Most people who fly into Lukla walk the same corridor. Namche, Tengboche, Dingboche, Gorak Shep, then a pre-dawn scramble up Kala Patthar for the photograph they came for.
Two valleys west, almost nobody goes.
The Gokyo valley holds a chain of glacial lakes at 4,700 to 5,000 metres, fed by seepage from the Ngozumpa Glacier. That glacier runs roughly 36 kilometres off the flank of Cho Oyu, making it the longest in the Himalaya. The lakes and the wetland around them were designated a Ramsar site of international importance in 2007, covering 7,770 hectares.
Above them sits Renjo La, a 5,360-metre pass on the valley’s western wall. Stand on it and you look down the full lake chain, across the glacier, to Everest, Lhotse and Makalu lined up on the horizon.
Gokyo Lakes and Renjo La Trek: Photo by Lipot Repaszky from Pexels
It is the best single viewpoint in the Khumbu. It is also harder, colder and emptier than the trail everyone else is on.
Quick reference
| Highest point | Renjo La, 5,360 m |
| Gokyo village | 4,790 m |
| Gokyo Ri summit | 5,357 m |
| Typical duration | 12–14 days from Lukla, including the pass |
| Gokyo only, no pass | 10–11 days from Lukla |
| Difficulty | Strenuous. One glacier crossing, one high pass |
| Best months | Late September to late November; mid-March to mid-May |
| Permits | Sagarmatha National Park + Khumbu local entry fee |
| Accommodation | Teahouses the whole way |
Gokyo or Everest Base Camp? The honest answer
If you want the mountain views, go to Gokyo.
Base Camp itself is not a viewpoint. You stand on moraine at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall, and Everest is hidden behind Nuptse. The famous panorama comes from Kala Patthar, a separate climb the next morning, usually in the dark and usually cold enough to hurt.
Gokyo Lakes and Renjo La Trek
Gokyo Ri gives you the same peaks from a shorter, warmer, less crowded climb, with the lake chain and the glacier in the foreground. Many photographers prefer it outright.
If you want the pilgrimage, go to Base Camp. Standing at the foot of the route Hillary and Tenzing climbed carries a weight that scenery does not replace. That is a real reason, and it is the reason most people choose it.
You can also do both. The Cho La pass links the two valleys, which is how the classic Gokyo–Cho La–EBC circuit works. Budget 16 to 18 days.
Why Renjo La and not Cho La
Cho La is the pass most trekkers cross, because it connects Gokyo to the Base Camp trail. It involves a short glacier section and some scrambling, and it can be genuinely unpleasant in fresh snow.
Renjo La goes the other way, west toward Thame. It is a walking pass with no technical section, and the view from the top is better. Its problem is that it does not connect to anything most people want, which is exactly why it stays quiet.
If your goal is the view rather than ticking off Base Camp, Renjo La is the better pass.
The route, and which direction to walk it
Walk it Gokyo first, pass second.
The standard approach follows the Dudh Koshi north from Namche through Dole and Machhermo, reaching Gokyo on day six or seven. You climb Gokyo Ri as an acclimatisation day, then cross Renjo La westward and drop to Lungden and Thame.
The reverse direction, Thame to Lungden to Renjo La, gives a more dramatic reveal. You crest the pass and the entire valley appears at once. It also puts you on a 5,360-metre pass with far less time above 4,000 metres behind you. Unless you have already acclimatised elsewhere in the region, take the safer direction.
Typical itinerary
| Day | Stage | Sleep altitude |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fly Kathmandu–Lukla, walk to Phakding | 2,610 m |
| 2 | Phakding to Namche Bazaar | 3,440 m |
| 3 | Namche — acclimatisation day | 3,440 m |
| 4 | Namche to Dole | 4,200 m |
| 5 | Dole to Machhermo | 4,470 m |
| 6 | Machhermo to Gokyo | 4,790 m |
| 7 | Gokyo Ri, plus fourth and fifth lakes | 4,790 m |
| 8 | Gokyo over Renjo La to Lungden | 4,380 m |
| 9 | Lungden to Thame | 3,800 m |
| 10 | Thame to Namche | 3,440 m |
| 11 | Namche to Lukla | 2,840 m |
Add two buffer days. Lukla flights cancel for weather, and losing your slot at the end of a trek is common enough that agencies plan around it.
Permits and what they actually cost
Two permits. No TIMS card is required in the Khumbu; the local municipality fee replaced it.
Sagarmatha National Park entry permit NPR 3,000 per person for foreign nationals, NPR 1,500 for SAARC nationals, NPR 25 for Nepali citizens, charged once on entry. Buy it at the Nepal Tourism Board office in Kathmandu or at the Monjo park gate. Confirmed against Nepal Tourism Board, last verified August 2026.
Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality entry fee Collected in person at Lukla or Monjo. It cannot be bought in Kathmandu.
Published figures for this fee disagree. Trekking operator sites currently quote NPR 2,000, NPR 2,500 and NPR 3,000, sometimes on pages updated within the same month. Some quote NPR 2,000 for the first four weeks and NPR 2,500 beyond that.
Budget NPR 3,000 and carry it in Nepali rupees. Nobody at the checkpoint takes dollars or cards. Contested figure. Last checked August 2026 confirm the current rate with your agency before departure.
Guides. Nepal has required licensed guides in national parks and conservation areas since April 2023. The Khumbu has historically been the exception, because the local municipality declined to adopt the national rule and issued permits to independent trekkers regardless.
Whether that exception still holds in 2026 is genuinely unclear. Some sources report the local flexibility closing this year; others report independent permits still being issued without a guide check. This is worth a direct phone call to your agency or the municipality before you book a non-refundable Lukla flight.
Above 5,000 metres, the argument for a guide stops being bureaucratic anyway.
When to go
Late September to late November. The monsoon clears, the air is as sharp as it gets, and the Renjo La view is at its best. October is busy on the Base Camp trail and still quiet in Gokyo. By late November the passes get cold and some Gokyo lodges begin closing.
Mid-March to mid-May. Warmer, with rhododendron colour lower down. Haze builds through spring, so the long views soften compared to autumn.
Avoid June to early September. Cloud sits on the valley, the views vanish, and Lukla flights cancel for days at a time.
December to February is walkable to Gokyo but Renjo La is frequently snowbound, and several teahouses shut for the season.
The altitude problem nobody plans for
Gokyo sits at 4,790 metres. Renjo La is 570 metres above that. This is high enough that acute mountain sickness is a routine occurrence, not a rare one.
The itinerary above builds in an acclimatisation day at Namche and another at Gokyo. Do not compress them. The single most common mistake on this route is arriving fit, feeling strong on day four, and skipping a rest day.
Machhermo has an aid post run by the International Porter Protection Group, with free altitude talks most afternoons in season. Go to one. It is the best hour you will spend on the trek.
Check that your travel insurance covers trekking above 5,000 metres and includes helicopter evacuation. Standard policies frequently cap out at 4,000 metres, which leaves you uninsured for the part of the route where you would actually need it.
Who should not do this trek
Anyone on a tight schedule. The pass adds days, and weather can close it without warning.
Anyone whose main goal is Base Camp. You will spend the extra time somewhere beautiful, but you will not have gone to Base Camp.
Anyone who has not been above 4,000 metres before and is unwilling to build in rest days. Gokyo alone, without Renjo La, is a good trek and a much lower risk. Turning back at Gokyo is not a failure.
Gokyo Lakes with Renjo La is the most beautiful trek in the Everest region, and the pass is the reason. You get the same skyline as Kala Patthar, from a warmer climb, with a glacier and five lakes in the frame, on a trail where you might pass a dozen people all day.
It costs you three extra days and a genuinely hard morning at 5,360 metres.
If you can spare the days, it is the better walk.