Sunrise on Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Kanchenjunga

We wake you about an hour before sunrise and walk up in the dark to the best viewpoint near your night stop. It is cold, often well below freezing from November to March, and the wind can be sharp on the crest. Hot tea in a flask helps, and so does a down jacket, hat and gloves. Our guide picks a spot sheltered from the wind with a clear line both north to Kanchenjunga and west toward Everest.

Kanchenjunga lights first, its long massif filling the northern horizon in pink and then gold. Then the view swings west: Makalu's pyramid, Lhotse, and Everest standing slightly back, more than 100 km away. Our guide names the peaks and the smaller summits in between, including Jannu (Kumbhakarna) near Kanchenjunga, and points out the valleys of Nepal and Sikkim spread below, still filled with cloud and shadow while the snow is already lit.

Clouds usually rise from the valleys by mid-morning, so the hour after sunrise is the one that counts. If the first morning is cloudy, a spare night gives you a second chance, which is why we build one into most Sandakpur trips. Once the light is up, we walk back for breakfast, porridge, eggs or chapati with milk tea, and you can stay on the ridge or begin the walk or drive down.