Trek to Tibetan Khangshung Face of Everest

Arrive at Kathmandu after a scenic flight over the mountains. Meet the representative of Adventure Mission Nepal Treks & Expedition (AMN) and transfer to Hotel. Rest of the time enjoy strolling the surrounding area.

After breakfast at the hotel, a tour guide will take you to the historical and cultural places of Kathmandu. The Kathmandu city presents a fabulous mix of Hinduism, Tibetan Buddhism and western influence in the valley. There will be a half day guided tour to the famous and biggest Hindu shrine of Pashupatinath, the largest Buddhist stupa in Boudhanath, Kathmandu Durbar Square and Swayambhunath.

Our expedition begins in Nepal as we head from the capital to Lhasa. The view that this flight has to offer is stunning and provides a glimpse into the bountiful landscape awaiting us below. This sneak peeks into the world of the Himalayas complete with the summits, valleys, open pastures and terraced fields can’t help but build the anticipation for the next two weeks. At Lhasa, we transfer to our hotel and settle in for the night.

We spend the day in Lhasa and allow our bodies to accustom themselves to the altitude (3700m). As we spend this in one of the largest cities in the region, we visit a couple cornerstones of the Buddhist community, the Jhokang Temple and the Potala Palace. The Jhokang Temple is also rich with history while the Potala Palace is well known for its engineering brilliance and majestic location. We spend the night in Lhasa.

Heading out from Lhasa we drive westward on ‘Friendship Highway’, a modern engineering achievement connecting China and Nepal. The prominent feature of driving along this highway is the stunning panoramic views of the Himalayas. We follow the crests and troughs of the road as we drive along the Tsangpo River to reach our hotel in Shigatse (3856m). We arrive ahead of the setting sun and have just enough time to visit the Tashilunpo monastery, founded by the 1st Dalai Lama making it one of the oldest monasteries in the region. The monastery really stands true to name, meaning ‘Heap of Glory’.

If we are lucky we may able to see the Tashilumpo monastery in all its glory as the sun rises at dawn and strikes the monastery first. However, we have quite some ground to cover today as we proceed south towards the primary chain of the Himalayas. We also gain a considerable amount of elevation as we advance closer to a high pass. The highest point we reach today is the Gyantso La Pass at 5220m, the highest point on the ‘Friendship Highway’. We are privy to truly spectacular views of Everest as continuing onwards to reach our hotel in Shegar.

On the 5th of day of our journey, we set out from Shegar (4000m) and have a whole day of driving to look forward to. We climb all the way up to Pang La (5150m) gaining almost a 1000m in elevation. While altitude sickness is a common concern at such heights, we believe the gradual drive up the ‘Friendship Highway’ would have helped the hikers to acclimatize. Although we have a long day of driving ahead of us, the views from atop Pang La make the trip absolutely worth it. We descend from the pass into the Kharta valley where we set up our first camp.

The first day of trekking on our trip begins in the Kharta valley and takes us through many remote settlements to Landrubling (3990m). The Kharta valley is gorgeous and breathtaking with its head at the culmination of a glacier shelf. The Kharta Chu also flows through the valley that provides for lush, green banks along which we hike to reach our campsite on a shelf above the river.

As we set off on our hike after a rudimentary meal, we make our way up the residual debris from a previous, glacial flood. We ascend the moraine ridge where we catch another glimpse at the geographical wonders the region has to offer. The twin lakes beneath Shao La are a great place to rest ourselves after the arduous ascent. While the Shao La Pass provides a connection to the neighboring Kama Valley the twin lakes provide an astounding vista point to see the Makalu and Chomolonzo. Our final resting altitude for the night is 4560m.

We begin our trek by ascending to the Pass for more awesome views of the Makalu and Everest beyond. From the Shao La Pass (4970m) we make our descent down the side of the Kama Valley and settle in for the night on a meadow patch just above the Kama River. During the descent, you will have gorgeous views of the richness of the valley formation with many yaks dotting the surroundings. The trail we will follow downhill is also well maintained and well-traveled.

Another quick and easy day to bring us to the campsite at Parthang (4340m). For most of the day, we hike along the valley bottom and hence surrounded by lush meadows and the image of an unforgiving stream as it meanders through the valley. We then continue through juniper forests that cover every inch of land except for our trail. We trek through herders’ camps and arrive at our campsite for the night.

We spent the day ascending in pursuit of reaching the base camp at Pethang Ringmo (5026m). A sturdy feature of this area is that of yaks grazing on the lush meadows. At such high altitudes, the Sherpas and locals rely on yaks for sustenance. The trail is smooth for the most part as we climb to where we make our camp for the camp. This base camp is an essential stop for anyone aiming to climb the Khangshung side of the Everest. As such, it’s a great place to exchange stories with fellow hikers.

We send the day relaxing and primarily prepping for days to come. Alternatively, hikers can choose to head up to a nearby vista point that provides wholesome views of the east face of Everest that we hope to conquer. We spend another night at Pethang Ringmo.

As we make our way to Shurim Tso (4550m) for the night, we head all the way back to Rubka Chu where the trail diverges leading us further inland and closer to the base camp. While traipsing through rhododendron shrubbery is a calming experience, once we complete our ascent to Shurim Tso, a magnificent view awaits us wherein almost 15 of the largest summits in the area are reflected in the clear, turquoise waters of the lake. We rest the night in the shadow of Langma La.

We begin our day with a long ascent to the Langma La Pass (5320m) where we are greeted with spectacular views of the Everest chain of mountains. We then descend to our campsite at Landrubling by nightfall. All in all, we have a tiring day of hiking. We reach the highest point in our trek today and complete a loop by returning to Landrubling.

We set out to Kharta and descend further into the valley from Landrubling. Being mostly a downhill hike, we have a lot of fun just cruising across meadows and down lush hills. We cut short our hiking activities for the day by driving to the Rongbuk Valley from Kharta. We experience the enormity and the beauty of the Rongbuk Glacier made more important by the fact that Mount Everest is the source for this ice shelf. We camp at a comfortable spot just within sight of the North side of Everest.

We spend the day resting and exploring the nearby Rongbuk Monastery, a very popular pilgrimage/heritage site for Buddhists. Rongbuk Monastery is situated at the foot of Mt. Everest and claims that the highest Buddhist Shrine on the earth at an altitude of 5100 m. It was built 400 years ago by Nyingmapa Lama and is not only the religious destination but also offers the mouth-watering view of the Himalayan Range. It is also regarded as the gateway to the Everest as the climbers who want to attempt the Mt. Everest via north face must pass through this magnificent Monastery. At night we camp by the North Side Basecamp also renowned as Chomolungma – a Tibetan name of the Everest.

We drive along the foothills of the Himalayan Range to arrive at the border town of Zhangmu. We rest for the night at a local hotel.

We come a complete circle by continuing to Kathmandu after a short descent to Dolalghat and a climb into Dhulikhel. We reach our hotel in the afternoon and spend the afternoon relaxing and exploring the city.

Today either you can visit some of the heritage sites of Kathmandu or you can spend your day by exploring the market area and shopping.

You can depart from Kathmandu to your home country or extend the trip and head for another trip within or outside Nepal.