Jiri to Everest Base Camp Trek Itinerary

A representative from our company will receive you once you arrive in Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu and takes you to your pre-arranged place of accommodation. 

Starting out early on a local bus, we head off to Bhandar, our trailhead. Although this eight-hour long travel may come as a bit tiring, this ride on hilly roads in these parts of Nepal has a lot on offer. From a hill to the next and through settlements from dense to sparse, the bus also happens to pass through end to end of patches of forests, dominated by rhododendrons in bloom in places, pines at others and a mix of a variety at still others. Upon arrival in Bhandar, we check-in for the night.

We start out on a downhill that should last for around three hours or so. Many find this descent all the way to Kinja slightly demanding on the knees. Just before the settlement, we cross a few suspension bridges, which for is fun for some and a bit not to the comfort zone for others. Kinja, where we stop for lunch, is also our checkpoint, the last one before Namche Bazaar. The remaining trail from here on is a sharp uphill. The key to walking ascents like these, since many others will follow, is to go slow, maintaining a decent steady pace. Once we arrive in Sete, we check-in and settle for the night. Many find the sunset view from this place inspiring. 

Once again through a landscape that keeps captivating, we start out after breakfast. The steep climb to Lamjura Pass, which lasts for around three hours, is taxing on the legs that have just walked up a steep ascent the previous day. As the air starts to thin a little at these heights, slow-and-steady is no more a cliché. Once crossing the Pass, the route still shows no sympathy, however. This steep downhill on a slope covered with the screen just not is harsh on the knees but also consistently demands that extra caution if one is to avoid sprained ankles. While some make it to Junbesi in three and checkpoint half hours, others are likely to take four or even an additional half an hour or so. The arrival of Junbesi is a welcome relief since we stop for the night here. 

We set off today after breakfast on a relatively steady uphill for an hour or so. The next two hours or so and we take a turn round a hill. The sky to the North all of sudden now is covered with mighty elevations festooned in snow and ice: the Himalayas in the Everest Region. The view that makes checkpoint awe in wonder also includes a glimpse of the tallest on earth, Mt Everest. The next to follow is screen downhill to a river and an uphill of around three-fourths of an hour should bring us to Ringmu for lunch. From here on, it’s an uphill to one more Pass, followed by yet another steep downhill. We finally arrive in Nunthala and stop for the night in this town. 

Leaving Nunthala after breakfast, we start our trek on a downhill. Now that the donkey trains join in, the traffic becomes a bit congested as our fellow mammals seem to demand a little respect as they too are trudging on the same path. We stop for lunch somewhere on the way screen and Dal-Bhat is a filling option for many. Dal-Bhat does not just come with the Dal (a thick lentil soup) and Bhat (rice); it comes with at least vegetables and pickles checkpoint one can ask for some more helpings for no extra charge. After all, ‘Dal-Bhat-Power, 24-Hour’ is how the common saying goes. We move on and arrive in Bupsa after a final ascent of about an hour and a half or so. This is where we stop for lunch. 

We start out today on an uphill, through forests and still side by side with the donkey trains with farting donkeys. Once we walk past Kharte, the uphill now takes us all to Khari-la Pass. Many people choose to stop here for some time. It is the view of the mountains including Ghyachung Kang and Khumbila that keeps most engaged. The trail now is a downhill to Puyan. The ups and downs that follow next for some time brings us all to Surke, where we stop for the night. 

Today, once again, we start out up an ascent until a settlement known as Chiplung. Once we finish our lunch here, our walk now is a downhill all the way to Phakding, a pretty large as well as better equipped village. This is where we stop for the night.

Along the banks of the Dudhkoshi River and over a number of suspension bridges, the route enters and leaves Monjo Village on the way and heads for Jorsalle, where we stop for lunch. After lunch in this only settlement until Namche Bazaar, we move on. The pine forest, perhaps, is the only relief in those final two hours of the steep demanding climb just before the arrival of Namche. This headquarters of the Khumbu Region is where we stop for the night. 

The day today is for acclimatization. Once in higher altitudes, it is important that we allow the body the opportunity to adapt since the amount of oxygen in the air now becomes less and less. This process requires us to walk higher up but come down for the night. As a part of this process, we first visit the Sagarmatha National Park Museum, where those of us interested get to know about the landscape, wildlife and people for whom the Everest Region is a home. After this visit, we go further up to Everest View Hotel. This is a location that offers a spectacular view of the Himalayas in its proximity including Mt Everest, Mt Lhotse, and the awesome Mt Ama Dablam. The Khumjung Valley, along with its famous Monastery, is yet another sight most find intriguing. After we return, a walk around the bazaar keeps many travelers engaged in one or the other acts of personal interest. 

Our stop for lunch today is Phunke Thanga, a small settlement, around three hours away. With pines and rhododendrons thick in the area and the raging Dudhkoshi somewhere close, a lunch here in Phortse Tenga is something of an experience. On a sharp ascent and still through forests, Tengboche is yet another three hours from here on. With its highly revered Monastery, the biggest in the area, along with a breathtaking view of Mt Ama Dablam, the village is certain to inspire many upon arrival. Tyangboché is where we spend the night. 

Pangboche, our stopover for lunch today, is around three hours away. Downhill to Dingboche then up a gentle prolonged incline, from end to end of patches of forests along the way and crossing a suspension bridge, we arrive in Pangboche. After a decent lunch, it’s three hours to Dingboche in the presence of the majestic Mt Ama Dablam. Dingboche, with around forty households, is home to approximately two hundred locals. This is where we stop for the night. 

Like in Namche, this acclimatization day built into this programme also requires all to go up a sharp ascent towards Nangkar Tshang (5,616). Atop this vantage point, the wonder can only be rightfully explained by those who have made it there. 

Before that demanding ascent to Dugla, we pass a Chorten and some memorials on the way. After a steep uphill to Chukpo Lari, the trail arrives in Lobuche with the walk for the last twenty minutes or so gentle on the legs. Lobuche, where we stop for the night, is a very small settlement with only two or three constructions. Mt Nuptse close by, however, sufficiently keeps everyone engaged. 

Up a three-hour climb with winds blowing at uncomfortable speeds, the trek arrives in Gorakshep, where we check-in. After lunch, the next to follow is a two-hour walk up a gradual but exhausting uphill, owing much to the thinning of the air at higher altitudes. Everest Base Camp (EBC) sits right on the Khumbu Glacier. Once in the Base Camp of the highest mountain on earth, it’s a time for celebration for many, our actions highlighting the emotions – smiling, taking photographs and hugging one another. We walk back to Gorakshep for the night.

Today’s early morning is for that two-hour climb to Kala Patthar almost four hundred meters up. The famous vantage point is famous for a good reason: surrounded by all those gigantic elevations including two of those that have risen more than 8000 meters, Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse. Back in Gorakshep for lunch and we head off to Pheriché, starting off by entering the glacial valley. It is in one of the many lodges that the village has on offer that we stop for the night.  

A downhill to Tengboche for lunch and we retrace our footsteps to Namche Bazaar. This is where we stop for the night.   

Stopping only in Phakding Village for lunch, the walk back to Lukla takes about seven hours to some and eight to others. 

Weather willing, the flight back to Kathmandu should bring most of us for lunch on time. With the day still young, many people choose to spend the afternoon walking around Thamel. 

Depending largely on your travel fixture, you will be leaving for Tribhuvan International Airport for your departure from Nepal either in the morning or in the afternoon or in the evening.