You can take your hike to Everest Base Camp to a whole new level by doing a very simple thing, which is including the Everest Gokyo Lake trekking itinerary to your journey. In the Everest Gokyo Lake trekking, you get to explore world’s highest lake system, known as Gokyo Lakes. Without a doubt, these are the most pleasing and exciting attractions, you would come across, in the entire Everest Region.
Explore World's Highest Lake System | Everest Gokyo Lake Trekking
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Everest Gokyo Lake Trekking
Everest Gokyo Lake trekking is one of the best ways to explore the Everest region, and trekking in Nepal altogether. Everest Gokyo Lake trek takes you to the world’s highest lake system, Gokyo Lakes. Consisting of 19 lakes altogether, the system spans across an area of 485 acres, and is situated at an elevation ranging from 4600 m to 5100 m. Though Gokyo Lake is the main lake in the system, the largest one is Thonak Cho. The water in the Gokyo Lake system comes mainly from Ngozumpa Glacier. Lying just below Mt. Cho Oyu, Ngozumpa glacier is one of the most prominent glaciers in Nepal.
Apart from the attractions mentioned above, Everest Gokyo Lake trekking journey also requires you to cover Gokyo Ri, a mini peak. Gokyo Ri altitude is 5357 m. Trekkers generally climb on top of the peak, as it offers amazing views of the mountains in the region. Also, you get to spend a couple of days at Gokyo village, which is the settlement area closest to Gokyo lake, and an absolute treat when it comes to the natural setting that it is located in. On the trek, you’ll also come across beautiful villages like Dole, Machermo, Thame, and so on. The only way to explore them is to go on the Everest Gokyo Lake trek.
When going on the Everest Gokyo Lake trekking, you have two options. You can either choose to include the Everest Base Camp, along with all the other villages and attractions that are covered in the journey, in your itinerary, or you can choose to go for Gokyo lakes system only. Needless to say that going for the first option would increase your trek duration by around 6 days, and also make it more challenging. Now, it’s entirely up to the trekker to take that decision. On your Everest Gokyo Lake trekking, you will have to cross Renjo La. At 5360 m, it is the one of the highest altitude mountain passes in the region.
Gokyo Lake Trek Difficulty
Generally, Gokyo Lake trek difficulty is marked at moderate, and it is assumed that people of all age groups and fitness levels can complete this trek. The terrain that you’d walk upon during the trek are quite like other journeys in the region, however, it’s the altitude and duration that makes the difference in the difficulty level. While other treks in the region take you to higher altitudes, and spans for longer durations, they are considered more extreme than Everest Gokyo Lake trekking.
You cross the 5000 m mark only twice during the trek – the first time when you climb on the top of Gokyo Peak, and the second time when you cross Renjo La. In the same way, only 11 days are spent on the route, out of which, you walk for 10 days, and one day is assigned for acclimatization. Gokyo Ri trek difficulty can be lowered and as well as raised. You can level it up by modifying the itinerary to cover other trekking journeys and locations in the core itinerary. This will require you to spend more time on the route, and cover more extreme locations. In the same way, you can lower it by making the trek even shorter by excluding certain villages, and by avoiding crossing Renjo La, and climbing Gokyo Ri.
Gokyo Lake Trek Map
Everest Gokyo Lake trekking is one of those journeys that can be modified up to a great extent. There are so many settlement areas and attractions in the Everest region that it’s not possible to cover all of them in one go. As trekkers, you can decide to include a certain viewpoint, or a pass, or a village to your itinerary, and change it, whether slightly, or completely. Now, to do so, it’s very important to know the area, the paths, and the location of the places you want to cover. There is only one thing that can help you gain all that knowledge, and that is Gokyo Lake trek Map.
During your Everest Gokyo Lake trek, Gokyo lake trek map will give you the freedom to choose your own side trips, and go for them without any hesitation. Gokyo Lake trek map will also help you better understand the area. With a map in your hand, you will anticipate attractions, and you’ll be prepared for challenges, as you’ll know at which part of the journey they would occur. A lot of times, trekkers get separated from their group during the journey; the map will remove all such possibilities, at least in your case, if you have it in your possession. So, make sure to get a map, not just right before the trek, but way ahead. Also, get the map of the entire Everest region and not just Everest Gokyo Lake Trekking.
Everest Base Camp Trek
Everest Base camp trek is a great option to Everest Gokyo Lake trekking. With the addition of Everest Base Camp to your itinerary, the journey becomes much more exciting and anticipating. Everest Base Camp trek takes you through few of the most interesting attractions of the Everest region. One of which is Tengboche. It is a small yet beautiful village that is known for Tengboche Monastery. Built almost a 100 years ago, it is the most significant Buddhist pilgrimage site in the region, with people coming from across Khumju to worship, meditate, celebrate and mourn in the monastery premises.
Another significant attraction of the trek is Kala Patthar. It is a mini mountain that offers the most amazing views of mountains in the Everest region. Some say that it’s even better than the one that Everest Base Camp offers. Throughout the journey, and especially from the top of Kala Patthar, you can have the views of peaks such as Everest, Cho Oyu, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, and so on.
And finally, the most crucial attraction of the trek, not just Everest Base Camp trek but the entire region, is Namche Bazaar. A town that is also known as ‘the gateway to Everest’. Here you’ll find the amalgamation of local cultures and western influences, in the people, in their lifestyle, in food, in accommodation and so on. Here, you’ll find all the facilities that you can think of; whatever you want to buy, you’ll get here. It is the economic and cultural center of the entire Khumbu region.
Everest Base Camp Trek Difficulty
The toughness of Everest Base Camp trek is also marked at moderate, as it has elements that make it both easy and challenging. Like any other trek, you can increase Everest Base Camp difficulty level, by adding other treks to the itinerary, for instance, Everest Gokyo Lake Trekking, and Everest High Pass trek. Unfortunately, you cannot decrease the difficulty level of this hike, as in case of other treks, because the main attraction of the journey is Everest Base Camp, which is the most extreme element of the trek. Removing it means taking away the essence of the tour.
You can, however, work to make the entire trekking experience easy for you. It’s an established fact that people who are fit are able to complete the journey, with more ease. Being fit will also help you cope with problems related to altitude, like sickness, breathing problems, and the overall adaptation, fairly easily. It is recommended that you involve yourself in some sort of exercise, preferably cardio, on a daily basis. This is the best way to prepare for the trek, and level down the difficulty level up to an extent.
Everest High Pass Trek
One of the toughest treks in the Everest Region is Everest High Pass trek. What makes it so challenging is the fact that the route takes you through the most extreme terrains, and highest of altitudes, when compared to other treks in the Everest region. During this trek, you’ll spend most of your time at an altitude above 4000 m. Also, during the journey, you’re required to cross three dangerous high altitude mountain passes, namely Kongma La (5535 m), Cho La (5357 m), and Renjo La (5360 m).
These attractions make the trek not just challenging, but exciting as well. Everest High Pass Trek could be considered as the unison of all the three main treks in the Everest Region – Everest Base Camp Trek, Everest Gokyo Lake Trekking, and Everest High Pass Trek. So, if you want to explore the entire Everest Region in one go, Everest High Pass trek is the ideal option for you.
Everyone goes for the Everest Base Camp trek; it is what comes to their mind when they think of trekking in the Everest region. However, there are few who realize that there’s much more to Everest region than Everest Base Camp. Everest Gokyo Lake trekking is the prime example of this notion. With the opportunity to explore world’s highest lake system, trekkers can have the best time of their life on this trek. So, if you’re thinking of ways to spend your upcoming holidays, try Everest Gokyo Lake trekking for a change. It’s a guarantee, you’d come back again and again, and trek on its route.
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With a travel companion Breeze Adventure, you get to have the best of Everest Gokyo Lake Trekking. The agency boasts of the best services in the travel industry, and it is able to deliver them because of the years of experience that it has in the field. If you want to have the best possible time trekking to the Gokyo Lakes, make sure to choose Breeze Adventures as your trekking service provider.
Kishwor Adhikari
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