Everest Three Passes Trek

Arrive in Kathmandu

Airport pick-up and transfer to your hotel. Your guide meets you in the afternoon to go through the route, pass by pass, and to check kit thoroughly: sleeping bag rated to about −15 °C, a proper down jacket, warm gloves with liners, microspikes that fit your boots and a head torch with spare batteries. We rent or buy anything missing in Thamel. Permits are prepared and the morning flight confirmed.

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Fly to Lukla, walk to Phakding

Fly to Lukla, 2,860 m, and meet the porters over tea while the bags are weighed. The walk down through Chheplung to Phakding is easy, beside the glacier-grey Dudh Koshi, past water-driven prayer wheels and fields of potatoes and buckwheat. Phakding is lower than Lukla, which makes a soft first night. In spring the rhododendrons along this stretch flower red and pink; in autumn the fields are being harvested. Your guide sets a slow pace from the first hour.

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Phakding to Namche Bazaar

Up the valley through Benkar and Monjo, where the Sagarmatha National Park gate checks your permits, to the river junction at Jorsalle. After crossing the high Hillary suspension bridge, the climb to Namche takes about two to three hours, steadily uphill through pine. Walk slowly and talk as you go; if you cannot speak in full sentences, you are going too fast. Namche spreads in tiers across a steep bowl at 3,440 m.

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Acclimatisation day in Namche

Up to Syangboche and Hotel Everest View, about 3,880 m, for tea and the first full view of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam, then down through Khumjung with its school and monastery. In the afternoon you can visit the Sherpa Culture Museum, buy last items in the gear shops or simply sleep. This is the last place with a real choice of food and supplies, so stock up on snacks you like.

The story of Namche Bazaar →

Namche to Tengboche

The level path to Kyangjuma has Ama Dablam ahead most of the way. From there it drops to the river at Phunki Thenga and climbs two hours through rhododendron and fir to Tengboche, a monastery on a saddle with Everest framed behind it. Founded in 1916, rebuilt after an earthquake in 1934 and again after a fire in 1989, it holds an afternoon puja most days; visitors may sit quietly at the back.

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Tengboche to Dingboche

Down to Deboche, over the Imja Khola and up to Pangboche, where the old gompa above the village is said to be the oldest in the Khumbu. Beyond, the trees thin out to juniper and the trail follows the river past Somare to Dingboche. The village is a grid of stone-walled fields, barley and potatoes in summer, empty and windswept in autumn. First night above 4,000 m: drink plenty and rest.

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Acclimatisation hike above Dingboche

We climb the ridge behind Dingboche towards Nangkartshang Peak, about 5,083 m, as far as feels good. From the ridge the Imja valley spreads east to Island Peak and the Lhotse–Nuptse wall, and on clear days Makalu's summit shows over the ridges to the east. The afternoon is for rest. Your guide checks pulse and oxygen readings morning and evening for the rest of the trek. Eat well tonight; tomorrow you leave the main trail.

The story of Dingboche →

Dingboche to Chhukung

A short, easy walk up the Imja valley, past stone summer huts and yak pastures, with Ama Dablam's north side on your right and the south face of Lhotse filling the head of the valley. Chhukung is a few lodges where Island Peak climbers and passes trekkers meet. The rest of the day is for rest and acclimatisation. Lunch in the sun if there is no wind, and a short walk up behind the lodges in the afternoon.

The story of Chhukung →

Chhukung Ri and rest

A morning climb up Chhukung Ri, about 5,550 m, steep at the end over rock. It is the best test before the Kongma La: you will know how your body feels above 5,000 m. From the top you look straight at the Lhotse south face, the Imja glacier and its lake, Island Peak and Makalu. Back to Chhukung for lunch and an afternoon of rest. Early dinner and bed by eight.

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Over the Kongma La to Lobuche

We start before dawn. The trail climbs steadily above the Nuptse glacier to a cluster of frozen lakes and the final steep ascent to the Kongma La, at about 5,535 m the highest of the three passes, marked by cairns and prayer flags. The descent on the far side is steep and loose, then comes the slow crossing of the Khumbu Glacier's moraine to Lobuche. It is the longest day of the trip. Rest well tonight.

Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp

Along the moraine to Gorak Shep, a few lodges on a sand-covered lake bed, and after lunch on to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 m. In spring the tents of the climbing season cover the glacier; in autumn it is empty and you hear the Khumbu Icefall cracking above. Back at Gorak Shep for the night, the highest sleep of the trek. Keep your water bottle inside your sleeping bag so it does not freeze.

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Kala Patthar, then on to Dzongla

Before sunrise we climb Kala Patthar, about 5,545 m, for the closest full view of Everest on any trekking route. After breakfast at Gorak Shep we walk back down to Lobuche and turn west, contouring above the Chola lake to Dzongla, a few lodges at the foot of the Cho La. The views of Ama Dablam, Cholatse and Taboche here are some of the finest in the Khumbu. Early to bed.

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Over the Cho La to Thagnak

Up a rocky valley and a steep rock step to the glacier below the Cho La. Microspikes usually help on the ice, which is hard in the early morning. The pass, about 5,420 m, is a narrow notch of prayer flags. The descent on the west side is steep over large boulders, then the trail eases into a valley leading down to Thagnak, a few lodges at the edge of the Ngozumpa glacier. Hot soup has never tasted better.

Thagnak to Gokyo

A short morning crossing the Ngozumpa glacier, a moving landscape of rubble, ice cliffs and meltwater ponds, following cairns that change from season to season. On the far side you climb onto the moraine and drop to Gokyo on the shore of Dudh Pokhari, the third lake. The water is turquoise on a still day. The rest of the day is free: the lodges have sunny dining rooms facing the lake.

The story of Gokyo →

Gokyo Ri and the fourth lake

Climb Gokyo Ri, about 5,357 m, before dawn. From the summit you see Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu at once, with the Ngozumpa glacier below and the lakes at your feet. After breakfast, walk north to the fourth lake, Thonak Tsho, or simply rest before the last pass. The lakes are sacred to Hindus and Buddhists and are a protected Ramsar wetland; do not wash in them. Pack your bag tonight for an early start.

The story of Gokyo →

Over the Renjo La to Lungden

We follow the shore of the third lake and climb the long stone staircase to the Renjo La, about 5,360 m. Look back: the view over the Gokyo lakes and the Ngozumpa to Everest is one of the best of the trek. The west side drops past a small lake and down a long valley to Lungden, a few lodges in the upper Bhote Koshi. It is quiet here; you may be the only group.

Lungden to Thame

Down the Bhote Koshi valley past Marlung and Taranga on the old route from the Nangpa La, the pass by which Tibetan traders brought salt and wool and by which the first Sherpa families came south. Thame sits in a wide bowl below Kongde and Thamserku. A glacial lake outburst flood in August 2024 damaged much of the village; families are rebuilding, and lodges reopen as they can. Check current status before you travel.

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Thame to Namche Bazaar

If time allows, we start by climbing to Thame Gompa above the village, built into the cliff and the site of the spring Mani Rimdu festival. Then down the valley through Samde and Thamo, past a small hydropower plant and long mani walls, and on into Namche from the west. Hot shower, a bakery and a proper bed. This is the evening most groups thank their porters. Namche on a Saturday morning has its weekly market.

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Namche to Lukla

Down to the Hillary bridge, through Monjo and Phakding, then the hour's climb from Chheplung up to Lukla. The trail is busy with trekkers starting out, and you will feel quietly superior. Your guide reconfirms the morning flight. Lukla has hot showers, decent coffee and an Irish pub that has served trekkers for years; a last dinner with your crew is a good way to end three weeks. Ask your guide what tip is normal for the crew.

The story of Lukla →

Fly Lukla to Kathmandu

The morning flight returns you to Kathmandu or, in peak months, to Ramechhap with a road transfer of about four to five hours. The trip ends on arrival. Because Lukla flights are often delayed by cloud, please book at least one extra night in Kathmandu before your international flight. We can arrange the hotel and a transfer to the airport, and a day in Patan or Bhaktapur if the plane runs on time.

The story of Kathmandu →