Everest View Trek

You arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you and drives you to your hotel in Thamel, the historic trekkers' quarter in the heart of the old city.

Your guide joins you for the pre-trek briefing. The Everest View trek is designed for trekkers who want the Khumbu — the flight to Lukla, the Sherpa villages, the mountain panorama — without the two-week commitment or the extreme altitude of the full base camp route. We walk through the plan, which tops out at 3,880 m rather than 5,545 m, and check your gear. Warm layers are still essential; Namche is cold at night in any season.

Because the itinerary is short, everything hinges on the Lukla flight, and your guide will explain how we handle weather delays. The rest of the day is free to rest or wander Thamel. Overnight in Kathmandu.

A pre-dawn transfer to the airport for the mountain flight. Depending on the season you fly from Kathmandu itself or from Ramechhap after an early road transfer. Either way the flight takes about 30 minutes and runs parallel to the Himalaya, with an unbroken line of snow peaks out of the left windows.

The landing at Lukla (2,860 m) is one of aviation's more celebrated moments — a 527 m runway built on a 12% uphill slope, with a mountainside at the far end and a drop at the near one. You will remember it.

After tea while the porters sort loads, the walking begins, and pleasingly it goes downhill. The trail follows the Dudh Koshi through Chheplung and Ghat, past long mani walls carved with Tibetan script, spinning prayer wheels and suspension bridges hung with prayer flags. Phakding (2,651 m) is reached in the early afternoon. Overnight in a riverside teahouse.

The hardest day of this itinerary. The trail follows the Dudh Koshi upstream through pine and rhododendron forest, crossing the river repeatedly on high suspension bridges. At Monjo you register at the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park, the UNESCO World Heritage site covering the entire Everest region.

Past Jorsalle the valley narrows and you cross the Hillary Bridge, strung dizzyingly high above the meeting of the Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi rivers. From the far side the trail climbs — around 600 m of switchbacks through forest, the steepest sustained ascent of the trek. Take it slowly; this is where altitude starts to be felt. Roughly halfway up, a clearing offers the first distant view of Mount Everest (8,849 m) peering over the Nuptse ridge.

Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) occupies a natural horseshoe bowl and is the trading hub of the Sherpa homeland, with bakeries, cafés, gear shops and a lively Saturday market. Overnight in Namche.

The highlight of the trek, and the day the itinerary is named for. After breakfast we climb the steep trail out of Namche toward the Syangboche plateau and on to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m) — at one time recognised as the highest-placed hotel in the world.

The terrace is the point. From a table with a cup of tea you look directly at Mount Everest (8,849 m), Lhotse (8,516 m), Nuptse, Thamserku and the astonishing fluted spire of Ama Dablam (6,812 m). Mornings are clearest, so we aim to be there before the cloud builds.

From the hotel we walk on to the Sherpa villages of Khumjung and Khunde, sitting beneath the sacred peak of Khumbila. Khumjung's monastery is said to house a yeti scalp, and its school was founded by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1961 as the first in the Khumbu. We return to Namche in the afternoon — climbing high and sleeping low is good acclimatisation practice. Overnight in Namche Bazaar.

A long descent to close the loop. From Namche the trail drops steeply down the switchbacks you climbed on day three, losing around 600 m to the Hillary Bridge. Going down is quicker but harder on the knees, and trekking poles earn their place here.

From the bridge the route follows the Dudh Koshi downstream through Jorsalle and Monjo, where you check out of Sagarmatha National Park, and continues through Phakding. The air thickens, the temperature climbs, and the forest closes in green around the trail again — a marked contrast to the thin, bright air of Namche.

The last stretch undulates, with one final climb before Lukla (2,860 m). It is a big day on the legs, but it puts you at the airstrip in good time for tomorrow's flight. Tonight is the farewell dinner with your guide and porters. Overnight in Lukla.

An early departure, because Lukla's weather window is a morning one and the airstrip routinely closes by midday. Flights are scheduled at first light and the take-off — running downhill toward the edge of the shelf — is every bit as memorable as the landing was.

The 30-minute flight returns you to Kathmandu (1,400 m), or to Ramechhap with a road transfer, depending on the season. On a clear morning the Himalaya line the northern horizon for the whole flight.

Lukla flights depend entirely on weather and delays of a day or more are not unusual, which is why we always advise a buffer day before an international connection. Once back in Kathmandu you transfer to your hotel with the afternoon free for a shower, a good meal and some shopping in Thamel. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your final day in Nepal. If your flight leaves later in the day there is time to visit the Kathmandu Valley's monuments — Boudhanath Stupa is the natural choice after a week in Sherpa country, since it is the heart of the city's Tibetan Buddhist community, and Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath are both a short drive away.

Our representative will collect you from your hotel and drive you to Tribhuvan International Airport approximately three hours before your scheduled departure.

In under a week the Everest View trek has taken you into the heart of the Khumbu — the Lukla flight, the Hillary Bridge, Namche Bazaar, the Sherpa villages of Khumjung and Khunde, and a terrace at 3,880 m looking straight at Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. If you want to go deeper next time, Everest Base Camp, the Gokyo Lakes and the Three Passes all start from the same trail. Safe travels.