Go Gokyo

Just as the winter off-season begins, the pristine beauty of the Gokyo trek is even more apparent because of the absence of crowds. But there is also another absence: of ice and snow.

1. The view from Gokyo Ri (5,357m) looking north towards Mt Cho Oyu (8,188m, partly hidden) and Mt Ghyachung Kang (7,952m) at sunset.

Gokyo is always less crowded than the Everest Base Camp Trail, but it is completely deserted in winter. A trek last week that coincided with the COP28 Climate Summit in Dubai was also a stark reminder of what the inability of world economies to completely and immediately phase out fossil fuels is doing to the Himalaya.

Read also: Winter Wonderland, by Katy Elliott

Often overlooked due to the popularity of the Everest trek, the Gokyo trail deserves a status beyond a hidden gem. Following a flight to Lukla, trekkers can witness the diverse beauty of the Khumbu region in this 11-day trek. The route takes visitors across the famed ‘Hillary Bridge’, through the town of Namche, past roadside shrines, the shores of the five picturesque Gokyo lakes, and finally the peak of Gokyo Ri (5,357m) from where an almost absurdly cinematic panorama of Cho Oyu, Ghyachung Kang and Everest glow in the orange light of a setting sun. 

2. Mt Kangtega (6,782m) and Mt Thamserku (6,608m) looking south from the moraine of the Ngzumba Glacier in Gokyo.

Read also: "If the ice is gone, we are done" by Nepali Times

At 5,000m the five Gokyo Lakes are the world’s highest freshwater lake system and are considered sacred by both Hindus and Buddhists alike with the waters believed to be the residence of Naag Devata, the Serpent God. The lakes are astride the Ngozumba Glacier, Nepal’s longest, which has receded and shrunk dramatically in the past 25 years due to global warming.

3. Namche Bazar, the gateway to the Upper Khumbu and Gokyo is nestled in an amphitheater below Mt Thamserku.

Like other glaciers in the Himalaya, Ngozumba is now debris-covered as it thaws, and dotted with ice caverns and ponds. The Himalaya is dubbed the ‘Third Pole’ because it has the third largest storage of water as ice after the polar regions. But at present rates of temperature increase, climate scientists say these mountains will lose two-thirds of their remaining ice during this century.

4. Hotels have sprouted on the shores of Gokyo's main lake, replacing the yak herder's summer huts. This is one of the highest settlements in the world, occupied for two-thirds of the year with residents moving to lower villages during the winter off-season. Mt Taboche (6000m) and Mt Cholatse (6440m) loom over the glacier.

 Over two billion people across Asia are dependent on the Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau for water that flow down rivers that originate here. The tangible impact of the climate emergency is readily apparent all along the Gokyo trek, not just in the melting of the permanent ice, but also the lack of precipitation.

5. The last light of the day highlighting Mt Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse 20km away, captured from the Gokyo Ri last week.