KATMANDU, Nepal – Team Everest 03 ended its odyssey to Mount Everest on Monday, heading home after a 30-day trip that captured world attention.

"The fact that those of you have done this is extremely important and extremely impressive. It sends a message to the world," Robert Bozzs, the second-ranking diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Katmandu told the team of people with disabilities and their supporters in an emotional reception after their 23-day trek to the highest mountain on earth. "It tells not only about perseverance, but about character and courage in the face of danger."

Most of the team flew from Katmandu early Monday morning, two days after their return from the Himalayas. They are scheduled to be back in the United States on Tuesday morning.

As they left, many said they were just starting to grasp how profoundly their journey has altered their perceptions of themselves and their capabilities.

"I know I can handle tough challenges now. Before, there was a side of me that wasn't sure," said Dinesh Ranasinghe, 26, of San Antonio, one of seven trek members with disabilities who made it to Mount Everest's base camp.

"Now, if I can only convince one other person, one other kid to get up off the couch, to go do something," said Mr. Ranasinghe, who has used a prosthetic since his leg was amputated above the knee at age 10 because of cancer. "I was that couch potato a couple of years ago. Now, I know the possibilities are endless."

The group arrived in Nepal on March 17 and trekked for 17 days to Mount Everest, reaching base camp at 17,600 feet on April 6. Their trip, organized by the Coalition for Texans with Disabilities, was aimed at challenging stereotypes about the limits and potential of people who live with physical challenges.

In the next month, trek leader Gary Guller of Austin will try to reach the summit along with a team of three other U.S. and Canadian climbers. If successful, he would be the first person with one arm to stand atop Everest.

Mr. Guller, 10 other Americans and two Nepali Sherpas with disabilities ranging from deafness to paralysis and chronic pain began the trek, and he and seven of those made it to base camp – a marked contrast to the one in 10 trekkers who usually complete the trip.

Climber Chris Watkins, 43, of Thunder Bay, Ontario, who was forced to abandon the trek when his life-threatening high-altitude pulmonary edema and cerebral edema were diagnosed, said Monday that he will try to return to the mountain this week with Mr. Guller and his summit teammates. Several physicians, including the team's doctor, have advised him that he could not safely climb at high altitude for a year.

The team flew to Katmandu, where they reveled in showers, flush toilets and other comforts after weeks of living in tents and frigid temperatures. They fanned out to shop and explore the ancient city, and even those in wheelchairs negotiated its gritty, traffic-clogged streets with aplomb after their travels in one of world's most inaccessible regions.

Many were already planning what to do next. Matt Standridge, 24, a paraplegic from San Angelo, outfitted himself with Nepalese sleeping bags, a pack and other camping gear.

"We made the impossible possible. We did what we came to do, and I've got a whole new outlook now," he said, adding that he is also already making plans with other team members to enter a road race, play wheelchair rugby and take a kayaking trip. "The activities I'm going to start doing, the way I look at life – it just makes you want to live your life to its fullest – go out and do everything you possibly can."

He and Riley Woods, 28, a paraplegic from Waco, learned in calls home that their families have gotten a stream of requests for them to speak to schools and other groups about their experience.

They did their first talk in Katmandu, going to visit 10 patients at a local spinal injury clinic.

Mr. Woods said it was an emotional and fitting end for their stay in Nepal. The clinic's medical director "wanted us to talk to them, to inspire them, and tell them they don't have to give up. Life isn't over," he said. "That's the whole point of this trip: don't let your disability get in your way. Instead of focusing on your disability focus on your abilities."