Everest Base Camp Trek with Chola and Renjo La Passes - 19 Days

Our staff will pick you up from the Airport and transfer you to your hotel. We will brief you about the trek in detail. You can loosen up and prepare for the tour in the hotel.

The tour will start with an early morning flight to Lukla. The Lukla airport has one of the smallest runways in the world. It has a gorge at the end of the runaway. After an adventurous start to the trip, you will trek to Phakding (2,652m). The trek to Phakding takes about four hours to complete.

We will stay overnight in Phakding.

The trek today starts from Phakding to Namche Bazaar. The trail moves from Namche Bazaar passing through the Dudh Koshi river. We pass the Dudh Koshi river through the famous Hillary suspension bridge. We can take a glimpse of the Mt Thamserku (6,618m) along the way. We pass through villages Jorsale, Monjo to arrive at the entrance of Sagarmatha National park.

The trail moves along the alpine forests of rhododendron trees to arrive at the confluence of Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi rivers. We enjoy the sight of Mt Everest over the ridge of Lhotse-Nuptse and take a break at Chautara to experience the environment of the place. We reach Namche Bazaar after a hike of one and a half hours. The delightful village has a lot of cafes, hotels, banks etc since Namche Bazar is the commercial hub of the Khumbu region.

We spend the night at Namche in a guest house.

We acclimatize at the village of Namche Bazar. The acclimatization process helps trekkers to adapt their bodies to the high altitude climate. However, you will not stay idle and rather keep moving.

We take a short hike to Thame or Khunde. We can also explore Namche Bazaar. In Namche Bazaar, we can explore the Sherpa museum, and We can also visit the Syangboche airstrip. We will then hike to the Everest view hotel. The Everest view hotel is the highest hotel in the world. The views of the Himalayan range from the Everest view hotel is awe-inspiring.

We start our trek towards Tengboche from Namche passing through the village of Pangboche, overlooking the spectacular views of Mt Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam. The trail moves along a challenging path with lots of ups and downs. We might spot a variety of flora and fauna along the way. Wild animals like a musk deer, a Danphe pheasant or a herd of Himalayan Thar can be detected.

We arrive at Sansa after a trek of a few hours. Sansa is the major junction between Gokyo valley and Everest base camp. The trek is comfortable from Sansa and then moves along the alpine forests till we reach Tengboche. We spend the night in Tengboche.

We pass through tiny villages and mani walls, enjoying the fantastic views of Mt Amadablam. We arrive at Periche through the eastward trail in the afternoon. The trail turns smooth from here onwards as we enter the Imja valley.

The valley will begin the confluence of the Lobuche river. We then proceed downhill into the river banks and start the final leg of the steepest climb to Dingboche. We enjoy the beautiful array of fields enclosed by stone walls Upon arrival in Dingboche. These walls are built to protect the crops from cold winds and grazing animals. We stay overnight at a lodge in Dingboche.

You will acclimatize again at Dingboche. You will not stay idle and keep moving. You will hike to Nagarjuna(5,100m), a hill at the top of the Chukhung valley. The hike is steep and strenuous and will take you about 3-4 hours. We can see the vast range of snow-capped mountains like Mt Amadablam (6,856m), Thamserku Peak (6,608m), Taboche (6,608m) and others. The view of the entire valley from the top of Nagarjuna hill is superlative. You will return to the Dingboche in the afternoon and spend the night in a guest house.

The trek begins with a steep climb to Dughla valley. We pass through the Khumbu Khola valley. We trek along the barren hills overlooking the breathtaking views of the landscape. We reach Dusa, which is the yak herder’s place. After resting for a few minutes, we climb our way to Dughla passing through the Phulung Karpo. Phulung Karpo is a historic site where the Everest expedition of 1953 took place.

We can see Pumori (7,138m) in all its glory from Phulung Karpo. There is Chola lake nearby. The trail descends through Dugla crossing a small wooden bridge. We can see the tip of the Nuptse, Cholatese, Thamserku and other mountain peaks. We trek to a steep terminal moraine of the Khumbu glacier from Dughla.

At the final stages of the trek, we ascend to Chupki lahara. It is an eerie ridge top with surreal views of the mountain tops. At Chupki lahara, we will find prayer flags in memoriam of American mountaineer Scott Fisher and Babu Chiri Sherpa who perished on a mission to Everest. We stay overnight at a guest house in Lobutse 

We resume our trek to Gorak Shep from Lobuche gradually to avoid altitude sickness. We move through the pyramid post passing through the Khumbu glacier, the highest glacier in the world. The top of Mt Everest is visible along with Mt Pumori, Mahalangur, Lingtern, Nuptse and Khubutse. A small hike will take us to Thangma Riju. The panoramic 360-degree view of the mountains from Thangma Riju is breathtaking.

From Thangma Riju, we will pass through the Changri glacier. We get a sneak peek of Kala Pathar from the top of the Changri glacier. The Khumbu icefall is a scary path and it should be crossed with extreme caution. Religious prayer flags and small pyramidal stacking of stones cover the Everest Base Camp. After a hike of 2-3 hours, we will reach Gorak Shep. Gorak shep used to be a vast lake once but now its all covered in frozen sand. We will have a stunning close-up view of Mt Everest along with a panoramic view of the snow-capped mountains from Gorak Shep. We will spend the night in Gorak Shep.

We have an early start as we hike early in the morning to Kalapathar to observe the sunrise on the backdrop of Mount Everest. The hike is in the early hours of the morning with freezing temperatures. We can view the mountain peaks of Khumbutse, Lingtren, Chaste along our way. We also catch a glimpse of the Mt Everest. We reach Kalapathar after few hours of a rocky trail.

The Kalapathar is an essential landmark near the Everest base camp. We take some pictures in this picturesque landmark before we move ahead in the trek. Cairns and mountain flags cover the whole area. After spending a few times in Kalapathar, we head back to Gorak Shep for lunch. After lunch at Gorak Shep and a few hours of rest, we will proceed to Dzongla. From Dzongla, you can observe the breathtaking snow-capped mountains in full sight. You will stay at a tea house in Dzongla.

We start the trek by climbing the Cho La pass, one of the three highest passes in the region. The Cho la pass is one of the scariest passes that we must cross over. The path is so risky that few trekkers even contemplate of quitting and returning. You need to be extra alert as you will be passing through crevasses, scree and boulders. An expert guide will help you with the instruction to successfully pass through the Chola pass. From the top of the pass, you will see the beautiful snow-capped mountains of Lobuche, Ama Dablam, Cholatse. We then descend to our destination of Dragnak/Thangna, where we stay in a tea house.

We will trek to the stunning Gokyo lakes as we cross over the Ngozumpa glacier. There are as many as five Gokyo lakes. The Ngozumpa glacier is the largest Himalayan glacier with a length of 36 km. Gokyo village lies in the banks of the Gokyo lake and Cho-Oyu mountain stands in its backdrop. The picturesque beauty of the surroundings is indescribable. After lunch, we will explore the area around the lakes. We will return to Thagna in the afternoon and spend the night there.

We will wake up early to climb the Gokyo-Ri(5,360m) for a panoramic view of the Mahalangur Himalayan Range. The time taken to reach to the top of Gokyo Ri is approximately 2 hours. The Mahalangur mountain range consists of Cho-Oyu, Gyachung Kang, Lhotse, Makalu, Cholatse and Tawache. The view of the Ngozumpa glacier is splendid.

The trek today starts from Thangna and ends in Lunden. We will pass the Renjo la pass along the way. The Renjo la pass is as challenging as the Cho La pass. We pass through the remote area in the northern valley where the access is restricted. The landscapes of the region resemble that of the Tibetan valley across the border. We might meet the Tibetan traders descending from the Nangpa La pass with their yaks filled with goods. You will spend the night in Lunden.

We trek down to Thame from Lunden on this day. Thame monastery is above 150 meters above Thame. Thame monastery is a religious site and home of many monks and pilgrims. It is perched on the side of the hill overlooking the valley. The festival of Mani Rimdu begins every year in May. Tibetan traders passing through gives us a glimpse of their lifestyle and culture. You will spend the night in Thamel.

We will descend towards Namche Bazar through the trail that is mostly flat. The trek back to Namche is beautiful, and we will rest at Thame before arriving at Namche Bazar. Our trek is in the last stages as we reach Namche Bazar. You will relax and spend the night at the lodge in Namche Bazar.

We push ourselves one last time to trek to Lukla from Namche Bazar. After passing through the rocky terrain, we cross the suspension bridge at Dudh Koshi river. The trail becomes more smooth and natural here onwards. The temperature turns warmer, and any altitude sickness will disappear. We pass the same route that we took earlier.

We will trek through rhododendron and pine forests and the snow-covered mountains for one last time. We walk through the Sherpa villages with Buddhist scriptures and prayer stones. We arrive at Lukla after a wonderful trekking experience of more than two weeks. In Lukla, we rest as our trek comes to an official end.

We stay at a lodge in Lukla overnight.

We fly back to Kathmandu from Lukla airport overlooking the snow-capped mountains and all the routes we covered on foot.

Our staff representative will pick you up and transfer to the Airport for your travel back to your desired destination.