Theme Legendary

Welcome to Kathmandu! Upon arrival, you will be picked up from Tribhuvan International Airport and transferred to your hotel.

Kathmandu has a special atmosphere during the early morning hours when the city is slowly coming to life yet not too chaotic. It's a great time to walk and explore the streets or have a chai overlooking one of the local courtyards or durbar squares.

After breakfast, there are then a number of ways you can spend your day given the numerous famous sights around the Kathmandu Valley. You can use this as a free day or we can provide a local English guide who knows the city well and can explain the history and significance of the sights (along with a private jeep to take you around).

After breakfast, you'll fly to Lukla (30 minutes) and land on a steep mountain runway, which brings you to the start of your trek. Try to get a window seat on the left-hand side of the plane and keep your camera close: the flight takes you between mountains and through valleys, with great views of the Himalaya on clear days.

You'll then trek a short distance today through local villages where you'll likely encounter fellow trekkers, locals, and yaks with their tinkling bells. (Having an easy first day is intentional, allowing you time to get used to the higher elevation.)

Continue through the Dudh Koshi Valley on a well-marked trail and stay overnight in Phakding.

Trekking time: 3-4 hours (4.7 miles / 7.5 km)

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: Phakding

After breakfast in Phakding, you'll start a steady and steep incline towards Namche. This is a challenging day as you'll start to feel the altitude. The route also consists of a number of high suspension bridges over the Dudh Kosi River that you need to cross.

Just beyond the village of Monjo is the entrance to the Sagarmatha National Park, which was set-up in order to protect and preserve the fragile mountain environment (your guide will cover your permit fees here). The trail gets steeper along the way, and if the weather is clear, you will get the first glimpses of Mount Everest.

When you arrive at Namche, settle into your accommodations and explore the town. Namche is a great place to stock up on supplies as there are numerous small shops selling snacks and trekking gear, as well as restaurants and bars. If here on a weekend, check out the Saturday market—a meeting place for the Hindu traders from the lowlands and the Tibetan yak caravans that have crossed the glaciated Nangpa La.

Trekking time: 4-6 hours (4.6 miles / 7.4 km)

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: Namche Bazaar

Today is a rest day, so feel free to sleep in and relax this morning. Namche, tucked between two ridges amidst the giant peaks of the Khumbu, is an ideal place to spend a day acclimatizing to the new altitude.

There is an abundance of lodges, tea shops, and souvenir stands that you can visit. You can also head to the Khunde Hospital set-up by Sir Edmund Hillary, or take a highly-recommended one-hour walk up to the Everest View Hotel above Namche for views of notable peaks like Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse, and Everest. There are also good views from the Sherpa Culture Museum just above the town.

Overnight: Namche (11,290 feet / 3440 m)

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: Namche Bazaar

After breakfast at Namche, begin your walk to Thame. You will pass through a beautiful pine forest and typical Sherpa homes. This trail forms part of the entry route to Tibet, which passes near the 8,012-metre peak of Cho Oyu, first climbed in 1954. It is also the historical route that the Sherpa’s migrated from eastern Tibet 800 years ago.

A lunch stop is made in the village of Thamo, home Ang Rita Sherpa who holds the record for scaling Mt. Everest ten times without oxygen.

After lunch, you ascend gradually passing a monastery where nuns live and finally you come to the village of Samden. From here you descend down to the bridge and crossing Bhote Koshi River and a half an hour ascent up to reach Thame.

Trekking time: 3-4 hours

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: Thame

Today, after breakfast in Thame, you'll begin the trek to Monjo. If there's time, pay a visit to the two small villages of Kunde and Khumjung, which are just a short distance off the main trail. Khumjung has a beautiful monastery to check out and Kunde has a small hospital run by Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust.

The walk then heads past the Everest View Hotel and the Shyangboche airstrip before dropping into Namche where you have lunch. In the afternoon, you'll descend steeply and then walk along the river bank back to Jorsale where you leave the national park before continuing on to your lodge at Monjo for your overnight.

Trekking time: 5-6 hours

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: Monjo

After breakfast in Monjo, begin the final day of the trek as you head along the Dudh Kosi river to Lukla. You'll first walk from Monjo to Ghat and stop for lunch before continuing to make your way through villages like Chumoa, Benkar, Phakding, and Chuthawa, eventually reaching the Pasang Lhamu Memorial Gate signifying the end of the trek. Though most of the route is an easy downhill slope, the last section of the trail before arriving takes you uphill—a fitting way to finish.

With Lukla's handful of shops, bars, and cafes—and even a faux Starbucks!—there are plenty of things to occupy your time as you reflect on your experience.

Trekking time: 5-7 hours

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Overnight: Lukla

After breakfast in Lukla, pack up early and head for the airstrip to hop on a flight back to Kathmandu.

Upon arrival, you'll be transferred to your hotel and will be able to enjoy the rest of the afternoon and evening at your leisure. Explore Kathmandu's streets on foot, bicycle, or rickshaw, perhaps shopping for souvenirs or seeing anything you may have missed at the beginning of your trip.

Other ideas include rewarding your muscles after the trek with a massage service at Seeing Hands (services are offered from the visually impaired), or the more upscale Kinjalla Spa. You can also take an early evening yoga class at Pranamaya Yoga, with two locations in Thamel and Patan.

In the evening, choose from a selection of Nepali, French, Vietnamese, and Middle Eastern dishes in Kathmandu.

Overnight: Kathmandu

Meals included: Breakfast, Lunch

Overnight: Kathmandu

It's time to say farewell to Nepal! Enjoy your last moments in Kathmandu with breakfast in a café, a city stroll, and/or souvenir shopping. A representative will meet you at your hotel and drive you to the airport for your return flight home.