Island Peak via Cho La Pass Trek

The first day marks your arrival day in Kathmandu. Clear all the visa requirements and customs clearance, if any, at the arrival section of the airport. As you come out, you will find a representative from World Alpine Treks waiting for you holding a board with your name. You will then be transferred to your hotel in Kathmandu. The representative will shortly inform you about the plans ahead.

The second day is a day tour just to warm up prior to your trekking journey. Kathmandu is a city enriched with artistic palaces, beautiful monuments, ancient temples, and other constructions of historical and cultural importance. No wonder the city has seven out of ten UNESCO-listed world heritage sites. Today, you will be guided to the UNESCO-listed heritage sites in Kathmandu. These heritages are perfect examples of rich history, fine culture, and architectural treasures of Nepal. At first, you will be taken to Kathmandu Durbar Square. The art, crafts, and carvings in the palaces, temples, and other monuments of the durbar square are excellent. After that, you will be escorted to Swayambhunath stupa (Monkey temple), Pashupatinath temple, and Boudhanath stupa, respectively. (Inclusive of breakfast)

On the third day, you will be headed to the domestic terminal of Tribhuwan Airport for a flight to Lukla. The flight to Lukla in itself is an enriching experience where you will be able to enjoy some wonderful views of the mountains. As you land in Lukla, you will meet our other crew members at the airport. From Lukla, we walk down the trail along with hotels and lodges to the Dudhkoshi River. We cross a long suspension bridge over the river and follow a path that takes us to Phakding. We stay at Phakding for the night. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

We wake up early and enjoy our breakfast. Then we follow our trail that goes through an undulating path up and down via traditional villages, fields, and rhododendron forests. We gradually ascend up and enter into Sagarmatha National Park with magnificent views of Mt. Thamserku in sight. We pass villages like Jorsale and Monjo on the way to Namche. Namche Bazaar is an old but lively Sherpa village. It is a gateway to all the trekking routes that go to the Everest region. There are many vibrant shops, cyber cafes, restaurants, hotels, and lodges at this time. Namche Bazaar never rests. It always gets a lot of visitors and is always crowded. We stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Namche for the night. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

The narrow street of Namche is always crowded. Do not be surprised if the yak bells and other horns wake you up. Today is a day set aside for acclimatization purposes. As we gain height, our body needs to be well-adapted to the altitude change. Therefore, we have set aside an extra day in Namche. Today, we hike up to the Everest View Hotel for close-up views of the mountains in the Everest region. From the hotel, we can enjoy some striking views of mountains like Kwangde, Thamserku, Kangtega, Nuptse, Lhotse, AmaDablam, etc. We can visit a museum and a photo gallery on our way back to Namche from the Everest View Hotel. We stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Namche for the night. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

Leaving Namche, we walk along an easy path to Sangnasha. From here, we climb steeply along with the forests of rhododendron, pine, and juniper to Mong La. On the route, we pass many Kharkas (summer settlements) crowded with yak grazing in those vast pastures.  From the pass, we descend to Phorche Tanga, from where we continue through our trail to Dole. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Dole. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

As we continue with the trail to Gokyo valley, our trail ascends steeply through the bushes of juniper to Lambara/ Luza and passes through many Kharkas on the way. We continue towards the valley above the river belt and cross the sandy trail to Macchemo. Macchemo is an interesting place because a yeti incident was reported in this place. In 1974, it was reported that a Yeti killed three yaks and attacked a woman in this particular place. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Macchermo. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

From Macchermo, we climb up to a ridge that offers splendid views of Gokyo Valley and Mt. Cho-Oyu. From the ridge, we walk through a trail that widens up and passes through Pangka. From here, the trail descends down to a riverbank. No sooner, we climb on through the moraine of the Ngozumpa glacier. The climb up the moraine is quite steep, but the first view of the Gokyo lakes is enough to get rid of all the hasty moments during our journey. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse in Gokyo Valley. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

From the Gokyo valley, we hike up to Gokyo Ri for stunning views of mountains and serene emerald lakes in the valley. Gokyo Ri is often considered as one of the best viewpoints in the Everest region. As you hike up the Ri, you will be rewarded with the panoramic views of the Mahalangur Himalayan range. The peaks of Mt. Cho-Oyu, Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Makalu, Mt. Cholatse, and Mt. Tawache rising tall in a row look amazing. Even the view of glaciers, icefalls, and groups of lakes at one shot is alluring. After a wonderful time at the Ri, we descend down to Thagnag. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse in Thagnag (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

As we move ahead from Thagnag, we come across a stone-paved flat path. We walk along the trail and ascend up steeply to the Chola pass. The trail along the pass is rocky and icy, which makes our walk quite difficult. However, the views of mountains and glaciers that the pass offers are more than enough to overshadow all the difficulties. From the pass, we make a steep descent down to the village of Dzongla. From the village, we can enjoy some stunning views of the Macchermo peak. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Dzongla. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

It’s an easy walk down from Dzongla to Lobuche. We descend downhill for a while and climb up gradually towards Lobuche. As we head towards Lobuche, we can get a clear and close view of the Lobuche peak that rises just above us. We pass the sight of Cholatse Tsho Lake and drop down below, enjoying the spectacular landscape to Khumbu Khola. Further, we walk to join the main trail to Everest Base Camp at Lobuche. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Lobuche. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

Today, we leave Lobuche and climb up to the top of Kongma La Pass at an elevation of 5535 meters. We climb up steeply through various small glacial lakes to the pass. From the pass, we will be rewarded with some astonishing views of Mt. Makalu to the southeast. As we approach near to the top of the pass, we come across a rocky path that takes us along a narrow ridge decorated with colorful prayer flags. The top of the Kongma La pass is very windy, which offers some interesting views of mountains and mountainous landscapes. Enjoying the fantastic views of mountainous terrain in the surroundings, we descend down to Chhukung. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Chhukung. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

Today, we climb up steeply towards the Island Peak Base Camp. At first, we climb towards the south and then to the east to join the mainline of the valley. We then follow the trail that winds up below the southern flank of a moraine that rises from Lobuche glacier. Further, we head to the southeast section towards the Island Peak in the Imja valley. Tonight, we stay at a tented camp in Island Peak Base Camp. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

Today, we spend our day at Island Peak Base Camp. This day is for acclimatization for our upcoming climbing journey. On this day, we can take some climbing tips from our climbing guides. Also, this day can be used for practicing some climbing skills. You will be trained on the use of ice axes, ropes, crampons, and many other climbing gear. The training and warm-up practices today will help you with your climbing journey tomorrow. Tonight, we stay at a tented camp in Island Peak Base Camp. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

It’s an important day of our climbing journey. We start up early today. After breakfast, we start climbing up the Island Peak. We follow our leader and move ahead with the use of our climbing gear. We should accomplish our climb by noon because in the afternoon, the weather starts getting unfavorable up there. The peaks are prone to strong breezes and wind up there. As we reach the top of the peak, we will be blessed with some amazing views of the mountains in the Everest region. After the climb, we descend to Island Base Camp. Tonight, we stay at the tented camps in Island Peak Base Camp. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

Today, we walk downhill from the base camp for a while to join the main trail of Everest Base Camp. From Island Peak Base Camp, we retrace our steps back to Pheriche. On the way, we will be rewarded with some magnificent views of Mt. Amadablam with other mountains like Thamserku, Kantega, Pokalde and many more. Further, we descend down along a forested area to Pangboche. We walk past the lush forests of rhododendron, oak, and juniper to reach Pangboche. Upon arrival, we visit a popular monastery in Pangboche. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Pangboche. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

Today, we descend down to Namche Bazaar via the same path that we had taken earlier. We descend down through the same path to Namche Bazaar. Tonight, we stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Namche. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

We further descend down to Lukla via Phakding. We stay at a guesthouse/ lodge in Lukla for the night. (Inclusive of Breakfast, lunch, and dinner)

We take a return flight from Lukla to Kathmandu. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel room in Kathmandu. You can relax in your room for the rest of the day. (Inclusive of Breakfast)

After a nineteen-day-long journey, today is a free day in Kathmandu. You have two options for the day – you can either explore some unexplored UNESCO-listed heritage sites around Kathmandu or go to the shopping malls for shopping. You can also collect some souvenirs for your family and friends back home. (Inclusive of Breakfast)

Before a few hours of your scheduled flight, you will be transferred to the international terminal of Tribhuwan International Airport. (Inclusive of Breakfast)