Everest Three Pass Trek

Met at Tribhuvan International Airport and transferred to your hotel. Evening welcome dinner and a detailed briefing. The Three Passes is the most demanding teahouse trek in Nepal, crossing three passes above 5,300 m, and we go through fitness, acclimatisation and the bail-out options tonight.

Altitude: 1,400 m.

Guided sightseeing at Boudhanath, Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath, then permits and a thorough gear check. For this trek microspikes and a warm sleeping bag are not optional; anything missing can be rented in Thamel this afternoon.

Walking: 3 to 4 hours of sightseeing.

Early flight to Lukla, then the gentle walk down the Dudh Koshi to Phakding. A deliberately short first day.

Distance: 6.2 km. Walking: 3 to 4 hours.

Five suspension bridges, park registration at Monjo, and the steep two-hour climb to Namche with the first Everest view partway up.

Distance: 10.5 km. Walking: 5 to 6 hours. Altitude gain: 830 m.

Up to the Everest View Hotel at 3,880 m and on to Khumjung and Khunde, back to Namche to sleep. Evening saturation checks begin. On a trek this demanding the acclimatisation days are the difference between finishing and turning back.

Walking: 4 to 5 hours. Climb high: 3,880 m.

The contour trail with Ama Dablam and Everest in view, the 600 m drop to Phunki Tenga, and the forested climb to the monastery at Tengboche. Afternoon prayers at 3 pm are open to quiet visitors.

Distance: 9.2 km. Walking: 5 to 6 hours.

Through Deboche and Pangboche, across the Imja Khola, and up the widening valley into alpine terrain to Dingboche in the Imja valley, with Island Peak at the head of the valley.

Distance: 12 km. Walking: 5 to 6 hours. Altitude gain: 540 m.

The Nangkartshang ridge above the village, climbing to around 5,050 m for a view of Makalu to the east and the whole Imja valley below. A steep three-hour round trip that pays for itself over the next fortnight.

Walking: 3 to 4 hours. Climb high: 5,050 m.

A short walk up the Imja valley to Chhukung, then, for those going well, the steep climb of Chhukung Ri in the afternoon. It is a rough scramble near the top and the summit at 5,546 m gives a close view of the Lhotse south face, Island Peak, Ama Dablam and the Amphu Labtsa.

This is deliberate preparation: if you can climb Chhukung Ri comfortably, you are ready for the Kongma La tomorrow. If you cannot, your guide will discuss the alternative valley route.

Distance: 9 km. Walking: 6 to 7 hours. Altitude: up to 5,546 m, sleep at 4,730 m.

The first and, most people agree, the hardest of the three passes. A long climb from Chhukung on rough moraine and boulder fields to the Kongma La at 5,535 m, marked with prayer flags above a frozen tarn.

The descent on the far side is steep and loose, dropping to the Khumbu glacier, which you then cross on a marked route over rock and ice to reach Lobuche on the far side. Ten hours of hard, unrelenting ground, and there is no lodge between the two ends.

Distance: 10 km. Walking: 8 to 9 hours. Altitude: up 805 m, then down 595 m.

Over the moraine to Gorak Shep, then the rough walk along the Khumbu glacier to Everest Base Camp at the foot of the icefall. Back to Gorak Shep to sleep.

Distance: 15 km round trip. Walking: 7 to 8 hours.

Pre-dawn climb of Kala Patthar for the classic Everest view at sunrise, then breakfast at Gorak Shep and back down the moraine to Lobuche, positioning for the Cho La.

Distance: 9 km. Walking: 6 to 7 hours.

A short, easy day: back down the valley and then a traverse west beneath Awi Peak to Dzongla, a couple of lodges on a shelf above the Chola Tsho lake with Cholatse and Taboche directly above.

Deliberately short, because tomorrow is the Cho La. Early dinner, early night.

Distance: 8 km. Walking: 3 to 4 hours. Altitude loss: 110 m.

The second pass, and the most technical of the three. An early start, a steep climb up a boulder field, then a glacier crossing that is snow-covered for much of the year and has crevasses. Microspikes are needed and your guide will rope the group if conditions require it.

The final section to the pass is a steep snow slope; the descent on the west side is loose rock and often ice. From the bottom the trail crosses to Thagnak and then the Ngozumpa glacier, the longest in Nepal, on a marked route over rock and ice to Gokyo on the far side.

Distance: 14 km. Walking: 8 to 9 hours. Altitude: up 590 m, then down 620 m.

A dawn climb of Gokyo Ri, 600 m above the village, for what is arguably the best single viewpoint in the Khumbu: Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu, four 8,000 m peaks in one panorama, with the Ngozumpa glacier and the turquoise lakes below.

In the afternoon, the walk north to the fourth and fifth lakes and Scoundrel's Viewpoint, which gives the full profile of Everest's north face.

Walking: 6 to 8 hours. Altitude: up 557 m and back.

The third pass and the gentlest of the three, though still a long day. A steady climb on a good stone-paved trail above the Gokyo lakes, with the view behind you improving the whole way.

The Renjo La at 5,360 m gives, in many people's judgement, the finest view of the entire trek: Everest, Lhotse and Makalu framed above the turquoise of Dudh Pokhari with Gokyo village a speck on the shore.

The descent is steep stone steps on the west side, then a long walk down the Bhote Koshi valley to Lumde, which is quiet and very rarely visited.

Distance: 14 km. Walking: 7 to 8 hours. Altitude: up 560 m, then down 992 m.

A long descent down the Bhote Koshi through Marulung, Thame, with its old monastery above the village and the birthplace of Tenzing Norgay, and Thamo to Namche. Thame is one of the most traditional villages in the Khumbu and sees a fraction of the traffic of the main trail.

Distance: 20 km. Walking: 6 to 7 hours. Altitude loss: 928 m.

The last walking day, down the hill from Namche, across the Hillary Bridge and through Monjo and Phakding to Lukla. After three passes this feels like a stroll. Crew dinner in the evening.

Distance: 19 km. Walking: 6 to 7 hours.

Morning flight to Kathmandu or Ramechhap, weather permitting. Afternoon free, farewell dinner in the evening.

Flight: 35 minutes, or 25 minutes plus a 4 to 5 hour drive.

Transfer to Tribhuvan International Airport about three hours before your flight, or onward arrangements if you are extending your stay.