Everest Base Camp and Chola Pass Trek – 18 Days

You will explore Patan Durbar Square, Pashupatinath temple, Swayambhunath stupa and Bouddhanath stupa which are all world heritage sites. Durbar Square reveals the life of the royals in ancient times. Pashupatinath temple is one of the most significant places of pilgrimage for all Hindus. Swayambhunath, known as the Monkey Temple and Baudhanath Stupa is one of the largest stupas in the world. At noon, you are introduced to our fellow participants and discuss our trip to our office. Overnight in Kathmandu.

The trek starts with an early scenic mountain flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. You can have amazing scenery of hills covered with forest, waterfalls and rivers, clouds flowing in the air, etc. As soon as you step on Lukla, you will have your first glimpse of sky-touching snow-capped mountains. From Lukla, we start trekking north to the beautiful village of Phakding. It resides at an elevation of 2,700 m on the Dudh Koshi river valley. Overnight at Phakding Hotel/lodge.

After breakfast, the trek begins to Namche Bazaar which is one of the biggest Sherpa villages in Nepal. The trail takes you over the Dudhkoshi River via a long suspension bridge, and then through a beautiful pine forest to Manju, about two hours away. As we move ahead, we will approach the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park for a brief permit check and then descend to the Dudh Koshi River en route to Jorasalle. Lunch will be served here, and then it’s uphill to Namche. Your path along the riverbank is flanked by two crossings, one of which is the Hillary Suspension Bridge. You’ll be rewarded with your first glimpse of Everest in its majesty in Namche Bazaar. Overnight in Namche Bazaar.

Breathtaking panoramas of the Himalayas such as Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, and Kwangde are some of the highlights that you cannot miss. As we descend, the trail takes us to the riverside, and then it’s across the river upwards through the forest pass. Continual uphill trek the trail shifts between a gradual grade and some seriously steep ground until you reach Tengboche which is known as one of the most beautiful places in the Everest region. We’ll stop in on the Tengboche monastery, which is one of the largest in the Khumbu region where you can observe chanting and prayer with the resident Buddhist monks. Overnight in Tengboche.

The trail goes through the rhododendron forest to Debouche followed by a bridge over the raging Imja Khola River. You’ll pass the valley wall and then cross the plains to Pangboche village where you can enjoy a great opportunity to observe a typical Sherpa village. You can also hike to the Pangboche monastery, one of the oldest in the area. The trail will be a difficult one as we move ahead, as the landscape gives way to dry and deserted mountains and you hike towards Dingboche. Overnight in Dingboche.

The trek will move more gradually be more challenging, due to the higher altitude from Dingboche. Along the trail, you can find the memorial stupas dedicated to the climbers and trekkers who lost their lives to Everest over the years. The trail further brings over steep mountain terrain to Lobuche, a small settlement with amazing panoramas of Mt. Lobuche, Mt. Pumori and the Nuptse. The evenings can be downright chilly as we are now almost 4800 meters above sea level. Overnight in Lobuche.

The trail kicks off with an initial, relatively easy trek from Lobuche to Gorek Shep. But the straight trail to Everest Base Camp is harder, involving rocky hills and moraine, formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial rubble. On the way, you will approach the Khumbu Glacier and icefall located on the slopes of Everest. At the Base Camp, you can observe unbelievable scenes of breathtaking beauty. After some time we’ll head back to Gorekshep for some much-needed relaxation after an exhausting and busy day. Overnight in Gorak Shep.

This will be one of the most difficult yet rewarding days of the trek as we climb to Kala Patthar, one of the finest viewpoints. We can observe the unparalleled mountain panorama of Everest (8848 m), along with other giants, Nuptse, Pumori, Chagatse, Lhotse, and countless others. Then we walk to Dzongla.

We start the day by ascending to Cho-la crossing over and descending once more to Thangna. Cho La pass is regarded as one of the risky and thus most adventurous points in the Everest region. The trail goes through the steep path over rock boulders. Even though the climbing is difficult, the scenes of the trail ahead, and of the glacier itself, are breathtaking. From the pass, we can see the stunning view of the surrounding mountains. Then we descend on another side of the pass and trek to Thangnag for overnight stay.

We walk along the glacier route until we reach the first Lake of Gokyo. The trek is easier over flat path following the Dudh Koshi River up to Gokyo. Gokyo is a windy valley located near the third lake and Cho-Oyu Mountain as a backdrop sets an amazing panoramic spectacle at this position. At Gokyo, you are amazed by the natural beauty of Dudh Pokhari Lake.

Today we take rest and explore the Gokyo valley which is a trade center where the Sherpa people run lodges to provide the best services to the trekkers. We make an early morning climb up to the Gokyo-RI for an interesting panoramic view of the Mahalangur Himalayan range. It takes approximately two hours climb to the top of the peak that will provide a panoramic view of Cho-Oyu, the Gyachung Kang, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cholatse and the Tawache. This trek also presents you with the great scene of Ngozumpa glacier- the largest glacier in Nepal.

The crossing of the Renjo La Pass will be evenly interesting and challenging as that of Cho La pass. From the pass, we can observe the magnificent scenes of Everest, Lhotse, and surrounding mountains along with the beautiful spectacle of the Gokyo Lake and Gokyo village below the Ngozumba glacier. We descend into distant northern Valley where access is restricted, and the landscape slowly follows that of the Tibetan Valleys beyond the border. You might also meet Tibetan Traders descending from the Nangpa La pass that leads into the Himalayas from Tibet amidst their caravans of woolly yaks loaded with goods. From the pass, we descend on a stone staircase to Lunde where we stay overnight.

This day we trek down to Thame, a rambling village from where we can observe the stunning views of the mountains like Thamserku, Kantega, Kusum Kang Guru, etc. here you can explore the village. There is a Thame Monastery, a picturesque monastery set among the many homes of monks and Laypeople about 150 m. above Thame. It is perched on the side of a hill overlooking the valley and was established around 300 years ago. This is the place for the spring celebration of the Mani Rimdu festival held about the middle of May each year.

Today, we begin our trek in the flat trail and then descending to the first resting place Thamo where you can visit the Khari Gompa. The trek back till Namche is very beautiful and the pride of having about to complete this long daring trek will just fill you with great pleasure. Overnight at Namche Bazaar.

You trek via the Hillary Suspension Bridge and then pass through numerous local villages. We have to descend a steep pathway cross multiple bridges over the Dudh Kosi river and reach the Phakding village. We reach the Lukla after a few more walks across the Sagarmatha National Park. Overnight at Lukla.

Early in the morning, we will fly to Kathmandu on this day. After that, we will escort you to our hotel in Kathmandu. Rest of the day to explore around Kathmandu if any remaining. Join farewell dinner in typical Nepali restaurant. Overnight in the hotel.

We thank you for being a part of our tour and travel. We bid you farewell and drop-off at the airport, or the opportunity to join another of our programs. Our representatives will drop you at the airport 3 hours before the scheduled time of your flight. Time to say good bye and see you soon for next trip to Nepal.