Everest Three Pass Trek 18 Days

About 5/6 hours. Fly from Kathmandu to Lukla (2,860m). From Lukla, the trail leads north with an easy walk through several villages to Phakding (2,610m).

Walking through a beautiful pine forest, the track leads us along the Dudh Koshi River through many suspension bridges, one of which is the famous Hillary Suspension Bridge. First, we catch wonderful prospect of the glistening Mt. Thamserku (6618 m). Through the settlement of Benkar, Chumoa, Monjo, we come to the check post and entrance to Sagarmatha National Park. We pass through the last village of Jorsale before reaching Namche Bazaar. The trail climbs through the forests and bridges until we reach the confluence of the Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi rivers. After a final steep ascent of about two hours we get first sight of Mt. Everest peering over the Lhotse-Nuptse ridge. We stop at Chautara to admire the view. We still need to hike about 1.5 hours to reach Namche Bazaar, a gateway to Mt. Everest and main trading centre of this region.

This is the scheduled 'acclimatization' day for this trek. Health experts always recommend us to stay active and moving during the rest day too instead of being idle. We either spend the day taking a day hike to Thame or visiting Khunde or relaxing and exploring Namche Bazaar itself. If we trek a few hundred vertical feet during the day, it will help us to properly acclimatize. Our guides will take us to the Tourist Visitor Center near the headquarter of the Sagarmatha National Park where we can observe an assortment of things related to the first Everest ascenders, Sherpa culture and learn about the various plant and animal life of the Everest region. We also take an interesting side trip up to Khumjung. We climb up to the famous airstrip at Shyangboche. Just above the airstrip is the Everest View Hotel, a Japanese scheme to build a deluxe hotel with great views of the highest mountains on Earth. The Khumjung valley is surrounded by the snowy peaks of Kongde and Thamserku and the scared peak Khumbila, hosts a well-known monastery that houses a yeti scalp. We also visit Hillary School which is at the same site.

In the morning after breakfast, we climb over the moraine and follow the gentle ascent on a route used for centuries by traders who ferried salt and grains across the Nangpa-La Pass into Tibet, until we reach Marulung

Today, we start our high altitude trek through a stunning landscape on the old trade route to Tibet before turning right to ascend a stone staircase passing a small picturesque lake until Yak Kharka (4,672m) – about 3 hours. We stop here for lunch and the rest of the afternoon.

A long day today with an early morning start. The trail ascends to Renjo-La Pass (5,360m) with its breath-taking views – about 4 hours. We can see the rooftops of Gokyo glinting distantly on the shore of the lake beneath the grey smear of the Ngozummpa Glacier, and the sawtooth peaks of Everest, Lhotse, Cholatse and Tawache. Then we descend to our overnight destination – Gokyo (4,790)

Today, we have a full day free for hiking or otherwise exploring the valley. After breakfast, we start for the Fifth Lake. The trail climbs the hill on the north shore and runs level along the moraine to the Fifth Lake passing the scenic Fourth Lake just above Gokyo. The round trip is about 5 hours. En route today we have a stunning view of Cho-Oyu (8,201m). After exploring around, we return to our hotel

An early start this morning for our steep ascent (about 2 and half hours) to Gokyo-Ri (Peak) for an unobstructed Himalayan sunrise over the majestic peaks, and excellent views of Everest(8,848m), Makalu, Nuptse, Lhotse, Cho-Oyu, Pumori, Amadablam and others. We then descend back to camp (about 1 and half hours) for breakfast. . Leave camp and continue our trek, passing the Ngozumpa Glacier until reaching Thangnak (4,700m). Have lunch and stay overnight at tea house

Another early start today for our gradual then steep rocky ascent to Cho-La Pass – about 4 hours. The trail then descends until reaching Dzongla (4,830m) – about 2 and half hours. We have lunch and stay overnight at tea house.

Today, we start with a three and a half hour trek to Labuche (4,910m). At this point we join the main, direct, route of the classic trek to Everest Base Camp. After lunch amid spectacular views of the Himalayan range, we continue above the left bank of the Khumbu glacier for the steep climb to Changri Nup Glacier, and then the short descent to Gorak Shep – about 2 and half hour.

After breakfast, we start our round trip to Everest Base Camp which takes about 2 hours to reach. On the way, enjoy views of Everest icefall and glacier plus Pumori (7,165m), Lingtren (6,713m), Khumbutse, and Nuptse (7,864m). Come back same way to Gorak Shep – about 2 and half hours.

Early in the morning, we take the steep 2 hour ascent to Kala Pathar (5,550m) for sunrise. Kala Pathar, which means Black Rocks, is another of those magic Himalayan spots surrounded by majesty – Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Khumbutse, Pumori, Lingtren, Changtse (Chinese mountain), Amadablam, Thamserku, Lobuche and more. We have an unobstructed view of sunrise. We then descend an hour back to camp for breakfast. After breakfast we continue our trek, passing the Changri glacier until reaching Lobuche – about 2 hours – for lunch and our overnight stay in tea house.

More high altitude trekking this morning climbing at first for 3 hours to Khongma-La Pass. From here we have great views of Amadablam, Thamserku, Island Peak, Lhotse and other peaks. The trail then descends to Chhukung where we have lunch and stay overnight at tea house

Early in the morning, we ascend the rocky trail to Chhukung-Ri (Peak) (5,550m) – about 2 and half hours – for more spectacular views of Makalu, Island Peak, Baruntse Himal, Amadablam, Lhotse and other peaks. Descending back to Chhukung (about 1 and half hours) we continue through yak pasture land until reaching Dingboche (4,410m) for lunch. The trail continues to Pangboche village (about 2 hours)

Walking through a beautiful pine forest, the track leads us along the Dudh Koshi River through many suspension bridges, one of which is the famous Hillary Suspension Bridge. First, we catch wonderful prospect of the glistening Mt. Thamserku (6618 m). Through the settlement of Benkar, Chumoa, Monjo, we come to the check post and entrance to Sagarmatha National Park. We pass through the last village of Jorsale before reaching Namche Bazaar.

From Namche to Lukla, the trail leads north with an easy walk through several villages to Phakding (2,800m) then Lukla.