EBC + Island Peak Climbing

Welcome to Kathmandu. You will be received by one of our office representatives at the TIA exit section and escort you to your hotel afterward.

Depending on your arrival time, you will have the chance to stroll around the places nearby your hotel on your own.

  Hotel

Today you will have a free day in Kathmandu while your specialist will take time to arrange permits for your trek. You will have time to explore around the Kathmandu valley on your own or enjoy the cultural tour with an experienced tour guide arranged by Trek Guiders.

In the evening, you will be met by your specialist in your hotel lobby. S/he will introduce you to your guide for the trek and brief you shortly about your trek, things to do/ not to do, and any optional activities you may enjoy during the trip. You can ask any queries or share feelings with your specialist during the briefing.

  Hotel

  Breakfast

You will be picked up by your guide 1.5 hours prior to your flight time to make sure you will reach the domestic airport on time. Make sure you already have your breakfast by the time your guide reach your hotel lobby.

After a scenic 35 minutes flight to Lukla, your guide will arrange local porters there to help you with your luggage throughout the trip. Today is the first day of the trek. So, intentionally you will be having a short trek today to get used to the altitude. You will be descending to Chaurikharka first and then head up the Dudh Koshi Valley to Phakding where you will be staying overnight.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast in Phakding, you will continue north following the Dudh Koshi River towards Monjo and Jorsale. From here you will enter the Sagarmatha National Park area. Here your guide will complete the check-post work whereas you can enjoy some time clicking pictures. After lunch here, you will get to cross two rivers viz. Imja River and Nangpo Tsangpo (Bhote Koshi) River followed by a steep climb to Namche Bazaar.

Namche Bazaar is the main village in Khumbu area and is renowned for a central market area of this region. It is an important trading centre with a weekly Saturday market locally known as "Haat Bazaar". 

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today is the first acclimatization day of your trek. So, you can rest and relax in your lodge. Optionally, you can choose to hike to Kunde Hospital set up by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1966 A.D in Kunde Village located at an altitude of 3840m. This hospital serves approximately 8000 people of Khumbu area and carries significant importance in this area. 

Or to speed up the acclimatization process, you can hike for an hour to reach Hotel Everest View, located in Khumjung village at an altitude of 3880m. This place is quite popular for a great view of Mt. Everest, Mt. Ama Dablam, and Mt. Lhotse. If you have time, you can also visit the Sherpa Culture Museum which in houses traditional Sherpa household, old artefacts, and everyday objects. It is the perfect place to get a sense of Sherpa life through the ages.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast in Namche, you will follow the trail to the side of the valley, high above the Dudh Koshi. From here, you will start getting amazing views of the Khumbu peaks viz. Mt. Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and Ama Dablam. Passing through several small villages and tea shops, you will descend to a bridge over the river at Phunki Tenga where you can have lunch. It's good to have adequate rest and collect your energy for a steep climb to Tengboche. No matter how much you get tired of the trail, the beautiful sights of Rhododendron, beautiful birds and superb Himalayas views will make you forget your tiredness in a matter of seconds.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Wake up early morning to explore the Tengboche Monastery and the places around. The monastery at Tengboche looks even more spectacular in the morning with mountains at its back.

Continuing to reach Pangboche, choose the upper trail for better views. You will pass through several Chortens, Mani Walls and small villages. Stop by at the place which offers delicious food with a fantastic close view of Mt. Ama Dablam. After a few rest time, you will walk the eastward trail beneath the towering north face of Mt. Ama Dablam. From here you will enter the Imja Valley walking a fairly moderate trail. The valley gradually unfolds as you descend into the Lobuche River and begin the last and steepest climb to the day leading up to Dingboche. After reaching Dingboche, you will see the beautiful array of fields enclosed by stone walls to protect barley, buckwheat, and potato from the cold winds and grazing animals.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

This is going to be the second acclimatization day of your trip. Enjoy your refreshing breakfast admiring the fantastic Ama Dablam to the south.

For ideal acclimatization, climb the ridge on the north behind the village for a better view of Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Makalu and Mt. Cho Oyu, three of the six highest peaks. While on the west you will see the towering peaks of Cholatse and Taboche. Northwest direction will also show an array of peaks rising at the head of the Khumbu Khola Valley.

Rest of the day, you can stroll around the Dingboche village clicking some nice pictures of surroundings.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Continue today's walk up the wide valley beneath the majestic peaks of Cholatse and Tawache on the left. Turning right, you will take a steep climb towards the foot of the Khumbu Glacier.

Enjoy a nice lunch at the tea house of Duglha and have some rest. From here, the trail zigzags up through the boulders of the glacier's terminal moraine. You will see many stone cairns at the top which is built as memorials to the Sherpas who died while climbing Mt. Everest. The path climbs gently along the glacier afterward, eventually reaching the cluster houses at Lobuche.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today is an important day which will take you to the main destination of the trip. 

The first section of the trail from Lobuche follows the narrow gap between the glacial moraine and the mountain walls. Take some time to detour to the edge of moraine to look over the Khumbu glacier. Through a windy and rocky path with the wonderful view of Mt. Pumori, Nuptse, and other magnificent peaks, you will reach Gorakshep. Gorakshep is the location of the original Everest Base Camp with the new camp being further up the valley. Have lunch here with some rest.

After lunch, here comes the main highlight of the day, an adventure to the Everest Base Camp. The trail passes through over rocky dunes and moraine and streams. The Base Camp area provides an opportunity to experience the freezing and harsh conditions that are just a beginning for the Mountaineers going for Everest expedition. In Everest Base Camp the climbers gather for summiting Everest during the high expedition season. You will explore base camp and its surroundings glacier for a while and return back to Gorakshep.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Yet another big day of the trip. You will need to wake up early morning today to meet the spectacular Sunrise View from Kalapatthar today.

Mornings are usually sparkling and clear and this is the best time to climb the Kalapathar for great mountain views. You will be rewarded with the 360-degree dramatic panoramic views of Mt Everest and surrounding mountains like Mt. Pumori, Mt. Lingtren, Mt. Khumbetse, Mt. Nuptse, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Thamserku along with many other peaks.

You will have an easy walk for about 2 hours to reach Lobuche. You will have more chances to enjoy the scenic vistas as you descend down towards Lobuche.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast at Lobuche, get prepared for a big day. Today you will be crossing one of the high pass of Khumbu region, Kongma La pass before you reach Chhukung which is the main route towards the Island Peak (also know as Imja Tse Peak). The ascend to the Kongma La is the difficult part of the trek today but once you gain the Kongma La, you will see cairn wrapped in prayer flags which marks the pass. Afterwards, you will descend a gradual walk up the Imja Khola valley to Chhukung, a small settlement.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

The path from Chhukung is a steep way to climb. First, you will be climbing south then turning east to the main line of the valley which then winds along or below the southern flank of the moraine from the Lhotse Glacier. After this, you will continue short pleasant walking along a streamside. The route to the Amphu Lapcha lies to the southeast. A criss-cross route through the Imja and Lhotse glacier moraines leads to a wide valley flanking the SW side of Island peak. 

Pre-Climb Training: After lunch, your guides will provide training on peak climbing techniques and using climbing gears such as ice ax, climbing boot, and crampons, harness, ascender, etc and on how to go up and down using ropes. Although it is not mandatory to have prior training experience for Island Peak Climbing, we believe that some training experience will boost up your confidence and climbing skills to increase the chances of scaling the summit as well as to fully enjoy the experience.

  Camp

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After having breakfast, you will start the climb up the hill making your way through the narrow slopes and uncompromising paths. After 2-3 hours walk upwards, the trail will finally take you to the High camp of Island peak where you will stop for overnight.

The high camp itself offers the spectacular view of lofty pinnacle and glacier surrounding the Island Peak. At high camp, all the required elements and gears will be re-checked, your boots will be fitted with crampons and if required, you may also be provided with the last minute techniques for your following day’s successful climb. The night is spent in a tented camp at the high camp.

  Camp

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today, you will need to wake up very early at around 1 am. After having your breakfast, you will be heading up for the climb. Keep in mind that you will need to reach the summit before noon as after that strong winds in the highlands can be a great barrier in the successful summit. The trail moves up beyond the base camp for several hundred meters before striking off the steep hillside.

During the climb, the guides will fix the rope when required to make it easy for the climb. Using ladders to cross the crevasses which are approximate of about 3 - 4 meters long, you will be gradually approaching towards summit.

After enjoying the summit views with some great picture snaps, you will descend all the way back to Island Peak Camp. Continue your trip back further to Chhukung with all crew members for overnight.

  Tea House/ Camp

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

There is no such guarantee that there will be favorable weather on the planned day for the summit. So, this day is used as a contingency in case you are unable to summit the Island Peak on the planned day due to bad weather condition or some other reasons. If weather gets exceptionally unfavorable it's wise to postpone the program of summiting the peak for the planned day. Sometimes somebody in the group may get some problems in acclimatizing well enough to make the ascent; the day can be used in that condition too.

If the trip goes smoothly, you can use this day as a rest day in some favorite spots while return.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After having breakfast at the lodge, the trail heads towards Pangboche and then Tengboche through Rhododendron and Pine forest. The trail then drops, steep down to the valley crosses the suspension bridge and continue towards Khumjung. You can enjoy a hot shower and loosen your muscles here. The night is spent at a lodge in Khumjung.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After having breakfast, you will start the day walk towards Namche Bazaar. The trail first drops down through the ridge and then the walk is fairly easier till Namche Bazaar. At Namche Bazaar, you can enjoy strolling the Namche market or relax in the nearby restaurants, cafés or bakeries. 

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today is the last day of your trekking day. You will cross several bridges over the fast flowing Dudh Koshi River. Following the same trail which you used before to climb up to Namche, you will reach Lukla in about 6 to 7 hours.

  Tea House

  Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today is the return day from Lukla. Your guide will finish all the airport formalities while you are having breakfast at the lodge. The porters will manage your luggage to be transported from your lodge to the airport. Once the guide get news about your flight arrival at Lukla airport, you will be called to see how the airplane gets landed in the small strip of Lukla airport. Afterward, you will get to the airport to get into the plan for flight back to Kathmandu.

  Hotel

  Breakfast

Today is an extra day kept as a buffer day in case the flight back to Kathmandu gets disturbed due to any weather contingencies. However, if you succeeded in landing Kathmandu on the previous day, you can enjoy short day tour or have some shopping in the market to purchase a token of memory from Nepal to your home.

  Hotel

  Breakfast

You will be picked up from your hotel 3.5 hours prior to your international flight time by one of our office representatives to escort you to the TIA. Trip concludes !!

  Breakfast