Island Peak Climbing

On third day, we’ll board a flight to Lukla (2810m), from TIA. You will be able to rejoice the sight of splendid hills, rivers and mountains during the 30 minutes long flight. On reaching Lukla airport, you’ll be introduced to your porter, and served a wholesome breakfast. After that, we will head north to Phakding (2620m). It is an easy 3 hour hike through the Dudhkoshi valley. We will head north from the airstrip to Chheplung (2700m) and cross the crystal clear Thadokoshi on a locally built suspension bridge. Past the bridge, you can witness Kusam Kanggru (6367m), which is one of the toughest mountains to conquer. Away from the ThadoKoshi, the trail continues towards the Ghat (2590m) and we will cross a ridge marked with painted Mani stones. We will carry on our mount to reach the beautiful tribal village of Phakding where you will stay overnight.

On our second day of trek, we will head to Namche bazaar, celebrated village of Khumbu region. On our way to Namche, we will cross the winding Dudhkoshi River 5 times on thrilling suspension bridges, covered with colorful Buddhist prayer flags. Then, we will continue your climb, which will bring you to Jorsale. From there, it’s a two and a half hour ascent to Namche, with two major viewpoints on your way. If you’re lucky, on a clear day, you can relish the hypnotic view of Everest. At Jorsale, you will enter Sagarmatha National park (UNESCO World Heritage Site) where you’ll be required to verify your permits. After 5-6 hours of tough hiking, we’ll reach Namche Bazaar, chief economic hub of the region, also, gateway to Everest.

Adaptation to harsh geography and high altitude is vital before further continuing the ascent to avoid altitude sickness and other unwelcomed illness. You’ll be taken for a one day hike through the beautiful villages of Khunde and Khumjung. After getting back at Everest view hotel, you can go to look at the giant skull of so called mystical creature “Yeti”, in a monastery in the region. You can also savor at a bakery at world’s highest altitude. On a fairly clear day, you can view breathtaking view of peaks such as Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam among others. The view of mountains from Everest View Hotel, is also commendable. After a nourishing breakfast at hotel, we will endeavor an hour long climb to the Syangboche airstrip (3790m), from where we will steadily ascend towards Khundu. On your way up, you can see century’s old Chorten (stone Buddhist monuments). From there, we will move eastwards to Khumjung, the largest settlement in whole Khumbu region, at the lap of holy peak of Khumbila. After savoring lunch at Khumjung, we will trail a slow climb to Everest View Hotel, from where you can again enjoy the view of Himalayans. The descend to Namche (3540m) is approximately 4/5 hours walk.

After a healthy breakfast, we will begin our easy trek from Namche to Phunki. From there, we ascend towards Tengboche which is very famous for the holy Tengboche Monastery, the biggest in the region. We can visit the monastery while we are there and witness the religious ceremony. From here we can have a panoramic view of the Everest, Nuptse, Thamserku, Lhotse and Ama Dablam among others.

From here, we will go downhill to Debuche. We will cross the exciting suspension bridge over the Imja Khola and then climb to Pangboche. We will walk along thousands of Mani stones. From here, after walking from 5 hours we will reach the beautiful Sherpa settlement named Dingboche from here we can have beautiful view of Lhotse, Island Peak and Ama Dablam. We will sleep in a tea house overnight.

Today we will spend the day exploring the vicinity and adjusting to the high altitude. We can go for walks in the periphery and also explore the beautiful village of Dingboche and experience the exquisite Sherpa culture firsthand. From here, we can have majestic view of Lhotse, Island Peak and Ama Dablam.

We will head to the eastern side, gently uphill. It winds across the moraine from the Lhotse glacier. After trekking for around 3 hours, we will reach Chukung which is also known as the hidden valley. It lies in the base of the Island Peak. We will rest for the day on reaching Chukung and prepare for the big day tomorrow.

After making necessary preparations for the climbing, we will climb on to high camp from where we start our climb. At first, the path is handy, but from there, the path then turns green and then boulder strewn. We will begin the pre-climbing trekking after breakfast. We will get to know our climbing boots, ice axe, crampons and harnesses. The training will prepare and boost you for the climb next day. We will spend the night in base camp.

Today is our main day of adventure and the highlight of trip. If the weather is clear, we will start early morning for our climb to the altitude of 6,187m. We climb through the traverse to the right. After walking past the wide stone field, we will cross the ridge across the snowy glacier. After making our way to the top, we will spend some time there. We will take lot of pictures as well. We will climb down the same day and spend the night in a guest house in Chukung.

Today’s trek will be much easier as we will go downhill to lower altitude. We will follow the same route along the Khumbu Khola and pass through the beautiful Sherpa villages of Orsho and Shomare. We can still enjoy the beautiful views of the Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Kangtaiga, and Imja Tse river flowing.

We will continue our trek down the Sherpa villages of Khumjung, leaving the mountains in the backdrop. We will walk down to the village of Namche bazaar, epitome of Sherpa culture. We will stay the night at a guest house in Namche.

It is around a 7 hours long walk downhill from Namche to Lukla. On this day, our time at exotic Sagarmatha National Park will come to an end. Following day, we will board a plane to capital. You will bid goodbye to this trek with a memorable walk down to Lukla.

Early morning air trip from Lukla to Kathmandu, back to your hotel. (Day 12) Early morning, we will catch a plane from Lukla to Kathmandu. Don’t forget to pick a seat on the right side, to see the insatiable mountains again. On reaching Kathmandu, you will be escorted back to your hotel.