Day 01: Arrival at Kathmandu International Airport and transfer
to hotel. Stay overnight at hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 02: Preparation day in Kathmandu. Stay overnight at
hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 03: Fly from Kathmandu to Lukla which takes approximately
30 minutes and trek to Phakding. Stay overnight at lodge
in Phakding.
Early in the morning you will be driven from
hotel to Kathmandu airport, after 30 minutes spectacular
flight you will land to Lukla airport (2800m.).You begin
your trek to Phakding (2652m.) and you walk for about two
and a half to three hours. While trekking you head up the
Dudh Koshi Valley on a well-marked trail to Phakding (2652m.)
Day 04: Trek from Phakding to Namche Bazaar
(3440 m.) which takes about 5 to 5 and a half hours. Stay
overnight at lodge in Namche Bazaar.
This day you trek and cross the river on
high suspension bridges. Beyond Monjo(2800m.) is the entrance
to the Sagarmatha National Park which was set up in order
to protect and preserve this fragile mountain environment.
You then ascend quite steeply to Namche and along the way,
if the weather is clear, catch a first glimpse of Mt Everest
in the distance. You can also enjoy the view of Mt. Kusum
Kangaru, Thamserku, Konde-Ri, Tawache peak. You can also
visit some of the village monasteries on the way of trekking
to Namche Bazaar (3440 m.). Namche is the main trading
village in the Khumbu region and holds a busy Saturday market.
There is set a meeting place for the Hindu traders from the
lowlands and the Tibetan yak caravans that have reached there
by crossing the glaciated Nangpa La.
Day 05: Rest at Namche Bazaar for acclimatization and excursion
around the places.
Stay overnight at lodge in Namche Bazaar.
Namche is tucked away between two ridges amidst the giant
peaks of the Khumbu and has an abundance of lodges, tea
shops and souvenir shops as well as a magnificent outlook.
It is an ideal place to spend a rest day for acclimatization
to the high altitude before heading off towards Tyangboche.
For the acclimatization you walk up to Khunde Hospital
which was set up by late Sir Edmund Hillary, or a one hour
walk up to the Syangboche (3800m.) where Everest View Hotel
is situated above Namche for the outstanding view of Everest,
Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Thamserku and Kusum Kangaru.
There are also good views from the National Park Centre
and Museum just above the town.
Day 06: Trek from Namche Bazaar to Tyangboche (3850 m.)
and it takes almost 5 hours.
Stay overnight at lodge in Tyangboche. From Namche, the
trail contours around the side of the valley, high above
the Dudh Kosi. Now, you have a glimpse of first really
good views of the great peaks of the Khumbu including
Mt Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Thamserku and
Kusum Kangaru. Passing by several villages and numerous
tea shops, the trail descends steeply to a bridge over
the river Dudh Koshi at Phunki Tenga (3250m.).The village
has an excellent place for lunch and you can take a short
rest before making the steep climb to Tyangboche. Although
exhausting due to the zigzag path, the trek has numerous
attractions like rhododendron bushes, beautiful birds
chirping and superb mountain scenery making your trek
exciting. Tyangboche is famous for its legendary monastery,
the largest in the Khumbu region.
Day 07: Trek from Tyanboche to Ama Dablam Base Camp
Day 08-24: Climbing period for Ama Dablam. Stay overnight
at camp.
Base camp (4600 m): Situated on a large grassy meadow with
a wonderful views.
To yak camp (5400 m): We use yaks to carry most of our equipment
for this section, which saves us three to four hours of heavy
work. There is a rough track over very rocky terrain, which
the yaks and we use.
To camp I (5800 m): Your first real camp is only one and
a half hours walk above Yak camp. This section is marked
by rock cairns and involves boulder hopping and some easy
scrambling. You sometimes fix a couple of sections with rope
to be used as a handrail.
Camp I to Camp II (6000 m): Now, you are really climbing.
This section of the route is usually rock climbing only,
depending on the season. The granite is high quality and
the moves fun, challenging and exposed but “do-able”.
You follow a narrow ridge, switching back and forth on each
side of the ridge. This is the hardest rock climbing of the
entire route. In places the exposure is extreme and you are
very thankful of the fixed ropes in place. Whilst it is generally
easier not to pull on the ropes all the time if you are finding
the going getting a bit too hard you can just rest on the
fixed rope. You can also use your jumar to help you over
the odd spot of difficulties. Most of the climbing on this
section is traversing on rock, so good rock climbing skills
will help you move efficiently and quickly over this terrain.
Camp II: Situated on top of the Yellow Tower on a narrow
platform ,this camp site is rather exposed and has fantastic
views. If you dropped your cup from here, it would probably
land in base camp!
Camp II to Camp III (6300m): Now, for the hardest snow and
ice pitches of the route we follow a system of steep snow
and ice gullies up to join a feature called the Mushroom
Ridge. Whilst the ridge itself is not as technical as the
gullies leading up to it, the exposure here is palpable.
It is a narrow, windy, snow mushroom-like ridge with giant
Himalayan peaks in the background. This feature leads us
up onto a small plateau at 6300 m, which serves the purpose
of camp three.
Camp III: A cold and exposed position is the start of your
summit push. The Sherpas will often use a full climbing rope
to tie our tents down as the natural shape of the mountain
can at times unfortunately funnel the wind to this location.
It is, however,the only safe flat piece of real estate within
range of the summit.
Summit day: The initial route is to the right of the huge “Dablam” (ice
cliff), up a moderately steep slope, which is often iced.
Once past this feature we move toward the centre of the face.
The angle eases slightly and a couple of tough hours later
we emerge on the summit (6856 m). The summit is the size
of a tennis court and allows us to move around and take pictures.
Five of the world’s six highest peaks are clearly visible,
with many other 7000m and lesser peaks filling the gaps.
Day 25: Trek from Ama Dablam Base camp to Namche. Stay overnight
at lodge.
Day 26: Trek from Namche Bazaar to Phakding (2652m.) which takes about four
hours. Stay overnight at lodge.
The trail descends steeply for early one and a half hours. After that, the
path has small ups and downs to Phakding through Monjo. .
Day 27: Trek from Phakding to Lukla (2886m) which takes about three hours.
Stay overnight at lodge.
Your final day's trekking follows the Dudh Koshi back down to Lukla.
Day 28: Fly from Lukla to Kathmandu and transfer to hotel. Stay overnight at
hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 29: Rest day in Kathmandu. Stay overnight at hotel in Kathmandu.
Day 30: Fly out from Kathmandu.
