Trekking in the Everest region

What to expect

During my recent solo trek in December 2024, I explored the Solukhumbu region, just west of Everest. I was especially drawn to Solukhumbu for its gentle hiking trails at mostly lower altitudes, its vibrant cultural villages, and the warm hospitality of the Sherpa community. In conversations with many local guesthouse owners, I learned how this beautiful region has been somewhat forgotten by tourists since the construction of the airport in Lukla, which shortens most treks in Sagarmatha National Park by around ten days. In contrast, Solukhumbu has preserved its original charm, offering an authentic glimpse into Sherpa life—descendants of migrants from Tibet who settled here decades ago. The trek is rich in picturesque villages, Buddhist monasteries, and stupas, with snow-capped peaks ever-present in the background.

Why trek with us

Deep Knowledge & First-Hand Experience
I have spent over 100 trekking days in the Himalaya, exploring all major multi-day routes in Nepal including Annapurna, Manaslu, Everest, Langtang, Tsum Valley, and more. I am also completing a Master’s in South Asian Studies at the University of Bonn, where I focuse on religious city planning and Himalayan art. This allows me to enrich our treks with cultural and architectural insights beyond the typical route.

Trusted Local Partnership
 On my first Nepal trip in 2019, I met Surya—a local guide with over 30 years of experience. We guided our first group together in 2024 and share values of community support and fair treatment of staff. We ensure above-average pay, full insurance, proper equipment, and accommodations that treat porters with the same dignity as guests. Our giests often remark on how respectfully our entire team is treated and how seamlessly porters are integrated into the group.

Your Well-Being Comes First
Through my many solo treks, I have learned the importance of proper acclimatisation. Besides, I have completed training with the German Mountain Leader Association for safety above 3,000 m and previously attended a one-month mountaineering course in India. My top priority is that you feel well—not just symptom-free. We take a slow, careful pace and work with two guides, so if anyone needs to rest or descend, you're never alone. Someone will always stay with you and ensure you receive the support or care you need.

Support Every Step of the Way
Trekking in the Himalayas and traveling to Nepal can feel overwhelming. That is why I support you not just on the trail, but also during preparation. I am happy to answer all your questions—whether by phone, email, or message—and no concern is too small. Many of my guests stay in close contact before the trip, and I welcome that.

Empowering Women in Nepal
One of the goals of Shanti Treks is to support young women in Nepal in entering the male-dominated trekking industry. We partner with Akasha Academy, a German NGO based in Kathmandu, which offers a 10-month empowerment program for young women. We aim to sponsor participants to complete the official trekking guide license. As part of their internship, they join our trek to gain practical experience, improve their English, and learn cross-cultural communication. In return, they share powerful, personal insights into what it means to grow up as a woman in Nepal.

Physical requirements

The trek is quite different from the hut tours in the Alps. While we only hike on non-technical hiking trails, the difficulty of the tour lies in the length of the trek and the higher altitude. Please also read the section on altitude sickness in the Health section. We hike almost continuously over 3000 meters and sleep at up to 4200 meters, which means it is quite cold at night and in the early morning and evening hours. The bedrooms can have temperatures around 0 °C at night. Food at such altitudes is generally sufficient, but not as rich in minerals and nutrients as in the valley. In general, you should have done multi-day treks in the mountains before, have solid basic fitness and (be able to) prepare your body for the tour. You should have no severe health problems or known problems with altitude, hike consistently and steadily at your own pace, and be hardy against the cold. In addition, your physical condition should not suffer easily due to simple accommodation and food.

Please note that it is your responsibility to make sure that you are fit enough and able to participate in this trip. If you have never hiked with me before or are unsure whether you meet the physical and technical requirements or whether you have the right equipment, I’d be very happy to speak over the phone with you about the trip in advance.

Service included

• Organised trip by a registered travel company
• Organized trekking by two guides, a qualified UIMLA Mountain Leader and a local guide
• Luggage transport on the trek by porters (max. 10 kg)
• An info-package after sign-up with general information about Nepal, and details on things to prepare, such as flight booking, visa requirements, vaccinations, a packing list etc.
• An info-package three months before the tour with more practical info about your stay in Nepal
• Online info-event a month before departure including getting to know the group
• Unlimited individual travel advice over the phone before departure, i.e. on flight booking, visa requirements, vaccinations or if you wish to extend your trip
• A group of max. 10 guests, no minimum number of guests
• Airport transfer to the hotel on the day of your arrival and departure
• 4 hotel nights including breakfast in Kathmandu in double or twin rooms
• All group transport in Kathmandu
• All accommodation, three meals a day, and unlimited tea during the whole trek
• All trekking permits for Solukhumbu region
• Transport by jeeps from the hotel to the start and from the end of the hike back

Extra costs on tour

• Travel to Kathmandu
• Visa (approx. 50 €)
• Hot showers, Wi-Fi or phone battery charging fees on the trek if applicable (approx. 2-5 € each)
• Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu (approx. 5 € to 20 €)
• Tips for the local guide, drivers and porters

Additional costs may vary and are for guidance only.

Optional

Wildlife Safari at Chitwan National Park
Extend your holiday by another week and join us for a multi-day wildlife safari and more sightseeing in Nepal. You find all information and the option to book here.

Accommodation

In Kathmandu we sleep in a very nice hotel with a beautiful and peaceful garden, surrounded by a lively neighbourhood where a lot of restaurants, cafes and shops are located. Here we can prepare perfectly for our trek and end our time together after our return.

On the tour we sleep in teahouses run by locals from the region. There is usually a room where cooking takes place with an adjoining dining room that is heated and where people spend the day and evening. The bedrooms are usually twins and sometimes multi-bedrooms in the same or adjacent buildings. These rooms are generally not heated and are equipped with simple wooden beds including a mattress, a pillow and a blanket. Washrooms provide cold running water and there are usually Asian style toilets (directly in the ground). Some accommodations offer (warm) showers at an additional cost. The higher you go, the simpler the accommodation becomes. Besides hot showers, you often have to pay extra for Wi-Fi, if available, and charging power devices.

Food

The cuisine in the teahouses is surprisingly diverse, from traditional Dāl bhāt, fried rice and delicious soups to pizza and pasta. Porridge and muesli are also very popular alongside the typical bread with scrambled eggs for breakfast. Vegetables and fruits become less available above 3500 meters and must be treated before drinking.

Travel

Kathmandu has an international airport and You can join up with other guests to travel to Kathmandu together. The tour price includes an airport transfer on the day of your arrival and departure. I am happy to give you an overview of the best airlines and flight routes to reach Kathmandu and reveal some valuable travel hacks. 

To enter the country, you need a passport (which is valid for at least 6 months beyond the duration of your trip) and a visa, which you can get with most nationalities upon arrival at the airport in Kathmandu. Further information can be found on the Nepalese immigration authority website.

Health and Safety

On the trek we hike up to an altitude of 4600 meters and sleep up to 4200 meters. Although we take a lot of time to acclimatize, some people may experience problems with the altitude, which at worst may lead to descending early from the trek. You can find further information about altitude sickness on the website of the UK’s national health service (NHS).

There are no special vaccination regulations for Nepal. However, a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required if you are traveling from an infected area. I provide further information on vaccines after your booking but generally recommend to speak to a medical professional well in advance of the trek.

You find more information about health on the NHS fit for travel website and about travel and safety on the UK foreign office's website.

Programme

Day 1 – Arrival
We meet at the hotel in Kathmandu, where we also sleep the last two nights of our trip, so we can leave additional luggage at the hotel during the trek. There will be an informal walking tour to the sightseeing highlights of Kathmandu in the morning for those arriving early. In the late afternoon, Surya, our local trekking guide, and I will give a detailed tour briefing in the hotel’s garden and discuss the packing list. After that there is the opportunity to get together for chats. In the evening we have a joined dinner. If you arrive late that day, we can have an individual tour briefing in the next day’s morning also.

Day 2 – Visit Akasha Academy
We drive to the outskirts of Kathmandu to visit the Akasha Academy, where the girls that are interested in becoming mountain leaders are attending their one-year traineeship. They will show us their project and its beautiful premisses, we have lunch at their artisan bakery, and they will take us for a gentle hike in the surrounding hills.

Day 3 – Drive to Bandar
2 km, ↑ 400 m, 1.5 hrs walking time (not including breaks)
We start early to take private jeeps to a small town in the Himalaya and the starting point of our trek (7-8 hrs). After lunch in town, we walk uphill to a small village (2000 m) in the hills, where we stay overnight in a guesthouse.

Note: The estimated walking time does not include breaks. If not otherwise stated, we usually start hiking around 8 am and get to our accommodation between 3 pm and 4 pm each day.

Day 4 – Mu Gumba (2985 m)
4 km, ↑ 980 m, 3 hrs walking
It’s a steep start to the trek, as we have to go up the hill all day today. Yet, the views are getting increasingly stunning with the white-capped mountains in the distance. We stop in an isolated and family-run guesthouse for a hearty and organic lunch before we continue to the ridge from which we can already see Pikey Peak and our route over the coming days. We stay overnight in the little village on the ridge, which lies on a beautiful sunny plateau, and we can wonder around in the afternoon experiencing the local life and visiting the three monasteries in close vicinity.

Day 5 – Nagur (3390 m)
7 km, ↑ 580 m, ↓ 150 m, 3 hrs walking
It is a beautiful hike today following the mountain ridge into lush Rhododendron forests with great views in all directions. Nagur lies in the middle of the forest and has only two houses and a monastery. Our guesthouse is a small homestay with basic accommodation, and we eat with the family in the kitchen. And you get a real feel what it is like for Nepalese to live in these remote areas.

Day 6 – Pikey Peak Basecamp  (3730 m)
3 km, ↑ 400 m, 2 hrs walking
From the monastery you have a wide view over the white-capped Himalaya in the distance, hence it is a fantastic spot for watching the sunrise. As our hike today is reasonably short, we can take our time for breakfast and start a little later. We continue walking through ancient forests until we reach above the treeline and see the Basecamp of Pike Peak ahead of us. It’s a short uphill but given the thin air it will take longer than expected to reach our base. However, the guesthouses are well-equipped, and a warm shower awaits. The sunset from the guesthouse’s window is also incredible.

Day 7 – Pikey Peak (4065 m) & Takor (3496 m)
8 km, ↑ 600 m, ↓ 850 m, 4 hrs walking
Today is one of our highlights of the trip. Right in the morning we hike up the grassy round ridge to reach Pikey Peak just above the basecamp. From here an incredible panoramic mountain view opens including several peaks above 8000 meters. From East to West, we see Kanchenjunga, Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, Shishapangma, Manaslu, and the Annapurna and many more. After spending some time on the summit and enjoying the view, we descend through a Rhododendron forest to reach the small enclave of Jase Bhanjyang (3800 m), where we stop for lunch. There is another uphill section right after before we reach a green meadow scattered with ruins of shepherd huts. From here the path winds down again through a forest until it opens to farmland, and we reach Takor.

Day 8 – Phurteng (3010 m)
12 km, ↑ 500 m, ↓ 950 m, 5 hrs walking
Today our route winds mostly downhill on wide farm roads and hiking paths until we reach the small settlement of Junbesi. Along the way we pass Serlo Monastery, which is a hub of education for about 100 monks. Last year I spontaneously visited the monastery as they had a small but very interesting exhibition on, which I am keen to show you. After lunch in Junbesi, we follow a small hiking path uphill passing through a forest before we reach the Phurteng, which only contains two houses again. One of them is Pemba’s small organic farm and guesthouse. He is very friendly and chatty and happy to give a tour through is beautiful garden in the afternoon, where he and his wife grow everything, they need. In the evening, we will be spoiled with the freshest vegetables and can taste the region’s famous yak cheese.

Day 9 – Ringmu (2810 m)
6 km, ↑ 300 m, ↓ 800 m, 3 hrs walking
We have a considerably short and easy day to Ringmu today, where we will arrive for lunch. In the afternoon, you have some time to wash your clothes, laze in the sun and relax.

Day 10 – Kamo Danda (3845 m)
6 km, ↑ 1000 m, 4 hrs walking
After a relaxing day, it will be a tough climb to Kamo Danda. The forest is incredibly beautiful though and there are plenty of rest spots. We will take it slowly and arrive at our destination in the early afternoon. From the guesthouse we can see our route of the last days and an absolutely fantastic sunset over Pikey Peak in the distance.

Day 11 – Sahersbeni (4025 m)
7 km, ↑ 450 m, ↓ 250 m, 3 hrs walking
The hike is beautiful today walking on a panoramic open path above the treeline with the views of Pikey Peak always in the distance. It is short in distance, but we will need our time given the altitude. Luckily, along the way are numerous break-spots to enjoy a rest and the fantastic view. We will arrive in Sahersbeni for a late lunch and can venture to a viewpoint in the afternoon or simply rest.

Day 12 – Dudh Kunda (4625 m) & Yak Kharka (4175 m)
9 km, ↑↓ 600 m, 3 hrs walking
We will get up early to hike to Dudh Kunda and enjoy this beautiful milky lake in its morning glory. The path gently goes up the high-plateau valley passing in close vicinity snow-capped mountains and glaciers. After lunch we continue to Yak Kharka.

6 km, ↑ 450 m, ↓ 250 m, 3 hrs walking
There is a new route in the planning with the guesthouse half-way still to be built this spring. If everything goes like planned, we will be one of the first guests in autumn. I have met Phutsering, wo is planning the construction, on my recent trek and am staying in contact to follow how the building is going. He has recently built two lodges in Kamo Dada and Sahersbeni within three months this year, so I am positive it all gets done. From Sahersbeni the path goes uphill to a ridge, which we walk along until we reach the guesthouse on a flat plateau. Should the guesthouse not be finished, we will go back the same way to Ringmu from where the Jeeps can also pick us up to go back to Kathmandu.

Day 13 – Junbesi (2700 m)
10 km, ↓ 1500 m, 4.5 hrs walking
Our last day is a long stretch of downhill until we reach the lively town of Junbesi, which we already passed a couple of days ago and where we stopped for lunch. On the way we come through Thupten Choling, which is the region’s biggest and most important monastery and where we will stop for lunch. If we are lucky, we can also take part in their chanting practice.

Day 14 – Drive back
We have an early breakfast in our guesthouse and take private jeeps back to Kathmandu (6-7 hrs).

Day 15 – Kathmandu
Today I will take you around my favourite spots in Kathmandu after trekking, if you want, including delicious food places, hang out cafes and an amazing 1.5-hour massage at the best spa (and I tried many). You also have free time for sightseeing and souvenir shopping, In the evening we end the tour together in the best pizza restaurant in town – it’s something I always crave after days in the mountains. Day 15 also serves as a spare day in case we have to take an extra day off during the trek due to bad weather or slow acclimatization. Departure today is in theory possible, but at your own risk and not recommended.

Day 16 – Departure
We say goodbye over breakfast, and you can start your travel home or onwards at any time.

Note that our hiking days may differ from the described programme due to weather and path conditions or the physical ability of the group.