Everest 3 High Pass Trek - 16 Days

On the first day, we’ll board a flight to Lukla (2810m). You will be able to rejoice the sight of splendid hills, rivers and mountains during the 30 minutes flight. On reaching Lukla airport, you’ll be introduced to your porter, and served a wholesome breakfast. After that, we will head north to Phakding (2620m). It is an easy 3 hour hike through the Dudhkoshi valley. We will head north from the airstrip to Chheplung (2700m) and cross the crystal clear Thadokoshi on a locally built suspension bridge. Pass the bridge, you can witness Kusam Kanggru (6367m), which is one of the toughest mountains to conquer. Away from the ThadoKoshi, the trail continues towards the Ghat (2590m) and we will cross a ridge marked with painted Mani stones. We will carry on our mount to reach the beautiful tribal village of Phakding.

We start our second day of trek through the Valley of Dudhkosi River. We cross the Dudhkosi River five times on the exciting suspension bridges laden with prayer flags on the way to Namche. After we cross the last bridge, there is a steep climb up to Namche where the trail gradually leads up to Jorsale. It is a 2 and a half hours climb up to Namche with two view points on the way. We can have a mesmerizing view of Mt. Everest on a clear day. At Jorsale, we enter the Sagarmatha National Park where we will need to verify our permits. After 5 or 6 hours of hard walking, we reach the main trading centre, Namche bazaar.

Acclimatization is very important before proceeding to higher to avoid altitude sickness. We will be taken for a day’s hike through the villages of Khunde and Khumjung and come back to Namche through the Everest view hotel Khumjung. We can see the head of a Yeti in the monastery of the area. We can also visit the bakery at World’s highest altitude. We get to enjoy the panoramic views of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and many other mountains on a fair day. Even the view from Everest View hotel is very impressive. We start with a steep one-hour climb to the Syangboche airstrip (3790m), from where we will slowly ascend towards Khunde passing numerous chorten (stone Buddhist monuments). From Khunde, we follow the trail eastwards to Khumjung, the largest village in Khumbu, at the foot of the sacred peak Khumbila. After enjoying lunch at Khumjung, we follow a gradual climb to Everest View Hotel where we will enjoy the splendid mountain views. Then we descend towards Namche (3540m).

After a healthy breakfast at Namche (3,500m) we will hike to Tengboche (3,870m). The estimated distance is 10kms. By now you will be familiar to strong wind and rough terrain. We can see the sight of porters packing the luggage from the yaks. The trail progressively becomes narrower and steep. You will come across numerous monasteries, suspension bridges, waterfalls and rhododendron forests on your way to Tengboche. On reaching Tengboche, you can visit Nepal’s one of the oldest monasteries. Here you can be part of unique and spiritual Buddhist rituals. We will spend the night at a local tea house.

Early morning, after breakfast we will move on to Dingboche (4410m). The air starts to become thin significantly from here. It’s approximately a 4 hour long trek to Dingboche. We head towards our ultimate goal, the Everest base camp. We cross the Imja valley and few Sherpa villages. We will spend the night here in Dingboche, and hike next day to Chhukung.

After nourishing breakfast, we will continue to ascent, few hours walk to Chhukung (4760m), from where we can see the beautiful mountains up close and even better. We will spend the night here. Here, at Chhukung, we will rest or go for exploration. The point is to adapt to high climate to avoid Altitude Mountain Sickness (AMS).

After a well-deserved rest at Chhukung, we will set on our way up to Lobuche early in the morning, after a healthy breakfast, of course. Here, on our way, we can see largest memorials in the Everest region, for the fallen heroes. By the time we reach Lobuche, it will be late afternoon. We can either relax for tomorrow’s hike or explore the beautiful land.

This challenging trek will take around 6-8 hours. From here altitude mountain sickness may get severe so we have to be extra careful. The trekking distance will be around 15 kms. After wholesome breakfast, we will head to Base camp, trekking through the rocky terrain alongside the Khumbu Glacier. Upon reaching their, you will have some time to enjoy the heavenly environment and take photographs. If you are trekking somewhere between March and May, you might get the chance to see all the commercial expeditions trying to reach the summit. After lunch, we will trek downhill to Gorakshep, and spend the night at a local guest house there.

We will start the hike to Kalapatthar early in the morning. We spend some time enjoying the sunrise on the splendid Himalayan ranges, relishing in a unique view and experience and head back to Lobuche. From Lobuche, a six hours hike will take us to Dzongla which is the only place where we can spend the night.

After a restful night, we will set on to cross the beguiling Cho-la Pass (5420m). The trek is a gradual ascent up the valley passing through subtle rhododendron forests, and if we get lucky we might get a glimpse of musk deer. The view of Ama Dablam and Tawache is remarkable from here. After that, we trek down to Tagnag (4695m), village situated just below a small cliff. We spend the night at this Himalayan village of Tangnag.

Gokyo Valley is a small Buddhist village. The distance from Tagnag to Gokyo is only 4 kms. We will begin the trek early in the morning. We cross the Ngozompa glacier on our way to Gokyo. We will cross the wooden bridge covered with prayer flags over the Dudh Koshi and mark the first of Gokyo Lakes, inhabited by wonderful ducks. Before reaching Gokyo, there is a resting place covered with vibrant prayer flags. We will also visit and relish the sight of magnetic Fifth Lake and take pictures.

Early morning after breakfast, we climb the Gokyo-Ri (5,333m) to enjoy the bewitching view of colossal Ngozumpa glacier, upper Gokyo Valley and the implausible mounts such as Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Nuptse, Cho-Oyu, and Gychung Kang among others. We will now cross the steep Renjo-La pass at 5,300m and descent to Lungden (4,350m) where we will spend the night.

The next day, we will hike to Thame. Situated at 3800m, we will also visit the historic Thame monastery and experience spiritual Buddhist practices. We can also witness the lovely culture of Sherpa people at Thame. We will spend the night here and enjoy the much needed rest for our downhill trek tomorrow.

We will continue our trek down the Sherpa villages of Khumjung, leaving the mountains in the backdrop. We will walk down to the village of Namche bazaar, the epitome of Sherpa culture. We will stay the night at a guest house in Namche.

It is around a 7 hours long walk downhill from Namche to Lukla. On this day, our time at exotic Sagarmatha National Park will come to an end. Following day, we will board a plane to capital city. You will bid goodbye to this trek with a memorable walk down to Lukla.

Early morning air trip from Lukla to Kathmandu, back to your hotel. Early morning, we will catch a plane from Lukla to Kathmandu. Don’t forget to pick a seat on the right side, to see the insatiable mountains again. On reaching Kathmandu, you will be escorted back to your hotel.