EVEREST THREE HIGH PASS TREK 17 DAYS

This morning we will pick you up from your hotel and head to the domestic terminal of Kathmandu Airport for the 35-minute flight to Lukla landing on an airstrip overlooking the Dudh Koshi River. Today you will meet your guides and then head out on the trail with an easy trek descending to Phakding. We will pass numerous mani stones (form of prayer) which are stones carved in Tibetan script, and you will see many strings of prayer flags along the trail. We then arrive at our lodge situated on the banks of the Dudh Koshi River where we will stay overnight.

Today we cross and then re-cross bridges spanning the Dudh Kosi River passing several attractive villages, such as Toc-Toc, Benkar and Monjo before arriving at the Sagarmatha National Park entrance gate. Continuing along the river bed we come to the final bridge and then have a steep climb up to Namche Bazaar, a town with all modern facilities, such as pubs, internet cafes, post office and banks.

Namche Bazaar is an ideal place to acclimatize before heading to higher elevations. We have several options to stay active (highly recommended by health experts) with a short morning hike to Everest View Hotel or to the top of the hills above Namche for views of Everest, Amadablam and other snow-capped peaks. In Namche, we can also visit the museum.

From Namche, we follow the relatively easy trail down to the Imjatse River and then head up through rhododendron, pines, fir forests with views of many snow-covered peaks along the way. On reaching Tengboche we will visit the famous Buddhist monastery. From here we also have some fantastic views of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Khangtega, Thamserku, Kwangde, and Amadablam.

This morning we follow the Imjatse River and then head uphill until we reach Pangboche Village (3,900m), the last permanent village before Dingboche. We will stop at Samara Village for our lunch break before climbing to Dingboche Village situated in the Imjatse Valley. It also has some great panoramic mountain views.

Today is another important day to acclimatize before climbing higher. A short trek to the Nagarjuna hills provides some stunning views of Mt. Makalu and will help us to acclimatize. Medical experts recommend being active rather than sitting idle when spending time during this process of acclimatization.

We have a short trek to Chhukung, the last settlement in the Khumbu region in the Imjatse Valley from where you have some great views of the snow capped Mt. Makalu in the east. We will arrive at Chhukung in the afternoon which will allow you free time to hike to Chhukung Ri for more fantastic views of the mountains and also help you further acclimatize.

Before dawn, we will head out along an icy path and then a rocky trail beneath Kongma-La Pass and Kongma Peak – also known as Mera Peak. We will cross Kongma-La Pass (5,535m) that is nestled between Mt Nuptse, Mohare and Pokalde peaks. After a hard climb to the Khumbu Glacier and moraine (rocky ground), we follow a steep trail up to the base of the Khumbu Glacier to arrive at Lobuche for an overnight stop at a lodge.

Today we cross the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. Further along the trail we sight the crest of the north ridge of Everest, and Mt. Pumori, Mt. Mahalangur, Mt. Lingtren, Mt. Khumbutse & Mt. Nuptse. A short climb leads us to Thangma Riju from where we have 360-degree panoramic view of the surrounding snow-capped mountains. Another steep climb takes us across the Changri Glacier where we get our first views of Kala Patthar sitting just below Mt. Pumori. Upon reaching Gorakshep we have some spectacular panoramic snow-covered peaks including Mt. Everest.

Again we get up early to trek to Kala Patthar a black rocky ridge (5,545m) that offers probably the best views of many peaks, especially a close up of Mt.Everest. We then head back to Gorakshep via the base of Cho-La Pass at Dzongla. We will stay overnight at Dzongla.

Another early start as we trek to Thangnak where we have a brilliant view of Mt Cholatse (6440m). Today is definitely the toughest day of our trek as we head to cross Cho-La Pass (5420m). On reaching the highest point of the valley we begin our trek through Cho La Pass that offers some stunning views of Chola Lake and Mt. Amadablam. The climbing can be hard going due to it being rocky ground and with rocks often covered in ice. After reaching the top of the pass we then descend to Thangnak – a much easier trek!

An early morning starts and we begin our trek to the small village of Gokyo at the base of Mt Gokyo. Along the trail, we will have some fantastic mountain views. After leaving Longponga (4720m) we continue uphill on a trail that leads to Gokyo with a magnificent view of Tanjung Tsho Lake (4710m). After a short walk along the edge of the Ngozumpa Glacier (36 km is the longest glacier of Nepal), we arrive at Gokyo Lake where we will stay overnight.

This morning we will climb to Mt. Gokyo Ri and get a panoramic view of some of the world’s highest peaks, including Mt. Cho Oyo, Gychung Kang, Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Cholatse, Tawache and Mt. Makalu in the east. This is truly one of the highlights of this trek. We then descend to Gokyo. Option two is a trek to Gokyo’s 5th lake, about 5 hours on the trail, leading us to the base of Mt. Cho-Oyu - the world’s 6th highest mountain that borders Tibet. From here we will also have some incredible views of Mt. Everest, Changtse and the enormous glacier of Cho-Oyu.

Once again we are up before dawn as we head to our final high pass. We follow the trail at the end of Gokyo Lake and along the trail we are again blessed with more amazing views of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Cholatse and Taboche, before crossing Renjo La Pass. This is also one of the most physically demanding sections of our trek, but once we reach the top we will be rewarded with magnificent 360 degree views of Mt. Cho-Oyu and other towering snow clad peaks. After a short rest we continue our trek to the frozen lakes below Renjo La Pass before heading on a long trek downhill to the tiny village of Lungdang – close to Nangpa-La Pass. The trail then leads to Marlung village where we stay for the night above the banks of the Bhote Koshi River.

Leaving Marlung we follow a steadily ascending trail until we reach Thame Village that has its own hydropower generator. On the trail we pass several Khumbu villages and pass through pine and rhododendron forests just prior to reaching Namche Bazaar. Our trek continues as we head back to Monjo near the Sagarmatha National Park check point where we stay the night.

Again we follow the trail back to Phakding on our final day of trekking. We should arrive at Lukla with time to spare, which will allow you to explore the village and surrounding countryside. You will take a breath and retrace this wonderful journey in your mind, go over your photos and catch up on emails to your family and friends. This is the time to pat yourself on the back and enjoy that feeling of accomplishing this physically demanding trek. In the evening you may decide to party a little and have a few celebratory drinks!

This morning we fly back to Kathmandu after our adventure into the Himalayan Mountains. After arriving in Kathmandu we can either rest or wander around Thamel doing some last-minute shopping.