Gokyo Lakes Trek

Gokyo Lakes Trek in the Everest region can be ideal for you in 2025 for various wholesome reasons. First, you’ll visit Gokyo Valley, home to 19 turquoise freshwater Gokyo Lakes. Second, you’ll hike to Gokyo Ri, a 5,357 meters viewpoint, offering the unmatched sight of Mt. Everest’s north faceMt. Cho OyuNgozumpa GlacierMtLhotseMtNuptse, and the entire Gokyo Valley. Furthermore, you’ll trek along the least crowded trekking trail adorned with swirling waterfalls, yak pastures, and inspiring landscapes.

Three trekkers on their Gokyo Lakes Trek posing for a photo in front of Dudh Cho
Trekkers on Gokyo Lakes Trek posing for a beautiful photographs in front of Gokyo lake (Image © NepTrek)

The stirring 13-day Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri Trek starts with a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla airport. From Lukla, you’ll trek along beautiful Sherpa hamlets and cross several high-suspension bridges over the cascading Dudh Koshi River. For acclimatization, you’ll stop for a day at Namche Bazaar. Moreover, you’ll trek along diverse landscapes, settle in at the tea houses, get the firsthand experience of magical Gokyo, and reward yourself with this wholesome once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Gokyo Lakes Trek- Highlights

  • Sunrise view from Gokyo Ri, the best vantage point in the Everest region.
  • A wholesome sight of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyu, Cholatse, Machhermo, etc.
  • Overnight stay at the best tea houses on the eastern bank of an awe-inspiring turquoise Gokyo Lakes.
  • Peaceful trekking route with significantly fewer trekkers.
  • Two acclimatization stops at Namche and Gokyo, ensuring adequate rest.
  • Option to cross Renjo La Pass while returning to Namche Bazaar.

Gokyo Lakes Trek Cost- For 2025 season

We’ve updated and revised the Gokyo Lakes Trek Cost for the 2025 season. The entire trek cost may vary based on the group sizes and the requirements during the trek. However, we’ve decided to put the following cost for this trek for the 2025 season.

Pax

Cost (USD) Availability Want to book?
1 1400 Available

Inquire Us

2-3

1350 Available Inquire Us
4-5 1300 Available

Inquire Us

6 and more

1250 Available

Inquire Us

Why Gokyo in 2025?

Don’t be a trekker in a crowd of trekkers at Everest Base Camp! Gokyo is more elegant than Everest Base Camp and offers a unique trek experience. You’ll see every mountain in the region from Gokyo Ri, which is also more tasteful. Moreover, fewer trekkers trek to Gokyo Lakes, making the trek route peaceful.

Here are some sensible reasons we think are best to consider for Gokyo Lakes Trek in 2025.

Wholesome trekking route

Once you embark on a 13-day Gokyo Lakes Trek, you’ll realize that the Everest region trek is not only about catching the sight of the highest mountains. Trust us: the trail that leads to Gokyo is unique from the Everest Base Camp Trek route.

Once you cross Mong-La and ascend to Dole, you’ll get the snippet of the beauty that awaits. The trekking trail here is more scenic and serene than that in the EBC Trek route. The dancing waterfalls of alpine meadows till Dole, green yak pasturelands of Machhermo, panoramic Mt. Thamserku, Mt. Kantega, and Mt. Cholatse keep you in awe before stepping in at Gokyo. Mt. Cho Oyu greets you with open arms as you walk along the east shore of Dudh Cho, the prominent member lakes of the Gokyo system.

The Gokyo Ri vantage point at 5,357 meters is the highest altitude viewpoint in the region. Interestingly, it offers a more panoramic glimpse of mountains and lakes, even that of Mt. Everest, than from Kala Patthar.

Elegant turquoise Gokyo Lakes

There are 19 freshwater lakes in Gokyo, collectively known as the Gokyo Lakes system. Most of these lakes are the world’s highest-altitude seated freshwater systems. Among 19, you’ll visit at least four lakes.

Thonak Cho is the area’s largest and most visited lake. But, the most famous lake is Gokyo Cho, also called Dudh Pokhari, which faces your tea house in front.

Beautiful Gokyo Lakes and mountains panorama beautifully captured from Gokyo Ri
Beautiful Gokyo Lakes and mountains panorama beautifully captured from Gokyo Ri (Image: James Chou)

Adjacent to these lakes is the largest glacier in the Himalayas, Ngozumpa Glacier. The seepage from this glacier is the prominent water feeder to these lakes. Also, a stream of seepage from Renjo La Pass feeds multiple lakes.

The hypnotic turquoise-blue color of these lakes entices you like a flower lures a bee. Thus, whether you glance at these lakes from the window of your tea house’s bedroom or the Gokyo Ri, the utter beauty of these lakes leaves you in awe at every glimpse.

With blue sky above, few spots of white clouds, ever-shining mountains, a reddish-brown landscape, and turquoise blue lakes. Oh! Viewing this vivid scenery with every blink of your eye makes you feel like you’re in a wonderland of natural elegance.

Crowd-free trails: Peaceful Walk

Most trekkers in the Everest region prefer Everest Base Camp Trek over Gokyo Lakes Trek. They want to conquer the world’s highest mountain base camp. But in search of gold, they often miss the diamond. And the diamond is Gokyo, a jewel in the Everest region.

With more trekkers to base camp, only a few trekkers trek to Gokyo. And with fewer trekkers, the route almost becomes peaceful, offering you a peaceful walk all day.

With fewer trekkers en route, the tea houses become quieter as well. You can stay at the tea houses, eat, and sleep peacefully. Also, while trekking, you don’t have to stop for passing mules and trekkers, literally free from the traffic of trekkers and mules.

Also, with fewer trekkers at photographic places, you’ll get plenty of time for photographs before one asks for the spot.

Mountain Panorama: Absolute Best

More than the elegant lakes, the surreal mountain panorama from Gokyo Ri are absolute best. The unique faces of Mt. Everest and Lhotse are attractions from Gokyo Ri. Moreover, you’ll hike to Gokyo Lake IV, from where you’ll feast on the awe-striking view of Mt. Cho Oyu, the 10th highest mountain.

Sunrise over the elegant mountains from Gokyo Ri
Sunrise over the elegant mountains from Gokyo Ri (Image © NepTrek)

During the trek to Gokyo Lakes, you’ll see the three world’s highest mountains and a few elegant 6,000-meter peaks. Mt. Everest, Lhotse, and Cho Oyu are the first, fourth, and tenth highest mountains. The elegant 6,000-meter peak includes Machhermo, Cholatse, Thamserku, Kongde, Ama Dablam, and Kangtega.

13 days Gokyo Lakes Trek Itinerary- Detailed Breakdown

You'll get the hotel to the airport and drop off in a private vehicle to start the trek. Once you reach the airport, you'll have your luggage checked. Following, you'll board a flight to Lukla.

It takes 30 minutes for a flight to reach Lukla from Kathmandu. The flight is scenic, with a panorama of mountains, hilltops, valleys, and clouds.

You'll stop for lunch at Lukla. And after lunch, you'll prepare for the trek to Phakding.

Lukla to Phakding is a beautiful section with multiple Sherpa hamlets, pine forests, and cascading Dudh Koshi River. Also, the trail to Phakding is stone-paved for a comfortable trek.

You'll settle at a tea house in Phakding for overnight.

You'll start the trek at 8 am after breakfast at a tea house in Phakding. You'll trek to TokTok, Benkar, Monjo, and Jorsale before you stop for lunch. At Jorsale, you'll stop for Everest Region Trek Permit checks.

After lunch at Jorsale, you'll trek to Larcha Dovan, cross Hillary Bridge, and trek to Namche Bazaar. It's a complete uphill walk past Hillary Bridge, which is tiring.

You'll settle in at a tea house in Namche overnight.

It's a rest day at Namche Bazaar. The purpose of a rest day is to get proper acclimatization.

You'll trek to Hotel Everest View at Syangboche as an acclimatization hike. It's the world's highest-altitude seated hotel. Alongside the acclimatization hike, on this day, you'll also see the first glimpse of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Kongde Ri, Thamserku, Khumbila, Taboche, and many beautiful mountains of the region.

After the hotel visit, you'll trek down to Namche, where you'll visit the Sagarmatha National Park area and Sherpa Museum.

Finally, you'll trek back to the tea house for lunch, a whole day's rest, dinner, and overnight accommodation.

You'll leave Namche after breakfast at a tea house. You'll trek to Sanasa and take the left route to Gokyo. From Sanasa, you'll trek for two hours to Mong Danda top and stop for lunch. Mong is a beautiful hilltop with a great panorama of Mt. Thamserku and Ama Dablam.
From Mong, you'll descend for 40 minutes to Phortse.

However, past Phortse, the route to Dole is an uphill walk. This section can tire you. But the road is full of waterfalls, colourful trees, and rhododendron trees.
You'll settle in at the best available tea house at Dole.

It's a short day trek but is most important for acclimatization. Trekkers can reach Gokyo from Dole on a single day. However, it exposes trekkers to the risk of altitude sickness.

After breakfast at the tea house in Dole, you'll prepare for the trek. For the first section, you'll cross a mini stream and trek uphill for 1 hour. After that, the trail to Machhermo is almost flat. Also, this section is scenic with yak pasturelands, potato farmlands, Mt. Thamserku, and colourful juniper bushes.

You'll have your lunch, dinner, and overnight settle in at Machhermo.

You'll start your trek after breakfast at Machhermo and reach Gokyo before lunchtime. The 7th day on Gokyo Lake Trek sees you getting Gokyo with utmost comfort.
Almost all the routes between Gokyo and Machhermo are easy to trek.

The panorama of Mt. Thamserku, Cholatse, and Cho Oyu makes your morning trek wholesome. Also, you'll trek along two small but beautiful Gokyo Lakes before reaching the main lake.

Once you reach Gokyo, you'll settle in at a tea house for lunch. During the afternoon, you can stroll around the valley.

Overnight accommodation at the tea house at Gokyo.

To view the sunrise and best panorama of Gokyo Valley, you'll wake up at 4 am and start the Gokyo Ri hike at 4:30 am. You'll reach the top just in time to view the beautiful sunrise over mountains like Mt. Machhermo, Cholatse, Taboche, Thamserku, and more.

The Gokyo Ri hike is a complete uphill hike. The distance is short, only 2 km. However, the low oxygen makes it difficult for you to trek faster.

After photographs and sightseeing from Gokyo Ri, you'll trek to the tea house for breakfast. After breakfast, you can sleep or stroll around Gokyo Lakes.

For the rest of the day, you'll stop at Gokyo.

Overnight at the same tea house.

You'll return to Dole after having breakfast at a tea house in Gokyo. The trek is easy as you'll descend to Dole. The trail is scenic, with a fantastic panorama of mountains and pasturelands.

You'll have lunch options at Machhermo or Dole, as Dole is just 2 hours away from Machhermo.

Overnight at a tea house in Dole.

You'll trek to Namche from Dole, retracing the same route you took while trekking to Dole from Namche. Most of the sections are downhill walks. However, the climb from Phortse to Mong Danda is very tiring.

You'll stop for lunch at a tea house at Mong Danda.

From Mong, you'll trek down to Sanasa. Past Sanasa, the walk on the route to Namche will be easy.

Settle in at a tea house at Namche for overnight accommodation.

Trek from Namche to Lukla takes an entire day. You'll start the trek after breakfast at Namche and stop for lunch at TokTok. You'll need to check out at the trekker's check post at Monjo.

Also, you'll check out at the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality office before entering Lukla from Chaurikharka.

A bit of trek success celebrations with the trek guide and porters with a few drinks at Lukla.

Settle in at a tea house for overnight accommodation.

With breakfast at Lukla, you'll take the flight to Kathmandu. However, during the peak trekking period, almost every flight operates Lukla-Ramechhap-Lukla.

If you land at Ramechhap, you'll get a private vehicle transfer to Kathmandu. However, you'll get a hotel transfer upon landing at Kathmandu airport.

You'll get a complimentary Kathmandu sightseeing tour from us on the 13th day. You'll visit three of these places of your choice:

-  Patan Durbar Square

-  Kathmandu Durbar Square

-  Bhaktapur Durbar Square

-  Pashupatinath Temple

-  Swoyambu Nath Stupa

-  Boudhanath Stupa

You'll get a complimentary farewell dinner from us on this day. Lunch, however, will be on yours. Also, your Kathmandu sightseeing tour will be on a private vehicle.

Note: You have to pay for the heritage site entry permits.

Gokyo Lakes Trek- Additional Information

Accommodations and Meals

The tea houses along the trek are well-established. Thus, they offer the best meals and accommodation. You’ll get expansive meal choices and accommodation in a room with an attached bathroom, internet, electricity, and a hot shower.

During 13 days trek, you’ll get 12 breakfasts11 lunches, and 11 dinners. You’ll get three daily meals during the trek: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And with each meal, you’ll get a hot drink (tea).

Upon completing the trek, you’ll have a farewell dinner in Kathmandu before departure.

Twin-sharing accommodations are popular among the trekkers. as the tea houses have limited rooms with attached bathrooms. The rooms are usually spacious and come with two beds and warm blankets.

Every tea house provides internet, electricity, and hot showers and charges some amount for them.

Gokyo Lake Trek Permit

Gokyo Valley sits in the Everest region inside the Sagarmatha National Park area. Hence, trekkers on Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri Trek must have two essential Everest region trek permitsKhumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Trek Permit and Sagarmatha National Park entry permit are two permits you must have for this trek.

Every entry permit is on the trek cost you pay us. We’ll purchase every essential trek permit for you. However, we require the following documents from you.

  • Valid Passport
  • Nepal Travel Visa
  • One contact detail of your family back home to contact during emergencies

Please note that all these permits are available at the Lukla entry point and Jorsale. Hence, you’ll get these permits at entry points after flying to Lukla. Oftentimes, trekkers lose these permits during the trek and purchase them again with expensive fees. Thus, your trek guide keeps these permits for the rest of the trek to keep them safe.

Travel Insurance: A must

After booking this trek with us, you must submit your valid international travel insurance. If you fail to present us with proof of your travel insurance, we hold every right to exclude you from the trek departure group.

Travel insurance compensates your medical emergency costshelicopter evacuation fee, and hospitalisation cost. But you have to purchase the insurance policy with emergency helicopter coverage up to an altitude of 6000 meters.

Furthermore, travel insurance compensates for losing and damaging personal belongings, trek gear, and gadgets.

Gokyo Lake Trek Difficulty

It’s among the easy-to-trek Everest region trekking. Even if you have not gained prior trek experience, you can efficiently complete this trek in a 13-day itinerary. The easy to moderate-grade trek route ensures utmost comfort while trekking. Also, the short-distance camps, 4-5 hours walk each day, and not-so-high altitude of this region make it an easy trek.

Altitude Sickness

You’re unlikely to get altitude sickness while trekking to Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo Ri. With proper physical fitness and acclimatization, you’ll complete this trek without getting affected by mountain sickness. However, it’s not guaranteed.

Following are the signs and symptoms you may experience upon getting altitude sickness:

  • Headache and dizziness
  • Nausea and Vomiting
  • Loss of appetite
  • Shortness of breathing

These are the primary symptoms. If you get two of these symptoms at once, you must report it to your trek guide.

Preventive mesures

Few practices can help you prevent altitude sickness. Note that these practices are applicable before you get altitude sickness. Once you get altitude sickness, there are no other options than trekking down to lower altitudes.

Some of the preventive measures are:

  • Frequent rehydration: Daily on the trek, drink 3 litres of water (with Oral Rehydration Solution).
  • Consume adequate meals each day.
  • Avoid smoking, alcohol, and caffeinated drinks.
  • Trek is slow at a constant pace.
  • Cover your head, neck, and chest with woollen beanies and neck buffs.

Weather, Temperature, and Best Time for Gokyo Lakes Trek

You can trek to Gokyo almost any time of the year. However, for the best viewing experience, panoramic mountains, cheerful weather, and gentle temperature, autumn and spring are only the two best times of the year.

Weather

Spring, Autumn, and Winter weather become favourable for all-day sightseeing. You’ll barely see any spots of clouds during these times. If you’re a photography geek, these months are ideal for landscape photography in the Everest region.

Temperature

Early spring and late autumn remain cold in Gokyo. However, April, May, September, and October become pretty warm. The nighttime temperature in higher regions averages around freezing. However, the daytime temperature remains warm. The daytime temperature at Gokyo Valley in Spring and Autumn averages 6-7˚C. Also, the nighttime temperature during these months averages to -5˚C.

Winter remains frozen throughout. Even Gokyo Lakes freezes during January and February.

Gokyo Lakes Trek- FAQs

Individual FAQs are to breakdown and explain each of the essential information from the trek. For example, we have put the FAQs for things like trek bookings, arrivals, visas, transportation along the trek, trek difficulty, physical fitness, trek preparations, etc.

Trek Booking and Cancelations

Yes. You must make a trek confirmation deposit to confirm the trek and your preferred date. You must send us at least 30% of the total trek cost, which is mandatory.

To make the trek confirmation deposit, we will send you our bank account details via WhatsApp/Email.

We respect your decision, whether it's on trek cancelation. However, we have a policy regarding the trek cancelation.

Here's how our trek cancelation policy works.

-  50% refund upon canceling the trek a month before

-  25% refund upon canceling the trek a week before

-  No refund upon canceling the trek within a week of the trek

-  No refund upon canceling the trek after starting it for reasons

Note: The deductions include the administrative fees, hotel reservations, and trekking permits (if we purchase before you cancel the trek)

Yes. Instead of canceling a trek and asking for a refund, the smart move would be to use the amount on other trekking.

Oftentimes, the weather in Lukla causes flight delays and cancelation for an entire week. At such times, many trekkers cancel the trek and embark on other treks where the flights are not involved. For example, if canceling Gokyo, you can embark on the Annapurna Circuit Trek, Manaslu Circuit Trek, or Annapurna Base Camp Trek.

Note: Once you embark on the trek and decide to cancel, there won't be any refunds.

Arrivals and Hotel Transfer

Yes. We'll send our representative to the airport to pick you up upon arrival. You'll get an airport-to-hotel transfer on a taxi.

At the hotel, during the evening, you'll meet with the trek guide and our manager for the trek briefing session.

Yes. The trek cost includes one accommodation in Kathmandu.

You'll get a boutique hotel in Kathmandu for overnight accommodation upon arrival in Kathmandu. You can accommodate either on arrival or after the trek.

However, if you prefer accommodation at the three/five-star hotel, you'll be subjected to addons.

Yes. You'll get a brief presentation about the trek a day before you start the trek. Our trek manager and the guide will host a trek briefing session for 45 minutes.

You'll get a photo and video presentation followed by a Q&A.

Flights and Transportation

Yes. Flying on a helicopter from Kathmandu to Lukla is possible and is best during poor weather, flight delays, and comfort.

During the peak trekking season, all flights from Kathmandu to Lukla operates from Manthali airport. Due to this, trekkers must drive to Manthali overnight and take the flight in the morning. For many, driving to Manthali and flying to Lukla can get tiring, uncomfortable, and sleepless. Thus, a helicopter from Kathmandu to Lukla in the morning offers the utmost comfort while flying.

Second, during the season, you'll get the group to join helicopter flights at cheaper rates, around USD 600-650 per person. Moreover, you'll get a chartered flight if you want to fly privately.

Flying on a helicopter to Lukla from Kathmandu is best during poor weather (unflyable for airlines). Thus, you can avoid flight delays and cancellations by taking a helicopter from Kathmandu to Lukla.

The flights from Kathmandu to Lukla are safe. The experienced pilots, thoroughly maintained aircraft, and strict flight safety guidelines have made the flights to Lukla safe.

During the trekking season, on average, 40-50 flights take off and land at Lukla airport.

A sudden change in weather at Lukla can cause flight delays and cancellations. If the weather remains poor for days, the flight is canceled until it improves.

Thus, at such times, you'll need buffer days. Buffer days are extra days where you can wait for the weather to improve and plan the helicopter flights or detours to other treks.

If the helicopter can fly to Lukla in given weather conditions, you can take it. Otherwise, it takes three additional days if you prefer a drive to Salleri and a walk to Lukla.

For detours, you can opt for our exciting treks like Annapurna Circuit Trek and Annapurna Base Camp Trek.

The cost of flights to Lukla changes every year due to fuel prices and airline policies. However, the most recent flight cost as of January 2025 is USD 217 from Kathmandu to Lukla and USD 190 from Lukla to Kathmandu.

Note: The cost of the Kathmandu to Lukla flight price may change for the 2025 season (Spring and Autumn).

Accommodation and Meals

All the tea houses gets fully occupied during March, April, October, and November. Thus, getting the attached bathrooms along the trek depends on availability during the trekking season.

There are more tea houses with attached bathrooms in places like Lukla, Namche, Dole, and Gokyo. Hence, you'll get attached bathrooms at these places upon availability.

No. Tea houses along the trek aren't heated or insulated. However, it doesn't mean they're cold and freezing.

All the tea houses light the fire in the dining hall in the evening. Thus, every trekker staying at the tea houses gathers in the dining hall in the evening, enjoys the hot oven, eats dinner, and goes to bed.

You'll love the meals and the quality of serving at the tea houses along Gokyo Lakes. Every tea house offers expansive meal choices, all hygienic and fresh.

For instance, the breakfast menu includes toast, omelet, jam and honey, yak cheese, bread, Tibetan bread, pancakes, pies, etc. Furthermore, you'll get hot drinks like tea, coffee, yak milk, etc.

For lunch and dinner, you'll have options like pizza, burgers, sandwiches, Dal Bhat with vegetables and lentil soup, fried noodles, bread, potatoes, dumplings, etc.

It depends on the tea house's occupancy during the season. Most tea houses have twin-sharing rooms, and even if you get a private, it'll be a twin-sharing room.

Usually, during the trekking season, the tea houses hesitate to provide private accommodation if the occupancy is high. However, upon availability, you'll get private accommodation.

For individual rooms, you'll have to pay an additional USD 15-20 for private room accommodation.

Yes. The tea houses provide hygienic vegetarian meals to trekkers.

Thus, if you're vegetarian, you'll have completely vegetarian meal choices.

Trek Guides and Porters

Almost all trek guides employed at NepTrek have extensive high-altitude trek experience. Thus, for Gokyo Lakes Trek, you'll get an experienced trek guide who's been to the Gokyo on multiple occasions.

With our experienced trek guides, you'll have a wholesome adventure in the Himalayas.

Yes. You'll get an English-speaking guide for Gokyo Trek.

Our trek guides are excellent communicators and great storytellers. During your Gokyo Lakes Trek, you'll learn about the culture, people, mountains, and more from the trek guide.

Travelers Review

The reviews below are from our clients who did wholesome trekking and tours in Nepal with us. All the reviews here reflect how we run the trekking, treat our clients, and organize the trek and tours. Below listed reviews are from TripAdvisor, which is the most accurate and trusted review platform among travelers.

Have a read at what our clients say about us!!

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