Day 1
Lukla to Phakding
3 hrs8 kmsleep 2,610 m
Everest · Challenging
Gokyo Lakes Trek itinerary, day by day
Every stage from Lukla to Lukla, with the walking hours, distance and sleeping altitude for each day.
Days
12
Highest sleep
4,790 m
Distance
100 km
Rest days
3
Altitude profile
Where you sleep each night
The single biggest safety factor on a high trek is how fast your sleeping altitude rises - not how high the route eventually goes.
Stages
The full schedule
Day 2
Phakding to Namche Bazaar
6 hrs11 kmsleep 3,440 m
Sleeping altitude rises 830 m on this night, above 3,000 m. That is more than the commonly cited 500 m guideline - worth a look if you have spare days to place.
Day 3
Namche Bazaar acclimatisation
4 hrs6 kmsleep 3,440 m
Day 4
Namche Bazaar to Dole
5 hrs9 kmsleep 4,038 m
Sleeping altitude rises 598 m on this night, above 3,000 m. That is more than the commonly cited 500 m guideline - worth a look if you have spare days to place.
Day 5
Dole to Machhermo
4 hrs8 kmsleep 4,470 m
Day 6
Machhermo to Gokyo
5 hrs9 kmsleep 4,790 m
Day 7
Gokyo acclimatisation
5 hrs6 kmsleep 4,790 m
Day 8
Gokyo to Dole
5 hrs17 kmsleep 4,038 m
Day 9
Dole to Namche Bazaar
5 hrs9 kmsleep 3,440 m
Day 10
Namche Bazaar to Lukla
6 hrs19 kmsleep 2,860 m
Day 11
Lukla to Kathmandu
0 hrs0 kmsleep 1,338 m
Day 12
Kathmandu acclimatisation
0 hrs0 kmsleep 1,338 m
Gokyo Lakes Trek itinerary questions
Answers computed from the published day-by-day data for this route.
How many days is the Gokyo Lakes Trek?
12 days as published here, covering 100 km with 48 hours of walking in total and 3 acclimatisation days built in.
What is the highest sleeping altitude on the Gokyo Lakes Trek?
4,790 m. The highest point reached on the route is 5,357 m, which is not the same thing - what your body has to adapt to is where you sleep.
Which day of the Gokyo Lakes Trek climbs the most?
Day 2, Phakding to Namche Bazaar, gains 830 m of sleeping altitude.
Does the Gokyo Lakes Trek itinerary allow enough time to acclimatise?
There are 2 nights above 3,000 m where sleeping altitude rises by more than 500 m, which is more than the commonly cited guideline. That does not make the itinerary wrong, but those are the nights to look at first if you are adding spare days.
Test a different schedule
Add rest days and see how the sleeping-altitude profile changes before you commit to a booking.
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