On the trail above Namche Bazaar, the panorama of Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse, with Ama Dablam becomes visible. Normally, when you trek you just capture the view with a camera […]
On the trail above Namche Bazaar, the panorama of Everest, Nuptse and Lhotse, with Ama Dablam becomes visible. Normally, when you trek you just capture the view with a camera or just enjoy it. But, on the Everest Panorama Live Painting Class, you stop, set up an easel, and turn the beauty into an art.
This 6 days combines trekking in the Khumbu region and painting at the Everest View Point. The place is also as one of the finest panoramic viewpoints in the lower Everest region. Hosted by Monastery Art Gallery, the package is built for artists, trekkers, and for everyone who wants to slow down and capture the beauty through art rather than just photographing them. You will trek through Sherpa villages, rhododendron and pine forest, and prayer flag all over. Then on the open air you reach your natural studio with Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and Ama Dablam as your subject.
By the end of the trip you return back with a beautiful experience. You take home a finished painting of Everest that you made yourself, guided by experienced senior artists, plus a certificate of participation and memories of one of the most creative treks in Nepal.
Everest View Point sits at approximately 3,880 meters above sea level and offers a remarkable panorama of the Everest range.
The painting session is arranged around the weather and available light. Mountain conditions can change quickly, so the exact timing may be adjusted when necessary.
Rather than rushing through the session, you have time to observe the mountains, sketch the composition, choose your colors, and gradually develop your painting.
There is also time to photograph the surrounding scenery and enjoy the view between painting sessions.
The trekking section begins with a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. From Lukla, you walk toward Phakding and continue to Namche Bazaar.
The trail passes through forests, suspension bridges, small settlements, and sections of the Dudh Koshi valley. The route becomes more demanding as you approach Namche, but the daily walking distances are manageable for travelers with reasonable fitness.
Namche Bazaar is an important acclimatization point and the main trading center of the Khumbu region. It is also where you begin to feel the mountain environment changing as the elevation increases.
From Namche, the trail climbs toward Everest View Point. This is the most important part of the journey for the painting experience.
The Everest Panorama Live Painting Class is a moderate trekking and creative experience.
The painting itself does not require physical strength, but reaching Everest View Point involves walking uphill at altitude. The highest point of the trip is approximately 3,880 meters.
You should be comfortable walking for several hours on uneven mountain trails. Regular walking, hiking, or cardiovascular exercise before the trip can make the journey more enjoyable.
The pace is kept comfortable, with enough time for rest, acclimatization, sightseeing, and painting.
Spring and autumn are the best seasons that suit this trip.
From March to May the hills around Namche turn green, rhododendron forests bloom in shades of red and pink, and the skies are generally clear for painting.
From September to November the monsoon will be just cleared, the visibility is sharpest, and the mountains views are crisp against a deep blue sky. The season offer the steady light and manageable temperatures that make outdoor painting comfortable.
Winter months of December, January, and February have colder temperatures, especially at Everest View Point. But the trails are quieter and skies are clear in most days. If you can bear cold than this season can be a good choice for you.
The monsoon months of June, July, and August is the least recommended season. Rain, clouds covering over views, and a higher chance of flight delays make this season unfavourable. Painting sessions may need extra flexibility around this time and isn’t recommended.
This journey is for travelers who want to bring something more meaningful home from Nepal.
A photograph records what you saw. A painting records how you experienced it.
You spend time looking closely at the mountains, deciding what deserves attention, choosing colors, and creating something with your own hands. Every painting will be slightly different because every participant sees the landscape differently.
That is what makes this experience personal.
You do not simply visit the Everest region and take a souvenir from a shop. You create your own Himalayan memory on canvas.
During the peak trekking seasons of March to May and September to November, Lukla flights usually operate out of Ramechhap, or Manthali. Its roughly five to six hours by road from Kathmandu, and this is because of heavy air traffic at Kathmandu airport.
In the quieter months of January, February, June, July, August, and December, flights typically run from Kathmandu itself. Airlines set and adjust these schedules based on passenger numbers and weather, so it is better checking when you reach closer to your travel date.
Lukla flights are known for delays and cancellations due to weather, airport congestion, runway conditions, and the surrounding mountain terrain. We strongly recommend building one or two extra buffer days into your schedule so a delayed flight never puts your international departure at risk.
Travel insurance is strongly recommended for this trip. Your policy should ideally cover trekking at the maximum altitude of 3,880 metres, medical treatment, emergency evacuation, flight delays or cancellations, and trip interruption.
Because Lukla flights can be affected by weather, having appropriate travel insurance can provide additional financial protection.
This trip is really two experiences combined together, trekking and painting. The first two days you from trek from Lukla to Phakding and reach Namche Bazaar. Namche, is the unofficial capital of the Khumbu region and a good place to adjust to altitude before going higher. On day three you climb to Everest View Point Hotel at 3,880 metres, which is the highest point. This is where the outdoor studio for your painting lie
Painting sessions focus on blue and white Himalayan palettes. We try to capture how the mountains actually shift in color through the day, from pale dawn light to sharp white at midday to soft blue shadow in the late afternoon Monastery Art Gallery provides everything needed to paint, including easels, stretcher frames, canvases, acrylic or oil colors, brushes, palette knives, and palettes, so you do not need to carry any art supplies of your own.
Instructions will be given from experienced senior artists who work with participants individually, whether you are a lifelong painter or picking up a brush for the first time.
Because mountain weather can turn quickly and mornings and evenings get very cold at this altitude, painting hours are planned around the clearest, most comfortable time of each day.
Day four continues the workshop before you trek back down to Namche Bazaar. The final two days you walk back the the route to Lukla for the flight back to Kathmandu. You will have a closing with a farewell dinner and certificate of participation.
| Day | Route | Details |
| 1 | Kathmandu to Lukla to Phakding (2,610 m) | 40 minute flight, then a 3 to 4 hour walk of about 5 miles |
| 2 | Phakding to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) | A 6 to 7 hour trek covering about 7 miles |
| 3 | Namche Bazaar to Everest View Point Hotel (3,880 m) | A 2 hour walk of about 2 miles, first painting class on arrival |
| 4 | Live painting class, then back to Namche Bazaar | Painting continues until midday, followed by the descent |
| 5 | Namche Bazaar to Lukla | A 7 hour trek covering about 11 miles |
| 6 | Lukla to Kathmandu | Morning flight back to Kathmandu |
All meals during the trek and painting program are included inside the package. The food generally has Khumbu teahouse menu of dal bhat, noodle and pasta dishes, soups, momos, potatoes prepared different ways, and hot drinks like tea, coffee, and ginger lemon honey. Namche Bazaar, being the main trading hub of the region, also has a few spots serving bakery items, pizza, and even coffee that would not feel out of place in Kathmandu.
Accommodation throughout the program is in teahouses with attached bathrooms, a comfort that is not always guaranteed on other Everest region routes. Rooms are simple with normal beds and warm blankets are usually provided. The lodges have a common dining area with a heater, which becomes the gathering spot in the evenings. Hot and cold beverages are not included in the package cost. You should budget a little extra amount for tea, coffee, and bottled or boiled water along the way.
This route runs through the Sherpa land, and the culture here is inseparable from the landscape itself. Namche Bazaar was a trading post on the old salt route between Tibet and Nepal, now grown into the bustling hub it is today. With a Saturday market, mountaineering shops, and bakeries sitting alongside traditional stone homes it is more lively.
Prayer flags can be found all across the trails in strings of blue, white, red, green, and yellow, each color representing an element of nature. Mani walls carved with Buddhist scripture are also seen at many of the paths, which is traditionally passed on the left.
Tengboche is home to one of the important monasteries in the Khumbu, and Buddhist practice shapes daily life throughout the region. From morning prayers to the chortens and stupas found in nearly every village.
Because the entire program takes place inside Sagarmatha National Park, you are asked to respect local customs, dress modestly in villages and monasteries, ask before photographing people or ceremonies, and follow the park's environmental rules, including staying on marked trails and packing out any waste.
The highest point of this trip, Everest View Point at 3,880 metres. It sits within the altitude range where acute mountain sickness, commonly called AMS, can develop. Common symptoms include headache, nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite, and unusually disturbed sleep. Because the itinerary spends a night in Namche Bazaar at 3,440 metres, the pace already builds in a natural acclimatization, helping in adaptation with altitude.
Some of the preventive measures that can be applied are as follows:
Thousands of trekkers pass through the Khumbu safely every season. The rest day at Namche, moderate daily distances, and experienced guides all work together to keep the trip manageable for most travelers. Still, it is worth listening to your body and being honest with your guide about how you feel each day.
