Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal

Naturetrek Tour Summary 3 - 24 May 2013

Tibetan Snowcock Gokyo Lake

Tangboche Monastery Snow Pigeon

Report & images compiled by Hathan Chaudhary

Naturetrek Cheriton Mill Cheriton Alresford Hampshire SO24 0NG England T: +44 (0)1962 733051 F: +44 (0)1962 736426 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk

Tour Summary Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal

Tour Leader: Hathan Chaudhary

Participants: Andy Howes Angela Howes

Day 1 Friday 3rd May

The guests departed from London on a scheduled flight with Qatar Airways to Doha and Kathmandu.

Day 2 Saturday 4th May

The guests arrived in Kathmandu at 4:30pm and were transferred to Hotel Yak & Yeti for their overnight stay.

Day 3 Sunday 5th May

This was a day at leisure to recover from jetlag and obtain a trekking permit.

Day 4 Monday 6th May

Weather: Sunny clear in morning. Rain in the afternoon but sunshine by 4:00 pm We accompanied Deepak Karki as our trek guide and early in the morning transferred to the airport on a flight to Lukla. After our 35 minute flight we landed at Lukla where we met our porter Bhishma. We commenced our trek on a busy trail to Phakding. We stopped at Thado Koshi for lunch and continued our walk to Phakding. We stayed over night at Hotel Beer garden.

Day 5 Tuesday 7th May

Weather: Sunshine in morning but overcast after 2:00pm with a little shower in evening We trekked from Phakding at 7:30am to Namche along the bank of the Dudhkoshi River, stopping at Jorsalle for lunch and after two and half hours walk we arrived at Namche. We stayed overnight at Hotel De Base Camp at Namche for two nights.

Day 6 Wednesday 8th May

Weather: Clear and sunny in morning, later on cloudy and clear again by late afternoon After breakfast we walked to Thamo Valley to explore. We spent a full day around Thamo Valley, had lunch at Thamo village and returned back to Namche.

Day 7 Thursday 9th May

Weather: Beautiful sun rise. Clear till midday then thick mist for rest of day We trekked from Namche along the trail to Sanesa, and Phungi Tengaour was our lunch spot. After an hour and a half we arrived at Tangboche. We stayed overnight at Gomba Guest House.

Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal Tour Summary

Day 8 Friday 10th May

Weather: Sunny morning, cloudy and cold in afternoon We had a day to rest at Tangboche for acclimatization, and to explore the forest around Tangboche and over night.

Day 9 Saturday 11th May

Weather: Sunny morning and rain afternoon We trekked from Tengboche to Pangboche arriving at lunch, and made a short walk around Imja Khola Valley, before staying overnight at Panboche.

Day 10 Sunday 12th May

Weather: Beautiful sunrise, sunny morning and cloudy afternoon We trekked from Pangboche to Phortse, arrived by lunch in Phortse, and enjoyed a short walk in the afternoon around farmland at Phortse.

Day 11 Monday 13th May

Weather: Sunny full day, light shower by 4pm We trekked from Phortse to Dole arriving before lunch. In the afternoon we explored the forest around Dole and stayed overnight at Dole.

Day 12 Tuesday 14th May

Weather: Sunny and clear in morning, cloudy in the afternoon and light shower in evening We trekked from Dole to Machhermo arriving at lunch time. We had an afternoon short walk around Machhermo and stayed over night at Machhermo.

Day 13 Wednesday 15th May

Weather: Sunny and clear most of day, windy, partly cloudy and little rain in evening We trekked from Machhermo to Gokyo, arrived at lunch and had a walk around Gokyo Lake before staying overnight at Gokyo.

Day 14 Thursday 16th May

Weather: Misty and cloudy We had an early start climbing the summit of Gokyo-Ri (5360 metres). We returned back to our hotel by 11:00am and rested for the afternoon.

2 © Naturetrek September 13

Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal Tour Summary

Day 15 Friday 17th May

Weather: Thick mist, a little shower in morning, cold wind We trekked back from Gokyo to Phortse Tenga and stopped for lunch at Dole and overnight at Phorts Tenga.

Day 16 Saturday 18th May

Weather: Sunny morning and overcast in afternoon We trekked from Phorts Tenga to Khumjung arriving by lunch and did some sightseeing around Khumjung Monastry and Hillary School, before staying overnight at Khumjung.

Day 17 Sunday 19th May

Weather: Sunny day. rain after 4:30pm. We trekked from Khumjung vie Syangboche to Monjo arriving at lunch time. We had an afternoon at leisure and an over night stay at Monjo.

Day 18 Monday 20th May

Weather: Sunny and clear in morning, afternoon cloudy and light shower We trekked from Monjo and ended the trek at Lukla. We had the afternoon free and stayed overnight at Lukla.

Day 19 Tuesday 21st May

Weather: Sunny and clear in morning and heavy rain by afternoon We were at Lukla airport at 7:30am to get the flight to Kathmandu and transferred to Hotel Yak & Yeti overnight.

Day 20 Wednesday 22nd May

Weather: sunny and warm We enjoyed a half day city sightseeing tour - visiting monuments and temple in Kathmandu, and the rest of the day at leisure.

Day 21 Thursday 23rd May

Weather: Rain in morning, cloudy most of the day…sunshine at 3:00pm and rain again in evening We had an early start to drive to Phulchowki hill, for a full day birding excursion at Phulchowki mountain forest and returned back to the hotel at 5:00pm.

Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal Tour Summary

Day 22 Friday 24th May

The guests transferred to the international airport to fly back home to the UK.

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Tour Summary Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal

Species List

Birds May Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 1 Snow Partridge Lerwa lerwa 3 2 Tibetan Snowcock Tetraogallus tibetanus 2 10 2 3 Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus 4 16 4 Himalayan Monal Lophophorus impejanus 3 2 3 2 4 1 6 5 Kalij Pheasant Lophura leucomelanos 3 6 Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea 6 2 2 7 Great Barbet Megalaima virens 3 8 Golden-throated Barbet Megalaima franklinii 2 9 Large Hawk Cuckoo Hierococcyx sparverioides 1 1 1 10 Eurasian Cuckoo Cuculus canorus 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 Himalayan Cuckoo Cuculus saturatus 3 1 12 Lesser Cuckoo Cuculus poliocephalus 2 1 2 13 Himalayan Swiftlet Collocalia brevirostris 3 14 Fork-tailed Swift Apus pacificus 6 2 15 House Swift Apus affinis 4 16 Common Pigeon Columba livia 10 17 Snow Pigeon Columba leuconota 10 20 6 3 4 10 7 3 2 18 Oriental Turtle Dove Streptopelia orientalis 4 9 2 4 2 1 4 3 4 6 2 19 Lammergeier Gypaetus barbatus 3 1 1 1 20 Himalayan Griffon Gyps himalayensis 2 6 2 4 2 2 2 1 2 21 Short-toed Snake Eagle Circaetus gallicus 1 22 Besra Accipiter virgatus 1 23 Himalayan Buzzard Buteo (buteo) burmanicus 1 24 Black Eagle Ictinaetus malayensis 1 25 Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos 1 1 1 26 Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus 1 1 27 Grey-backed Shrike Lanius tephronotus 1 1 4 2 1 2 1 2 28 Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius 2 29 Common Green Magpie Cissa chinensis 1 30 Spotted Nutcracker Nucifraga caryocatactes 1

Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal Tour Summary

May Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 31 Red-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax 3 6 20 2 10 16 7 6 10 18 9 3 2 2 32 Yellow-billed Chough Pyrrhocorax graculus 4 17 2 12 13 8 20 33 House Crow Corvus splendens 100 34 Large-billed Crow Corvus macrorhynchos 6 20 17 60 20 10 70 16 20 25 7 20 26 25 9 20 6 35 Maroon Oriole Oriolus traillii 2 36 Long-tailed Minivet Pericrocotus ethologus 2 4 3 37 Yellow-bellied Fantail Rhipidura hypoxantha 1 2 38 White-throated Fantail Rhipidura albicollis 1 39 Brown Dipper Cinclus pallasii 6 2 1 1 40 Blue Whistling Thrush Myophonus caeruleus 3 9 4 2 1 3 2 1 1 1 3 8 41 White-collared Blackbird Turdus albocinctus 1 2 42 Grey-winged Blackbird Turdus boulboul 2 43 Dark-sided Flycatcher Muscicapa sibirica 1 44 Rufous-gorgeted Flycatcher Ficedula strophiata 2 2 1 3 1 7 2 45 Ultramarine Flycatcher Ficedula superciliaris 1 46 Verditer Flycatcher Eumyias thalassina 3 2 1 2 47 Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher Culicicapa ceylonensis 1 48 Indian Blue Robin Luscinia brunnea 1 2 2 2 49 Orange-flanked Bush Robin Tarsiger cyanurus 6 1 3 7 1 6 50 Golden Bush Robin Tarsiger chrysaeus 1 2 1 51 Black Redstart Phoenicurus ochruros 2 1 2 1 52 Blue-fronted Redstart Phoenicurus frontalis 2 7 1 3 6 3 4 2 1 6 53 White-capped Redstart Chaimarrornis leucocephalus 2 6 2 3 2 1 1 1 2 54 Plumbeous Water Redstart Rhyacornis fuliginosus 3 3 2 12 55 Grandala Grandala coelicolor 10 30 10 6 56 Little Forktail Enicurus scouleri 1 57 Grey Bushchat Saxicola ferrea 2 3 3 58 Velvet-fronted Nuthatch Sitta frontalis 59 White-tailed Nuthatch Sitta himalayensis 3 60 Eurasian Tree-creeper Certhia familiaris 2 1 61 Brown-throated Tree-creeper Certhia discolor 1 62 Coal Tit Parus ater 6 8 10 8 10 6 3 63 Green-backed Tit Parus monticolus 2 11 6

Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal Tour Summary

May Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 64 Yellow-browed Tit Sylviparus modestus 3 65 Black-throated Tit Aegithalos concinnus 10 66 Nepal House Martin Delichon nipalensis 6 10 67 Goldcrest Regulus regulus 1 1 68 Chestnut-headed Tesia Tesia castaneocoronata 2 69 Grey-sided Bush Warbler Cettia brunnifrons 1 2 1 70 Tickell's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus affinis 10 6 71 Buff-barred Warbler Phylloscopus pulcher 2 1 3 6 2 10 8 1 72 Ashy-throated Warbler Phylloscopus maculipennis 3 73 Lemon-rumped Warbler Phylloscopus chloronotus 1 1 3 7 2 74 Hume's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus humei 3 75 Greenish Warbler Phylloscopus trochiloides 6 20 6 7 2 6 1 76 Large-billed Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus magnirostris 2 7 7 6 77 Blyth's Leaf Warbler Phylloscopus reguloides 6 10 6 78 Golden-spectacled Warbler Seicercus burkii 1 79 Whistler's Warbler Seicercus whistleri 3 1 1 6 80 Grey-hooded Warbler Seicercus xanthoschistos 3 81 Black-faced Warbler Abroscopus schisticeps 6 82 Streaked Laughingthrush Garrulax lineatus 4 2 2 83 Black-faced Laughingthrush Garrulax affinis 3 7 2 1 84 Chestnut-crowned Laughingthrush Garrulax erythrocephalus 2 3 85 Nepal Wren Babbler Pnoepyga immaculata 2 1 86 Red-billed Leiothrix Leiothrix lutea 2 87 Himalayan Cutia Cutia nipalensis 6 88 White-browed Shrike Babbler Pteruthius flaviscapis 2 89 Chestnut-tailed Siva Minla strigula 3 2 2 4 6 6 90 Rufous-winged Fulvetta Alcippe castaneceps 2 91 White-browed Fulvetta Alcippe vinipectus 6 7 6 92 Rufous Sibia Heterophasia capistrata 6 2 10 11 93 Whiskered Yuhina Yuhina flavicollis 3 94 Fire-breasted Flowerpecker Dicaeum ignipectus 10 95 Green-tailed Sunbird Aethopyga nipalensis 1 3 96 House Sparrow Passer domesticus 6

Mount Everest & Gokyo Lakes of Nepal Tour Summary

May Common name Scientific name 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 97 Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus 10 6 3 3 16 6 98 Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea 1 1 99 Olive-backed Pipit Anthus hodgsoni 3 4 6 2 2 6 3 3 6 2 4 2 100 Rosy Pipit Anthus roseatus 2 1 10 8 101 Alpine Accentor Prunella collaris 8 2 102 Robin Accentor Prunella rubeculoides 4 6 103 Rufous-breasted Accentor Prunella strophiata 2 6 4 12 2 7 104 Plain Mountain Finch Leucosticte nemoricola 3 10 50 200+ 10 105 Brandt's Mountain Finch Leucosticte brandti 30 20 106 Beautiful Rosefinch Carpodacus pulcherrimus 6 2 6 7 6 10 7 6 107 Pink-browed Rosefinch Carpodacus rodochrous 3 2 108 White-browed Rosefinch Carpodacus thura 2 1 2 109 Great Rosefinch Carpodacus rubicilla 1 2 110 Red-headed Bullfinch Pyrrhula erythrocephala 2 111 Spot-winged Grosbeak Mycerobas melanozanthos 4 6 6 4 3 7 1 1 3 Mammals 1 Himalayan Tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus 5 11 13 10 4 2 Himalayan Musk Deer Moschus chrysogaster 1 1 3 Royle's Pika Ochotona roylei 1