Breakfast is included throughout the trip, as are eight dinners (a welcome dinner in Kathmandu and half-board on trek).

Lunches are taken at lodges en route – sometimes one of your guides will go ahead with the group’s order to make it more expedient.

Breakfast and dinners in the lodges range from traditional Nepalese food to Chinese and Western dishes. The food is good quality and usually buffet style. You are provided with safe drinking water on trek.

Meat is available in the lodges, but we advise against eating it. Meat is often carried in the heat for several days before reaching the lodges and can cause stomach upsets or illness. Germs can also be spread by handling dirty money – we recommend using hand sanitiser.

Dietary requirements

Gluten-free diets: We strongly recommend you bring extra food and snacks with you to supplement the food on trek as there will be little variety available to you, particularly for breakfast. Even many of the soups are powdered and contain gluten. Gluten-free breakfast options are limited to vegetable fried rice and a choice of egg. On specific days only, a trekkers breakfast (without the toast/with an extra egg) will be served.

Vegan diets: Breakfasts are limited to a choice of muesli/porridge made with water each day, and on specific days only, a trekkers breakfast (without the egg) or vegetable fried rice.

Lactose-free diet: The same will apply although you will also have a choice of egg each day.

Drinking water

Staying hydrated is vital at altitude, where it is generally recommended to drink at least 0.7gal to 1gal (three to four litres) per day.

We strongly encourage you not to buy bottled water on trek as this contributes to the growing plastic pollution problem in Nepal.

All lodges provide free cold water. This should not be drunk untreated, so we recommend you bring a reusable bottle/water bladder/CamelBak (ideally two and wide mouth) and use an effective form of water treatment. There are a wide range of products available including Steripens or purification tablets, which are the quickest and easiest options to use on trek – we recommend talking to an outdoor retailer for the latest advice as technologies are improving all the time. Make sure to check the product’s performance in cold/freezing conditions and consider battery life (lithium batteries are best in cold conditions).

Exodus has partnered with Water-to-Go, a filtration system that eliminates more than 99.99 percent of all microbiological contaminants from any non-saltwater source – visit Water-to-Go for more information. Exodus customers can claim 15 percent off their first order and, better still, 15 percent of the purchase value will be donated to the Exodus Travels Foundation. These bottles filter the water as you drink, though the spout may not be the most efficient while moving on trek. Please note, if the water freezes it will clog up the filter. In this event, defrost before use by sitting the filter in lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes.

Explore the hilltop Sagarmatha National Park Museum above Namche for exhibits on Himalayan geology, wildlife and Sherpa culture. Step outside to the Tenzing Norgay Memorial, where prayer flags snap in the wind and viewpoints frame the surrounding ridgelines and villages.

Gain context for trekking in a UNESCO World Heritage site, from the red rhododendron forests to blue sheep and soaring lammergeiers. Stories of the 1953 Everest ascent illuminate the human side of these mountains and deepen appreciation for the region’s resilience, spirituality and traditions.

Detour to visit Gumila Monastery, a hillside gompa overlooking the Dudh Kosi. Step inside to admire vivid murals and spin the prayer wheels, joining a daily rhythm that has guided valley life for generations.

Learn about the monastery’s ties to the Nyingma tradition and take in a quiet vantage over the river gorge. This serene stop offers time to pause for photos and reflection before rejoining the trail toward Lukla and the final chapter of your Khumbu journey.

Meet your group and meet your Tour Director over a convivial welcome dinner at a local restaurant, where steaming plates of dal bhat and momo arrive alongside fragrant curries, pickles and warm spiced tea. This first evening sets an easygoing tone as you share expectations for the trail ahead.

Discover how Nepal’s mountain larder and Newari culinary traditions shape everyday meals. Your leader introduces dining etiquette and regional specialties, helping you decode menus during the trek and savour the balance of rice, lentils, seasonal vegetables and comforting soups that fuel Himalayan journeys.

Begin your Everest hike as you trek the Dudh Kosi gorge on stone paths threading hamlets, pines and potato terraces. Pass mani walls carved with “Om Mani Padme Hum” and cascades of prayer flags while the glacial river churns below. Peaks like Kusum Kanguru rise abruptly, hinting at the giants to come.

Learn why the Dudh Kosi—“Milk River”—takes its name from silty snowmelt, and notice chortens and prayer wheels marking village thresholds. The relaxed gradient offers time to settle into your stride and breathing rhythm before reaching a welcoming riverside lodge for the night.

Follow the river to Jorsale and cross the Hillary suspension bridges, fluttering with prayer flags high above a roaring gorge. Tackle the zigzag climb and ascend to Namche Bazaar, the amphitheatre-shaped Sherpa capital, where cafés, outfitters and spice-scented stalls fill stone alleys.

Pause mid-ascent for a potential first glimpse of Everest peeking beyond the Nuptse–Lhotse wall, a thrilling moment when clouds part. Hear how Namche grew from a high-altitude trading post on the salt routes into today’s vibrant hub for mountaineers, yak caravans and village life.

Walk shaded trails of rhododendron and pine to visit Tengboche Monastery, poised on a high ridge with panoramic views of Everest and Ama Dablam. Listen for conch shells and low chants as juniper incense drifts across brightly painted doorways and prayer wheels.

Learn how the gompa—rebuilt after the 1989 fire—anchors monastic life and festival rites for surrounding Sherpa communities. Broad terraces offer space to pause for photos and reflection, capturing crystalline summits and the quiet dignity of one of Khumbu’s most revered spiritual sites.

Take the high trail above Namche past the rough-hewn Syangboche airstrip to stone-roofed Khumjung village, then continue through larch and rhododendron toward the secluded Mende ridge. Scan the slopes for iridescent Himalayan monal pheasants and nimble herds of Himalayan thar.

Ridgeline vantage points open to Khumbila, Kongde Ri and serrated skylines. Chortens, mani walls and fluttering flags lend a meditative rhythm to the walk, culminating at Mende’s lofty perch—an oasis of stillness where the scale of the Khumbu feels both intimate and immense.

Walk a short hillside path to visit Laudo Monastery, where a renowned meditation room beneath a great rock reveals the austere solitude sought by practitioners. Explore the compact temple adorned with thangkas and simple offerings.

Hear about extended retreat traditions and sip creamy butter tea with the friendly caretaker, gaining insight into Sherpa Buddhist life beyond the main trail. The setting’s hush and the cool stone of the cave create a contemplative counterpoint to the energy of the trekking route.

Join a guided city tour to hilltop Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), where a gilded stupa, all-seeing Buddha eyes and fluttering prayer flags crown sweeping panoramic views over the Kathmandu Valley. Climb past spinning prayer wheels and watch rhesus macaques dart between shrines as incense drifts on the breeze.

Continue to Kathmandu Durbar Square, a UNESCO complex of palaces and pagoda temples from the Malla era. Explore courtyards, earthquake-restored shrines and the Kumari Ghar, learning about Nepal’s tradition of the Living Goddess, the Kumari, before strolling historic lanes toward the Thamel bazaar.