Sample Nepal Itinerary: Heli-Trekking: Everest in a Week!

Sample Itinerary Proposal:

Heli-Trekking: Everest in a Week PO Box 1566 | Burlington VT 05402 | (800) 233 4499 | info@aboveclouds.com | aboveclouds.com

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Everest in a Week Until now, it was unimaginable that you could “do Everest” in less than two weeks, and three weeks was closer to the norm. With the arrival of high performance Eurocopter AS350 B2 and B3 helicopters in Nepal, we can now offer you a five-day trek in the Everest region, capped off by an unforgettable, magical chopper ride that will take you in close to Mt. Everest and her equally impressive neighbors. And all of this with a late Friday departure, arriving home a week later on Sunday!

The trek in is also more comfortable than one would expect, with the recent construction of a string of lodges here that would more correctly be called hotels. Everest Summit Lodges has built a string of small hotels that offer comfort, convenience, private rooms and baths, and gourmet food at altitudes that go up over 13,000’.

PO Box 1566 | Burlington VT 05402 | (800) 233 4499 | info@aboveclouds.com | aboveclouds.com

DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY: Fri: Depart this evening for Kathmandu. Several airlines have flights that will get you in to Kathmandu by midday on Sunday, including Singapore Airlines, Qatar Airways, and Air India from New York, or Singapore or Thai Airways from LAX. Sat: En route.

Sun: Arrive Kathmandu. You’ll be met and transferred to Hotel Shangrila. This afternoon you’ll have a trek briefing and a short tour of the city.

Mon: Fly at 7am to Lukla (9,100’) in the Khumbu (Everest) region. On arrival you’ll have breakfast at the Everest Summit Lodge, then begin your hike. You first drop down to the Dudh Kosi River and follow it to your lunch spot at Phakding. After lunch you continue on to Everest Summit Lodge in Monjo. Along the route you get your first view from the ground of some of the snow-capped peaks, including Kusum Kanguru and Thamserku (22,331’).

Tue: Today you’ll enjoy a rest and acclimatization day, with several options available to you. If you’re tired, jet lagged, or feeling the altitude, it is suggested that you stay in Monjo, explore the town a little, go for short hikes to take photos, or generally do nothing at all. If you’re feeling good, there’s a nice hike (uphill, of course!) to a viewpoint where you’ll get a better look at Thamserku and other Himalayan giants.

Wed: Today’s hike begins easily enough, following the river as we did yesterday, but don’t let that lull you to sleep. In late morning you’ll have your greatest challenge of the trek with a short but steep ascent to Namche Bazaar (11,303’), the cultural and commercial center of the Khumbu Sherpas. After lunch you can relax and explore the town, or so a side hike up to Khumjung village and the Everest View Hotel. Hotel Namche or similar.

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5 Thu: You’ll have a relaxing morning, as today’s hike is only four hours and less strenuous than yesterday’s four-hour hike. We’ll get a late start and hike to Tashinga (11,420’), where we arrive in time for a late lunch. After lunch you can again go for a short hike or relax at your comfortable Everest Summit Lodge.

Fri: Hike this morning to Thyangboche monastery (12,765’), the most important Sherpa monastery in the Khumbu. From here you’ll have your best view of Everest and the Khumbu’s iconic peak, Ama Dablam, weather permitting of course. You’ll have time to visit inside the monastery before lunch.

After lunch here, descend back down to the lodge at Tashinga.

Sat: This whirlwind day begins with an early breakfast. The helicopter will land at the lodge’s helipad around 7:30am to take you on a ride you’re not likely to ever forget. You’ll fly in a clockwise circle through the Khumbu, crossing three passes: Renjo La (17,537’), Cho La (17,783’), and Kongma La (18,160’). En route, you’ll see four of the world’s six tallest peaks: Everest (29,036’), #4 Lhotse (27,940’), #5 Makalu (27,838’), and #6 Cho Oyu (26,864’). And you’ll see them from a perspective that is normally only available to eagles or world class mountaineers, up close and in-your-face personal. The circuit segment lasts less than a half hour, but the views are so overwhelming that time seems to be suspended. The chopper will drop you at Lukla, where you’ll catch a fixed-wing flight back to Kathmandu in mid-morning. (If you’d like to minimize the potential for flight delays out of Lukla, you can, at additional cost, take the chopper all the way back to Kathmandu.) You’ll be met on arrival and escorted to your day room at a hotel in town, where you can freshen up before your departure for home, depending on your departure flight schedule. (If you have enough time to return home on Monday, you can have a final hotel overnight in Kathmandu.) We’ll escort you back to the airport for your flight home, with arrival home tomorrow, except for those using Thai Airways, who will arrive in LAX this evening.

Sun: Arrive home (except for travelers living in Los Angeles, who would arrive home last night).

PO Box 1566 | Burlington VT 05402 | (800) 233 4499 | info@aboveclouds.com | aboveclouds.com

NOTES & COSTS: Grade: Moderate-to-strenuous Land Cost: $6,500 (based on minimum group size of two, on double-share basis) Single Supplement: $900 Land Cost includes: All meals and accommodations in Nepal (Sunday arrival through Saturday departure), scheduled fixed wing flights Kathmandu-Lukla-Kathmandu, professional English-speaking guide throughout, porters on trek, airport transfers and sightseeing in Kathmandu, and chartered helicopter flight Tashinga-Lukla on Saturday.

Not included: International airfare to and from Nepal, any hotels or other expenses en route to or from Nepal, visas, trip insurance, gratuities to your guide and pilot, and expenses of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone, and shopping.

Additional costs: If you prefer to take the chopper from Lukla to Kathmandu at the end, the additional cost is $2,500 divided by how many in your group (four maximum). If you want to spend an extra night in Kathmandu pre- or post-trek, the cost is $150 per person per night at Hotel Shangrila, breakfast only, double-share basis. Hotel upgrade is available only in Kathmandu, with Dwarika’s the suggested option. For those transiting Delhi, we can arrange a day room and dinner between flights option at additional cost (please phone for details). West Coast travelers using Thai Airways can transit Bangkok in both directions without the need for a hotel overnight; for those wishing to have a Bangkok overnight, we can assist with hotel reservations. If you would like to be guided by an Everest summiteer, the additional cost varies depending on which guides are available at the time of your trip and your budget. Booking well in advance is necessary to secure such services. If you can be flexible in your schedule, we can sometimes arrange for you to be accompanied by Jamling Tenzing, the featured climber in the 1996 IMAX Everest film and son of the first man to climb Everest, Tenzing Norgay.

Note: For those with a more flexible schedule, this itinerary can begin on any day of the week, it doesn’t have to start with a Friday departure from home.

Timing: This itinerary can be done any month of the year, but is not suggested from mid-June to midSeptember due to the monsoon that would make for wet trekking days and clouds obscuring the mountain views. Best times of the year for both comfortable trekking conditions and maximum likelihood of clear views of the peaks are late October through mid-December and late February through mid-April.

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