We will meet you at Kathmandu International airport and transfer you by private coach to the very 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 en-suite room) and freshened up we will have a meeting to introduce everyone and have a quick presentation about the trip. A group dinner will follow at the hotel and after this most people will turn in for a much needed sleep after their long journey to Nepal

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 with 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 from our elevated position. We return to the Kathmandu Guest House for lunch at Café Bahal and then in the afternoon take an exhilarating rickshaw ride around the city’s famous Durbar Square where again we will have an expert tour guide. Before dinner we will give you a short multi media presentation about your trek outlining some of the health and safety issues and looking at altitude sickness. This is a great opportunity for any questions that any group members have to be answered. We have dinner this evening at the famous 'Rum Doodles' where you will experience great food in appropriate surrounds as the walls are adorned with Everest memoribilia including the Everest Summiteers board signed by the many who have scaled this lofty height.

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 stone-built 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. But most people will have their sights firmly set on the approach to Lukla and our exciting descent to the runway. Depending on our arrival time we may have lunch in Lukla or start trekking directly, walking down for 45 minutes 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 cross a stunning suspension bridge over the mighty Dudh Khosi. We stop and camp for the night just the other side of this bridge.

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 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 with the possibilty of a glimpse of Everest to our right. Namche Baazar,the principal village of the Khumbu region is reached and you will hear the ever present 'chick chink' sound of stone masons hard at work. Your efforts for the ascent of the hill climb is rewarded with a scrumptious cake from Hermans Bakery which will soon replenish the energy levels. We stay at the excellent Hotel Kangri run by our good friend Dorgee Lama Sherpa for the next two nights which is located in the centre of Namche and where you will find comfortable,clean accommodation and a wide selection of excellent food including 'Yak' steaks,

We spend the day acclimatising in and around Namche with a short hike to the village of Khumjung to visit the Sir Edmund Hillary School. A short and very enjoyable walk takes us to the famous Everest View Hotel where we have lunch and hopefully if the weather is clear we will have superb views of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam whilst enjoying our lunch out on the large patio veranda. A short walk back to Namche via a ridge may provide us with the opportunity to see Himalayan griffon or lammergier soaring on the thermals rising above the Dudh Khosi 1000m below. What a fantastic sight!

We have a further day acclimatising as many trekkers ascend too quickly especially into the Gokyo area where we are eventually going and suffer drastically from AMS. This is something that can be avoided by acclimatising steadily over a period of days. With our walk to Thame we gain valuable time acclimatising and in the process we gain access to another spectacular valley that you will enjoy exploring. Thame is a lovely little place and well worth the effort in trekking here and back in a day. After an early breakfast in Namche we steadily plod along the valley passing a large amount of beautifully sculpted chortens and mani stones. We pass through a number of very small villages where the local people are always pleased to see us. A long and arduous day for some people but with our slow, gradual pace most people manage this extremely useful acclimatising trek.

From Namche we start off steeply on a path which cuts through the many terraced fields until we reach a hugh painted Mani Stone. We continue along a wonderful contouring path through to Sangnasa, a small settlement with a few lodges. 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 4200m.

Vegetation in the park varies from pine and hemlock forests at lower altitudes, fir, juniper, birch and rhododendron woods at mid-elevations, 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 choughs and snow pigeon. Fairly common birds are the Himalayan griffon, lammergeier, snow partridge, skylark and Tibetan raven

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 4410 m. 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!

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 8153 m dominates the skyline to the north as we climb the moraine on the Ngozumpa Glacier. The climb is gradual 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 at the first lake, LongpongaTso at 4710m. Continuing on we pass Dudh Pokhari, the second lake en-route to Gokyo at 4750m. Gokyo is a small hamlet of stone houses and stone walled pastures which nestles on the lateral morraine of the Ngozumba Glacier. If the weather is ideal in the afternoon we can make an ascent of Gokyo Ri (5357m). If we time the ascent to coincide with the sunset over the mountains it offers a superb photographic opportunity. Stunning views of Everest, Lhotse and Cho Oyu can be seen from the tremendous position. We will take our headtorches in case we wish to savour the moment on the summit and we can then make the very easy descent on a good path with our torch light.

Today will be spent relaxing for those who wish to. For those that are keen and feeling fit a very worthwhile trip is up to the fouth lake named Thonak Tso whch is only a short 2.5km walk further up the valley and doesn't take very long. Once here we can view the impressive pinnacled rigde called 'Frostbitten Fingers' and if people are feeling fit we ascend the ridge by a very easy path to a high point of approximately 5650m which is below the true summit. The pinnacles are spectacular and the climb is certainly well worth it for the truely awsome panorama that spreads before us.

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 (6090m). 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.

A spectacular day today as we trek on a rough path high above the Khumbu Glacier to Gorak Shep (5200m). Consisting of just a handful of basic lodges and yak herders huts. Gorak Shep is the last habitation before Everest base camp. We camp here on the sandy flats, and in the afternoon 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 have great views onto Pumori and our panorama stretches across the Lho La Pass to Changtse in Tibet. Should the weather not be ideal for the summit attemp we can try again the following morning for a sunrise walk followed by the amazing trek to Everest Base Camp itself.

An early start will see up on the top of Kala Pattar for the phenomenal sunrise if we decide to do this summit today. Back to our campsite for a hearty breakfast and then we make our way towards Everest Base Camp along the edge of the Khumbu glacier. Once at the basecamp we will give you an in-depth history lesson on the successes and failures that this mountain has seen. Capturing this place on camera and video will feature highly today and if we are in luck there may be an expedition already based here and if so we may have the opportunity to speak to some of the expedition members. We retrace our steps to Gorak Shep and back to our camp.

Leaving Gorak Shep we head back down the valley parallel to the Khumbu glacier passing through Lobuche and Dugla before dropping down onto a flat plain before reaching Periche for our overnight camp. For those keen and up for it we have the option of ascending Nagerstang Peak 5083m from Periche should you have the desire and remaining energy. This is a worthwhile little peak to summit as it affords some amazing views onto Ama Dablam, Kang Tega and Thamserku

Following the main Everest trail down the beautifully scenic valley, we pass through Pangboche and re-cross the river before climbing to the famous monastery at Tengboche and it is here that we camp for the night.

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 past Sangnasa and Kyenzoma to reach the contouring path leading back to Namche Bazaar. Again we stay at the excellent Hotel Kangri run by our good friend Dorgee Lama Sherpa who will be waiting to meet us with drinks and snacks.

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 hill-side, past numerous shops and tea-houses to Lukla. It will seem much longer than 2 weeks since we were last here! Our final night in the mountains will be spent in the newly built and renovated Himalayan Lodge. Tonight is special as we have our last dinner with all of our Nepalese guides,porters and sherpas who have spent the last two weeks looking after us. No doubt they will have you singing, dancing before the night is out especially as the local lethal brew of 'Chang' sometime appears!

This is a buffer day which has been included in the trip to give us some flexibility with our itinerary, additional acclimatisation time if neccessary and to cover us with possible flight delays.

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 drive 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. It is here that you stay in your own suite which is very luxourious with all facilities. We suggest a dip in the fantastic infinity pool to relax all of those aching muscles!

After a relaxing morning we are shuttled into Kathmandu for a group lunch and to allow you a free afternoon to do some last minute shopping and exploring. 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/climbs shown in one of the many conference rooms using the superb multi media facilities that the Park Village Hotel has. At the same time we will put on a slide show with all of our digital images that we have taken whilst you are relaxing with an after dinner drink. The professionally edited copy of the film and a copy of the digital images will arrive at you home address within two weeks of your return. This is a fantastic memento to look at for years to come.

Relaxing morning to pack and after lunch at the hotel we will arrange to have you transferred to Kathmandu's International airport for your flight back home. The majority of flights to the West depart in the afternoon and early evening. We will say our final farewells at the airport.