Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp

Do you know that there are multiple ways to reach the Everest Base Camp? Yes, you can reach the foothill of Mt. Everest in different ways and route. The most famous one is the EBC Trek route the classical way from Lukla via Namche, Tengboche, and Dingboche. However, you can also do the Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp which is orthodox but equally fascinating. Today’s blog is about getting detail information about the Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp.

Sometimes people misunderstand about the trekking requirements and they end up quitting the trek midway. Therefore, collecting information is essential before any trekking trips especially in the high – altitude places. Our blogs are also intended to assist the travelers in finding authentic information about the trail from ideal time to trekking difficulty and availability of lodging facilities including the accessibility. In today’s blog, we are focusing on these things including day by day itinerary.

Detail Information about Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp

Before delving in detail about Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp, let’s find out about best season, trekking difficulty, and availability of lodging.

Best Season

An ideal time for Gokyo Lake and Everest Base Camp Trek is during spring season. During this season, the skies are clear and the vegetation in the lower section of the trek looks splendid as it is the blooming season. Besides spring season, autumn season is also considered as an ideal time to do the trek. Avoid winter season and monsoon season. However, people choose to do the off season trek as well but it requires immense planning and involves risks.

Difficulty

The biggest hurdle of the Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp is the high – altitude. The trail is well maintained and there are fewer steep uphill sections except during the crossing of Chola Pass. Trekkers must prepare well physically so that they can walk about 6 to 7 hours in an average every day for a week. Build up cardio – vascular ability and mental sturdiness. Pack right clothing and gear. Hire a trekking guide and book the trekking package to reduce difficulty level. Overall, the difficulty level of the trek is moderately challenging.

Availability of Accommodation and Meals

Don’t worry about the availability of lodging and meals facilities in this beautiful trekking route. In fact, there are amazing tea houses in the Gokyo Lake and the Everest Base Camp Trek route is fully equipped with modern lodging and eateries. However, you may have to adjust with the limited choices in the places like Dole, Machhermo, Thangnak, and Dzongla. Besides these places, you can get lots of options and standards for lodging and meals. All the tea houses serve similar menu items. Allocate about 5 $ to 10 $ per day for lodging and allocate 35 $ to 55 $ per day for meals.

Itinerary and Day by Day Details about EBC via Gokyo Lake

Getting the idea of what happens on the daily basis during the trek helps a lot for successful trek. Travelers should not forget that meticulous planning and knowing what to expect contribute greatly for the momentous trekking. The investment in travel must be returned in the form of satisfaction and sense achievement. Therefore, in this next section this blog delves deeper into the itinerary of the Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp. You can plan properly after reviewing the day by day details.

Lukla to Namche Bazaar: First Phase of Everest Base Camp Trek

The first thing that you must do before the trek is flight to Lukla. The journey is not simple as there are frequent cancellations due to unpredictable weather conditions of Lukla. Therefore, the flight window is very short. In order to cater to large volume of trekkers, the flight takes place from Manthali Airport in Ramechhap instead from Kathmandu during the peak spring and autumn season. The trek starts from Lukla after getting the Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Entry permit. The journey’s first phase is similar to the Everest Base Camp Trek and reaches up to Namche Bazaar via Phakding after getting the Sagarmatha National Park Entry permit in Jorsalle.

Acclimatization is important for the successful Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp. Therefore, trekkers must perform acclimatization hike to the Everest View Hotel from Namche Bazaar. The second phase begins after the acclimatization rest day in Namche. Therefore, trekkers have to spend two nights in Namche Bazaar before heading to Gokyo Lake.

Trek to Gokyo Lake from Namche

The joyous section of the trek is from Namche Bazaar to Gokyo Lake. The trail traverses through green lush forests, excellent vantage points, and grassy meadows through the river valley. It takes about two nights to reach Gokyo from Namche Bazaar via Dole and Machhermo. Once at the Gokyo Lake, you will surely be mesmerized by its beauty. Relish the chance to walk on the shores of the blue turquoise lake and spend overnight in the tranquil hamlet on the shores of lake.

Gokyo to Everest Base Camp via Chola Pass

The anti clockwise route of the Everest Cho La Pass Trek is the most preferred route instead of Gokyo Lake Trek to Everest Base Camp route. Therefore, you may not find lots of people doing the trek in the clockwise direction. Note that it is not impossible but can be challenging in comparison to the clockwise route from the Everest Base Camp Trek route. Enjoy the scenery of mountains and gather the mini – mountaineering feelings while crossing the breathtaking Chola Pass (5420 m). You can meet the Everest Base Camp Trek route in Lobuche by crossing the Chola Pass. Trekkers have to spend overnight in Thangnak before crossing the pass and reaching the EBC Trek route.

Everest Base Camp Trek

Final phase needs no introduction. The journey continues to the Everest Base Camp (5364 m) from Lobuche via Gorakshep. The trail is rugged and on the glacier and moraines. Therefore, you have to walk carefully by heeding the instructions of your trekking guide. Cherish the moment at the foothill of the world’s tallest mountain. Finally, trekkers return back to Lukla for flight to Kathmandu by spending overnight in places like Pheriche, Namche Bazaar, and Lukla.