Your holiday starts at the hotel in Kathmandu. Transfers from Kathmandu Airport are provided. Depending on your arrival time, you may have the opportunity to explore the immediate vicinity of the hotel and get acclimatised to this bustling city. Alternatively, you may prefer to recover from your journey by relaxing at the hotel. Your guide will take dinner with you and will provide an informal briefing about the days ahead.

After an early breakfast, we take a bus to the domestic terminal of Kathmandu Airport (or transfer to Ramechhap) where we check in for the short flight to Lukla (2840m). Landing on the narrow, sloping runway in the heart of the mountains is a very spectacular way to reach the Khumbu. Here, we meet our trekking crew and set off on the first stage of our trek to Everest Basecamp. Today's walk is very pleasant, leading down to the river, then northwards through a number of villages to our lodge in Phakding (2610m).

A very pleasant walk by the river through pine forest leads to a short climb to escape a narrow gorge section. We pass the entrance to the Khumbu National Park where details of our permits are recorded and then drop down again to the river which we cross on a suspension bridge. We continue up the wooded valley on a good trail and cross the river again before reaching a confluence of rivers, one coming down from Thame and the other from the Khumbu. We make a final crossing here on a spectacular high suspension bridge and then begin an hour and half long ascent to Namche Bazaar (3440m) on a wide switch-back trail. This is the sting in the tail of today’s otherwise quite gentle ascent, and one of the steepest of the trek. Just over halfway up this last hill to Namche, we gain our first views of Everest. On arrival in the Sherpa capital, we check into one of the town’s many lodges. Namche has changed tremendously since trekking first became popular in Nepal. The Sherpa people are very adept at working out what visitors need. Many of the Sherpas that own lodges, cafes and shops in the town have visited cities in the USA and Europe and have brought back all sorts of concepts. Today you can find in Namche, German bakeries, Italian coffee, British pubs, pool halls, and hot tubs.

Namche Bazaar is tucked away between two ridges amongst the giant peaks of the Khumbu. An ancient market place where goods from as far away as Tibet were and still are traded, Namche today boasts an abundance of lodges, cafes, bars and souvenir shops. It is a great place to spend an acclimatisation day before going higher. The guide will be keen to take everyone on an acclimatisation walk, whether this involves going as high as the village of Khumjung (3780m) above Namche, or just to the Everest View Hotel. Either of these options provides superb views of Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest. We spend a second night at our lodge in Namche Bazaar.

A relatively easy day of trekking, although at this altitude it will still feel tough on the uphill section to Thyangboche at the end of the day. The trail today is spectacular in terms of scenery. The main trail out of Namche heads in a northwesterly direction climbing steeply out of the town to a ridge crest where a wonderful view of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam is revealed. Our trail now follows a contour high above the river with occasional short climbs as we cross a series of ridges. At the end of this contour trail is the tiny settlement of Kangjuma where various items of local art and craft, jewelry and even yak bells are laid out to entice passing trekkers to buy a souvenir of their visit. From Kangjuma the trail descends to a bridge across the Imja River at Phunki. Beyond the river, we climb a long ridge to Thyangboche (3860m), the location of one of Nepal’s finest monasteries. We have the chance to look around the monastery and the visitor centre there. This is a popular place to overnight as it not only affords a good view of the Everest/Lhotse massif but is also the classic viewpoint for Ama Dablam. However, water is scarce here and the lodges are often crowded so we may opt to continue for a further 20 minutes, descending to a lodge beside the river at Deboche.

After breakfast at the lodge, we trek for a couple of hours to the village of Pangboche, where there is the oldest monastery in the Khumbu. An hour beyond Pangboche, there is a good lunch stop at the small Sherpa hamlet of Shomare and then it is a further 3 hours walking, gaining height very gradually, to Dingboche (4410m) at the entrance to the Khumbu Valley. We overnight in one of the relaxing lodges in this small and picturesque Sherpa village.

In accordance with our careful program of acclimatisation we will spend two nights at this altitude before moving further up the Khumbu valley. We make a day hike up to the fantastic viewpoint of Nangkartshang Peak (5083m). This will be a tough climb at this stage of our acclimatisation but well worth it for the sensational views of Kangtega, Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Lobuche Peak and Taboche. For the most part this is just a walk up peak with some minor scrambling to reach the final rocky summit.

The trek today follows the Khumbu Valley and climbs to the tiny settlement at Dugla where we may decide to take a break for a leisurely lunch. Shortly thereafter, we reach the memorial to those Sherpas who have died on Mount Everest. Here, the trail starts to level out, following the lateral moraine on the west side of the Khumbu Glacier to Lobuche (4910m) opposite the towering pyramids of Nuptse and Lhotse.

Making an early start, we begin by following a trail through the ablation valley at the side of the Khumbu Glacier gaining height steadily. At this point the glacier is still hidden from us by the moraine, but as we climb to cross the rubble of a tributary glacier, we can see the great Khumbu Glacier stretching away down valley and also up towards the area of base camp. Beyond this tributary we reach an island of sparse grasses below the famous hill known as Kala Pattar. This place is Gorak Shep, once a summer yak herding meadow in the middle of nowhere, this remote spot now boasts several of the highest lodges in Nepal. As to be expected at this altitude and in this remote spot, the lodges here are quite basic but they do have heated dining rooms and offer a degree of comfort. After taking some rest here we continue along the moraine crest for a further hour or two before descending to the churned rubble of the glacier itself and our final approach to the site of the climbers' base camp is on the ice itself. Outside of the main Spring climbing season, it is unlikely that we will see any tents here but the place itself is quite inspirational, situated close beneath the stupendous Khumbu Icefall. Afterwards we return as far as Gorak Shep. It is possible to return all the way to Lobuche in one long day, but spending a night here at these high lodges will greatly assist our acclimatisation for Island Peak.

This morning we have the opportunity to make the approximately 2-hour ascent of Kala Patar. At around 5500 metres, this is one of the finest viewpoints for Everest and the Khumbu Valley. Depending on the weather and the condition of the group at this point, it is also possible to swap these two excursions (Kala Patar and Everest Basecamp) around so that we visit the basecamp today Returning to Gorak Shep for some refreshment we then retrace our steps to Lobuche.

From Lobuche, we make a crossing of the Khumbu Glacier. The glacier at this point is very slow moving, covered with rubble and moraine debris and usually has a good trail across. We then make the ascent to the Kongma La (5535m). The climb to the pass is steep, at first following a trail on a grassy hillside and then on a good path which zig-zags its way to the top of a scree slope. From the top of the scree the summit comes into view but we have another 45 minutes more level now, over boulders and scree to reach the prayer flags which stretch across from cairn to cairn. It will take a total of 3 hours or so from the glacier to the summit of the pass, but the views more than compensate for the expended effort. As well as the tip of Everest and the fantastic 8 mile-long Lhotse-Nuptse wall, the panorama includes Gauri Shankar, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Pumori and the distant peaks of Tibet. This relatively accessible Khumbu pass is not often crossed and is something of a hidden gem. A short distance below the summit we pass a usually frozen lake and drop steeply down into the valley where we pick up a steadily improving trail across yak pastures which takes us down to Chukung in the Imja Valley. This high Yal herders settlement which now boasts several lodges offers a sensational view onto the towering south face of Lhotse. From here we can also see our objective of Island Peak.

A relatively easy day’s walking to Island Peak Basecamp. The trail crosses the river by the last tea shop and follows a beautiful ablation valley for 2 hours. Basecamp is at 5040 metres by the side of the Imja Glacier, below steep grassy slopes which mark the start of the climb on
Island Peak. We may decide to tackle the peak from here or depending on the general conditions and availability of water higher up, we may elect to start from a higher camp. The afternoon is spent sorting gear for the climb or preparing for the move to high camp the following day. If there are any group members who do not intend to attempt Island Peak,
there is the alternative of a trek to the head of the Imja Valley.

This is a day for further acclimatisation prior to our ascent of Island Peak. We will take the opportunity for some skills practice before a good rest and general preparation for tomorrow's climb. Your trip leaders will decide how best to use this day.

From the basecamp a very early start is required - shortly after midnight. Climbing by the light of our headtorches it takes 2 to 3 hours to reach the site of 'High Camp' and from there we continue ascending over scree and boulders for a further hour to reach a narrow, rocky ridge leading on to the glacier. This is the place to rope up and put on crampons as the most interesting part of the climb begins with the glacier crossing. The setting couldn’t be more impressive with the mountains of Ama Dablam, Chamlang, and Baruntse painted by the dawn’s light. We weave a route across the fairly level glacier to the bottom of a snow gully leading to the summit ridge. Here the guides fix a rope, and jumars are used to safeguard this section. The climbing is more interesting than technical, but steepens up to nearly 50 degrees in places. After approximately 200 metres, the summit ridge is gained and Lhotse’s vast South Face looms before us. Again the guides will place fixed lines on some sections of this undulating and sometimes corniced ridge. A final steep pitch brings us to the actual summit (6189m) which has space enough for everyone to sit down and take in the vastness of the surroundings. Island Peak is truly an island in a sea of ice, flanked as it is by the Lhotse and Imja glaciers and a plethora of giant peaks. Descent is by the same route and we aim to arrive back at the basecamp by early afternoon. Depending on the fitness of the group and time available, we may wish to continue our descent to the tea houses of Chukung, a further hour and a half down valley.

We leave our basecamp (or Chukung) and descend the Imja Valley on our way back to Namche Bazaar and Lukla. Beyond the villages of Dingboche, we rejoin our outbound trail and
follow this down through Pangboche to camp at Deboche below the Tyangboche ridge.

After an early breakfast we set off and make a short climb through the woods to Tyangboche Gompa where we have a great retrospective of the Everest/Lhotse massif and Island Peak. This is a second opportunity to visit the impressive gompa if we were not able to do so on the outbound trek. Leaving Tyangboche we descend the steep path to Phunki, where we cross the Dudh Kosi and begin the steep climb to the lodges of Kangjuma. Following the contouring trail around the hillside we suddenly arrive at the top of the bowl in which Namche Bazaar nestles. A final steep descent on stone steps leads to the main bazaar. After taking some refreshment here (or lunch if we have made good time) we continue the trek, dropping steeply down to a high suspension bridge. We follow the Dudh Kosi down with the wooded valley sides rising steeply above us. We cross the river again and climb stone steps to the entrance of the Sagamartha National Park. Here we must show our permits before continuing just a short way to our overnight halt at Monjo.

From Monjo the trail descends the valley, which becomes more enclosed as we pass the villages of Phakding and Chopling, to reach Chaumrikharka. Here we begin the final climb of the trip, the sting in the tail, with a 45 minute steady ascent up to the airstrip at Lukla. Arriving at the bustling town we check into a lodge and tonight we will no doubt celebrate the end of a great trek.

After saying goodbye to our Sherpa crew, we board the flight back to Kathmandu (or to Ramechhap from where we transfer by road). The rest of the day is free for sightseeing or shopping amongst the streets and bazaars of the Nepalese capital. This evening we will have a celebratory meal and reflect on our Island Peak adventure.

This is an important contingency day in case of delays to the flights from Lukla. If we have experienced no delays this is another opportunity for independent exploration amongst the colourful streets and temples of Kathmandu.

Your holiday ends after breakfast. Transfers to Kathmandu Airport are provided. To extend your holiday in Nepal, why not pre-book a day's sightseeing tour in the Kathmandu Valley, or a multi-day excursion to the wildlife reserve at Chitwan. Contact our office for details.