Everest Three Pass Trek - 18 Days

After a quick breakfast, you fly to Lukla. Our guide will meet you at your hotel in the morning as per the flight schedule. Make sure you’re done with your breakfast and ready to go when the guide arrives. You will be driven to Kathmandu Airport to board the Lukla flight. This flight is going to be the most thrilling and memorable flight of your life. You’ll see the Himalayan range from your seat if the weather is clear.

On landing at Lukla, you will meet with the porters and begin trekking towards Phakding. From Lukla, the trail ascends through dense forests along the Dudh Koshi River to Phakding. It is an easy 3-4 hour hike that you’ll enjoy on your first day of trekking.

After having a warm breakfast at the lodge we stayed overnight, we continue trekking along the Dudh Koshi River, crossing it several times over suspension bridges. The trail enters Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo, which is home to hundreds of flora and fauna. The trail from the National Park ascends steeply and that can be tough. However, stepping your feet in the beautiful Namche Bazar will make you forget the pain you had earlier. You’ll have an enjoyable stay at Namche, where you’ll meet many trekkers and climbers either heading towards their destination or coming back from their adventure.

This is the first rest day of the Three Passes Trek. Namche Bazar is the best place to acclimatize as it’s full of things to do and places to see. You can spend the day exploring around the narrow streets of Namche, or go on a short hike to Everest View Hotel or Khumjung village. Both places are good for observing excellent views of snow-capped mountains. When you trek back to Namche Bazar, make sure to visit the Everest Photo Gallery and Sherpa Culture Museum. This rest day is also an incredible opportunity to interact with the locals and learn about their ancient cultural traditions. 

After enjoying a rest day at Namche, we continue on our trekking journey towards Tengboche. As usual, our day begins with a delicious breakfast. We then hit the train enjoying superb views of Mt. Kantega, Kusum Kanguru, and Mt. Thamserku. The trail further descends to a river and leads you to Phunki Tenga, where we’ll stop for lunch. From here, you ascend through lush forests of rhododendrons to reach Tengboche. If you reach Tengboche before 3 p.m., you can attend a Buddhist prayer at the Tengboche Monastery.

After having breakfast at the teahouse in Tengboche, we begin our hike day, descending through lovely forests of rhododendrons. The trail takes you to Imja Khola and crosses a suspension bridge. From here, you walk passing by a long mani wall and reach Pangboche. Further, you trek uphill through summer pastures and finally reach Dingboche. Dingboche is another beautiful village where you’ll see locals planting high-altitude crops in the fields nearby. It is also where we’ll acclimatize next.

Our second rest day is in Dingboche. You can leisurely explore the village and its nearby area. You can see amazing views of the north face of Ama Dablam along with Lhotse and Nuptse Ridge. If you’re feeling energetic, you can go on a short hike to Nagarjan Peak to acclimatize, which takes about 4 to 5 hours in total. The peak is an excellent viewpoint to enjoy the sight of the glorious mountain peaks of the Everest region. In the afternoon, come back to Dingboche for lunch and spend the rest of the day reading or chatting with fellow trekkers.

It is a short hiking day today, only taking 2 to 3 hours to reach Chhukung from Dingboche. Leaving Dingboche behind, you trek through the stone wall field and ascend along Imja Khola Valley. You can see wonderful landscapes while ascending. Passing via Bibre and crossing a cold stream, you reach Chhukung. When we get to Chhukung, we can relax or trek up to Chhukung Ri for even more breathtaking mountain vistas. Additionally, it will give us time to get ready for our early-morning trip to Kongma La Pass the next day.

The trek begins early in the morning. It is going to be a long day as we cross one of the three passes, Kongma La Pass at 5540 meters. First, you ascend on a narrow rock trail and reach Pokalden Base Camp. You can select to go via any of the possible trails - either climbing over a hill northwest of Chhukung over the moraine of the Nuptse Glacier or descending to the valley to Bibre and following a high trail above the Niyang Khola. Ascending along the east side of Niyang Khola Valley, you turn west and walk through the sloppy stony trial. From here, pass through small frozen lakes and reach Kongma La Pass. The views you get to see from the top of the pass are outstanding. The trail then descends to Lobuche for the night's stay.

Today, you are going to hike up to Everest Base Camp, another highlight of the trek. Trekking on a rocky moraine from Lobuche, you descend to Gorakshep. On the way, you can see views of icy glacial ponds and icebergs. After a short lunch break at Gorakshep, you continue towards the Everest Base Camp. Congratulations, you’ve reached the base camp of the world’s highest mountain peak. Spend some time at the base camp, click some pictures, and prepare to trek back to Gorak Shep for the night stay, as there are no accommodation facilities available at EBC for trekkers. 

Although you’ve reached EBC, you haven’t yet seen the full face of Mt. Everest in its glory. As Mt. Everest isn’t visible from EBC, we go on a sunrise hike to Kala Patthar which is the highest point of the trek and also the best viewpoint. Early in the morning, we ascend to Kala Patthar to reach there before sunrise. From here, you can see glorious sunrise and 360-degree vistas of the Himalayan Mountains, including an up-close view of Mt. Everest. After spending some time at the viewpoint, we descend back to Gorakshep, have breakfast, and head towards Dzongla for the night stay. Dzongla is also the base of Cho La Pass.

It’s time for another long and challenging hiking day as we cross the second high pass, Cho La Pass at 5420 meters. Leaving Dzongla behind, you gradually ascend in the western direction towards Cho La Pass. The trail will be rocky and steep, but the views from the pass will make you forget all the difficulties. Upon reaching the top, you’ll be welcomed by the wonderful views of many snow-capped mountains like Taboche, Cholatse, Baruntse, Thamserku, etc. You’ll also see Cho La Lake and Mt. Amadamblam from the top. After enjoying the view for a while, we descend to Thangnak, which is somehow a relaxing hike. We spend the night at a teahouse in Thannak. 

After the challenging hiking day yesterday, today is a short 3-4 hour hike from Thangnak to Gokyo. We continue our trekking journey with the views of majestic mountains all around us. After a while, we reach Longponga and continue towards Gokyo Valley. On the way, we cross Ngozumpa Glacier, which is the longest glacier in Nepal with a length of 36 km. We, then hike on a sandy shifting trail and cross the second Gokyo lake. From here, we reach the beautiful Gokyo village after a short hike. Gokyo has become a kind of Himalayan resort without the crowd – at least in terms of the comfortable lodges with sunrooms, unbeatable views, excellent food, and warm stoves. We spend a relaxing night at Gokyo.

Today, you wake up early in the morning and hike to Gokyo Ri. Located just above the Gokyo village, you walk on a steep trail to reach Gokyo Ri. Upon reaching here, you will see excellent views of the tallest peaks in the world, including Mt. Cho Oyo, Gyachung Kang, Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Cholatse, Taweche, and Mt. Makalu in the east. It is truly a blessing in anyone’s eye. Later, we trek back to Gokyo village.

We have another option for today’s excursion. The second option is a five-hour hike to Gokyo's fifth lake, which brings us right up against Cho-Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world, bordering Tibet. From here, we will also get some breathtaking views of Cho-Oyu, Changtse, and Mount Everest. At the end of the day, we come back to Gokyo village for a delicious Himalayan dinner and a good night’s sleep.

The final high pass of the Everest Three Passes Trek is finally here. Today, we cross Renjo La Pass at an altitude of 5345 meters and descend to Lunde for the night’s stay. After breakfast at Gokyo, we begin the hike on a gradually ascending trail to Renjo La Pass. This is one of the toughest stages of our trek, but upon reaching the top, we'll be rewarded with breathtaking 360-degree views of Mt. Cho-Oyu and other high mountains. You get to see another excellent Himalayan landscape view today. Further, the trail winds down a stone staircase and then scrambles over loose scree to reach the south bank of a small lake, Angladumba Tsho. From here, we walk through a narrow valley clogged with giant boulders and reach Lunde.

From Lunde, the trail slowly descends to Thame. On the way, you can see spectacular views of Thamserku, Kusum Kanguru, Kantega, etc. Overlooking Thame is its famous Gompa situated amidst some fields on a hill to the west. Established some 325 years ago, the Gompa has three big images of Chenresig (Avalokiteswara), Guru Rimpoche, and Buddha Sakyamuni. The colorful Mani Rimdu festival featuring colorful mask dances is held in this Gompa in May. You can take a detour of the Gompa on the way to Thame, where we spend today's night.

After a warm breakfast in the morning, we move along the trail that leads to Namche Bazar. The first part of the trail follows a flat route and descends, which is easy for your legs. Further, you cross a bridge and reach Samde. The trail then steeply drops down through small villages and reaches Namche Bazar. You can enjoy your evening with a few drinks as you don’t have to gain altitude anymore. Namche is a good place to celebrate the successful completion of the trek as it has decent pubs, bars, and restaurants. 

After a quick breakfast at the lodge, we leave Namche Bazaar and descend through Sagarmatha National Park. On the way, we make a few pit stops at Monjo and Phakding before finally reaching Lukla. The trail ascends through dense forests along the Dudh Koshi River. You’ll spend your last night in the Himalayas today. Make sure to tip your porters as you’ll leave them behind in Lukla in the early morning the very next day.

Today, you take an early morning flight back to Kathmandu. The flight will be short and scenic. Looking out of your plane window, you can now identify most of the Himalayan peaks. Upon reaching Kathmandu, we transfer you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore and relax. As it is our last day with you, we will host a farewell dinner for you in the evening.

We hope you enjoyed your 18 days in the Everest region with us. Please don’t hesitate to share your valuable feedback. We hope to serve you again in the future.