Everest High Passes Trek - 21 Days

Upon your arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, a representative from the Himalayan Trekkers will greet you and escort you to your designated hotel. After you have rested for a bit, we will have a short discussion session regarding your Everest High Passes Trek. Then, in the evening we will stroll around Thamel Street where you can get a glimpse of the local’s lifestyle. Thamel is the biggest tourist hub in Kathmandu where you can find anything from trekking gears to places to sleep. You will also get to view many temples and monuments on the corners of this street. Thaiti & Kathey Swoyambhu are some of the notable monuments here. 

Early in the morning, the staff from Himalayan trekkers will meet you to collect your passport copy and photographs (if not sent via email) for the preparation of the Trekking permit and Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) card. After breakfast, you will be taken on a half-day sightseeing trip to Boudhanath Stupa and Pashupatinath Temple. Both are UNESCO world heritage sites that are religiously, culturally, and historically significant. 

Boudhanath Stupa is the biggest Buddhist stupa in Nepal and is loved by both domestic and foreign visitors. This giant white stupa in the middle of the big mandala with Buddha’s eyes represents Tibetan Buddhism. As soon as we enter the gate of Boudhanath, we can feel the peacefulness though it is flocked with thousands of visitors along with pilgrims every day. 

Pashupatinath Temple is one of the oldest temples in Nepal and is one of the four most significant Hindu Temples in the world. There are many temples representing many Hindu gods in Pashupatinath but the biggest and the main temple is the Shiva Temple which does not allow non-Hindu visitors. It is also the site where you can observe the open-air cremation ceremony. 

In the afternoon you have some free time. So, you can go around Thamel for some last-minute shopping for the things you might need for the trek.

After early morning breakfast, we will drive to the airport for the 35 minutes flight to Lukla. The Lukla airport also known as Tenzing Hillary Airport is one of the most adventurous airports in the world. You will get to experience the flight in a twin otter while letting you enjoy the views of the Himalayan ranges such as Cho Oyu and Everest. 

Upon reaching Lukla we will start our Everest Three Passes Trek. Today’s destination will be Phakding village which requires a fairly 3 hours easy walk with an amazing view of the landscape and Himalayas such as Kusum Kanguru. You can spend the remainder of the day strolling around the village and interacting with the locals. 

We start the trek after breakfast with the crossing of the Dudh-Koshi River. With occasional ups and down, we will reach the village of Monjo in a couple of hours. After completing the formalities at the gate of the Sagarmatha National Park’s office, you will walk ahead to the Jorsalle village. We will eat our lunch around here and after another 4-hour walk from here and we will be in the popular Namche Bazaar. The trail from Jorsalle to Namche has a nice view of the mountains such as Kwande peak; Kusum Kanguru & Mt. Everest. You can also see mountains such as Nuptse, Lhotse, and Taweche peak from some places.

This is a free day so you can rest and acclimatize before you head towards the higher altitude. Namche Bazaar is the most developed town and the commercial hub in the Everest Region. This place has some nice restaurants, bakeries, cafes, pubs, and cheap to luxurious accommodation options with WI-FI, private bathrooms, and hot shower services. 

There are many things and side trips that will keep you occupied for the day. Hiking to Syangboche and Everest View Hotel is the most popular day trip in Namche. Everest View Hotel is the world’s highest located hotel surrounded by the Himalayas in all directions. Another popular side trip here is to visit the nearby Khumjung Village and Kunde Village where you will get to discover the Yeti Skull and Hillary Hospital and School. Or you can combine these two trips at one if you are interested and have the determination. 

We leave Namche Bazaar after breakfast and start walking on an easy trail to the Tenzing Memorial Stupa. The vistas are breathtaking, and the side hill views are mesmerizing along the route. We will travel the twisting paths while passing through a number of Mani walls and Chortens. You can look right into the river at Phunki Thanga just before crossing a suspension bridge to see the seven prayer wheels being spun by the water's force. From here, we keep going till we reach Tengboche. 

In Tengboche, we will visit the Tengboche Monastery which is the largest monastery in the Everest Region. This monastery is one of the must-see attractions in the Everest Region because of its exquisite interior and exterior design. 

The walk starts with a decent downhill to the lush forests filled with birch, conifers, and rhododendron trees. Today’s trek is also considered the best day on the Everest trek, as we will be rewarded with the picturesque views of the many Himalayas such as Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, and Makalu. 

Our trekking route goes through the Debuche and then crosses the Imja River before taking us to the Pangboche settlement. As we move to the upper Pangboche Valley, we can get a view of the Pangboche Monastery as well as the prettier views of the Himalayas such as Tabuche Peak. We continue towards the Imja Valley from where we make the climb to the Dingboche settlement for the night. Dingboche is a windy village decorated with chortens and colorful prayer flags. 

Today is a short trekking day. We will only walk for around 2 hours from Dingboche to Chhukung. Our trek starts and goes along stone-walled pastures with the pleasant mountainous terrain. We walk through the Imja Vally which offers breathtaking views of Lhotse and Ama Dablam. As we continue, we will eventually arrive at Bibre which is a Yak Herdsman’s camp. The step rock and snowy south face of the pyramidal Imja Tse provide stunning scenery. There are cold streams that cross the trail up ahead. Finally, after a 30-minute trek from Bibre, we reach Chhukung.

It is strongly advised to take a second scheduled rest day in Chhukung for greater acclimatization before heading up the first pass. For the acclimatization purpose, we will take an exciting hike to Chhukung Ri (5540 M). The peak of Chhukung offers a beautiful view of Ama Dablam, Imja Tse, Nuptse, Makalu, Lhotse, Cholaste, Tawache peak, Kantega peak, Thamserku, and Baruntse. Unlike other viewpoints such as Kala Patthar and Gokyo Ri, Mount Everest is not seen from this top. 
We return to Chhukung for the night. 

Today is the day to come across the first pass in this Everest High Passes Trek. The pass is Kongma La Pass which is also the highest pass in the Everest Region at 5535 meters.

We start very early in the morning and start today’s conquer day. We will either choose to walk back down the valley to Bibre and follow a high track above the Niyang Khola, or we can choose to climb over the hill northwest of Chhukung over the moraine of the Nuptse Glacier depending upon the situation. 

After around five hours of leaving Chhukung, the trail ascends through rocky scree to reach the Kongma La. As we ascend, we can see a cairn that is marked by prayer flags which is the Kongma La Pass. We spend the required amount of time at the pass admiring nature. The Kongma La Pass awards us mesmerizing views of the Himalayan ranges such as Nuptse and Lhotse, and the village of Lobuche. 

From the pass, we start the last descent towards Lobuche which begins with a climb over a moraine. We pass by the frozen lakes and the Khumbu Glacier with amazing landscape views.

We head up to Everest Base Camp today. (5364M) The first-hour walk is gradual up the valley at the end of the grassy field.  A short downhill reaches Gorakshep located on the flat field below Kalapatthar (5,545m) and Mt. Pumori (7,145m). We leave our luggage at the lodge in Gorakshep and start the trek to Everest Base Camp. The trail from Gorakshep is quite difficult due to the numerous ups and downs and the altitude. We will reach the base camp after a three-hour trek where we will be treated to a stunning panorama of the Khumbu glacier and icefall. 

After an enjoyable time on the lap of Mount Everest, we will walk back to Gorakshep for the overnight stop.(5180M)

We set off on our journey to Kala Patthar (5545m) early in the morning to take in the breathtaking sights of the sun rising over Mount Everest and to stay out of the intense midday winds. Kala Patthar is one of the best viewpoints in the Everest Region for a close-up view of the Himalayas including Everest, Pumori, Nuptse, and Lhotse. In fact, it is much better than EBC to view Everest. 

The route to the viewpoint is also equally scenic with the familiar peaks of Lingtren, Khumbutse, Changtse, Everest, and Nuptse tower. After taking in the breathtaking Himalayan scenery, we return back to Gorakshep and continue on to Dzongla, for the night. 

Today’s journey is quite challenging as we will be crossing the second pass, Cho La Pass at 5420 meters. 

The journey begins when we pass through a spur that extends from Dzongla to the west. Our path traverses the inclining and large rock boulders. Although the climbing is challenging, the views of the trail ahead and the glacier are magnificent. The final climb to the Cho La Pass is a little bit tricky and as we reach there, we can see the stone cairns decorated with colorful prayer flags. The pass is surrounded by the majestic Himalayas in all directions. 

After spending some time at the pass, we will start to descend through the path leading us to Thangnak village for the night. 

Stepping out of the Thangnak settlement, we are greeted by fabulous mountain views. After a brief hike, the trail leads us to the Ngozumpa Glacier's edge, which is Nepal's longest glacier. Reaching the other side of the glacier, we get a view of the second of the Gokyo lakes on a series of six lakes. A short distance away is the third Gokyo Lake. On the edge of this lake stands the Gokyo Village where we finally give rest to our tired bodies for a night.

Today, we ascend to the Gokyo Ri (5483 M) and take in the breathtaking panorama of the whole Khumbu Himalayas, such as Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Makalu (8481m), Cho-Oyu (8153m), and Gychung Kang (7922m) as well as the enormous Ngozumba Glacier and upper Gokyo Valley. We return to the village via some of the valley’s lakes.

Today is the day to traverse through the last pass on this Everest High Passes Trek. The Renjo La Pass (5340 M) journey is full of adventure and excitement. 

We start our trek after early morning breakfast alongside Dudh Pokhari. The ascent to the Pass from Goryo village can be strenuous but the view from the pass will reward us. We can see that the Makalu and Everest dominate the eastern skyline, with numerous unnamed ranges offering amazing vistas. 

Then our trail descends from the pass via a stone stairway and then over some loose scree to get to the south side of Angladumba Tsho Lake. We will get the opportunity to view Relama Tsho Lake and Renjo Lake en route. We keep trekking until we reach Lungden for the night. 
Note: We can further trek for 1 hour and reach Marlung for the night. 

We leave Lungden after breakfast and start the trek downwards to the beautiful village of Thame. As the trail goes ahead, we will see plenty of prayer flags and Mani (prayer stones) due to heavy the presence of Tibetan Buddhism in the area. You will walk past the villages such as Gonglha, Drama, and Thomde. Thomde has a monastery worth visiting. From here onwards you will walk on a steep downward path for a while and another steep climb of an hour to the village of Thame. 

From Thame, we can see stunning views of the mountains like Thamserku, Kantenga, Kusum Kanguru, etc. We spend the remainder of the day exploring the village, interacting with the locals, and visiting a monastery built around 300 years ago. 

After breakfast, we leave Thame and continue our descent through a few Sherpa settlements until we reach our destination, Namche Bazaar for the night. 

Today marks the conclusion of your Everest High Passes Trek. 

The last day of this great adventure is a nice walk to Lukla, enjoying the lush green scenery around. Apart from a few short uphills, the only long climb will be right before reaching Lukla which takes about an hour from the old big oak tree. On reaching Lukla, you can prepare for the last day’s dinner and party with Sherpa staff, porters, and trekking members.

After breakfast in Lukla, we fly in the twin otter to Kathmandu enjoying the aerial views of the Himalayas and the valleys. The remainder of the day in Kathmandu is on leisure. You can visit a nice spa, go shopping, or stroll around the nearby neighborhoods of Ason and Indrachowk. In the evening, we will take you out for authentic Nepalese cuisine where you can also enjoy the cultural program. 

After breakfast or 3 hours prior to your flight to your home country, we will transfer you to the airport and bid farewell.