Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal | URL: www.actual-adventure.com Gokyo Lakes Trek Overview Gokyo lakes are located in Khumjung village in north-eastern Nepal at the head of the Dudh Koshi River. Gokyo lake trek is an amazing and adventurous trek that alternatively leads to famous Everest base camp chasing the lesser hustle trail. Gokyo Ri 5000 m is the main highlight of the trek which provides breathtaking views of grand Mt. Everest (8848 m) with other peaks such as Lhotse (8516 m), Makalu (8463 M) and Cho Oyu (8201 M) with 27 snow capped mountains of the Khumbu Glacier. We can also enjoy the beautiful Gokyo valley, Tibetan culture and lush valley through the trek. Gokyo lake trek also offers to observe peaceful turquoise lakes. Gokyo Cho, also called Dudh Pokhari, is the main lake and Thonak Cho is the largest lake. The trek is challenging and adventurous so the physical fitness of the trekkers is most important. Itinerary Day 1: Arrival Kathmandu An actual Adventure representative will meet you at the arrival gate of International Airport and take you to your hotel. Today you will meet your trekking guide and be concise about your daily activities. At evening you will enjoy a welcome dinner organized by our company. Day 2: Kathmandu sightseeing and trekking preparation Kathmandu holds the historical and spiritual place so today we can start our tour after breakfast, from the place which are considered as World Heritage sites; Kathmandu Durbar Square (Basantapur) where you can see Kumari temple, Museum, Kaal vairab (the god of distruction), Taleju Vawani (the goddess temple once opened in the 9th day of great festival Dashain) , Pasupatinath ( the biggest holy temple of Hindus), Swayambunath (the famous monkey temple), Boudhanath (the large Stupas in the world). Then we will move towards Bhaktapur (Bhadgaoun) where you can see an other Durbar square, traditional houses, the traditional Newari Museum. Then you will be taken to Nagarkot hill from where you can see Kathmandu Valley. After that you will take to Latitpur where you can see the next Durbar square is holding Nepalese history. At Evening you will be free for personal activities. You will have your night stay in Kathmandu. Day 3: Lukla Flight (2800m/ 9383ft) then treks to Phakding (2,652m/8700ft) As we finish our breakfast early morning, we will attend domestic flight from Kathmandu to Lukla which is the entrance of our trek. We can reach tensing Hillary Airport within 35 min enjoying the magnificent green landscape and White Mountains. This is the most wonderful air route in the world terminating in a spectacular hillside surrounded by high mountains. As we reach Lukla, we will meet our group member and we will finish our packing and arrangement to start our trek via the wealthy Lukla village to Phakding. Today to adapt the atmosphere there, we will have short trek. Nevertheless, if you are interested for additional trip then we go to a nearby Monastery. We will spend our night at hotel in Phakding. Day 4: Hike to Namche Bazaar (3,440m/11,290ft) After breakfast we will start our walk in the morning. Today the trek is enjoyable with few short ascend and descend with several crosses over Dhud Koshi River and fabulous scene of Mt. Thamserku (6623/21729 ft) via Benkar village. We will reach at Monjo, gate way of Sagarmatha National Park crossing many bridges on the way where our trekking permit will be checked to keep record of trekkers and local trekking staffs. Regular down walk take us to the last village of Namche Bazaar that is Jorsale. We will arrive at Hillary suspension bridge on walking through the river bed. We will walk ascend now, towards Namche bazaar and enjoy the glorious and closer vista of Kwangde Pea, we can be mesmerize by Kusum Kangaru, Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Tawache and many other peaks. We will get pleasure of this panorama by sitting in Chautara. We will spend our night at colorful village of Namche Bazaar which is the entrance of Khumbu region. Day 5: Acclimatize at Namche Bazaar Today we will stay at Namche Bazaar for adaption with atmosphere. Health specialist suggested staying energetic and moving throughout the rest day so we will either hike to Thame or trip to Khunde or lighten up and explore Namche Bazaar itself. Namche Bazaar is the center of Khumbu region and is full of facilities such as ATMs, internet café, shops, restaurant, bakery and a colorful market every Friday and Saturday evening. We can also find Government office there. The few upright walk for a day will help us for proper acclimatization. We will be taken to the tourist visitor center near the headquarter of Sagarmatha National Park where we will observe a collection of things narrated to the previous Everest climbers, Sherpa culture and also we get an opportunity to find out the various plan and animal life of the Khumbu region. We will also visit an interesting visit to Khumjung. Then we will ascend further to the popular airfield at Syangboche. Snowy peaks of Kongde and Thamserku surround the beautiful valley, Khumjung. We will also walk to Hillary school which is located at same site. We return to Namche Bazaar after having lunch and spend our night there. Day 6: Move to Dole (4,410m / 13,152 ft) First of all we will finish our breakfast then we will move steeply out of Namche Bazaar to Kyangjuma village where we can be pleasure by the stunning panorama of Thamserku, Katenga and Ama Dablam. The most laborious climb of the day will be to cross the Mong la, a very pleasant location on the edge of Mt. Khumbila. We will have lunch and take rest at the top of Mong La enjoying the gorgeous and grand scene of surrounding snow capped Mountains and valleys. The abundance of the flora and fauna together with wildflowers and Rhododendron will be the most marvelous aspect of our trail today. It will be usual to mark wild lives such as Pheasants, mountain goats and vague musk deer. Passing through forests, some waterfalls and bridges then we will reach at a small place with few teahouses, Dole and stay there overnight. Day 7: Hike to Machherma (4,470m / 14,663 ft) At first, we ascend gradually via picturesque crest over Dole and we will rise up to Lhabarma (4220 m) to Luza (4360m). This trek offers us superior views of Cho oyo, Kantega and Thamseku. We have to walk through many summer arrangements and an attractive village of Luza. As we climb up from Luza we can observe the Dudh Koshi valley, deep like a gorge with its absolute sides. We will reach Machherma, trekking along the hill side over roaring Dudh Koshi and passing via some small settlements and sandy urges. Marchherma is the last foremost hamlet on the way to Gokyo. We can enjoy the striking stream running down from the Kyajo Ri and Phari Lapche Mountains through the middle of the village before draining into the Dudh Koshi. We must pay our visit to Himalaya Rescue Hospital for speech regarding altitude sickness at Machherma. It is very important because its preventative measure and primary cure. Day 8: Step towards Gokyo (4800m/ 15,744 ft) Today we will enjoy the tremendous scene of both down the valley and the Mt. Kangtega, Thamserku and Northern part of Cho-Oyu (8153m) while climbing a ridge Chorten. After some gradual walk through a Chorten, we will reach to Pangka (4480m). We walk down to the River bank before starting to hike up to the mortal moraine of Ngozamba Glacier. It is a vertical hike on the moraine. As we cross an Iron Bridge above stream the trial levels out when it chases the valley cross the first Lake, Longpongo (4690 m). There we get an opportunity to scrutinize the Lama footprints on a stone. We will be awestruck by the sparkling turquoise blue sheet of water at the spectacle of the second lake, Taboche Tsho. Few minutes’ walk takes us to third lake, the two linked of rolling streams. Gyoko village lies by the third lake and Cho- Oyu Mountain as a background sets is a wonderful sight. After lunch, we will walk around the third lake, Dudh Pokhari. We will spend our night at teahouse in Gokyo. Day 9: Acclimatization at Gokyo Valley Today we will have full day rest but we should not stay idle. If weather is excellent then we will grab a chance to climb Gokyo Ri today instead of next day to take pleasure of the excellent scene of Everest region. Or we can have another option to explore to six lake of Gokyo as this is very popular beside its grand view. So we will trek about 3 km north of Gokyo to watch fourth lake (Thonak Tsho) and fifth lake (Ngozuma Tsho). Stay at Gokyo village overnight. Day 10: climb Gokyo Ri (5357m ) and Thaknak (4750m) Today early morning we will Gokyo Ri which is the highlight of the trip. Climbing Gokyo Ri is definitely challenging and laborious as takes about 4 hours gradual ascend to reach top. We will suppose to be surrounded by wonderful mountains like Kanguru, Thamserku, K 43, Kangtega, Taboche, Cholatse, Makalu, Lhotse, Nuptse, Everest, Changtse, and Pumori. It will be the most memorable trip for us. We descend from Gokyo taking breakfast to Thaknak. We will pass our night at Thaknak. Day 11: move to Cho- La- Pass(5367m) and Dzongla (4830 m) We will start our trek early in the morning because Cho La Pass is also an emphasize trip.