Gokyo Valley Trekking : Scenic Lakeside Trek for Women

On arrival at Kathmandu International Airport, you will be received by our team of ladies staff and guide. After checking the NST (Nepal Standard Time) which is 5 hours and 45 minutes ahead of GMT, a short drive takes you in the hub of Kathmandu city around Thamel area to your hotels. After checking into your lovely rooms, get refreshed from the Jet Lag. The refreshments will energize you after which you can join the other members of the Gokyo Valley Trekking team in the meeting room for a briefing.

The briefing will be provided by our lady guide and staff or Group Leader. She will provide information about the treks, local lodge and foods. The wide range of information about trek makes your holiday meaningful and enjoyable. Overnight at Hotel.

The day begins with breakfast, followed by visits to two significant sites: Pashupatinath Temple and Boudhanath Stupa. The tour is escorted by a government certified female tour guide. 

Pashupatinath Temple, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, is a revered Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. Located by the Bagmati River, it hosts Hindu cremation ceremonies and is especially important during Shivaratri, attracting numerous pilgrims.

After breakfast, we'll visit Boudhanath Stupa, one of Nepal's largest stupas, positioned east of Kathmandu. It's notable for its significant size and height, as well as its four pairs of eyes representing Mahayana Buddhist principles. Following a quick city tour, we'll return to the hotel to prepare for tomorrow's trek. The overnight stay will be at the hotel.

You will have your breakfast at Hotel, and after having early breakfast and refreshments, the Woman Adventures guide, and staff receives you for short drive to domestic airport. You then check in with respective airlines, get on board in a small aircraft of 15 to 18 seats. Twin Otter, Dornier or similar STOL aircraft can only fly to mountainous smaller

Airport and runways. The flight to Lukla’s amazing Tenzing-Hillary Airport is an enchanting experience, with its remarkable airstrip. During this short flight enjoy sweeping panorama of the Himalayan range of peaks with Mt. Everest towards North-East. 

Then the plane lands at Lukla’s short runways, reaching the parking space on landing at Tenzing-Hillary Airport. After getting organized with the baggage, you'll have time to take a refreshing break. Then follow our lady expert guide heading through the market areas on the main streets of Lukla town. Enjoy a pleasant walk downhill, passing farm villages and continuing through several charming settlements along the way. We then reached Phakding for the first overnight around the Khumbu area of Everest.

The lodge offers lovely rooms and warm hospitality, providing a comfortable place to enjoy the night in Phakding, near the Dudh Koshi River. The flight to Lukla takes about 30 minutes and covers a distance of approximately 135 km (84 miles) while the walking distance from Lukla to Phakding covers an approximate distance of 8 km (5 miles).

After a hearty breakfast in the morning, follow our female guide and trekking staff for a pleasant walk to start the day. After short hour of good walk cross over a long bridge above Dudh Koshi River. Then a short climb to lovely Monjo village and then enter Sagarmatha National Park. Sagarmatha, a name for Everest in Nepal, the native Sherpa calls Chomolungma similar to Tibetan. In both languages it means great Mother as large as an ocean. From the park, we walk down to cross the same river once again. (Sagarmatha National Park is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites).

We then reach the settlement of Jorsalle before Namche Bazaar, possible lunch stops, and then walk on river bed amidst dense forest. We take a short climb to cross a high bridge, with a long undulating uphill walk of a few hours takes us to Namche Bazaar. A large settlement, a size of a moderate town with colorful and well built houses serving as lodge, and hotels. Enjoy a nice comfort in one of the best lodge rooms, with a grand view of Kwangde Himal range; with Thamersarkhu peaks. The total distance from Phakding to Namche Bazaar is approximately 12 km (7.5 miles), taking more than 5-6 hours due to the increase in altitude.

Namche Bazaar is a perfect place and ideal height for rest and acclimatization, before heading higher ground. Sleeping and resting low is best, taking short hike above Namche Bazaar heights for better acclimatization. It is best to sleep and rest at lower altitude. We also take a short hike above Namche Bazaar to aid in better acclimatization. In Namche, immerse yourself in exploring the lifestyle of Sherpa women, appreciating their dedication, resilience, and the unique cultural roles they uphold in the community.

Possible short hiking around Namche Bazaar and viewpoints are as follows:

After breakfast climb uphill to near Park Headquarters, a top ridge with an interesting museum. Enjoy the grand vista of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse with beautiful Mt. Ama Dablam, Khangtiaga, Tharmasarku, and Kwangde Himal range of peaks. You then visit the museum which offers good information about the Sherpa culture and history as well as local flora/fauna and mountaineering expeditions history around Khumbu and Everest. 

The other interesting hike is climb above Namche Bazaar to a small old airstrip at Syangboche. Then on slow gradual ups to Everest View Hotel, the first luxury hotels of Khumbu and Everest region. It is designated in the Guinness Book of World Record, as the highest hotels in the world at 3,962 m/ 13,000 feet. It is located in a serene surrounding amidst pines and rhododendrons small forest. Enjoy the glorious views of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse with Ama Dablam while having refreshing hot drinks.

We then return to Namche Bazaar for lunch. The rest of the day is free to leisurely explore the fascinating streets of Namche Bazaar. Namche Bazaar is also famous for its weekly Saturday Market, hence the name tagged as Namche Bazaar due to the colorful busy bazaar/ market held every Saturday.

Enjoying a pleasant two overnight stop in Namche Bazaar, the walk leads on a pleasant gradual wide trail. Soon our route diverts from the main popular trail of Everest base camp leading to a steep climb up to Mong high ridge, with superb views of towering snow peaks. From here, the path leads downhill to Dudh Koshi River at Phortse Tenga for a lunch break. A small settlement with few small simple lodges and Tea-Houses. In the afternoon, a few hour's climb takes us into a narrow gorge which are covered in tall rhododendrons, pines, oaks, and fir trees. We then reach on an open wide area at Dole, a lovely spot on the back sides of a holy Mt. Khumbila, the patron god of Khumbu Sherpa’s. Upon arrival, we checked into a nice lodge at Dole and spent overnight with the sound of Dudh Koshi River flow.

In the morning, after having a good breakfast at the lodge, we begin today's short walk but the gain in altitude makes the trek slower. We start the morning walk with a short steep climb to a ridge, reaching an open wider area. The walk follows on gradual ups past a nice small settlement of Luza, and slowly the trail leads us high above Machermo.

You can enjoy the first look of Mt. Cho-Oyu towards north with Machermo peaks in the west. After a grand view of the surrounding high peaks, a short descent takes us to a small river gorge. The gorge is lined with small Poplar and Willow trees, followed by a short steep climb to Machermo. A place with several fine good lodges for lunch and overnight.  The rooms are well accommodated offering a beautiful view. After lunch, you can relax and then take a short hike to nearby viewpoints. Spend the rest of the day at leisure before enjoying afternoon tea and dinner.

Today, the morning takes you to our destination to Gokyo Valley of lakes. We start with a short steep up to a ridge, then walk on a gradual path to Pangka. A small isolated spot with some simple lodge, from here with ups on the rocky path towards an ablation valley. The walk continues to reach the first lake, and then the second lake of Gokyo Valley. After a short while, we then reach Gokyo third lake, the main lake of Gokyo Valley. It is also known as the Dudh Pokhari, like the Dudh Koshi River, which means a milky river due to its chalky white color fed from nearby Ngozumpa glacier. We will walk up to the lodge located above the Gokyo emerald-colored lake, offering breathtaking views of Mt. Cho Oyu and Gyachung Kang Peak.

On reaching the lodge check into a nice room and enjoy lunch along with surrounding views. Sherpa women of Gokyo Valley lead hardworking lives, managing households, farming, and supporting trekking tourism while playing a vital role in women’s empowerment through leadership, education, and preserving cultural traditions. You can spend the afternoon at leisure, exploring the lifestyle of Sherpa women and marveling at the glorious scenery of towering snow peaks.

A free day in Gokyo, you can go for a good hike and climb to the Gokyo-Ri viewpoint. Rise early and start the hike before breakfast walking past the short of Gokyo third lake. Then a steep haul for a few hours to reach on top of scenic Gokyo-Ri. From the top, you can view the spectacular panorama of the world’s four tallest peaks, with Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho-Oyu. The views also include the grand scenery of the wide Gokyo Valley and its emerald-colored lakes, after a refreshing morning climb. We then return downhill to the lodge for breakfast and lunch. Rest of the day you can enjoy on your own and relax in the harmony of beautiful scenery. 

After a pleasant and wonderful time at Gokyo Valley, today you will take a long walk downhill to Dole. We start the morning quite early to reach Dole on time before dusk. After having a good breakfast, we head downhill on the same scenic route to Machermo for lunch. In the afternoon, we climb for a short while and then continue to walk down to Luza and back to Dole on time for afternoon tea and dinner.

Enjoy the last breakfast, around the areas of Gokyo Valley, and then downhill to Phortse Tenga. We take a short climb to Mong Hill, and then with a steep descent to reach the main trail to Namche Bazaar. A pleasant walk to Namche Bazaar for lunch. In the afternoon, we start heading down to Dudh Koshi River valley. Our walk past Jorsalle and after the bridge a short steep climb to the national park post. Finally, we then reach Monjo for an overnight halt before Lukla.

Today is the last day walk of the adventure, enjoy the pleasant walk towards Phakding for a short rest. From here, we take a few hours of good walks with last hour climb to Lukla.

We arrive by the afternoon, just in time for lunch and an overnight stop, with ample time to hang around and enjoy the last dinner celebration with fellow members and trekking staff. Celebrate the success of the Gokyo Valley trek with your female friends, guide, and porter by sharing stories, laughter, and a warm meal. Toast to the incredible journey, teamwork, and empowering spirit of women adventurers.

In the morning, you will be transferred to Lukla's Tenzing-Hillary Airport for a smooth, short flight back to Kathmandu. After a great adventure and wonderful experience on Gokyo Valley Trekking, we then return to the hustle and bustle of city life of Kathmandu. Spend the rest of the day at leisure with fond memories of Gokyo Valley Trekking. Also, you can join in for a short tour around places of great interest. A total distance covered 160 km/80 miles, round trip from Lukla to Lukla and it does not cover the rest day optional hikes.

Today is a free day in Kathmandu for individual activities with options for tours. Enjoy a free day in Kathmandu, perfect for relaxing, engaging in personal activities, or going on a shopping spree. You can shop for souvenirs from Nepal from handicrafts to jewelers etc. Interested people can opt for another exciting tour of Patan and Bhaktapur cities on request.

Last day in Kathmandu and Nepal, after an overwhelming adventure and experience around high hills of Khumbu with trek to Gokyo Valley. As time for your international flight, our lady guide and staff will transfer you to the airport. Then bid farewell to Nepal, guide, and staff; as you enter the air terminal for homeward bound or to the next port of call.