Responsible Tourism

Himalayan Base Camp Adventure

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STOP PRESS: This operator was nominated for the "Best Mountain Operator" in the Responsible Tourism Awards (sponsored by Virgin)

Classic Himalayan adventures with base camp adventure and off the beaten track exclusives!
Choose Everest base camp for an unforgettable trek to the foot of the world's highest mountain. This is a chance to follow in the footsteps of Sir Edmund Hilary and Sherpa Tenzing, and visit Tengboche Monastery situated majestically on the ridge above the valley looking up to Mt Everest - known locally as Sagarmatha, "the mother goddess of the snows". Traditionally, climbers stop here to be blessed at the monastery for success on Everest. Sherpa culture, himalayan nature and a trekking extravaganza! Or choose the Annapurna Sanctuary for a shorter and lower altitude base camp adventure. You will be trekking through beautiful Alpine Himalayan villages to an amazing mountain amphitheatre in the centre of the Annapurna Range. Experience the sunrise at Poon Hill - a renowned viewing point for this range of the Himalaya, where we should see the Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Machhapuchhare A beautiful ridge walk takes us onto the trail which leads to the grand finale - Annapurna and Machhapuchhare Base Camps (Two for the price of one!). This grand mountain amphitheatre has 360 degree views, so the most difficult decision you will make is which way to look!

You can either join a small group departure or ask us to tailor make a trip according to your specific needs. There are also extension options to add a trip to the jungle for elephant back safaris in search of Bengal Tiger and one horned Rhino!

Here's what one customer had to say: ""Once again you have organised a fantastic trek with first class organization, leadership and staff, together with all the arrangements in Kathmandu. I know that everyone in our party greatly appreciated your efforts, enthusiasm, and efficiency. You have a wonderful team there. I will be talking to you about a return trip! Congratulations to The Responsible Travellers!"

Highlights of this tour:

• 17 days ex Kathmandu
• 3 nights city hotel accommodation
• 14 day lodge based trek
• Maximum Altitude: 5545m
• Daily walking 5-8 hours
• 2 days guided sightseeing - Tour of Highlights of Kathmandu
• Return Mountain Flight KTM - Lukla

Example of the itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in Kathmandu. Transfer to the hotel and relax. Accommodation: city hotel B&B.
Day 2: Kathmandu sightseeing. Trip briefing from your leader then guided sightseeing to 2 of Kathmandu's major sights. Our first destination is Nepal's most important Hindu temple - Pashupatinath. The cobbled streets are bustling with ladies selling incense and colourful Sadhus (holy men). The Lord Pashupati is an incarnation of Shiva, and this temple attracts many devoted followers. Our second visit is to Boudha - a Buddhist site. Join the locals to circumambulate the Stupa, bargain in the shops, or sit and watch the world go by. Evening group dinner at one of the characterful restaurants. Accommodation: city hotel B&B.
Day 3: Kathmandu to Phakding. Early internal flight to Lukla (40 mins). Weather dependant you should enjoy spectacular mountain views all the way to Lukla. The flight is an amazing experience in itself. Today's trek is then a relatively short and beautiful walk through small Sherpa villages up the Dudh Kosi valley to Phakding. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 4: Phakding to Namche Bazaar. We continue up the Dudh Kosi River with some spectacular bridge crossings before making a final steep climb up to Namche. We should have a good view of Mt Thamserkhu and maybe your first glimpse of Everest. Namche is situated spectacularly in a cwm on the mountainside and is the main Sherpa town in upper Khumbu, where people from all over the valley come to buy or sell their goods. Namche also has a post office, bank, phone service, internet cafes, etc. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 5: Namche Bazaar. Acclimatising day: See a bit of the culture and get an understanding of the Sherpa people at the National Museum and the Sherpa Culture Museum. We will then climb up to Shyangboche airstrip to Everest View Hotel and on to 2 very beautiful villages. We'll visit Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust school & hospital and the Khumjung Monastery that houses the Yeti's scalp! We will then make our way back to Namche. (Options to shorten the walk). Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 6: Namche Bazaar to Tengboche. A very scenic walk out of Namche and then to Kyanjuma with continuous view of the mountains. We descend down to the bridge over the Dudh Koshi then ascend through the forest up to Tengboche. There is the chance to visit the monastery and the Eco-centre, with time for an acclimatising walk up the ridge for the energetic! The view of the Everest massif should be fantastic and we may spot the Himalayan Tahr, Himalayan Monal and musk deer. Accommodation: mountain lodge.

Day 7:
Tengboche to Dingboche. Leaving the meadow of Tengboche we drop down a while and walk through the forest of Rhododendron, Birch and Fir until we cross the bridge over the Imja River and climb up to Pangboche, with a continual view of Ama Dablam. The trail then follows the river and climb up to Dingboche. In clear conditions, sunset on the mountains is absolutely beautiful. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 8: Dingboche acclimatising. Dingboche is a patchwork of small fields enclosed by stone walls which help to keep the cattle away from the crops. It is mainly inhabited during the monsoon to farm and graze the yaks on the surrounding slopes of the mountains. An optional walk up the Chukung Valley is extremely worthwhile; the views are fantastic. This day has a gentle incline and is an enjoyable exploration of one of the most beautiful Khumbu valleys. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 9: Dingboche acclimatising. 3 options today. The first is a climb of the nearby peak Nangarshang (5000m), only available to those acclimatising well. The second is to sit and enjoy the sunroom and have a rest day allowing your body to conserve energy & acclimatise. The third is to do the valley walk of day 8 if you decided to take a rest the previous day. You are advised to follow the advice from the leader when deciding on your option. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 10: Dingboche to Loboche. After 3 nights at Dingboche we leave to ascend the Khumbu valley towards Everest. We climb on to a small ridge then climb up to Thugla and to the top of the memorial ridge. We are now alongside the Khumbu Glacier. Here, scattered all over are ‘chortens' or memorials of people who have died on Everest. Lobuche is about an hour from here with views of the extremity of the Khumbu Valley - an amphitheatre surrounded by Pumori, Lingtren, Khumbutse, Changtse, Lhola and Nuptse. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 11: Base Camp. Today we start very early. The trail runs parallel with the lateral moraine of the Khumbu glacier until we climb onto a moraine at the Changri Nup Glacier. It then undulates over rocky paths until we descend to Gorakshep. Leaving Gorakshep there is a sandy beach and lake. The trail undulates until we drop down and climb onto the glacier. A further ½ hr will bring us to the area known as Base Camp at the bottom of the Ice Fall. During April and May you should experience true expedition fever with Sherpas setting up the camps. Looking up, is the ice fall, a massive tumble of ice that gets ones imagination soaring. After exploring the Base Camp we return to Gorakshep. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 12: Gorekshep to Loboche. We start early to climb the viewing peak Kala Patthar to see sunrise over Everest. The ascent is steep, so it is important to take it slow and maintain a steady pace. It takes up to 2 ½ hours to reach the summit at 5600m, the highest point on the trek, and the best vantage point to view Everest. Here the view is outstanding, with 360 degree panorama of the mountains, an emotional, experience. We return by the same route down to Gorakshep and then down the valley to Periche. Tonight you should sleep well, benefiting from a significant descent. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 13-15: Loboche to Lukla. These last 3 days are spent trekking back to Lukla. We follow the trail to Kyengjuma where we will be staying with a retired climbing sherpa. The next morning is a short walk to Namche, then we carry on down after lunch to Munjo. The evening in Lukla will be our last with the staff crew, time to celebrate and say farewell. Accommodation: mountain lodge.
Day 16: Lukla to Kathmandu. Morning flight back to Kathmandu, with the sensa
tional take off from the mountain airstrip, to enjoy the luxury of a hot shower and a change of fresh clothes! The rest of the day is spent in the finest medieval town in Nepal - Bhaktapur. In the 14th - 16th centuries this was the country's capital city and has the finest examples of Newari architecture. Return to Thamel for an evening of celebration for the last night of the trip. Accommodation: city hotel B&B.

Day 17: Depart Kathmandu.

The benefits you bring in making this journey:

We are a non commercial organisation specialising in travel within the Himalaya. The company's primary objective is to provide first class experiences which in turn generate income for development projects in Nepal which support environmental and educational development. We can therefore offer you a rare and unique opportunity to visit this spectacular Himalayan Kingdom knowing that all profits generated will be invested in local charitable projects.

We take great pride in the fact that we are doing the right thing by you our customers, by our staff, and by the people, country and environment in which we operate.

All our holidays have the same core 5 values:
• We are a non commercial organisation donating 100% of profits to charitable projects in Nepal.
• We will pay to twice the commercial cost carbon balance your international flights to Nepal's renewable energy agency BSP.
• Through a committed environmental policy we work to ensure minimal impact of our activities
• Have a simple and fair pricing policy with no extras- price us up against other companies!
• Have a fair and ethical employment policy which is committed to employing local staff and paying fair wages.
If you are ready for a change in the way you approach your holiday, we believe no-one else can offer you a better option.

In addition, on all our volunteer & trekking holidays offer the option for free filtered water, which is provided to customers to ensure minimal environmental impact of use of firewood to boil water or plastic bottles which can not be re-cycled. We issue all clients with a rubbish bag - all waste items are collected in the bag and removed from the mountains so that they can be disposed of safely and responsibly. Where there is a choice we will only use teahouses that use renewable energy fuel stoves and water heating systems such as biogas and solar energy.

Credibility: Our group leaders attend professional mountaineering training with Nepal Mountaineering Association / European Alpine clubs. They also have Mountain Leadership and Mountain Safety & first aid training provided by KEEP (Kathmandu Environmental Education Project is a registered non-governmental organisation, working to support sustainable tourism in Nepal). We pride ourselves on paying wages higher than commercial organisations and limit the loads that our porter staffs carry. Equally the assistant Sherpa staffs all receive training in English language and eco-trekking.

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