Trip Overview
Botanical Treks & Excursion leads you to a fascinating adventure in the mountain paradise around least but frequent tavelled region of high Khumbu valley to Everest three high passes trek of Renjo-la, Cho-la & Kongma-la. This adventure begins with a scenic flight of Lukla to rich green landscapes forest of alpine vegetation of rhododendron, oaks, magnolia, oaks and pines in the shade of high staggering peaks and visiting the traditional villages with its rich Buddhist religion and culture and onto the famous Namche Bazaar a trading town and the main center of Khumbu region with official’s headquarters, with shops and various facilities. After a proper acclimatization here, route leads to Thame village and Lungdhen then trekking to cross the first pass at Renjo-la with awesome views of Mt. Everest, Kongde, Pharmacho and number of peaks and then heading to the breathe taking scenic Gokyo with magnificent emerald green glacial lake here, spending nights in Gokyo, then traversing of next two high passes near Everest area. Khumbu’s three Passes & Gokyo lake undoubtedly is the most unique and awesome destination, a truly a life time experience for all types of outdoor travelers. After an amazing adventure crossing Khumbu’s three passes, then back on the main trail to Lukla visiting the famed Thyangboche Monastery and Namche Bazaar completing an experience of a life time with Botanical Treks & Excursion. Trip Highlights: • Crossing of three great high passes of Khumbu`s Renjo –la, Tsho-la & Kongma-la Pass • Trekking around least trekked area in the hidden valley of Everest region alpine forest and valley with breathe taking landscapes and mountains scenery • World’s highest Sagarmatha National Park in the shade of giant peaks in the midst of ancient rich Tibetan Buddhist culture and traditions • Amazing mountains views on the emerald glacial Gokyo lake encountering Sherpa hospitality the highlanders of Everest.
Outline Itinerary
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Day 1
Arrive in Kathmandu and transfer to hotel.
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Day 2
Fly to Lukla 2,846 m & trek to Phakding 2,652 m/03 hrs walk.
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Day 3
Trek to Namche Bazaar 3,440 m/06 hrs.
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Day 4
Rest the day at Namche Bazaar for acclimatization and hike.
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Day 5
Trek to Thame 3,800 m/04 hours.
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Day 6
Rest the day at Thame & excursion into & around village & Monasteries.
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Day 7
Trek to Lungdeng 4,600 m/06 hours.
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Day 8
Traverse Renjo- La 5,465 m/17,929 ft and to Gokyo 4,800 m/07 hrs.
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Day 9
At Gokyo for local hike and trek to Dragnak 4,460 m/04+02=06 hrs.
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Day 10
Cross Tsho-la 5,430 m and trek to Dzongla 4,830 m/07 hrs.
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Day 11
Trek to Loboche 4,928 m/05 hours.
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Day 12
Trek to Gorakshep 5,160 m and continue to Everest base camp 5,357 m/08 hrs round trip.
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Day 13
Morning hike to Kalapathar 5,545 m and walk back to Lobuche4,930 m/04+02=06 hrs.
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Day 14
Cross Kongma La 5,535 m/18,159 ft and to Dingboche 4,340 m/07-08 hrs.
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Day 15
Trek to Thyangboche 3,867 m/04 hrs.
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Day 16
Trek to Monjo 2,835 m/06 hrs.
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Day 17
Trek to Lukla 2,846 m/05 hrs.
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Day 18
Fly from Lukla to Kathmandu.
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Day 19
Free days at leisure.
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Day 20
Transfer to airport for international departure.
Detailed Itinerary
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Day 1
Arrive in Kathmandu and transfer to hotel.
On reaching at Kathmandu international airports our Botanical Treks & Excursion staff will receive and transfer you to respective hotel. At the hotel our guide will brief of a hotel, Kathmandu, trekking, do's and don’ts and other related information. -
Day 2
Fly to Lukla 2,846 m & trek to Phakding 2,652 m/03 hrs walk.
Starting this wonderful adventure with an early morning flight of Lukla with panoramic views on route as the plane touch down at Lukla meets our guide and porters, the first day walk an easy and moderate way to Phakding village the trail although it is moderate with ups and down along with the grand views of Kwande and Kusumkanguru peaks and beautiful landscapes of the villages and farm fields and Buddhist religious stupa, prayer walls then reaching the overnight stop at Phakding village by the glacial river Dudh Koshi afternoon free to immerse with the local culture. -
Day 3
Trek to Namche Bazaar 3,440 m/06 hrs.
After a nice time of Phakding follows the river Dudhkoshi upstream with an awesome views of Thermasarkhu peak 6,608 m, Khumbila 5,840 m the patron god of Khumbu area with the moderate nice walk reaching at Monjo village then to the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park, from here a short descend with a gradual walk to the Jorsalle village the last village till Namche Bazaar is reached, walking on the river bank till the path leads to the last bridge over the Imjatse river, from here trek along the winding uphill path all the way to Namche Bazaar, with magnificent view of Kwangde peak, Kusum kangru Mt.Everest- Nuptse wall, Lhotse and the closer view of Taweche after ending the last uphill walk reaching the famed Namche Bazaar, the houses with lodge and hotels are situated in an amphitheatre shape. -
Day 4
Rest the day at Namche Bazaar for acclimatization and hike.
Recommend activities include a short walk uphill to Sagarmatha National Park Headquarter with panoramic views of mountains Ama Dablam, Thamaserku, Kwangde, Taboche, Lhotse and Everest visit the museum information on history of the Himalayas, geographic, culture, mountaineering on flora and fauna of this region, other activities hike up to Everest View Hotels world highest hotel at 3,880 m with an excursion to Khumjung and Khunde village beneath the sacred Khumbila mountain. -
Day 5
Trek to Thame 3,800 m/04 hours.
On the quiet trails to Thame, visits villages and monasteries on route, morning walk leads through enchanting forest of pines and rhododendron trees with glorious mountain and valley scenery following the Bhote Koshi River to Thamo villages home of famous Everest summiteers Ang Rita Sherpa t, then following the river to cross the bridge and trekking to reach a small quaint settlement of Thame, home of Tenzing Norgay Sherpa (the first to climb Mt. Everest in 1953) and also the home of Apa Sherpa a record holder of 20th times to top of Mt. Everest. -
Day 6
Rest the day at Thame & excursion into & around village & Monasteries.
After a good time here visiting the traditional village and its old monastery then heads to Marlung passing the villages of Thyangmoche and Hungmo, and then to places with few houses with sparse vegetation encountering alpine dry terrain zones. Walk leads pass the village of Taranga, through the yak field and then to Marlung village 4,137 m for the overnight stop. -
Day 7
Trek to Lungdeng 4,600 m/06 hours.
After a good time here visiting the traditional village and its old monastery then heads to Marlung passing the villages of Thyangmoche and Hungmo and then to places with few houses with sparse vegetation encountering alpine dry terrain zone. Walk leads pass the village of Taranga through the yak pasture field and then to Marlung village for the lunch. After lunch, to walk along with panoramic mountain view, walk starts to Lungden through age old typical Himalayan mountain villages which perfectly blends with the surrounding landscapes; this is on the old salt trade route to Tibet and trekking for few more hours reaching the small farm village of Lungdeng for overnight stop. -
Day 8
Traverse Renjo- La 5,465 m/17,929 ft and to Gokyo 4,800 m/07 hrs.
On leaving Lungden morning adventure leads to some frozen small glacial ponds near below Renjo La, this spot offers striking views of Mt. Cho Oyu, Mt.Everest, Lhotse, Cholatse and Taboche, and then with proper preparations cross Renjo La pass, an adventurous and technical section of this trek with the support of our expert guide traverse Renjo-la the top of the pass festooned with prayer flags, from here a steep descend to reach the Gokyo valley and to its enchanting emerald glacial Lake for overnight stop. -
Day 9
At Gokyo for local hike and trek to Dragnak 4,460 m/04+02=06 hrs.
The highlights of this great adventure with morning hike to Gokyo Ri 5,357m. Another highlight of this journey Gokyo Ri offers mind blowing scenery panoramas of world’s highest peak of Mt. Cho Oyo, Gyachung Kang, Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Cholatse, Taweche and to the east rises Mt. Makalu. After a mesmerizing time of Gokyo ri descends to Gokyo for lunch and continue few hours walk to Dragnak on the bottom of Chugyuma or Tsho-la pass, near Nha village at the foot of the Ngozumba glacier. -
Day 10
Cross Tsho-la 5,430 m and trek to Dzongla 4,830 m/07 hrs.
Before dawn gets ready for the long step ascend to Tsho-la pass (pronounced as Cho-la) for few hours the walk leads to the rocky moraine in snow condition this will be arduous jobs to find the path of snow and ice however in dry time just walk on the rubble and moraine then reaching at the top enclosed by several peaks of Cholatse, Nirekha and Taboche, after a hard climb traverse leads to a descend to a small valley at Dzong-la for overnight halt. -
Day 11
Trek to Loboche 4,928 m/05 hours.
After the hard walk of previous day, today’s journey will be a piece of cake as the path from Dzongla is moderate looking down below Pheriche village with views of Mt.Tawache, Mt. Ama Dablam and to the north Pokalde peak 5,741m, Kongma-tse 5,820m and the great wall of Nuptse, on reaching the junction where the trail of Pheriche meets just near the Thugla hill top with spectacular view of Mt. Pumori and neighboring peaks, near to this place there are number of memorial of unfortunate climbers died in mountaineering expeditions in Khumbu area, the trek from here takes an hour of Loboche, hide and sheltered with about 08 Teahouses and Lodges. -
Day 12
Trek to Gorakshep 5,160 m and continue to Everest base camp 5,357 m/08 hrs round trip.
From Lobuche walk towards another highlight destination of this wonderful journey to Everest base camp, a walk from here follows the rocky moraine path and icy-glacial pond and icebergs down below Khumbu glacier. After the moraine dunes a short downhill walk brings to Gorakshep situated below Kalapatthar 5,545 m and Mt. Pumori 7,145 m. Gorakshep has four lodges, after a short break here walk towards Everest Base Camp, the walk is quite strenuous due to the high altitude and thin air, the route leads over rocky dunes and moraine and streams, till Everest Base Camp is reached this spot is lively during the high expedition season. At Base Camp great view of the Khumbu icefall and other giant peaks that rears above you. After a glorious time here return back to Gorakshep for the overnight stop. -
Day 13
Morning hike to Kalapathar 5,545 m and walk back to Lobuche4,930 m/04+02=06 hrs.
Morning leads to a steep climb to Kalapatthar the awesome panoramic view points, on reaching the top of Kalapatthar a rocky small peak the southwest ridge of Mt.Pumori, fantastic views from here as Mt. Everest is within a stone throw distance including Everest Base camp way down below on the moraine of Khumbu glacier, after a gorgeous time here descend back to Gorakshep and continue walk to Lobuche for the overnight preparation for the Kongma-la traverse. -
Day 14
Cross Kongma La 5,535 m/18,159 ft and to Dingboche 4,340 m/07-08 hrs.
Early morning before dawn start the highlight of this great adventure towards Khumbu glacier and moraine the walk leads to a closed section where one has to be careful on ice with strenuous climb to the top of of Kongma-la at 5,535 the pass hidden by tall peaks of Pokalde and Nuptese wall and Kongmatse also known as Mehra, the walk leads high up and with steep downhill towards glacial pond then walking on the faint path leading on rocks, moraine all the way to Bibre a small settlement near to Dingboche, from here onwards on the good trail all the way to Dingboche for the overnight stop after a hard day walk of this whole trip. -
Day 15
Trek to Thyangboche 3,867 m/04 hrs.
Walk towards Thyangboche on the easy downhill slopes with few ups in between and good to be back to tree lines and vegetation to the famed Thyangboche for the overnight stop with time to visit Thyangboche monastery. -
Day 16
Trek to Monjo 2,835 m/06 hrs.
Retrace the journey back of Namche Bazaar with downhill to Monjo for overnight stops near Sagarmatha National Park. -
Day 17
Trek to Lukla 2,846 m/05 hrs.
Final day trek of this great adventure lead on the good easy trail back to Lukla with little small up hills with only long climbs before Lukla from the old big oak tree, then reaching Lukla for the last overnight after a memorable moment of this great adventure with Botanical Treks & Excursion. -
Day 18
Fly from Lukla to Kathmandu.
Morning preparation for short scenic flight of Kathmandu the flight can be delayed sometime due to bad weather on reaching Kathmandu with awesome views during the flight transfer back to respective hotels. -
Day 19
Free days at leisure.
We have reserved this day in case of flight delay at Lukla if all goes well a free day in Kathmandu, inform our staff for short sightseeing tours of and around Kathmandu valley. -
Day 20
Transfer to airport for international departure.
Last days in the magic awesome Himalaya and with grand memorable time in the mountains with Botanical Treks & Excursion, as per your flight time our staff will transfer you to airport for your final departure for homeward bound.
Trip Info
Health Requirements
You are preparing for a trek in the higher altitudes of remote Himalayan region. Hence during this treks, the physically, emotionally & mentally demanding mountain trek & you may face Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), if you trek/hike quickly/ascended too fast as well as other health related problems. In this regard, Botanical Treks & Excursion strongly recommends for those travelers with pre-existing medical conditions like heart, lungs and blood pressure/diseases make know to us before booking this trip.
Experience Requirements
The remote mountain trekking requires 4 – 6 hours walking in per day a basis and at times it even exceeds to 7 – 8 hours depending on your walking pace, age groups, weather condition & seasons. Despite this fact, we do not suggest you for mandatory hiking or technical climbing experiences. Yet, it will be better if you have a regular jogging habit of few weeks before booking this trip.
Travel Insurance
Botanical Treks & Excursion does not sell or arranges any kind of insurance plan/packages for foreigners except local staff/s. Yet, it will be mandatory to join our trips that you should be insured for comprehensive expenses that may arise from the trip for your own safety. Your Insurance plan must be covering medical/travel issues as well as unforeseen accidents that may occur to the trips. In such a case, you may to take the facility like an air ambulance, helicopter rescue, Clinical attention and so on.
Acclimatization
Trekking in higher altitudes may even cost the life of travelers! The more you go higher elevation/height, the lesser will be availability of Oxygen pressure in the air. Therefore, your body requires a few days too many days to adopt the newer situation/climate in an environment with less oxygen. The higher you climb the more will be the possibility of undergoing through Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) problems. Hence, Botanical Treks & Excursion`s itineraries are extremely concern on this problem/issue. With our expert team, you can easily cops with altitude sickness problems. The AMS will attract you after 3,000 m. The Himalayan Rescue Association (HRA), non-profitable medical institution recommends to all trekkers/hikers to ascend slowly after 3,000 m (either ascends 300 m each day or every 600 m spend an extra night, the same altitude). The rule is slowly ascents to go higher elevation to be safe!
Trekking Crew Arrangement
To facilitate the best trekking experience in the Himalayas, Botanical Treks & Excursion has arranged most hospitable as it is possible, more professional and long-terms experienced crew members. Your local trip member/s will have most extensive knowledge about mountain trails, mountain names & its height/elevation, people & their cultures, religions, socio-cultural aspects, eco-system, flora & fauna, geography of the respective treks/trips and history of the local regions. Besides, our crew members are fully undergone through Rock climbing, Ice climbing, Mountaineering, Intensive wilderness First Aid knowledge, Trekking guides, Eco trekking, knowledge about Responsible tourism business, Sustainable development, English language, Conservation & preservation basic knowledge and Bio-diversity trainings.
Meals Facilities
During the trek in the mountains, you will be served 3 times meals a day with typical Nepali food/meal along with Tibetan, Chinese, Indian, Continental & Italian dishes, depending on your choices. You will have an access to have hot chocolate, tea and other hot drinks as well, breads and snack as well in the camping/tented treks. The early morning breakfast and dinner will be served at the same tea houses or at the local lodges where you spend the night. At times, you too have to enjoy the breakfast and the lunch at the camping overnights sites. Unlike this, you will take your lunch on the way in the mountain trails in the side trips/day excursion. The lunch will be prepared for your team member of the camping/tented treks & in teahouse/lodges treks at local lodge/guest houses. At the climax of the trip, you will enjoy a trip celebration dinner in Kathmandu.
Accommodations Arrangements
During your stay in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan & other cities, you will enjoy the budget accommodation to best class hotel /resorts accommodation depending on your budget, interest & hobbies where as on the other hand in the mountain trail, you will have to adjust at twin sharing, double bed & single bed rooms basis accommodations at the standard lodges or tea houses, mostly common sharing bathroom & toilet/rest rooms. However, you have to consider the remoteness of travelled places where single room may not be feasible at all the times & need to be the share with someone else in the peak season. Most of the teahouses/lodges are either double bed rooms or twin sharing rooms. Some of the majors trekking destinations, there are deluxe comfortable hotels & Resorts is also available.
Porter Care
We are tremendously concern over the rights of the porters who facilitate traveler`s adventure dreams in the Himalayas. Without porters hard working, your dream to go to mountains will not be certain/guaranteed. It is our serious concern that the porters should be well paid, make sure their warm clothing, well equipped and treated equally even in the harsh situation in the remote Himalayas. In case of emergency situations, we give equal to rescue facilities as other team members get in the adverse situation in the higher altitude including rescue services by Helicopter. Besides this, we too are concern about International Porter Protection Group (IPPG) which works in the field of trekking porter/s by protecting the rights of porter, basic language training to express their problems, make sure for enough warm clothing & other equipment, compulsory Insurance facility. In doing so, we recommend all our trekkers in the Himalayas just to keep their luggage under 30 kg so that it can be handled by porters smoothly in the higher mountains. If possible, try to make about 25 Kg. over 4,000 m & high passes.
Environmental Concerns
Being human beings, it is our responsibility to protect natural & cultural order, to conserve environment and to love nature. Himalayan region is ecologically very much fragile and hence we try to practice “to leave just footprints and take photos” so that future generation will to have chances to experience the beauty of Himalayan region. Respecting natural balance and being sensible towards local environment yields into protecting local cultures as well. Hence, our trip operations tremendously focus on environmental issues in the Himalayas and thereby eco-tourism.
Trekking Group Arrangement
Botanical Treks & Excursion generally provides one trek guide/trekking leaders for the trip operation and porter/s for luggage carrying. It means if there are 4 trekkers, there will be one trek guide & two porters. In the case of porter/s arrangements, there will be one porter for each two paying trekker. This arrangements helps to carry out the trip smoothly even in the adverse situation. Our trips generally accommodate the group of 10 people at a time. Despite this arrangement, we can adjust or run the trips over than 10 people at a time as well as.
Best Seasons
The best seasons of travelling/trekking in the Himalayas are autumn season (September-November) and spring season (March-May). Apart from these two seasons, there is a possibility of trekking in the Himalayas even in the winter and summer seasons which is called off-seasons. In the winter season, cold, snowing & flight delay or cancellation slightly affects the trips & high passes could be closed. But, travelling/trekking in the summer season comes with tremendous rewards for a passionate botanist despite of rainy days, flooding, landslides, flight delay or cancellation like winter season. It will be great in the least rain fall regions & high passes, where are lots of wild orchid blooming.
For More Information
If you are in need of more information on any kinds of trips, please contact us at info@botanicaltreks.com, botanicaltreks@gmail.com & rameshpaneru@hotmail.com
