Everest Base Camp and Kangsung Valley Trek – 20 days

Guided sightseeing tour of Potala, the winter palace of the Dalai Lama; Drepung, the biggest monastic university of Tibet & Nechung Monastery, temple of the State oracle of Tibet.

Guided sightseeing tour of Norbulinka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lama and Sera Monastery.

Drive to Shigatse. Visit Tashilhunpo Monastery, the seat of Panchen Lama who is the 2nd in the Buddhist religious hierachy & Shigatse Market. O/N Shigatse Hotel.

Drive to Shegar across Tsoula pass (4500 M) & Gyatso la pass (5220 M). En route visit Sakya Monastery.

Drive five hours to Kharta , enjoying beautiful views from the Pang La (17,000′) toward Makalu, Lhotse, Everest, and Shishapangma (if clear). Drive down the Dzakaa Chu and then the Phung Chu valley toward Kharta. We’ll make camp past the boarding school on the banks of the Kharta Tsangpo river, the headwaters of Nepal’s Arun River.

Hike up the Kharta Tsangpo valley past several villages. The trail to the Shao La leaves the Kharta valley and climbs steadily up a side valley to the south. We’ll camp either at the beginning of this climb on a ledge overlooking the valley and its villages (at approximately 13,000 feet) or continue up the side valley following a small stream for another two hours to camp on meadows by the stream (14,000′). (4 hours hiking.)

Ascend steadily over rocky ground to reach the Shao La (16,300′) in about two hours. Weather permitting, the views from here toward Makalu, Lhotse, and Everest are stunning. Once at the top of the pass we descend for about an hour and then plunge steeply to the valley below. At once the scene changes from barren rock slopes to lush rhododendrons, birch, and willow trees. Continue one hour down this valley to camp at Joksum, following a stream through thick fir and juniper forests. (4 hours hiking.)

Hike steeply through juniper and rhododendron forests to reach the high pastures above the Kama River. On clear days, we’ll see splendid views toward Everest and Lhotse. The high ridges south of the Kama River drip with hanging glaciers and in the spring are alive with bellowing avalanches. We continue to traverse alpine meadows and pass yak herders’ camps and a serene green lake to a campsite (14,500′) on a large meadow with great views of the Khangshung Valley. (5 hours hiking.)

Hike up a ridge affording a clear sight right up the Khangshung Valley, with views of Everest, Lhotse, Lhotse Shar, Tshertse, Petangtse, Chomolonzo, Makalu, and a myriad of other great peaks. From this ridge we descend rather steeply down to the Kama River coming from the Langma La. After wading across the river we enter the Khangshung Valley, a wide valley drained by the Khangshung stream. A receding glacier has left behind wide undulating hillocks now covered by a thick growth of willow, rhododendron, juniper, and other shrubs. Camp at the meadow called Pethang (14,200′), about an hour’s walk uphill from the stream crossing.

Hike steeply up onto a large rockslide.The views of Makalu and the incredible upheaval caused by the Chomolonzo glaciers are amazing. After the rockslide the trail traverses around the mountainside to reach a beautiful glade, locally called Okpa. Continue hiking up meadows of lateral moraine with views of Everest, Lhotse, and Tserse to reach camp on the grassy knolls of Pethang Ringmo (16,000′). (4-5 hours hiking.)

Optional day hikes up the Khangshung Valley alongside the glacier to the base camp (17,000′) used by expeditions attempting the east face of Everest.

Retrace our steps down the valley along the Khangshung Glacier, across the rockslide opposite the Chomolonzo glacier, and past Pethang to a stream crossing at the Raabka Chu. The camp (13,500′) on the grassy meadow across the river is a very pleasant place to spend the afternoon. (4 hours hiking.)
We can also reach this campsite from Pethang Ringmo by taking a side trip to Guru Rimpoche’s cave at Tse Chu lake. The trail climbs high above Okpa meadows, crosses Lamtsho (16,200′), then descends steeply to the lake. (6-7 hours hiking.)

Hike steadily uphill, steeply at first for an hour to a shelf above the river, then another hour across relatively flat ground to a small meadow called Pangboche, where we have lunch. Continue to hike steeply over alpine slopes for another couple of hours to a small but beautiful lake at the base of the Langma La (17,500′). The views of Makalu and Everest are great from here! Camp at Tsho Tshurigma (16,000′). (4 hours hiking.)

Climb steeply over rocky ground to reach the Langma La (17,500′) in just over two hours. En route we pass another lake, and the views of Makalu become more impressive as we climb upwards, while Everest and all the other attendant peaks are visible all the way to the pass. From Langma La we bid farewell to the Khangshung Valley and the impressive panorama of some of the world’s highest mountains, then descend steeply four hours over rocky moraines and glaciated valleys. Camp is on a grassy meadow beside a clear stream at Troshay (14,000′). (6 hours hiking.)

We follow the stream from camp down the Kharta Tsangpo valley along a well defined trail. We’ll hike across grassy hillsides used for grazing animals and past villages with barley and potato fields ringed by willows and birch. After two hours we reach the fork of the trail where we climbed to Shao La at the beginning of the trek. Cross the river below Yulba village and reach our riverside campsite where we started the trek.

Drive five to six hours to Rongbuk monastery (16,400′), the highest monastery in the world and a shrine dedicated to Everest, is the last sign of habitation before commencing the trek to Everest via the north face.

Hike along the Dza Rongphu Glacier, the main glacier flowing from the northern flanks of Everest, or just relax and take in the marvelous views from camp.

Drive six hours to the Tingri plains. O/N Nylam.

Drive to Zhangmu, a town near the Tibet/Nepal border, where we will go through customs and immigration before continuing on to Kathmandu. (5-6 hours driving.