Gokyo Lake Trek
View the sunrise/sunset view at Mount Everest
Normal
12 Days
Everest
- Starts at: Lukla
- Ends at: Lukla
- Trek Region: Everest
- Transport: Flight
- Duration: 12 Days
- Trip Grade: Moderate
- Max Altitude: 5,357 m/ 1632 ft (Gokyo Ri)
- Accommodation: Teahouse
Trip Overview
Gokyo Lake Trek
Gokyo Lake Trek Highlights
- Walkthrough the peaceful, off-beaten paths of the Everest region to reach Gokyo valley
- View the sunrise/sunset view at Mount Everest and other peaks from Gokyo Ri (5357 meters)
- Click awesome photographs of the unspoiled and crisp Gokyo valley
- Delve into the serenity of the dazzling glacial lakes, especially during the afternoon
- Explore one of the biggest glaciers in the Khumbu region- the Ngozumpa glacier
The Gokyo Lake Trek is an alternative to the traditional Everest Base Camp trek while still providing the trekker with plenty of stunning views of Everest and overnight stays in the iconic town of Namche Bazaar, the gateway to the Khumbu Region.
The route to the Gokyo Lakes is less busy but still affords the trekker an insight into local village life, impressive views of icy rivers and stony, glacier debris, snow-capped mountains, and of course, the dazzling turquoise waters of Gokyo Lakes themselves.
The Gokyo Lakes are actually made up of six bodies of water, or lakes, located at an altitude of 4700 to 5000m in the Gokyo Valley. Gokyo Valley falls within the Sagarmatha National Park area.
The lakes are the world’s highest freshwater lake system and have been designated as a Ramsar site (wetlands of international importance) and sacred to both Hindus and Buddhists. And if you need any more testaments to the beauty and importance of this area, Lonely Planet states, “for our money, the Gokyo Valley is the most spectacular in the Khumbu.”
By spending an extra day in the Gokyo Valley, you can visit the 5th and 6th lakes in a high alpine bowl at the foot of Cho Oyu, the world’s 6th highest mountain.
You should expect to walk around 5 hours a day, with one of the highlights being a steep climb up to Gokyo RI (5,357m) to view Mount Everest, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, and Makalu. Also on display is the largest glacier in Nepal, Ngozumpa, and ice ridges. If walking 5 hours a day is not an option for you and you still want to see the pristine beauty of Gokyo lake, consider a helicopter tour.
To acclimatize before setting off for the Gokyo Ri and Gokyo Valley, time spent in Namche Bazaar offers you the opportunity to trek to nearby Khumjung Village to visit the school set up by Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, was the first person to successfully summit Mount Everest.
Since that time, dozens of climbing expeditions and thousands of trekkers have made Namche Bazaar a vibrant, bustling market town where it is possible to swap trekking stories with members of other groups.
