Everest Three Passes Trek

The flight to Lukla is short, around 35 minutes, but it's one of the more memorable parts of the trip in its own right, banking between ridgelines before landing on Lukla's short, angled runway. From there the trek begins gently, dropping through rhododendron forest and small Sherpa settlements along the Dudh Koshi River to Phakding. It's a short day, 3 to 4 hours of walking, deliberately easy to let your body start adjusting before the terrain gets more serious.

The trail follows the Dudh Koshi upstream, crossing several suspension bridges, including the Hillary Suspension Bridge, before a steep, switchbacking climb into Namche Bazaar. Namche is the unofficial capital of the Sherpa region, and the climb up to it is often people's first real taste of the altitude to come. Expect 5 to 6 hours of walking, with the final hour being the hardest push of the day.

Rather than a full rest day, we build in an active acclimatization hike, since gaining a little elevation and coming back down helps the body adjust faster than sitting still. Most groups walk up to the Everest View Hotel (3,962 m) for a first long-distance look at Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. Back in Namche, there's time to visit the small Sherpa Culture Museum, and if your schedule lines up with a Saturday, the weekly market is worth wandering through — it's where much of the Khumbu still does its trading.

Here the route splits off from the standard Everest Base Camp trail and heads into the quieter Bhote Koshi valley, which sees a fraction of the foot traffic of the main route. Thame is a small, historic Sherpa village and home to Thame Monastery, one of the older and more significant monasteries in the region. It's also worth knowing that several well-known Everest summiteers, including Tenzing Norgay, have roots in this village. About 4 hours of walking, at a noticeably quieter pace than the past two days.

The trail continues up the Bhote Koshi valley, passing glacial lakes and high yak pastures as the trees thin out and the landscape opens up. This is the last village-style stop before the first pass, so it's a good point to double-check gear, particularly cold-weather layers, before tomorrow. Around 5 hours of walking.

The first of the three passes, and an early start is essential to catch stable weather and firm snow underfoot. The climb to Renjo La takes about 4 hours, and the payoff at the top is one of the best views on the entire trek: Everest, Makalu, and Cho Oyu all visible at once, with the Gokyo Lakes spread out below on the descent. The full day runs about 7 hours, including a knee-testing drop down into the Gokyo valley.

The morning is set aside for the climb up Gokyo Ri (5,357 m), widely considered the finest 360-degree Himalayan viewpoint accessible without technical climbing — four 8,000-meter peaks are visible from the summit on a clear day. The afternoon is unhurried, with time to sit by the turquoise Gokyo Lakes, which hold a religious significance for both Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims in the region.

A shorter day, roughly 4 hours, following the moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier, Nepal's longest glacier at 36 kilometers. Walking alongside it gives a real sense of scale that photos don't quite capture — the ice is covered in rock debris and looks more like a grey, cratered valley floor than a glacier at first glance. This day also serves as a positioning stage ahead of the Cho La crossing.

The most technical of the three passes. Crampons are required for the snow and ice sections near the top, and our guide makes a final call on conditions before the group commits to the crossing — pass conditions can shift year to year and even week to week, so this isn't a formality. The crossing itself takes about 6 hours and includes some of the most dramatic scenery of the trek, followed by a steep, careful descent into Dzongla.

A shorter, gentler day through a stark, lunar-like moraine landscape, deliberately kept light after yesterday's exertion. En route, the trail passes the memorial chortens at Thokla, built in memory of climbers who lost their lives on Everest — it's a quiet, reflective stop that most groups pause at for a few minutes. About 3 hours of walking.

The trail follows the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier to Gorak Shep, a small, exposed settlement that serves as the last stop before Base Camp. After dropping bags, the group continues on to Everest Base Camp itself, walking the final stretch across glacier debris. Base Camp is quiet outside spring climbing season, but standing at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall still carries some weight regardless of the time of year. The return to Gorak Shep completes a long day, 7 to 8 hours total.

An early, cold start for sunrise at Kala Patthar, the trek's highest point and the best vantage point for seeing Everest's summit itself, which isn't actually visible from Base Camp. After the descent back to Gorak Shep, the route diverges from the standard EBC trail and heads instead toward the Imja Valley and Chhukung, an alternative descent that keeps the trek fresh rather than retracing the same path. A long day, around 8 hours.

A lighter day built in ahead of the final pass. Most groups take the optional hike up Chhukung Ri (5,550 m), which looks directly across at Island Peak, Lhotse, and Makalu. The afternoon is free to rest, which matters more than it might seem, since Kongma La the next day is no easier than the first two passes.

The third and final pass, often snow-dusted and offering a sweeping view back across the whole Khumbu region the group has just crossed. It's a fitting close to the pass-crossing section of the trek. The descent runs through open yak pastures into Dingboche, a welcome change in scenery after days of glacier and rock. Around 6 to 7 hours.

A long but gradually easier descent through Pangboche, one of the older villages in the Khumbu, with time in the afternoon to visit Tengboche Monastery, the most significant monastery in the region. If timing allows, groups sometimes catch part of a puja ceremony here, which is worth sitting in on if the opportunity comes up. About 5 hours of walking.

The trail rejoins the classic Everest Panorama route for one last look back at the peaks before descending into the forest. It's a shorter, more relaxed day, and by evening there's usually a sense that the hard part of the trek is behind the group — a good excuse for a farewell dinner with your guide team. Roughly 5 hours.

The final trekking day retraces the route back down through Monjo and Phakding to Lukla. It's a long day at around 6 hours, but almost entirely downhill, and there's a fair amount of goodwill in the group by this point. Lukla itself has a handful of places to get a celebratory drink once the packs are off.

A morning flight returns the group to Kathmandu, weather permitting — Lukla flights are notoriously weather-dependent, so we build a buffer day into the schedule for exactly this reason. The rest of the day is free for hot showers, laundry, and shopping around Thamel.

A guided tour of Kathmandu Valley's cultural highlights, including Boudhanath Stupa and Pashupatinath Temple, with time afterward to explore Thamel at your own pace or pick up any last souvenirs.

Transfer to Tribhuvan International Airport for your onward flight, marking the end of the trip.