Gokyo Lake 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.

Your guide runs the pre-trek briefing later in the day. The Gokyo Lakes trek follows the quieter Dudh Koshi tributary rather than the main base camp trail, reaching a string of turquoise glacial lakes and the summit of Gokyo Ri (5,357 m), which many trekkers consider a better Everest viewpoint than Kala Patthar. We walk through the acclimatisation plan, the daily stages and the altitude symptoms everyone should watch for.

Your kit is checked against the list — a warm down jacket, four-season sleeping bag, sunglasses rated for glacier glare and well-worn boots all matter above 4,000 m. Thamel's gear shops are minutes away for anything missing. The rest of the day is free to rest after the flight. Overnight in Kathmandu.

An early transfer for the mountain flight — from Kathmandu itself, or from Ramechhap after a pre-dawn road transfer, depending on the season. The 30-minute flight runs along the flank of the Himalaya with an unbroken line of peaks out of the left-hand windows.

The landing at Lukla (2,860 m) is famous: a 527 m runway on a 12% uphill gradient, ending at a mountainside. After tea while the porters sort loads, the walking begins.

Usefully, the first day goes downhill. The trail follows the Dudh Koshi — the milk river, named for the glacial silt that colours it — through Chheplung and Ghat, past mani walls carved in Tibetan script, spinning prayer wheels and suspension bridges hung with faded flags. You reach Phakding (2,651 m) in the early afternoon having lost 200 m, which is exactly the right way to start. Overnight in a riverside teahouse.

The first hard day. The trail follows the Dudh Koshi upstream through pine 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 whole Everest region.

Past Jorsalle the valley narrows and the route crosses the Hillary Bridge, slung high above the junction of the Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi. From the far side begins the climb everyone remembers — roughly 600 m of switchbacks through forest. It is steep, sustained, and the point at which most trekkers first properly notice the altitude. About halfway up a clearing gives the first distant view of Mount Everest (8,849 m) behind the Nuptse ridge.

Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) fills a natural horseshoe amphitheatre and is the trading centre of Sherpa country, with bakeries, cafés, gear shops and a Saturday market. Overnight in Namche.

A rest day that involves walking uphill — climb high, sleep low is the rule that gets people safely to 5,000 m.

The morning excursion climbs to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m), whose terrace looks straight out at Everest, Lhotse, Thamserku and the extraordinary spire of Ama Dablam (6,812 m). From there we continue to the Sherpa villages of Khumjung and Khunde beneath the sacred peak of Khumbila. Khumjung's monastery is said to hold a yeti scalp, and its school was founded by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1961.

Back in Namche for the afternoon, the Sherpa Culture Museum and the national park visitor centre are both worth an hour, and there is good coffee and a bakery or two. Drink steadily through the day and eat well. Overnight in Namche Bazaar.

Today the route diverges from the crowds. Where the base camp trail turns east toward Tengboche, we head north-west into the Gokyo valley, and the number of trekkers drops away noticeably.

The trail climbs out of Namche on the high traverse with the same superb views of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam, then branches at Sanasa and continues up through Mong La — a small pass at around 3,975 m marked by a chorten, with a fine view back down the valley. From Mong La the path drops steeply to the Dudh Koshi at Phortse Thanga before climbing again.

The afternoon's climb goes through rhododendron and birch that thins rapidly as you gain height, ending at Dole (4,110 m), a small summer settlement of a few lodges on the hillside. Watch the opposite slopes for Himalayan tahr and musk deer, both common in this valley. Overnight in Dole.

A short, deliberately gentle day. Distance is not the point at this altitude — the value of today is spending time above 4,000 m without pushing hard.

The trail climbs steadily along the side of the valley through Lhabarma and Luza, crossing summer yak pastures with stone-walled corrals and the occasional herder's hut. The vegetation is now reduced to juniper scrub and low azalea, and the views open north up the valley toward the peaks that ring the Gokyo basin — Cho Oyu (8,188 m), the world's sixth-highest mountain, comes into view ahead, along with Kangtega and Thamserku behind.

Machhermo (3,870 m) sits in a broad side valley beneath a striking rock ridge. There is a Himalayan Rescue Association aid post here that runs a free altitude-sickness talk most afternoons — worth attending before you go higher. Overnight in Machhermo.

A big day. The trail climbs out of Machhermo to a ridge at Pangka, then turns up beside the terminal moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier — the longest glacier in Nepal, a vast grey river of rubble-covered ice.

The climb passes the first Gokyo lake (Longpongo) and the second (Taboche Tsho), both an astonishing opaque turquoise from suspended glacial flour, before reaching the village beside the third lake, Dudh Pokhari, at Gokyo (4,800 m). The colour of these lakes against bare brown rock and white ice is unlike anything else on the trek.

After lunch and a rest, those feeling strong climb Gokyo Ri (5,357 m) — a steep 550 m ascent taking two to three hours. The summit panorama is arguably the best in Nepal: four eight-thousanders in one view — Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu — with the Ngozumpa Glacier and the chain of lakes below. If cloud closes in, we climb it at sunrise tomorrow instead. Overnight in Gokyo.

A morning excursion north along the eastern shore of Dudh Pokhari and up the valley beside the Ngozumpa Glacier to the fourth lake, Thonak Tsho (4,870 m). It is an easy, mostly level walk of about an hour and a half, and far fewer trekkers make it this far — most turn round at Gokyo Ri.

The fourth lake is the largest and, for many people, the most beautiful of the chain. From the small ridge above its northern shore there is a direct view of the north face of Cho Oyu (8,188 m) and, on a clear morning, a glimpse toward Everest across the glacier. The scale and the emptiness here are the point; you may well have it entirely to yourself.

We return to Gokyo for an early lunch and then begin the descent, retracing the trail past the lakes and down the valley to Machhermo (3,870 m). Losing nearly a kilometre of altitude makes for a far better night's sleep. Overnight in Machhermo.

A long descending day, and a pleasant one — the air thickens with every hour and the landscape gets greener as you drop.

The trail retraces the route down the Gokyo valley through Luza and Lhabarma to Dole, then descends steeply to the river at Phortse Thanga. From there comes the one real climb of the day, back up to the chorten at Mong La, which is hard work but short.

From Mong La the path descends to Sanasa and rejoins the main Everest trail for the high traverse back into Namche Bazaar (3,440 m), with Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam in view for much of the way. After a week in simple high-altitude lodges, Namche's hot showers, bakeries and cafés feel like genuine luxury. Overnight in Namche.

The final walking day. From Namche the trail drops steeply down the switchbacks you climbed on day three, losing around 600 m to the Hillary Bridge over the Dudh Koshi. Descending is quicker but harder on the knees, and poles are worth having.

From the bridge the route follows the river through Jorsalle and Monjo, where you check out of Sagarmatha National Park, and continues through Phakding. The valley is warm and green again, thick with pine and rhododendron, and busy with villages, mani walls and prayer wheels.

A last undulating section — with one final climb that always feels unfair — brings you into Lukla (2,860 m). Tonight is the celebration dinner with your guide and porter team, traditionally the evening the whole crew relaxes. Overnight in Lukla.

An early flight, because Lukla's weather window is a morning one and the airstrip routinely closes to traffic by midday. The take-off — accelerating downhill toward the edge of the shelf — is every bit as memorable as the landing.

The flight returns you to Kathmandu (1,400 m) in about 30 minutes, or to Ramechhap with an onward road transfer depending on the season. On a clear morning the Himalaya line the northern horizon the whole way.

Lukla flights depend entirely on the weather and delays of a day or more do happen, which is why we always recommend keeping a buffer day before an international connection. Once in Kathmandu you transfer to your hotel with the afternoon free — a hot shower, a proper meal and a wander through Thamel. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your last day in Nepal. If your flight leaves later, there is time to see more of the Kathmandu Valley — Boudhanath Stupa is the natural choice after two weeks in Sherpa country, being the heart of the city's Tibetan Buddhist community, with Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath both close by.

Our representative collects you from your hotel and transfers you to Tribhuvan International Airport around three hours before departure.

The Gokyo Lakes trek gives you the Khumbu at its best without the crowds of the base camp trail: a chain of turquoise glacial lakes, the longest glacier in Nepal, and a summit at 5,357 m with four of the world's fourteen eight-thousanders in a single view. If you want to link it with Everest Base Camp next time, the Three Passes route joins both. Safe travels.