The Three Pass Trek is one of the most challenging and longest treks in Nepal. It covers the three major passes of the Everest Region: Renjo La (5340m), Cho La (5420m), and Kongma La (5535m). Additionally, it also traverses the major valleys of the Khumbu Region: Thame, Gokyo, Everest Base Camp, and Imja. Those who choose this trek pass through popular villages known as the home of the renowned Sherpa people. These villages are also significant as the birthplaces of the world-renowned climbers.
The trek offers stunning views of Mt. Everest (8848.86m), Mt. Lhotse (8516m), Mt. Makalu (8486m), and Mt. Cho Oyu – respectively the world’s first, fourth, fifth and sixth mountains, alongside numerous other renowned peaks. Besides the mountains, the region is also renowned for endangered wildlife such as the snow leopard, musk deer, Himalayan blue sheep and Himalayan impeyan pheasant.
The trek typically starts with 35-minute thrilling flight to Lukla, which is the most standard way to begin the trek. However, one can also drive from Kathmandu to Paiyan to start the trek. Similarly, a helicopter charter flight is another option. This allows travelers to fly to/from their desired location to commence or conclude the trek. Nevertheless, if you lack recent experience of travelling to high altitude regions, we do not recommend flying to higher elevations to start the journey. The duration of the trek ranges from 16 to 20 days. The trail diverges from the popular trekking route to Everest Base Camp once you reach Namche Bazar and reconnects there on the return journey. Both clockwise and counterclockwise route options are available, with the clockwise direction being more popular among visitors. The trek covers significant portions of both the Everest Base Camp Trek and the Gokyo Valley Trek.
Important Notes (while planning for the trip)
Important Notes (during the trip)
WELCOME TO NEPAL, the land of the Himalayas!
Upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, you will receive a warm welcome from the company representatives of Osprey Adventure, who will assist you with your luggage and guide you to the hotel. After checking into the hotel, the company representative will provide you with a comprehensive briefing about your upcoming trip, including inclusions and exclusions, safety precautions, cultural norms, and other important information that will be useful during your stay in Nepal.
It is very crucial to ensure that you are equipped with all the necessary gear for a safe and enjoyable trip. That’s why a preparation day has been allocated in the trip. Check your gears and clothing thoroughly and make a checklist of any missing or damaged items that you need to acquire. Then go buy or rent those essential items and be ready to embrace the trip and its challenges.
The day starts early in the morning as you fly to Lukla. Flights from Kathmandu to Lukla usually operate early in the morning because the weather in Lukla tends to become unstable in the afternoon. You will begin your 13-day trek by taking a 35-minute scenic flight to Lukla. The flight itself is an adventure as you will fly amidst towering snow-capped mountains. Once you land in Lukla, you will meet all the staff members and begin the trek. The trail initially descends and follows Dudh Koshi River with some uphill climbs towards the end. After three and half hours walking, passing through beautiful Sherpa villages such as Chaurikharka, Chhaplung, Thadakoshi and Ghat, as well as picturesque terraced green fields and forests you will reach Phakding, situated on the bank of Dudh Koshi River.
Breakfast will be served at 7:00am. You must pack your luggage and day bag before breakfast. Right after breakfast, you will start walking. This will be your morning routine most of the days until the trek completes. The path follows Dukh Koshi River, which is relatively easier for the first two and a half hour, and becomes steep uphill in the second half. After five hours walking, passing thorough beautiful villages such as Toktok, Benkar, Monjo and Jorsale, dense pine forests and crossing suspension bridges over Dudh Koshi River five times you will reach Namche Bazar, the unofficial capital of Sherpa villages.
Rest days are important while travelling to high elevation zones, as your body needs time to acclimatize to the new environment. The objective of the rest days is not to stay idle in the hotel, but to hike to higher places and return to the hotel to rest. You will hike to Everest View Hotel (3,880m) which requires a three-hour walk to reach the destination and an hour’s return. You will spend some time at the hotel enjoying hot tea with panoramic views of Mt. Everest, Nuptse, Amadablam, Thamserku, Kusum Khangru, Tabuche peak and many more. You will also get picturesque views of Phortse, Pangboche and Tengboche villages.
At Namche, the path diverges from the popular Everest Base Camp route. Everest Base Camp lies to the northeast of Namche, while Thame, the destination for today, lies to the northwest. The path gradually ascends to the helipad for the first half an hour, offering stunning view of Namche. From there, the path becomes much easier, and after a short walk, you will traverse through dense pine forests until reaching Phurte. Subsequently, the path features ups and down until reaching Thamo, where you will stop for lunch. Continuing from Thamo, the path follows Bhote Koshi River until reaching Thame. Along the way, you will pass through some beautiful villages, stone mani-walls and prayer flags. Thame is home to many famous and veteran mountaineers, including Tenzing Norgey Sherpa, the first man to reach the top of Mt. Everest, and Appa Sherpa.
Today, you will embark on your journey above tree line, a terrain that will persist for the next 10 days. After a pleasant breakfast, you will commence your day’s journey, following Bhote Koshi River continuously. The first village you will encounter is Thyangmoche, a sizeable settlement which take about half an hour to reach. You will traverse through traditional villages such as Hungmo and Taranga. Upon reaching Marulung, the path splits towards Nangpa La (the traditional route to enter Tibet for trade) and Renjo La. From there, the path gradually ascends for an hour to Lungden. Lungden is a sizeable, flat-surfaced village with a few guesthouses.
After a very early breakfast, you will begin waking at 4:30 am, carrying packed lunch. This pass is the easiest and relatively shortest among the three. The path is much easier for the first one hour. After that, the path begins to ascend, and just before the pass, it becomes steeper. Along the way, you will pass some beautiful glacial lakes. Once you reach the top, you can enjoy a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains including Mt. Everest, and see the Gokyo Lake and guesthouses. From Renjo La Pass, the path descends steeply for the first two hours, and then it becomes very straight for about one and a half hours just before reaching Gokyo.
Today is the excursion day to the fifth lake, known as ‘Ngozumpa Tso’. “Tso” in Sherpa language refers to ‘lake’. There are no hotels or settlements beyond Gokyo village. Therefore, you will need to take pack lunch for the hike. It takes two hours to reach the fourth lake, called ‘Thonak Tso’. From there, it is another two hours to reach the fifth lake. Since the path is not steep uphill, the return journey will also take a long time, approximately three hours. Close to the fifth lake, there is a cliff with some prayer flags. From the cliff, you will have a very close and clear view of Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhostse, Mt. Makalu and Mt. Cho Oyu, including other many mountains.
The hike to Gokyo Ri is the apex of this trek. With headlight and worm clothes, you will begin the journey at 5:00am. As you slowly climb up, the daylight breaks, and your headlight begins to dim. After two and a half hours of strenuous ascent, you will reach the top of Gokyo. The scenery you see from the top mesmerizes you, making you forget all the suffering you experienced as you climbed up. After spending some time and capturing beautiful photographs, you will return to the hotel. Following breakfast, you begin the journey by retracing steps to the second lake. From there, path diverges towards Ngozumba Glacier, the longest glacier in Nepal. Crossing the glacier, you will reach Thangnak after three hours’ walk.
The hike to Gokyo Ri is the apex of this trek. With a headlight and worm clothes, you will begin the journey at 5:00am. As you slowly climb up, the daylight breaks, and your headlight begins to dim. After two and a half hours of strenuous ascent, you will reach the top of Gokyo. The scenery you see from the top mesmerizes you, making you forget all the suffering you experienced as you climbed up. After spending some time and capturing beautiful photographs, you will return to the hotel. Following breakfast, you begin the journey by retracing steps to the second lake. From there, path diverges towards Ngozumba Glacier, the longest glacier in Nepal. Crossing the glacier, you will reach Thangnak after three hours’ walk.
Today marks the toughest day of the entire trek. Packed lunch will be provided to you because there are no hotels along the way until you reach Dzongla. The journey begins at 4:00am after breakfast. The path follows a steep ascent alongside a glacial stream and becomes flatter once you reach the yak pasture. From there, path enters the rocky moraine and glacier with a steep ascent all the way to Chola Pass. Within 4-5 hours, you will reach the top. From the top, the path steeply descends down with some crevasses all the way to Dzongla, where you will spend the night.
Today marks the easiest day of the trek as it is the shortest day. Most parts of the trail is flat. You will reach Lobuche before lunch time.
Today’s journey takes you to the final destination of the trip, the Everest Base Camp. It is also the second longest day of the entire trek. The path leads on a straight and easy path for the first one hour, followed by a 45-minute steep ascent to reach the viewpoint, from where you can enjoy a wonderful view of Mt. Pumori. From there, the path lead onto the glacier for another one and half hours to reach Gorakshep. You will have lunch, leave your luggage at the hotel and then embark on a hike to Everest Base Camp, which takes about five hours, including the return journey.
Today you will reach the highest point of the trek. Kalapatthar, a rocky ridge demands two and a half hours ascent to reach the summit and an additional hour for return journey. The ascent begins at 4:30am aided by headlights. Following this challenging endeavor, you will return to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast, you will commence your journey back, retracing your steps all the way back to Lobuche.
Today marks the toughest day of the entire trek, as Kongma La Pass is the most challenging among the three passes, and it also happens to be the final one. The path initially leads uphill and downhill for the first one hour. Subsequently, you will traverse the Khumbu Glacier, where the trail may not be distinct, necessitating the checking of stone cairns to stay on course. Once across the glacier, the path descends into to the valley before sharply ascending towards Kongma La Pass. Compared to the other two passes, the route to this pass is less defined, requiring close attention to the stone cairns for navigating. Upon reaching the summit, the trail steeply descends into a valley. After walking along a straight path for a while, it then descends sharply all the way to Chhukung.
After the long and tiring journey yesterday, you will have an easy day today. The route is mostly downhill. You will reach Dingboche in the first three hours. From Dingboche, it takes another two hours to Pangboche.
The path follows slope downhill for the first 45 minutes all the way to Dibuje. From Dibuje, the path gradually climbs uphill for about 30 minutes to Tengboche. Afterwards, the path descends steeply for an hour to river bank, from where it begins to ascend for two hours until you reach Kyangjyuma. From Kyangjyuma, you will begin to retrace your steps all the way to Namche.
Today marks the final day of the trek. After a steep descent of an hour down to the Dudh Koshi River, the trail become much easier. Retracing your steps through dense pine forests, verdant fields, and villages such as Jorsale, Monjo, Benkar, Toktok, Phakding, Ghat, Thadakoshi, Chhaplung and Chaurikharka, you will reach Lukla in the late afternoon or early evening. As it is the last day of the trek, you can celebrate the success of the trip with your staff members and offer them tips.
Early in the morning, you will walk to Lukla airport escorted by your staffs with you luggage. After 35 minutes’ scenic flight, you will land at Kathmandu Domestic Airport, from where you will be picked up by our driver the dropped off at the hotel. Upon your arrival, our office representative will meet you and get your feedback about the trek.
Today is a leisure day. This leisure day in Kathmandu at the end of the trek has been allocated to compensate if the flight from Lukla gets canceled due to bad weather or if you require an extra day in the trek due to an emergency. Today, you can have a good rest before departing for your home country or you can explore the city on your own.
Today marks your final day in Nepal. We will drive you to Kathmandu International Airport three hours before your flight time.
Note: If you would like to spend more time in Nepal, you can join our leisure or adventure extension trips such as City Sightseeing, White-water Rafting, Jungle Safari, Paragliding, Bungee Jumping etc.
Choosing the proper equipment for trekking in Nepal is crucial for a safe and enjoyable experience. Most trekking destinations in Nepal are remote, with few accessible markets. Even where markets exist, prices tend to be high. Therefore, it is essential to prepare all necessary equipment before starting your trek. Kathmandu, particularly the Thamel area, is the ideal place to acquire equipment if you haven’t brought it from your home country. Alternatively, Pokhara offers equipment at similar prices to Kathmandu.
Below is a list of general equipment. Not all items may be necessary depending on your destination. Consult your travel consultant or guide if assistance in selecting the appropriate equipment.
*Note: FYI, you can also rent a sleeping bag and a down jacket in Kathmandu. The cost varies from $2 to $3 per day for each item, depending on the quality.
