We will meet you at Kathmandu International airport where we transfer you by private coach to the comfortable and famous Kathmandu Guest House situated in the very centre of the Thamel tourist district. After you have booked in to your room (sole occupancy of a garden facing ensuite room) and freshened up we will have a meeting to introduce everyone and have a quick presentation on the trip. A group dinner will follow and after this most people will have a much needed sleep after their long travels to Nepal.

Explore Kathmandu we have organised two brilliant tours for you today to absorb your new surroundings and to immerse yourself in the Nepalese culture yet still allowing you to have a relaxing day after your long travels. You will have some free time to explore this amazing city. After breakfast we are taken by private bus to the Monkey Temple at Swayambunath where our expert local guide will give us a fascinating tour of this stunning place and also point out the distant Himalayan Peaks. We return to the Kathmandu Guest House for lunch at Café Bahal and then in the afternoon take an exciting rickshaw ride around the city's famous Durbar Square where again we will have an expert tour guide to take us round. In the evening prior to dinner we give a short multimedia presentation about the health and safety aspects of your trip including some detailed information on altitude sickness. We have a group dinner at 'Rum Doodles' which is located only a five minute walk from our hotel. Here you will have excellent food in great surroundings with the walls being entirely covered in memorabilia from the many expeditions that pass through.

An early start today for our flight to Lukla. Flights to Lukla operate within the constraints of the weather at Lukla itself and if there is cloud in the morning we may have a delay. The airport in Lukla has recently undergone an extensive upgrade and the old gravel landing strip of legend and notoriety has been replaced with impressive new tarmac and there is also a modern stonebuilt terminal building. With clear weather we get fantastic views of the mountains and as we turn into the deep gorge of the Dudh Kosi valley we can look ahead and see Everest itself. Most people will have their sights firmly set on the approach to Lukla and our exciting descent to the runway which appears at first just to be perched on the side of a mountain! Depending on our arrival time we may have lunch in Lukla or start trekking directly, walking downhill for a short time to the Dudh Kosi valley. When we hit the valley we follow the course of the river northwards, staying at all times on the east bank. After another couple of hours or so we come to the village of Phakding where we stop for the night and camp.

Immediately after leaving Phakding we cross the Dudh Kosi River.We get our first good views of the mountains when Thamserku (6608m) appears at the head of a narrow valley. The path crosses back to the other side of the river and passes through the Sagarmatha National Park gates at Monjo where we will be required to show our permits. We then continue along an undulating riverside path until a final suspension bridge is crossed just below 'Namche hill'. From here it's all up hill for a good hour; a long steep hill climb where Sherpa guides and trek leaders can be seen cajoling tired trekkers up a relentless series of zig zags to Namche Bazaar, the principal village of the Khumbu region. We stay at the excellent Hotel Kangri run by our good friend Dorgee Lama Sherpa

From Namche we start off steeply and take a path up to an impressive Chorten beautifully carved and painted before taking a lovely contouring path through to Sangnasa, a small settlement with a few lodges. More often than not we can observe Himalayan Thar whilst on this path and on one occasion we noted around 40 animals.From here the trail leads up to Mong La Pass (3973m) before descending steeply to Phortse Tenga. Another climb takes us along the west side of the valley through dense forests to the yak pastures and stone huts at Gyele (4,008m) before heading on to Dole 4084m. Sagarmartha National Park - Flora & Fauna Vegetation in the park varies from pine and hemlock forests at lower altitudes, fir, juniper, birch and rhododendron woods at midelevations, scrub and alpine plant communities higher up and bare rock and snow above tree line. The famed bloom of rhododendrons occurs during the spring (April and May) although much of the flora is most colourful during the monsoon season (June to August). The wild animals most likely to be seen in the park are the Himalayan tahr, goral, serow, musk deer and Himalayan black bear. Other mammals are weasels, martens. Himalayan mouse hare (Pika), jackals and langur. The park provides a habit for at least 118 species of birds. The most common birds to be seen are the Impeyen pheasant (the national bird of Nepal), blood pheasant, cheer pheasant, jungle crow, red billed and yellow billed coughs and snow pigeon. Fairly common birds are the Himalayan griffon, lammergier, snow partridge, skylark and many others.

Today we have a short and fairly leisurely trek to allow us to acclimatise. In the morning we have a steep but beautiful climb through conifer and rhododendron forests and stands of juniper to Lhabarma 4220m and Luza 4360m. We continue to climb along the side of the valley, high above the river to the camp at Machhermo 4410m. It was here in 1974 that a yeti supposedly killed three yaks and attacked a Sherpa woman. You make your own decisions on this one! For those that are keen we offer a short easy acclimatisation walk up a lovely ridge which provides us with stunning views of Cho Oyo northwards and Cholatse to the northeast.

This is your first real day at high altitude. We climb a ridge from where the valley opens wide as the trail passes through Pangka. Cho Oyu 8153m dominates the skyline to the north as we climb the moraine on the left flank of the Ngozumpa Glacier. The climb is steep to the first of the four lakes that often take on a startling shade of blue, which is in brilliant contrast to the grey and brown of the surrounding hills. The trail levels off towards the second lake, Longponga at 4690m. We finally descend a path past the largest of the lakes, Dudh Pokhari, and a mani wall, to Gokyo at 4750m. Gokyo is a small hamlet of stone houses and stone walled pastures. In the afternoon we make the ascent of Gokyo Ri (5100m). If the ascent is timed to coincide with sunset over the mountains it offers a superb photographic opportunity for long range views of Everest(8848m) and excellent views of Cho Oyu(8153m) and Gyachung Kang (7952m). We will take our head torches in case we spend too much time on the summit enjoying this magical moment. The descent path is very easy to negotiate in the dark if need be.

Fit and acclimatised, we leave Gokyo to cross the Ngozumpa Glacier. We descend to the second lake and drop down onto the glacier. The route across the glacier is well marked by cairns and in places the path is actually quite well defined. We climb off the glacier by a small dwelling known as Tangnag and follow a shallow valley to our campsite at the foot of the Cho La Pass.

An easy rocky gully ascends diagonally up to the col. Whilst we climb this we are in shade but as soon as we emerge at the small notch which is the col we are in bright sunlight and can look up towards Lobuche Peak (6145m). We trek along the side of the small level glacier for about 20 minutes until we reach the far side of the col and can look down to the meadows of Dzongla. Although the descent from the pass appears steep, the path finds an ingenious way down a rocky gully which poses no particular difficulty. We emerge at the foot of a huge rocky buttress to the delightful grassy pastures of Dzongla.

Directly to the north stands Lobuche, our first climbing objective. Today we climb up to a high camp beside a lake at the foot of the southeast ridge. If an early start is made, it is possible to press on to a higher camp where the rock ridge and the glacier meet. This decision is made whether to do this on the day.

We climb the long undulating snow arête to the summit ridge. This can be quite badly crevassed and some interesting climbing may be required to bypass them. Although long, the ridge leads without undue difficulty to what is referred to by most parties as the summit of Lobuche East (6119m). (The true summit is considerably further along the ridge and involves some complicated and technical climbing and has only been climbed a few times). This summit gives fantastic views over the whole of the Khumbu and, in particular, of Everest itself. We descend by the same route to our high camp and a well earned rest.

A short but spectacular day today as we trek on a rough path high above the Khumbu Glacier to Gorak Shep (5170m). We camp here on the sandy flats, and in the afternoon we can make the ascent of Kala Pattar (5545m) for the classic views of the world's highest mountain. The best time to be on the summit of Kala Pattar is the late afternoon when the sun is setting in the west away from the mountain. We can also view Pumori(7165m) close up and our panorama stretches across the Lho La to Changtse in Tibet. If for any reason the weather is not ideal for the ascent of Kala Pattar we have the flexibility to try the following morning.

We leave early for the long hike along the Khumbu Glacier to Everest Base Camp at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall. Although you cannot see the summit of Everest from Base camp, it is a fascinating and stunning location with unique views. We will be capturing the moment at base camp with our video camera which will be professionally edited on our return home. We provide you with a fantastic presentation on the history of Everest whilst having a fantastic lunch provided by our team cooks and porters. On the return leg we descend all the way to our campsite which has now been set up by Lobuche.

From Lobuche we climb up to the Kongma La (5535m) and cross this pass to reach a beautiful campsite situated at a height of 5300m where we make our base for the ascent of Pokalde.

The ascent of Pokalde (5794m) is a straight forward scramble up a rock ridge to the summit in snow free conditions. If there is an unexpected amount of snow cover we will make a judgement on the day to decide whether an ascent under these conditions is safe enough under our risk assessing procedure.Despite being under 6000 metres in height, the unique location of the Pokalde, at the foot of the south ridge of Nuptse, makes it an outstanding viewpoint. From here we hopefully will have a splendid view of our final objective Island Peak(6189m) to our East. After our climb, we descend down to the village of Chukkung where our camp will be set up.

Today is a relatively short and easy with a walk along the Lhotse glacier towards our camp at Paresho Gyab also known as Island Peak Base Camp. We will have lots of spare time in the afternoon just to relax and enjoy the area. Many clients use these occassions to draw, paint, take photographs, read or even write some poetry!

Although Island Peak can be climbed from Base Camp, to ease the ascent we will place a high camp on the mountain, either at the foot of the rocky ridge, or alternatively on the glacier at the top of the ridge. This will be a relatively short day, allowing for rest and preparation for the ascent.

If we camp at the foot of the rocky ridge, our first task, early in the morning, is to climb this. This is not difficult and basic scrambling skills are all that is required. There are however several short rock steps to climb before we emerge on the glacier. We need to rope up on the glacier as it contains several crevasses but it leads without difficulty, to a 350ft/100m snow and ice slope on which the guides fix a rope for you jumar. We provide Petzl hand jammers for this! From the top of this slope approximately 150m along a sharp summit ridge leads to the top. After enjoying the summit views we descend all the way to our base camp for a hearty meal and to chill out after this great day and the last of our peaks.

From Island Peak Base Camp we retrace our route back down to Chukhung. After lunch we continue down hill to Dingboche, a charming Sherpa village close to where the Imja valley joins the main Everest trail. We may visit the meditation caves which are close to Dingboche in the late afternoon which makes an interesting little excursion and an ideal way to build up our appetitie for our evening meal.

Following the main Everest trail down this beautifully scenic valley, we pass through Pangboche and recross the river before climbing to the famous monastery at Tengboche. We camp here surrounded by the peaks of Ama Dablam, Thamserku and Kang Tenga. Capturing sunset shots is a strong possibility from our location and the monastery makes great subject matter in the foreground of any shot with Kongde East Pillar standing brilliantly in the background.

A steep descent of around 1500ft/500m leads through bird filled rhododendron bushes and fir trees to the Dudh Kosi River. Crossing this on yet another suspension bridge, we climb up the opposite side of the valley to reach the contouring path leading back to Namche Bazaar. Once again we check in to the Hotel Kangri to stay with our hosts Dorgee and Nima Sherpa who will look after us for the night.

A steep descent for 2,000ft/600m leads to the suspension bridge crossing the Dudh Kosi river. We cross the river twice more before traversing steadily up the hillside, past numerous shops and teahouses to Lukla. It will seem much longer than 3 weeks since we were last here! Our final night in the mountains will be spent at the Himalayan Lodge which has very recently been refurbished and extended. This is a great location for our last night with our guides and porters where we will have a celebratory trek meal and no doubt our new friends will start the singing and dancing accompanied by the local 'chang' brew that always seems to appear?

We leave Lukla early morning to take the spectacular flight back to Kathmandu leaving behind the magnificence of the Himalayas and back to the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu. We transfer to the spectacular Park Village Resort at Budanilkantha about 15 minutes from the airport. This peaceful resort away from the noise of the city is the perfect place to relax after your arduous time in the mountains. You will check in to your luxurious suite that you have on a sole occupancy basis and you are free to make use of the many facilities that this to class resort has. The infinity pool is a must to relax those aching muscles.

After a relaxing morning for and a group lunch at the resort we are shuttled into Kathmandu to give you a free afternoon to do some last minute shopping. In the evening we have our final special group dinner at the hotel and then we have the premier of the uncut video of you trek and climbs shown in one of the many conference rooms at this fantastic hotel. The multimedia facilities here are superb and being able to watch the trek you have just done on the big screen with a relaxing, after dinner drink is in our opinion a special treat. You will receive the professionally edited version of the film on DVD shortly after your return home. Additionally you will receive a copy of all the digital images that we take of you throughout the entire trip!

After lunch at the hotel we will shuttle you to the airport for your flights home. We will assist everyone right through to check in and sort the international departure tax which is included in the trip cost. We will say our final farewells.