Everest Three Passes Trek – 18 Days

Once you’re through immigration and customs at Tribhuvan International Airport, our driver will be waiting outside for the ride to your hotel. Get some rest: a shower, a meal and an early night are the best start after a long flight.

In the afternoon or evening your guide drops by to go over the route, pass by pass, and check your gear. With three high crossings ahead, they’ll look closely at your boots, gloves, down jacket and sleeping bag, and tell you whether to bring microspikes. They’ll also need your passport details for the permits.

If anything’s missing, you can buy or hire it in Thamel.

Lukla flights go early in the morning, when the air in the mountains is calmest. During the spring and autumn rush the planes mostly fly from Manthali in Ramechhap instead, so your day begins with a drive through the night. In the quieter months you fly straight from the city.

Edmund Hillary oversaw the building of Lukla’s runway in 1964. It’s only 527 m long and slopes at 11.7%, so planes land uphill and stop fast.

When your porters are loaded up, you walk out past lodges and gear shops and drop gently towards the Dudh Koshi through small farms. Walls of stones carved with Buddhist prayers line the trail; walk to the left of them, so they stay on your right, as Sherpas do.

Phakding is lower than Lukla, which makes the first night easier on your body.

The trail stays close to the Dudh Koshi all morning, crossing and recrossing the river on long suspension bridges hung with prayer flags. Monjo has the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park, where your permits are checked. The park was created in 1976 and joined UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 1979.

Beyond Jorsalle the path crosses the Hillary Suspension Bridge, strung high above the river, and then the hard part begins: a steep climb of a couple of hours through pine forest.

Go at your own pace and drink often; this is where most people first feel the height. Namche Bazaar, the main town of the Khumbu, spreads up the sides of a steep hill, with bakeries, outdoor shops and dozens of lodges.

Spending a second night at the same height gives your body time to adjust, and a hike higher during the day helps even more. From the top of Namche a steep path leads up beside the Syangboche airstrip and on to Hotel Everest View, open since 1971. On a clear morning its terrace looks across to Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.

From there you can walk down to Khumjung, the village below the mountain Khumbila. Edmund Hillary’s Himalayan Trust built its school in 1961, and the village monastery keeps what’s said to be a yeti scalp.

Spend the afternoon resting in Namche. If it’s a Saturday, look in at the weekly market, and stock up on snacks, which cost more the higher you go.

The morning starts gently, on a broad trail that contours round the hillside far above the river, with Ama Dablam straight ahead. You’ll share it with yak and mule trains carrying supplies up the valley, so when one comes, step to the uphill side and let it pass.

The path then plunges to the Dudh Koshi at Phunki Tenga, a good place for lunch, before a long climb through pine and rhododendron to Tengboche.

Tengboche Monastery is the largest in the Khumbu. It was founded by Lama Gulu in 1916 and has been rebuilt twice, after an earthquake in 1934 and a fire in 1989; the present building was consecrated in 1993. John Hunt, who led the 1953 Everest expedition, wrote that Tengboche must be one of the most beautiful places in the world.

In October or November the monks hold Mani Rimdu, a festival that lasts 19 days.

From Tengboche you lose height through forest to Deboche, cross a bridge over the Imja Khola and then climb up to Pangboche. This Sherpa village is a base for climbers on Ama Dablam, and Hillary’s Himalayan Trust built its school in 1963.

Above Pangboche the trees give way to low juniper and open grazing land, and the valley splits in two. You take the eastern branch, up the Imja valley, to Dingboche.

Most of Dingboche’s lodges close in winter, but in the trekking seasons it’s a busy stop with fine views of Ama Dablam. Tonight is your first night above 4,400 m, so a mild headache is normal. If it gets worse instead of better, tell your guide.

Your second rest day is an active one. The hike starts right behind the lodges and climbs the steep ridge north of Dingboche towards Nangkartshang Peak. It’s slow, breathless work on rough ground, and you can turn back whenever you like; even a few hundred metres of height helps.

As you climb, the Imja valley opens out below. Island Peak and the Chhukung valley, where you’re heading tomorrow, lie to the east, and when the sky is clear you can pick out Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest mountain, on the skyline.

Have lunch back in Dingboche and rest for the afternoon. Tomorrow’s walk is short, but the Kongma La comes the day after.

A short morning’s walk takes you east up the Imja Khola, past stone yak shelters and summer grazing land. The valley gets wider and wilder as you go, with the huge wall of Lhotse and Nuptse to the north and Ama Dablam’s northern side to the south.

Chhukung was once just yak pasture, with no one living there all year. Its handful of lodges grew up to serve climbers heading for Island Peak and trekkers crossing the Kongma La, and glaciers from Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam spill down around it.

Rest is the main job this afternoon. Crossing the Kongma La without a proper rest here is a real risk, so eat well, drink plenty and pack your daypack for an early start. A short walk up the slope behind the lodges will help you sleep at this height.

This is the first and highest of the three passes, and there are no lodges or tea houses until Lobuche. You leave Chhukung before dawn with plenty of water, food and warm clothes, and climb steadily north-west up grassy, then rocky slopes.

The final section to the top is a slow slog over boulders and loose stones. From the pass you look straight down on the Khumbu Glacier, a wide grey river of rock-covered ice. Lobuche is on its far side.

The descent is steep and rough. At the bottom you still have to cross the glacier itself, up and down over mounds of rubble and around meltwater pools, before a last short climb into Lobuche. It’s a long, hard day, and you’ll be glad of hot food and an early night.

If there’s deep snow on the pass, your guide will take you round by Dingboche instead.

After yesterday, the walk to Gorak Shep feels easy. The trail runs up the side of the Khumbu Glacier over rocky moraine and short climbs, with Nuptse rising to the east and the pointed summit of Pumori ahead.

Gorak Shep’s lodges stand beside a dry, sandy lakebed below Kala Patthar. Leave your main bag here, have lunch, then follow the moraine on towards base camp. The path is rough and hard to follow in places, as the glacier shifts every year.

Everest Base Camp lies on the glacier itself, at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall. In the spring climbing season it’s a town of expedition tents; in autumn it’s usually quiet, and you’ll mostly have the ice and the prayer flags to yourselves.

Walk back to Gorak Shep before the cold of late afternoon. It’s the highest night of the trek, and the coldest.

Kala Patthar, whose name means “black rock”, is a hump on the south ridge of Pumori right above Gorak Shep. You climb it in the dark on a steep, dusty path, aiming to reach the top as the sun comes up.

From the summit, Everest stands straight ahead across the Khumbu Glacier, with Nuptse and Changtse beside it and the top of Lhotse peeping over. It’s the best view of Everest on the trek, and the highest point you’ll reach.

After breakfast in Gorak Shep, walk back down past Lobuche, then turn off onto a quieter trail that heads west around the hillside. You’ll see far fewer trekkers from here on.

Dzongla is a few lodges at the foot of Cholatse. Get to bed early, as the Cho La starts before dawn.

You set off at around 5 am and climb west from Dzongla, first up a valley of moraine and boulders, then up a steep, rocky slope as you near the pass.

Up on the Cho La you walk across a glacier for a while. With snow or a hard frost it gets very slippery, and that’s when microspikes or crampons go on. Keep away from the edges of the ice, which are unstable, and stay in your guide’s footsteps.

The far side drops steeply over big boulders, often icy early in the day, before easing out into a gentler valley. Thangnak, a small group of lodges, sits at the bottom beside the Ngozumpa Glacier.

If the pass is closed by snow, the way round to Gokyo through the lower valleys takes longer, and your guide will re-plan the rest of the trek.

The day begins on the Ngozumpa Glacier. From Thangnak you climb onto the moraine and cross a rough landscape of rubble heaps and murky pools, with the ice hidden under the stones. It’s tiring, fiddly walking, and it takes longer than the distance suggests.

On the far side, Gokyo village sits on the shore of Gokyo Cho, the third lake in the chain. The water is a startling blue-green, and around 7,000 people a year come to see it.

After lunch, climb Gokyo Ri, the hill that rises straight above the village. It’s steep and takes about three hours, but on a clear afternoon the low sun lights up Cho Oyu, Everest, Lhotse and Makalu, all of them over 8,000 m. Cloud often builds after midday, though, so the view isn’t guaranteed; if you miss it, the Renjo La gives you another look at Everest tomorrow.

Take a headlamp in case you’re late coming down.

This is the longest day of the trek, so you set off before first light. The trail follows the shore of Gokyo Cho, then climbs steeply away from the lake towards the Renjo La.

At the top you turn round to a 360-degree view: Everest and Makalu on the skyline, the Gokyo lakes far below and row after row of other peaks in between.

The west side of the pass is steep and can be covered in snow, even in May, so take the descent slowly. It leads down to Lungden, a few lodges in the upper Bhote Koshi valley, where you stop for lunch.

From Lungden the trail follows the valley down to Thame. You’re now on the old salt-trading route between Tibet and Nepal, and Thame was the last village on it where people lived all year round. By the time you get there, your legs will have done a huge amount of downhill.

After the long day over the Renjo La, this one is short and mostly downhill, so take the morning slowly. Visit the monastery, which is among the oldest in the Khumbu and holds its own Mani Rimdu festival every year.

Tenzing Norgay spent his childhood in Thame, and Apa Sherpa, who stood on top of Everest 21 times, was born here. Part of the village was torn apart by a glacial lake outburst flood in August 2024, and you may still see the damage and the rebuilding as you walk out.

The path then follows the valley down past small villages and patches of forest to Namche, where a hot shower is waiting.

It’s downhill nearly all the way to the river. The zigzags you sweated up on Day 3 go by much faster now, though your knees will feel every step, and then the path follows the Dudh Koshi down past Monjo, where you leave the national park, and on through Phakding.

After so long among rock and ice, the pine forest, fields and gardens of the lower valley look very green. The trail ends with one last climb into Lukla, short but steep.

Spend the evening with your crew. Most groups hand out tips tonight, as the porters stay behind when you fly.

Your flight out of Lukla is booked for the morning, when conditions are usually best. In the busy seasons it lands at Manthali, and a tourist bus or shared jeep takes you on to Kathmandu.

Bad weather sometimes keeps the planes on the ground for hours or even days, so build a day or two of slack into your plans before the flight home. Tonight we’ll treat you to a farewell dinner.

Enjoy a last breakfast in Kathmandu before the drive to Tribhuvan International Airport, timed so you arrive about three hours before your flight.

Staying on? Pokhara, Chitwan or a day of sightseeing in the Kathmandu Valley are easy to add.