Arrive Kathmandu. We will meet you at the airport and take you to a nice hotel. Dinner, or sightseeing depending on time of flight. Or just 'recovery' from a long flight. 1400 metres.

Busy day Kathmandu.
Preparation for the trek. Exchanging money? I will check your gear and see if you neeto buy anything extra – or leave some behind! We can line upsome nice handicrafts, jewellery, etc. to buy after trekking. tr aditional dining and sightseeing as time permits. Pre-trek briefing in the evening.

Jeep to Pattale.
It will take most of the day but the route is extremely scenic and we will stop as needed for breaks and food. Good jeeps with excellent drivers. Pattale will be a simple trekking lodge and local food. Some of our porters will travel up with us. 2800 metres.

Pattale.
I like to stay a second night here. It is only 2800m but we ascended quickly in a jeep. Nice to have a day-trek near the village, get used to our gear and a bit of altitude. The local school is worth a visit. Lodging is simple.

Trek to Japhre.
Our first day of 'proper' trekking. This is fairly gentle walking on a trail which is sometimes jeepable so can be dusty. There is a tea stop (if it is open) and a good lunch on the way at a local jeep station. Japhre is an old village with an ancient gompa (Buddhist church). Simple lodge but they have toilets and running cold water. Buckets of warm water can be requested – surely, not needed on the first day of trekking!

Trek to Lamuje.
C 3000 m. This lodge is run by Kancha and his wife Durga and I helped them to build it. Rustic, timber lodge, adjacent to two ancient stupas. Once again, the trekking here is not steep and the going is fairly easy. Great views back over our ascent route. Yaks grazing on the hill behind the lodge.

Ekki, on the way to Lamuje

Trek to Pike Base Camp (formerly Dairy).
We will play this by ear. Easy start but a climb as well. If we are tired, we will rest in the afternoon, but if we are in good shape we will climb up to the peak after lunch. It is only about an hour up. Above the trees at 4250 metres. Views from Pike Peak will blow you away, quite literally, as it is always very windy. Looking down on passing flights!! There are two peaks so the second is an option for enthusiasts. Rustic lodge. Probably above the clouds tonight.

Dorje and Bir at Pike summit

Trek Pike Base Camp to Jastabanijhang.
3550 m. Quite a steep start today then, after a grassy lie down, winding through forests on small, often insubstantial trails. A little uppish at times but a long grassy descent to the lodge. Another rustic gem. Good food and lovely people.

Trek Jastabanijhang to Jumbesi 2700 m.
Up and down across ridges and through stunning forests of gigantic cedars we then descend and descend through fields of grazing cows to Jumbesi. We are on the traditional Jiri to Everest trail by the end of the day. A big village with some tiny shops and a bigger lodge with HOT SHOWERS!!. Staying two days.

Descent to Jumbesi

Staying in Jumbesi.
There is a beautiful 500-year -old ani gompa (nunnery) an hour or so from the village on an easy jeep road for those who are interested. The local monastery is also very pretty. A good day to wash a few smalls, have a shower, sit in the sun and REST?

Trek Jumbesi to Ringmu. C 2900.
One of my favourite days of the entire trek. A short, forested climb brings us onto a superb ridge. We can lunch at the aptly-named Everest View lodge. No need to hurry today as it is not a long day. They have good cheese at Ringmu. Views of Numbur are lovely. Old ruins to explore in the evening?

Trek Ringmu to Taksundo La (or Taksundo) to be decided.
At around 3000 metres there is a good lodge on the pass, but if it is full, there is a pretty village just half an hour beyond the pass and we can amble back tomorrow. From Taksundo there is a great little one hour climb to a viewpoint on a charming local path.

From a viewpoint along the way

Trek to Phaphlu.
2450 If we stayed in Taksundo, there will be a half-hour climb back to the ridge this morning. After that it is a gentle downhill stroll, through forest, for most of the day. Lunch on the way. Lodge at Phaphlu has hot showers and an excellent coffee machine, though rooms are simple.

Stay in Phaphlu?
To be decided. I have an interest in a village which is just a short distance from here where there is a new mother and baby clinic started recently. Might we stay an extra night in Phaphlu and visit this village?? Feedback welcome. Happy to spring for a jeep if we are all a bit over trekking.

Jeep back to Kathmandu.
Once again, it will take most of the day, depending on traffic In Kathmandu. We will stop for tea, pee and food along the way. Back in our nice hotel, reunited with our bags of left luggage and clean clothes. Momos for dinner at our favourite Tibetan restaurant – just 100 metres to walk from the hotel.

Stay in Kathmandu.
If we are a very small group we can be a bit flexible here. The fun is not yet over, we just need to decide in what order we do things. Booking the hotel in Kathmandu for this night so that you can all have a day off.

Transport to Bhaktapur.
Pack lightly for one overnight. We can visit the world heritage listed city this afternoon, try lunch in a café? Evening at the hotel Planet Bhaktapur, a funky little Italian-run place with good food (naturally).

Transport up to Nakarkot.
We will have our own minibus. We can stop to look at some views and then have lunch on a posh dining terrace – hopefully with fabulous views but there is no guarantee with the weather and clouds. After lunch our minibus will bring us back to our original hotel the International Guesthouse. The rooms here are not that great but they are nice enough and the garden is beautiful. Would you like wood-fired pizza with salad and wine tonight??

Stay in Kathmandu.
We can arrange this day to suit ourselves. Do you want to visit Swayambu, and eat at a local café in a monastery? Would you prefer some serious shopping – I can show you some of my favourites. In the late afternoon we will get transport over to Bouda. It is nice in the evening when there are less tourists and we might try a good Tibetan restaurant I know. A walk around the stupa after dark in the peaceful evening is wonderful and we might find a terrace for a coffee overlooking the stupa?

Free to Go Home.
We will take you to the airport at whatever time is appropriate. If you have all day, or another night in Kathmandu, we can take care of you. Pick the best flight for your airline and we will work with it.