, you will get to Gokyo Village, where your night stop is. It starts with one hour of trekking to Phanga, where an area is dedicated for landslide victims. Longpongo Lake (4,690m) and then Moraine from Ngozumpa Glacier are located when crossing the iron bridge. Further down the line, one can witness Gokyo lakes in series with water of different colours against the backdrop of the Himalayas. Gokyo village is a famous Everest region landmark surrounded by glaciers and beautiful lakes where trekkers live in teahouses.

Today, we have an acclimatization day scheduled for us. Next, we plan for a trek to Gokyo Ri. Indeed, one should not miss a chance to visit the famous Himalayan Range, including mountains such as Mount Everest, Lhotse and others. We will then head to Gokyo Valley after an amazing day at Gokyo Ri. Following this, we continue our trek from Gokyo village, and the next destination to visit for this trekking day is Thangnak. While on the trip, we will be crossing Ngozumpa Glacier. The path itself has its up and down parts but is not much longer and does not require climbing any steep incline. The Thangnak village is in a quiet and scenic place near Ngozumpa Glacier and is quite suitable to enable trekkers to get to Cho-La High Pass, which has an elevation of 5,330m.

After breakfast at Thangnak, we will trek through the rocky hills and glacial moraines to reach the Chola Pass early in the morning. After three or four hours of hiking, we will arrive at the top of Cho La Pass, where the clear reflection of Cho La Lake and Mt. Cholatse (6,440m) can be enjoyed. From here, we proceed down the trail; however, it gets slippery and icy as we go further. The scenes you can watch during this trek are very nice. Today, we will be trekking for about seven hours and arriving at Dzongla, our stop for the day. As we observe, it is quite a long journey.

From Dzongla, we will traverse the moraine and descend along Chola Lake. Next, we traverse along the Khumbu Glacier. On the way, there are some statues of the climbers who died in this area for mountaineering. Today’s hike to Lobuche should be fun unlike yesterday and before getting to Lobuche, we will come across Imja Khola. And as expected, we will arrive at our destination for the day – Lobuche – after four hours of trekking. We have returned to the standard Everest Base Camp trekking route by arriving at Lobuche. From Lobcuhe, we will move closer to the base of Mount Everest, the highest point on planet Earth, with joy in our hearts. We will reach Gorak Shep through the glacier trail, with some ups and downs, even on a rough path. Here, we will get an amazing view of Mount Pumori, Mount Nuptse and other mountains.

After the morning meal, we will leave our belongings and proceed to the Everest Base Camp. When you are on the base of Mount Everest, you would feel like you have achieved something – the result of hard work. So, reaching EBC involves a lot of trekking and effort; hence, while trekking towards EBC, one starts to get a better view of Everest. The view from EBC is superb, and you will be able to see the Khumbu Glacier. We recommend you take as many photos as you want because you will have them for the rest of your life. After visiting various places in EBC, we will go to Gorak Shep and stay overnight here.

After breakfast in Gorak Shep, we will start our trek early in the morning and then go to Kala Patthar to view the Everest mountain. The things you are going to see are going to be phenomenal, and they are not going to look like anything you’ve ever seen before. 2-3 hours will be spent on climbing up. When we get there, we will see towering mountains with snow-capped peaks, including Mount Everest. After having such a view, we have to return to Lobuche. Enroute, nice views are expected, especially when crossing over rocky grounds to reach Lobuche.

Day 13 involves 3 to 4 hours of trek to Lobuche High Camp, passing through a tricky trail of large rocks. We plan to be at the High Camp by the close of the day tomorrow. On that particular day, our climbing guide will be able to give us directions on how to climb the peaks since it would be necessary for the following day. However, the Lobuche High Camp gives an easily accessible view of big mountain names such as Ama Dablam, Cholatse, Thamserku, etc. This high-altitude camp is the last preparation phase before the final push to reach the crater's edge in the next couple of days.

Today, the only objective of climbing Lobuche Peak will be accomplished. Your breakfast will be ready quicker than before as you must start the climb early. Following steep and ice tracks, you will get to the southern ridge. At last, the ropes, the crampons, and the ice axes will play their part. Under the guidance of your guide, you will now move forward and up in the technicalities of Lobuche Peak when it is time to proceed to the final ascent. Upon reaching the top of the 45-degree steep ridge, you’ll be at Lobuche East’s high point. Climb success will make your heart jump with joy. Your celebration will become more lively with the wide panorama of the Everest region. From the summit of Lobuche Peak, the whole of the Everest region is visible, and this view alone will make you appreciate more that the trip is worth all the trouble. After a splendid time at the Lobuche summit, you will descend to the high camp of this peak. We will trek to Lobuche and then spend the night at the tea houses there.

In the morning, after having breakfast at Lobuche, we come down to Pheriche, and during the trek, we see the rhododendrons and juniper trees. Our trekking from Pheriche will continue to offer fantastic Himalayas views up to the Pangboche Village. Passing through pristine forests of rhododendrons and juniper shrubs, the trail reaches out to the village known as Pangboche, which sits at 3930 meters/12890 feet above sea level. We then tour the famous Pangboche Monastery and spend the night at a teahouse in the same village.

Today, we will wake up in Pheriche and continue the trek to Namche Bazaar. The trail moves through the forests where one can possibly see pheasants, musk deer, etc. The route also crosses several prayer flags and chortens. This will be the last view of the Himalayan giant Mount Everest. We will proceed with our trekking, and after a few hours, we will be in Namche Bazaar, our lodging for the night.

Today is your last day on the trekking trail. After breakfast, we will get down a rather steep path in the morning and cross the Hillary Suspension Bridge and many villages. Most of the trekking will be done in Dudh Koshi River Valley and its surrounding region. After reaching Lukla, we will rest in the hotel and then acclimatize to Lukla. It is most likely the last night you are in the Khumbu region. In this instance, you have emerged victorious over several challenges. It is a moment that warrants celebration.

You will be trekking out of the Everest region on this day. So, spend the day exploring Lukas surroundings. The EBC Trek with Lobuche Peak Climbing Itinerary comes to an end when you finish your delicious breakfast in Lukla and take an early flight from Lukla to Kathmandu. A take-off also provides one of the most spectacular sights, similar to the abovementioned landing. The day may be spent walking, idling, or amusing oneself.

A few hours before the flight departs, a pick up of a private tourist car is arranged to pick up from the hotel to the airport. You may also take more time choosing different trekking activities.