Everest Three High Passes Trek

20D - 19N US$2075
Book This Trip
  • Destination: Nepal
  • Trip Difficulty: Strenuous
  • Trip Style: Trekking
  • Transport: Private Vehicle / Aeroplane
  • Food: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner
  • Accommodation: Hotel + Teahouses + Lodges
  • Group Size: 01 or more
  • Max Elevation: 5550m

Highlights

  • passes through 3 high passes of Everest region- Renjo La, Cho La and Kongma La 
  • climb 3 iconic viewpoints of Everest region- Gokyo Ri, Kalapathar and Chukung 
  • superb view of Himalayas of Everest Region including Mt. Everest
  • opportunity to explore the intricacies of Everest Base Camp life

About Everest Three High Passes Trek

Everest Three High Passes trek is ranked as the second most popular trek of Everest Region after Everest Base Camp Trek. Everest Three High Passes Trek is a truly the best Himalayan journey of a lifetime in Nepal which offers the ultimate and complete trekking experience in the Everest region on its circular route. This trek is more challenging than the Everest Base camp trek and is one of the toughest trekking routes which passes through three over 5000m high passes namely Renjo La (5388m), Cho La (5380m) and Kongma La (5535m). Besides crossing the rugged high passes you will be climbing to the peaks of Gokyo Ri ( 5483m), Kalapathar (5545m) and Chukung Ri (5550m) each offering amazing scenery and views of the world highest peak, ”Mt. Everest” and its surrounding peaks.

The Everest Three High Passes trek begins from scenic flight to Lukla. The trail in the beginning head north along the classic EBC trek to Namche Bazaar and later splits from the main trek and heads up to the Dudh Koshi Valley, where you will encounter the first High Pass- Renjo La Pass. From Renjo La Pass you can get the beautiful view of Himalayan giants including Mt. Everest with pristine Gokyo lakes at a single frame. After reaching the high point, the trails descend to the tranquil Gokyo Lakes and Gokyo valley and climb the Gokyo Ri, the first peak on our list.

The route then turns east as you make your way to Everest Base Camp crossing the second high pass-Cho La pass. We join the popular Khumbu valley trekking route and explore the Everest Base Camp life to hike to iconic viewpoint of Kalapathar peak to capture some of the best views of Everest and the surrounding peaks.

Furthermore, we trek to Chukung from Lobuche crossing the third high pass-Kongma La Pass which is less trodden and tough pass but yet very rewarding. We climb our third peak – Chukung Ri. The top of Chukung Ri offers the stunning view of Amadablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, Makalu and many more. We now join up with the classic Everest Base Camp Trek route that will take you down to Lukla, where the trek ends.

Itinerary

You will be received by the representative of Lapha Holidays at the arrival gate and transfer to the hotel in the private vehicle. You can check in to your hotel room, freshen up and rest. If you are not jet lag then you can take a stroll around the vicinity of your hotel and walk around the market near your hotel.

Overnight at Kathmandu Hotel.

Today, our experienced city guide will take you for the half-day sightseeing tour to Kathmandu Valley on our private vehicle. You will be visiting the most renowned historical/cultural landmarks of Kathmandu valley. Our guide will take you to the Pashupatinath Temple, Bouddhanath, Swyambunath and Kathmandu (Basantapur) Durbar Square. All these sites are enlisted as the UNESCO world’s heritage sites of Nepal. After sightseeing, we drive back to the hotel. We use the remaining time for shopping the necessary trekking goodies in the market near Thamel. Our guides will take you to the best shop where you can either rent or buy the gears for your trek.

Overnight at Kathmandu Hotel

We take an early morning flight to Lukla, renowned as the most dangerous airport in Nepal. In about 45 minutes, we will reach Tenjing Hillary airport in Lukla. Lukla is the first village you will encounter on this trek and this beautiful picturesque place surround by the mountains will surely take your breath away. We will meet our remaining trekking crew and then proceed for our trek through the village of Lukla until we reach Phakding.

Overnight at teahouse in Phakding

After breakfast, we head to Namche Bazaar. Ascending and descending through the pine and rhododendron forests and crossings multiple suspension bridges, including the very famous Suspension Bridge, we finally reach Monjo, the entrance point of Sagarmatha National Park, where our trekking permits are checked. We continue to walk and pass through Jorsale village. Walking furthermore, we finally reach our today’s destination, Namche Bazaar. We get to see the beautiful views of the Himalayas including Mt. Thamserku, Lhotse, Tawache, Lhotse, Tawache and others.

Overnight at teahouse in Namche Bazaar.

Today is a rest day to get acclimatized for the steeper climbs in the days ahead. We spend the day exploring the market of Namche Bazaar, visiting Sherpa Museum and Namche Gompa. The visit to these places gives you a brief introduction about the Sherpa culture, tradition and lifestyle. We also hike up to Everest View Hotel which is popular for the admirable views of the Himalayan vista. On the way back our guide can take us to the Khumjung Monastery.

Overnight at teahouse in Namche Bazaar.

Today after breakfast we ascend toward Tengboche village. Tengboche is one of the popular villages in the Everest region and also home to the largest monastery in the Everest region. Tengboche monastery is built beautiful and has a long history behind it. This village provides panoramic views of the snowcapped Himalayas of Nepal including Everest, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Nuptse and Lhotse.

Overnight at teahouse in Tengboche.

We continue our trek walking pass through a lush forest filled with conifers, birch and rhododendron trees. On the way, we can find several Mani walls, typical villages and chortens and beautiful views of Mt. Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam keep us accompany along the trails. The picturesque trail dips down to Debuche, crosses the Imja River and takes us to Pangboche. We can get a more pristine view of Himalayas of Everest from Pangboche. We continue our walk towards Imja valley to reach Dingboche.

Overnight at teahouse in Dingboche.

Today, we have an acclimatization day reserved to take proper rest for the high altitude trekking. Acclimatization is very important to stay active and safe from altitude sickness in further coming days After having late breakfast, we hike toward the Nagarjun Peak from where we can see the tremendous views of majestic peaks like Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho-Oyu, Ama Dablam, Island peak, Cholaste, Tabuche and many more might peaks of Nepal. We also stroll around Dingboche village. Dingboche is a windy village with an array of cultivated farmland fenced by stone walls where people grow barley, buckwheat and potatoes. These stone walls are built to protect the crops from cold wind moving around the village and grazing cattle. Dingboche is the entrance gate and popular stop for climbers headed Mt. Everest, Ama Dablam or Imja Tse peak.

Overnight at teahouse in Dingboche 

We leave Dingboche and walking pass stone-walled field and alpine landscape. We take the trail through Imja Khola valley. While walking through the valley, Lhotse stands on our left and Ama Dablam on our right. Continuing our journey we reach yak herdman place known as Bibre. Straight ahead, beyond a terminal moraine wall, rise the fantastic Ama Dablam, Amphu Labsa and Island peak. The trail ahead is intersected by icy streams. Walking about half an hour from Bibre, we reach Chhukung. There are glaciers and massive snowy mountains surrounding all around the place. After lunch, we will hike to Chhukung Ri one of the popular viewpoints at 5545m which offers spectacular views of Island Peak, Ama Dablam, Makalu, Lhotse and several other snowcapped peaks of Everest region. The hike can be tiring.

Overnight at teahouse in Chhukung

Today is the hardest and the longest day of our trip and we will be crossing Kongma La pass, a popular high pass of Everest region at an elevation of 5535m. We leave early today morning to cross this pass. Crossing this pass can be very difficult when there is lots of snow in fact it can be impossible to cross with heavy snow on it. Crossing the small stream behind Chhukung and we slowly start climbing up. The trail gets steeper until we come to the grassy hill from where Dingboche and Tyangboche are visible. The trail here gets a bit easier but soon another steep path come ahead until we get to the ridge from where the small lake is seen and later a very bit lake is in front of you with the view of many mountains. After half an hour walk from the lake in a steep trail take us to Kongma La pass. The path can be difficult but the superb view of many mountains on both side of the pass including some of the mountains in Tibet and beautiful view of the village of Everest make it is worth getting here. After enjoying the view, we descend down the pass. Getting down the snowy pass is harder so we have to be very careful and stay with your guides and listen to them. After descending down the pass, we have to walk for another hour by climbing up to the moraine and walking through the famous Khumbu glacier to reach Lobuche. 

Overnight at teahouse in Lobuche.

After breakfast, we head to Gorak Shep. The trail to Gorak Shep goes through the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier. Ahead of the trail, we can witness Everest along with Pumori, Mahalangur, Lingtern, Khumbutse, Nuptse etc. A small ascent would take us to Thangma Riju and climbing steeply up to the top through the torrent of Changri Glacier, we can catch our first glimpse of Kala Patthar, a grey-green hillock beneath the Mt. Pumori. As we reach Gorak Shep, we will find snow-capped mountains looming all around us including Mt. Everest. After taking some rest here, we continue to Everest Base Camp. We pass through rocky dunes, moraines and streams before reaching the base camp of the world’s tallest mountain, Mt. Everest. From base camp, we can see Nuptse, Khumbuste and Pumori mountains. Then, we head back to Gorek Shep.

Overnight at teahouse in Gorak Shep.

Today we start our trip very early in the morning to witness the sunrise over Mt. Everest from Kala Patthar. Kala Patthar is the vantage point on the Everest region for the best view of Mt. Everest and its surrounding peaks. We need to prepare for early morning walking in dark and cold temperature with a chilly wind. While ascending to Kala Patthar, we can stop at some spot to catch our breath and enjoy outstanding viewpoints to snap pictures of beautiful Himalayas. After several hours of an ascent, we reach the top of Kala Patthar which will definitely stun our eyes. The panoramic view of the Himalayas wandering from one mighty massif to another is just unbelievable. We can take pictures and videos to capture this wonderful moment. We then head back to Gorekshep. After breakfast, we set off to Lobuche.

Overnight at teahouse in Lobuche

From Lobuche, we descend down on a trail alongside the Khumbu Glacier. On the way, we can see an admiring view of Awi Peak, stupas and tombstones. After walking for a while we begin to ascend. We can see beautiful emerald Chola Tsho Lake nearby. Walking pass the Chola Tsho Lake we pass another glacier lake which is a lot smaller than the Chola Tsho Lake. We then cross the Chola Khola bridge which takes us to Dzongla.

Overnight at teahouse in Dzongla.

Today we head to Gokyo passing through the second high pass of this trek, Cho La Pass at an elevation of 5368m. As we begin to ascend the trail, the Cho La Lake begins to appear to our sight and Ama Dablam soars on the south and Cholatse on the west. Climbing these steep boulders along the pass is not easy. The top of the pass is marked by prayer flags and cairns. Panoramic view of majestic peaks from the top is breathtaking. After ascending down we head to Thangnak. Our trail brings us to the edge of the Ngozumpa glacier, which is the longest glacier in Nepal. Crossing this glacier, we can see the second Gokyo lake on the series of six lakes. Walking further we can see third Gokyo Lake and on the edge of this lake stand the popular Gokyo village where we spend our night.

Overnight at teahouse in Gokyo.

Gokyo village is one of the popular trekking destinations of Everest region. Today we spend our day in Gokyo, we will climb Gokyo Ri and make a tour to nearby Gokyo lakes. Gokyo Ri is the popular viewpoint of Gokyo village which provides an incredible view of mountain vista including Mt. Everest. Then, we tour to 4th Gokyo Lake and 5th Gokyo Lake. The view from ‘Scoundrel’s Viewpoint’, located at the edge of the 5th lake is astonishing. The view of Cho-Oyu, Gyachung Kang, Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Makalu and the huge Ngozumba Glacier are best to admire. We then trek back to Gokyo.

Overnight at teahouse in Gokyo.

Today is another tough and exciting day as we will be crossing the third and final pass high pass, Renjo La Pass at an altitude of 5360m. The trail skirts around the north of Gokyo Lake and then climbs up through gravel slope and reach highland pasture from here we can enjoy excellent views of Gokyo and the mountains in the background. Continuing climbing on scree and boulder trail we finally reach the top of the pass, which is marked by prayer flags, from where we can have a look into Nangpa Valley and, looking back, we have views Everest and Makalu. As the previous passes descending is tricky as we have to walk on scree and lose rocks. On the way, we are rewarded by overgenerous views of HIimlayan and Rolwaling ranges. Along the way, we see Relama Tsho and Renjo Lake. We walk down a narrow valley clogged with giant boulders to Lumde. We then walk for almost an hour from Lumde to get to Marlung.

Overnight at teahouse in Marlung.

We descent from Marlung to Thame, following a traditional route used for centuries by the Tibetan traders. We cross the Bhote Koshi River and go downhill to Taranga. The trail continues to descend and we cross two bridges before reaching Thame. We visit the famous Thame Gompa and gradually descend pass through few small villages before reaching Namche Bazaar which the main tourist hub of Everest region

Overnight at teahouse in Namche Bazaar.

After breakfast, we head to Lukla. The trail descends steeply downward so we need to walk slowly. Battling the rocky terrain and crossing several bridges over the fast flowing Dudh Koshi River and its tributaries, the trail soon become more level and natural. We can now enjoy open plains route with a lush forest of pine and rhododendron once again. The snow-covered peaks are at distant. We walk through Sherpa village, prayer stones and prayer flags and finally reach Lukla.

Overnight at teahouse in Lukla

The flight from Lukla is usually scheduled for morning for safety purposes. We take an early morning flight from Lukla to Kathmandu. Upon reaching Kathmandu Domestic airport, you will be received by our representative and transfer to hotel in a private vehicle. We could take a rest in the hotel and freshen up or shop for souvenirs for your family and friend back home. In the evening, there will be a farewell dinner to celebrate the successful trip to Everest High Passes trek. 

Overnight at hotel in Kathmandu

Today is your last day in Nepal. A representative from Lapha Holidays will escort you to the airport 2 hours prior to your flight schedule. We wish you have a safe flight hoping to see you again for next adventure trip to Nepal.

Nepal Tour Packege

Nepal Tour and Travel Package

Cost Detail

  • Airport pick-up and drop services in a private vehicle
  • Applicable domestic airfare(if included) as per the itinerary
  • All ground transportation costs on a comfortable private vehicle as per the itinerary (tourist bus or private vehicles)
  • 3-Star Hotel accommodation in Kathmandu and Pokhara on “BB” basis as per itinerary (hotel category can be change on guest request)
  • All trekking accommodation costs on full board basis which includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The accommodation during the trekking will be in the guesthouses, lodges or tea houses on twin sharing basis but occasionally in the common dormitory especially during peak seasons.
  • Seasonal fruit and salads on a daily basis
  • A first-aid medical kit (will be carried by the trekking guide)
  • Salary and expenses of an experienced English speaking trekking guide and assistant guide for the trekking period
  • Salary and expenses of porter service for the trekking period (2 trekkers: 1 porter)
  • Personal insurance for crew members.
  • All necessary paperwork and applicable tourist entry fees necessary for trekking (special permit fees, conservation fees and TIMS card fees).
  • All government and local taxes
  • Sleeping bag, down jacket and duffel bag, are provided to be returned after completion of trip and company t-shirt provided as complimentary
  • Welcome and Farewell dinner at typical Nepali restaurant with cultural program
  • International airfare and departure taxes.
  • Personal travel insurance.
  • Lunch and dinner incurred before or after the trekking period.
  • Emergency rescue evacuation (to be covered by the client’s travel insurance).
  • Nepal entry visa fee.
  • Tips to the guide(s), porter(s), and driver(s) (Tipping is expected).
  • Bar bills, alcoholic drinks and beverages.
  • Excess baggage charges (depends up to luggage allowance of airlines).
  • Personal insurance and other personal expenses (phone call, battery recharge, laundry, extra porters, boiled water, hot shower, and extra food
  • Extra accommodation and meals cost incurred due to the addition of extra days or change in the real course of the itinerary due to bad weather conditions or any other unforeseen contingencies.
  • Additional private transportation except what is mentioned in the itinerary.
  • Any other expenses not mentioned in the ‘Cost Includes’ section above.
Departures not available.