Everest 3 Passes Trek in Nepal Himalayas

Your jet liner comes in over the high Himalayas as you look down at the mighty snowcapped peaks. The plane comes over the Kathmandu Valley where it circles and lands at Tribhuvan International Airport. You will feel the excitement as you step out on the tarmac, your first time on Himalayan soil. Once you’ve gone through immigration and collected your luggage, you will be greeted by your representative of Himalayan Planet Adventures and taken to your hotel to relax. There will later be a meeting at the world headquarters of Himalayan Planet Adventures before going out to enjoy a welcome dinner, complete with delicious Nepali food as well as a cultural program with traditional dancing.

Today is the perfect day to begin your immersion into the unique culture of Nepal. This begins with a tour of the legendary Kathmandu Valley and three of the seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In the morning, we will take you to two of these places. You can pick the ones that interest you the most. There are the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu and Patan where the kings of old ruled. There are also Hindu and Buddhist sites that date back centuries with their amazing architecture, carvings and statuary. In the afternoons, we will travel to Bhaktapur, the City of Devotees. This city was once the center of its own kingdom and features its own Durbar Square with the famous 55 Window Royal Palace. The entire city has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are amazing temples, stone statues and wood carvings. Explore the narrow streets where you will find different types of craftsmen working as they have for centuries. In the evening you will return to your hotel for the night in preparation for tomorrow’s journey into the Everest region.

We rise early morning for a flight to Lukla airport, the gateway to the Everest region. It is a 35 minute flight over the backbone of the eastern Himalayas. You sit glued to your window seat as you look down on the mighty snowcapped massifs. We pass range after mountain range with its magnificent peaks that point upwards in the skies. We touch down at Phakding and begin our trek. We will pass through dense forests with places that will give you magnificent views of Mt. Nurbur Himal and Mt. Phari. Later we will see great views of Mt. Kusum Kangaru (elev. 6,369 m/20,890 ft.) We follow along the Dudh Koshi River, crossing it in places. The trek will pass by Sherpa farms where you can see farmers growing crops on the mountainsides in terraced fields. Some of these fields are over 500 years old, having been maintained yearly by generations of the same family. We will arrive at the village of Phakding where we will check into a guest house for the night. It is around 3 -4 hours of trekking today. When we get to Phakding, you will have time to explore this Sherpa village, observing its unique architecture.

Today’s destination is what has been considered the traditional capital of the Sherpa people: Namche Bazaar. This is a delightful village known for incredible handicrafts, foods as well as a colorful local market. The journey begins as we cross the Dudh Kosi River on a high suspension bridge that crosses the cold, raging glacial fed waters making its way down to the sea. Part way through, we will come to the village of Monjo, the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park and home of Mt. Everest. The local name for Everest is Sagarmatha and here we will have our entry permit checked. We continue on, crossing another suspension bridge and finally arrive at Namche Bazaar. We will have passed through thick forests, but also have seen more incredible mountain views. We are climbing upwards today on the trail as we make our way to Namche Bazaar. Trekking time today is around 5 – 6 hours. Namche Bazaar offers some great tea houses with wonderful local food and really nice accommodations.

Namche Bazaar is situated at the elevation where it is necessary to take a day for acclimatization to avoid Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). This is also known as altitude sickness and is a problem due to the thinner mountain air of the high Himalayas. AMS is easily preventable, and it is done by allowing oneself to become accustomed to the high altitudes. It is not a day for sitting around. We will be able to walk up to Syangboche to where the luxury Everest View Hotel stands. From here, we will be able to gaze on the majesty of Mt. Everest to the northeast. In Namche Bazaar, wander the streets, do some shopping for handicrafts as well as tour the Sherpa Museum to learn more about the amazing culture of the Khumbu region.

We leave the crowds behind today. Most everyone is heading toward Everest Base Camp; but we are going now toward the Gokyo Region. We are taking a different route that will take us by the Gokyo Valley with its sacred lakes that reflect the beauty of the Himalayan skies. Thame features a picturesque monastery that has long been popular with people visitng the Khumbu region. We no doubt will see plenty of wildlife along the way as we pass through some dense forests. It’s a four hour trek to reach Thame Village, where we will spend the night at a local guest house.

When we leave Thame Village, we are now entering into the rim of the lush green Lungden Valley. The valley is watered by the Dudh Koshi River; we are following along to the upper end of the valley. Along the way, you will see Sherpa farmers doing yak farming as these animals prefer the colder, higher elevations. Lungden has a few basic tea houses with a limited menu, but we will select the best one to have dinner and spend the night. Trekking time is 3 – 4 hours.

We’ll need our down jackets today as we make our way to the top of Renjo Pass. It’s a high elevation day as we cross the 5000 meter mark. We walk part-way on a glacier and it is steep uphill to Renjo La Pass. It may be a tough walk, but when you get to the top of the pass, you will behold one of the finest views of the Himalayas! We’ll definitely stop for pictures. It is usually quite windy up here on this high pass. From here we will be able to look down into the beautiful Gokyo Valley and see some of the sacred lakes. Today’s trek is long one, around 8 – 9 hours of trekking. It will be one of climbing and dealing with snow, but when you see that view from on top of the pass, you will forget how much work it was to cross this pass. The great beauty of the Himalayas requires an effort to discover. Tonight, we will enjoy a nice tea house and a good, hot meal in Gokyo village.

We are taking our second Acclimatization Day. We’re reaching new, higher elevations, so we need to let our bodies adjust as well as to avoid AMS. In the morning, we will hike up to the top of Gokyo Ri for a breathtaking view of the Himalayas. We will watch a magnificent sunrise and then return to our tea house for a hot breakfast. Afterwards, spend the day roaming around town and visiting some of the nearby sacred lakes. We will spend a second night at our guest house in Gokyo.

We leave the beautiful Gokyo valley with is many sacred lakes today. Our journey will take us to a lower elevation in order to reach the village of Thaknak. We pass by one of the sacred lakes as we make our way for three to four hours. There are plenty of wonderful scenes to photograph today with the awe-inspiring vistas above us. It is nice having a shorter day because tomorrow will be a challenge as we will cross our second mountain.

This will be one of the most challenging days as we make our way up to Cho-La Pass. While the pass itself is not difficult, it is steep plus involves crossing a glacier. The views today will be fabulous not only from Cho-La Pass, but also from the little village of Dzongla. Vegetation is in the form of juniper bushes as we are above the tree line. We will trek 8 – 9 hours. The tea house in Dzongla is pretty basic. Expect nothing elaborate, but it is cozy and the food very good.

At the village of Gorakshep, we join up with the main trail that leads to where history was made: Everest Base Camp. We have taken a prettier way, traveling by way of Gokyo. The trek takes us along the moraine, giving us the finest view of Mt. Nuptse which is rising in front of us. It’s a rocky trail and the wind never ceases on this ridge. Be sure to zip up your down jacket because there will be a cold wind at this elevation. At Gorakshep, we will find a nice tea house with a good hot meal. Trekking time is around 6 hours.

Today we leave our backpacks at our tea house as we walk to Everest Base Camp and the Khumbu Ice Fall. This is a challenging walk, because the trail changes every year with the movement of the glacier. The air is very thin here, and the trek can feel strenuous. The trail passes over cold flowing streams, over rocky dunes and finally reaches EBC itself. EBC is a popular place and we will meet lots of foreign people here. It is from here that those climbing Mt. Everest begin their ascent. Sir Edmund Hillary and Norgay Tenzing and their climbing party started their climb from here in 1953. We will mingle with those who have made the climb and are celebrating their victory as well as trekkers and those preparing to climb. It is a non-stop party here. It will take us two to three hours to get to EBC and then we return back to Gorakshep for the night.

We leave early morning for a climb up Mt. Kalapathar which is a trekking peak. It’s an easy one to climb and will take us a couple of hours to walk to the top. From here, enjoy the finest close-up view of Mt. Everest and the surrounding peaks. The panoramic view from here will make you feel like you are on top of the world! We will stand and take pictures before returning to our tea house to grab out gear and begin our journey to the village of Lobuche. The mountain scenery continues in all of its elegance as we make our way to our camp in Lobuche. There are no tea houses here, so we will actually camp the night. It will be a wonderful feeling, eating dinner around a campfire before entering out tent and sleeping bag for the night. Trekking time is 6 – 7 hours.

We leave early morning, packing our lunch for the trip over our final high pass. It is the highest of the passes, taking us to an elevation of 5,535 meters. This is a difficult day of trekking as the narrow path will challenge you, but this day you will see the Himalayan skyline like you’ve never could have imagined. On the pass, Buddhist prayer flags flutter in the ever-present wind. We will descend into the Imja Khola Valley, making our way to Chhukung and Dingboche. We will spend the night at DIngboche at a tea house. Trekking time is 6 – 7 hours.

Today we are making our way to what has been called the most picturesque village in all of the Himalayas. Tengboche stands amidst the mighty peaks with the central focal point being its large and imposing Buddhist monastery. The village is surrounded by amazing views of Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, and Mt. Lhotse Shar along with many other snowcapped peaks. It’s about a 4 – 5 hour trek, mostly downhill to reach Tengboche where we will enjoy a tea house and a delicious meal in the evening.

Today we return to the Sherpa capital. As we descend, the forests get denser and denser as we are now below the tree line. We cross the Dudh Kosi River and then ascend to Trashinga Village. The trail goes on the ridge high above the valley below as we make our way to Namche Bazaar. Here we find a really wonderful tea house with a larger menu for dinner. Trekking time is 4 – 5 hours.

We leave Namche Bazaar, descending into thicker jungles as we make our way back to Lukla and the airport. This is our last day of trekking. It’s a faster trek back to Lukla today as we pass through Phakding on our way to our tea house in Lukla. Tonight, we celebrate with our guide and porters the completion of our journey across Three High Passes, our climb of Mt. Kalapathar as well as reaching EBC. It’s a great night as we rest, enjoy a good meal and get a good night’s sleep. Trekking time is 6 – 7 hours.

The best time to fly out of Lukla is early morning hours because the winds almost always pick up in the afternoon. It is a short flight back to the capital city where you will have a leisure day to do whatever you’d like. It can be a rest day, or you can take time to explore some of the interesting places in Kathmandu near your hotel.

Today is a leisure day. We have built in an extra day because sometimes the weather goes against us in Lukla and there are no flights. If you want, you can visit some of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites that you missed. If you do, may we suggest Changu Narayan, a beautiful little village that contains the oldest Hindu temple in the Kathmandu Valley? In the evening, enjoy a farewell dinner with your guide, porters and staff of Himalayan Planet Adventures. It has been an amazing trip here in Nepal. You’ve seen the Himalayas like few other people ever do; with all of its majesty.

It’s your final day here in Nepal. Before your flight, you may have some last minute time for souvenir shopping. But before you leave, why not consider a return visit to Nepal or the surrounding countries. Himalayan Planet Adventures is your company to put together holiday packages in not only Nepal, but also India, Sikkim, Bhutan, Tibet, India, Bangladesh and Thailand. We have great connections in these countries, having developed them over years of enjoying a good working relationship. It is said that a lifetime is not enough to see all Nepal has to offer. Why not return to see everything else this amazing land has to offer. Himalayan Planet Adventures can make these dreams a reality for you.