It is possible to view the Everest Panorama without having to walk all the way up to Everest Base Camp. In fact the summit of Mount Everest is not even visible from Everest Base Camp. As the mighty mountain is just too massive to be viewed from the base camp, trekkers usually hike to Kala Patthar to enjoy a close up glimpse of the summit of the world’s highest mountain.
If you have time related issues coming in the way of your Everest dream, fret not for you can still visit the mountains and set your eyes on the summit of Mount Everest and other eight thousand metre peaks. Ace the Himalaya’s ‘Everest Panorama Trek,’ takes you up a comfortable hike to the Sherpa village of Tengboche located in the Everest Region from where you can glimpse the summit of Mount Everest and other peaks.
The trip’s duration is of 11 days with the actual trek lasting for six days. You begin your journey from Kathmandu with an exciting flight to Lukla. The 35-minute flight offers spectacular views of the Himalayan range. Lukla’s Tenzing-Hillary Airport situated at an elevation of 2,804m lies directly over a precipitous cliff face. It has been rated as one of the most dangerous airports in the world and the landing at the narrow runway has been described by most fliers as ‘hair-raising’.
Lukla which was actually a small Sherpa village, has grown into a bustling town after the construction of the Lukla airport in 1965 by Sir Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust. Lukla has an assortment of lodges, bakeries, restaurants and cyber cafes.
From Lukla it is an easy hike to Phakding. The path descends to the Dudh Kosi river and joins the trail to Namche Bazaar. The village of Phakding lies in the Dudh Kosi valley and is one of the many tiny picturesque Sherpa villages that dots the Everest trail. The second day’s trek brings you to Namche. Cut on the side of a mountain, the bowl shaped Namche Bazaar is flanked by the massive faces of Thamserku, Ama Dablam, Nuptse, Khumbila and Everest.
Spend a day acclimatizing in Namche. Namche, the largest Sherpa settlement in the Everest region, is a trading hub and many villagers living in the higher reaches come here to trade their wares. A walk to the Sherpa museum and the viewpoint at Shyangboche (located above Namche) serves as an ideal acclimatization hike.
Leaving Namche you ascend up to Tengboche. It takes around five hours of trekking to reach the village. Tengboche, with only a few houses and lodges constructed around the massive Tengboche Gompa, is set on a ridge offering splendid vistas of Thamserku, Kantega, Kusum Kangaru, Lhotse, Nuptse, etc.
From here you can gaze at the pristine beauty of the snowy pinnacles standing majestically in all their glory. If you make the trek during spring time you will be greeted with an explosion of pink rhododendron blooms filling the hillsides surrounding the village.
Take time out to visit the Buddhist monastery as it is one of the oldest and most important Buddhist monasteries in the Everest Region. After exploring and spending a night under the shadows of the massive mountains retrace your steps and return to Lukla from where you catch a flight back to Kathmandu.
