Nepal: Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes 15 days15 days

Schedule

• Day 1. Kathmandu

  Arrival to Tribhuvan International Airport, named after the former king of Nepal. Shortly before landing, the velvety green hilly valley of the Kathmandu valley opens to the gaze, framed from the north by glittering glaciers of the Himalayan ranges.

  The first thing you will hear in Nepal is the traditional Namaste greeting, literally meaning “I greet God in your person.”

  Nepalese entry visa is issued at Kathmandu Airport ($ 40 and 2 photos 3 × 4).

  Transfer from the airport to the city and accommodation at the Yak&Yeti Hotel, founded by Boris Lisanevich himself, who discovered Nepal for global tourism.

• Day 2. Lukla (2827 m) - Pakding (2652 m) - Jorsale (2800 m)

  Transfer to the airport for the flight to Lukla. Flight time is about 45 minutes. Welcome meeting with a mountain guide and a team of Sherpas. After a brief sightseeing of Lukla, we start the trek on the route from Lukla (2827 m) to Packding (2652 m, about 2 hours on the way) and Jorsale (2800 m, about 4 hours).

• Day 3. Trek to Namche Bazar (3440 m, about 5 hours)

  Namche Bazar is the capital of the Sherpas and the central base of all expeditions to Everest. Sightseeing of Buddhist temples, visiting the site offering a magnificent view of the gorge of the river BoteKosi.

• Day 4. Trek to the Dole (4000 m, 5-6 hours *)

  *Note. The length of the track provided herein is the average number of running hours in a given area, necessary to cover a given distance with an average normal walking pace.

  The trail turns east, high above the river Imja Kola. Above and below the trail, you may see herds of majestic Himalayan tours, then rhododendron forests begin, painted with bright pink and scarlet flowers, here you can see deer and colored pheasants (the national bird of Nepal). On a clear day, the landscapes revealed will be remembered for a long time — first of all, views of the mountains Amadablam and Kantega. The trail rises above the original buildings of the tee-houses to the point Mong, from where a sharp descent begins to the bridge PhorceTeng.

  We enter the zone of alpine meadows. It can be noted that there are no permanent settlements beyond Phortse, but only the summer huts of the Yaks herdsmen. Yak pastures are called yars. The passage to Dole, the place of the holy stones of Mani, is quite short. If desired, you can make an acclimatization walk to the freezing waterfall in the upper reaches of the side valley. Here you can watch the cascades of giant icicles.

• Day 5. Trek to Machermo (4470 m, about 3 hours)

  Like the previous one — this is the acclimatizationday. We pass yak pastures and reach Machermo, a place connected with the most scandalous story of the Yeti (Bigfoot), who killed three yaks and attacked a Sherp woman. So be careful!

• Day 6. Trek to Gokyo (4790 m, 5-6 hours)

  Leaving the Yars fields, we climb the ridge and continue to the headwaters of DudhKoshi. We reach one of the five glacial lakes, striking for their blue. To the west of the glacier behind the moraine on the shore of the third lake is the village of Gokyo.

• Day 7. Gokyo - Dragnag (4700 m, 2-3 hours)

  On this day, we explore the area of the Gokyo Lakes.

  Early in the morning we will climb Gokyo-Ri (5348 m), from where a dizzying view of Everest and Makalu will open. Then we explore the fifth lake and follow the same path down to the third lake, from where we take the course to the east in the direction of the village of Dragnag.

• Day 8. Dragnag - Cho-La Pass (5420 m) - Dzongla (4830 m), 8-9 hours

  This is the longest and most difficult day of this trip. Early in the morning we begin the ascent of the glacier moraine to the Cho-La Pass. Then we go down to the village of Dzongla.

• Day 9. Dzongla - Lobuche (4940 m) - GorakShep (5170 m), about 6 hours

  Continue to the southeast and turn to the northeast. Passing the village of Tukla, we leave on the Khumbu glacier, falling from the southern saddle of Everest. He is one of the longest in the world. Smooth climb is accompanied by views of the Nupche (7840 m) and the western Everest circus. We make a halt in the village of Lobuche and reach the seasonal farm GorakShep.

• Day 10. GorakShep - Kala Pattar (5545 m) - Periche (4280m)

  Climbing Mount Kala Pattar (5545 m) takes about 2 hours. We will catch the sunrise over the Himalayas right at its top. From here there is a magnificent view of the highest point of the world, Everest (8848 m), the peaks of Lhotse (8501 m) and Nuptse (7879 m). From here you may see the famous Khumbu icefall with its grandiose fissures and ice pillars-seracs, which are constantly crumbling. From this point, the most difficult routes along the South Wall are clearly visible. English Route (Chris Banington) 1975 1982 and the Russian route (Eugene Tamm), as well as the most popular route of the first explorers of 1953 (Tensing Norgay and Edmund Hilary) through the South Saddle between Everest and Lhotse.
  Track to Periche.

• Day 11. Namche –Periche

  Descend to Namche.

  Helicopter flight from Periche to Kathmandu (optional).

• Day 12. Trek to Lukla (2827 m)

  Late in the evening — arrival in Lukla. Farewell night in Eastern Nepal — the fabulous realm of mighty snowy peaks and amazing people.

• Day 13. Flight Lukla– Kathmandu

  After breakfast we will fly to Kathmandu on a small plane of local airlines.

  The second half of the day will be dedicated to a visit to the main Hindu temple of Nepal — Pashupatin, dedicated to Shiva and located on the banks of the sacred Bagmati River. Here we will witness the rituals of ablution and cremation, which are performed on Bagmati almost continuously. Bagmati is water, ashes and flowers: garlands thrown into the river along with dust and remain lying on the surface of the water with a colored carpet.

  Pashupatinat was built at the end of the 17th century, but long before that there were buildings in its place, the importance of which from the point of view of holiness only emphasizes that this place for the temple was not chosen by chance and has a prehistory. When Shiva got tired of living on Mount Kailash, he decided to move to the valley of Kathmandu, where he soon gained fame as the Lord of the Animals — Pashupati. Since then, for the past 15 centuries, the habitat of Shiva (on which Pashupatinat now stands) has been the object of pilgrimage and worship of Hindus.

  Here we will see the holy hermits (“sadu”) — the followers of Shiva, who have transformed their mortal life into a conscious gradual mortification of the flesh and the development of the spirit.

  In Kathmandu, we suggest you to stay at the hotel “Yak & Yeti” (“Yak and the Snow Man”), www.yakandyeti.com . This unique hotel 5 * –deluxe is also a cultural and historical value. It was built by the famous Russian traveler and writer Boris Lisanevich, the founder of the tourism industry of Nepal, a man once close to the royal family. The architectural wing of the hotel building was the right wing of the Lal Durbar (Red Palace) Prime Minister of Nepal of the last century.

• Day 14. Departure

  Панорама Катманду открывается с холма, на котором стоит древнейший буддийский храм королевства – Своямбунат («самовозникший»), заложенный 2 с половиной тысячи лет назад и осененный, как и все буддийские храмы (ступы), всевидящими глазами Будды. Они смотрят на вас из-под черных бровей, а между ними – третий глаз, символ истинной мудрости. Нос в виде непальской единицы, похожей на вопросительный знак без точки, символизирует единство.

  Еще одна буддийская ступа, которую мы можем сегодня увидеть, находится в тибетском квартале Бода и является религиозным центром для всего тибетского населения Катманду. Это Боднат, крупнейшая ступа в Непале и одна из крупнейших в

  мире. Как у всякой ступы, ее основание в форме мандалы* символизирует землю, полусферический свод – воду, шпиль из 13 ступенек (по числу шагов к нирване**) – огонь, зонтик – воздух, а венчающий всё бельведер – небо.

  * Мандала – плоское симметричное изображение трехмерного мира Будды, используемое для медитации.

  ** Нирвана (санскр. «недуновение», «прекращение») – свобода от желаний, привязанностей, страхов, и таким образом – от страданий; окончательное избавление от бесконечного круга перерождений и существований.

  Сердце Катманду – площадь Дарбар («дворцовая»). Именно здесь, на пересечении важных торговых путей, в XII веке был построен из единого дерева давший название городу дворец Кастамандап, вокруг которого сформировался Катманду. Cюда мы отправимся напоследок, чтобы обобщить впечатления этого насыщенного дня и почувствовать атмосферу старого города, живущего шумной и пестрой жизнью в бесценных декорациях средневековья.

  Гостиница Y & Y.

• День 15. Катманду - Москва

  Вылет из Катманду.