Our first morning on the trail! After hot tea and a hearty breakfast, we follow the rolling terrain past traditional villages and plowed fields, and up into aromatic pine and cedar forests. It’s about four hours to our first camp near the village of Phakding (8,562 ft), a UNESCO World Heritage Site with many examples of traditional Nepalese architecture. We’ll be sure to hike clockwise around the mani ( Buddhist prayer stones) we encounter, and may find ourselves, like locals, chanting the mantra ‘Om mani padme hum,’ a virtuous deed believed to influence the next life. We’ll gather gear and load up our yaks, then head out bound for Everest! Our trail from Lukla descends through terraced hillsides, along stone fences, and across suspension bridges stretched over the Dudh Kosi river, fed from the meltwater of Everest’s infamous Khumbu icefall as it flows all the way from India to Tibet. Soon we will be walking among those mighty peaks. We leave at sunrise to catch our short, scenic flight to Lukla (9,200 ft), sweeping in low over Kathmandu Valley to land at tiny Tenzig-Hillary airstrip, with views of the Himalayas off in the distance. Here, at the rooftop of the world, all your worries flutter away like flags on a string. You’re no longer just a hiker-you’re an explorer. Off the grid, into the breach, you look up and breathe in the view of the world’s most storied heights. We have prime access to the heart of the Himalayas and, on our inaugural departure, we’ll travel alongside Outside editor Matt Skenazy, who’s led the magazine’s Everest coverage for the past five years. This exclusive journey takes you to the country’s most sacred sites and stunning mountain passes, with twelve days of fully supported Himalaya trekking-all accommodations, transport, food, porters and permits taken care of-plus the opportunity to connect to Nepal’s timeless traditions thriving at monasteries, markets, and remote mountain villages. This 17-day trekking and cultural adventure sounds like fantasy. Despite the sore feet and tired muscles, the experience is more rewarding than you thought possible. Now you’re testing yours, trekking in the “Land of the Gods,” over dazzling peaks and past deep blue lakes-each day, each hour, pushing yourself higher, farther, deeper. You’re standing right where the world’s greatest climbers have tested their mettle. It’s a place unlike any other on Earth, at an altitude you’ve only dreamed of, gazing at the spired peaks above and flowing valleys below.
You’re trekking through the Himalayas on one of the world’s most legendary hikes to Everest Base Camp, gateway for those seeking to reach the highest point on the planet. Strings of prayer flags dance on the wind and pierce the clouds.
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