The best alternative to Everest Base Camp!!- Danielle Patterson Patterson
Amazing!!!! If you're looking for an alternative track to Everest Camp, with less crowds and less congestion you won't be disappointed by choosing Gokyo lakes including the Gokyo Ri climb - 5380m! Offering views of crystal clear blue lakes, the largest glacier in the park and ofcourse views of Everest can be seen from here - but not nearly as many tourists on track! The homestays and the families there are very hospital and ensuring that you'll have a warm and comfortable stay. There are a variety of meals to choose from at the home stays with fresh fruit and vegetables - exceptional considering the isolation! Great hospitality with even greater views. The track is a great option too for families / elderly people. I did the track with my mum and it certainly won't be our last time here.
We loved the challenge and the scenery of this trip and we're really glad that we did it. Our guide and crew took great care of us. Mani, our guide, is an expert in keeping people healthy in the mountains. He helped everyone in our group at least once and even helped guides from other groups! Our crew provided plentiful food and hot water to keep us fuelled and hydrated. However there were three negatives which is the reason for 4 stars rather than 5. Firstly, the information pack told us that we had a 15kg limit on hold luggage for the flight to Lukla and that: 'approx 5.5kgs of this weight will be taken up by the sleeping bag (2.5kg), down jacket (1.5kg), kit bag (1kg) and sleeping bag liner (0.5kg) that you are provided.' When we weighed our kit bags in Kathmandu it was 8kg. This meant a significant reduction in our own kit that we could take (9.5kg -> 7kg). Secondly, we were stuck in Ramechhap for 3 days because there were no flights to Lukla. We eventually started the trip 4 days behind. Fortunately we still managed to complete the whole itinerary by combining 2 days into 1 a few times. Perhaps there's little that World Expeditions could have done about this situation, but still the 4 days in hot and sticky Ramechhap were unexpected and a bit unpleasant. Thirdly, we would have expected World Expeditions to get the altitudes correct in the information pack. Our guide told us the altitudes were wrong and some research has proved it. The worst example was the optional ascent of Kala Pattar. The information from World Expeditions was that Gorak Shep was 5288m and Kala Pattar 5545m. Unless I misheard, our guide reiterated that it was a 250m ascent. After some research, which was corroborated by readings from our altimeter, the actual heights are 5160m and 5644m, so nearly double the ascent we were told. Also, no-one told us how cold it would be on Kala Pattar - most of our group got so cold we had to descend very quickly to avoid potential frostbite issues. At altitude, in -15°, this felt like a potentially dangerous error.
Absolutely fantastic trip, well planned from start to finish. Crew was excellent; knowledgeable and helpful with everything we needed. The food was amazing; different everyday and well cooked by the chef. No complaints at all, loved the experience.