Day 01: Arrival day in Kathmandu, transfer to hotel.
You will arrive today at the Tribhuvan International Airport and see our representative from Exciting Nepal waiting for you. He/ she will greet you as soon as you meet him/ her and drive you to your hotel immediately on a private vehicle.
As you reach the hotel, you will take some rest and attend a welcome dinner in the evening. You will have time to interact with us while enjoying the Nepali dinner.
Overnight in Kathmandu.
Day 02: Free day or sightseeing around Kathmandu valley.
Today is a free and preparation day for you. On this day, you will get a chance to meet your guide and climbing experts along with your fellow trekking at your hotel. You will discuss your trip to Island Peak climbing. Your guide will check if you have brought appropriate climbing gear or not. If not, they will help you to buy them.
In the evening, you can go for Kathmandu sightseeing tour as well. Kathmandu consists of culturally significant places which are listed among the UNESCO world heritage sites as well. On this day, you will visit some of those places such as Kathmandu Durbar Square, Swayambhunath stupa, Boudhanath, Pashupatinath Temple, Patan Durbar Square and many more.
Day 03: Flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (2,840m).Trek to Phakding (2,610m)
Flight Duration: 40 minutes
Highest Altitude: 2840 meters
Trekking Duration: 3-4 hours
You will take a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla today. Flying over some of the beautiful mountains and admirable sceneries feels amazing. You can explore the scenic beauty of valleys, mountains, rivers, and many other things. Flying for around 30- 40 minutes you will reach the Tenzing Hillary Airport at Lukla.
Lukla is the gateway to the Everest region which sits at the height of 2840 meters and is the land of high Himalayas. On reaching Lukla, you will get to interact with the other trekkers and head towards Lukla village. It is from Lukla Village where you will officially start your trekking journey to Phakding.
Today, you will walk through a beautiful village in the Everest region called Chaurikharka Village. From the village, you will descend towards the Dudh Koshi Ghat walking alongside the bank of Dudh Koshi river bank until you reach a village of Phakding.
After four hours of downhill and flat trail experience and covering the distance of about 6.2 kilometers, you will finally reach Phakding. Upon reaching Phakding, you will explore Phakding village.
There are plenty of lodges and guest houses in Phakding. Overnight in a lodge at Phakding. They offer the best food and accommodation services.
Day 04: Trek Phakding to Namche
Highest Altitude: 3440 meters
Trekking Duration: 5-6 hours
Your final destination for today would be Namche Bazaar, which is the capital and biggest town of the Khumbu region. At first, you will cross the Khumbu region and several other bridges in the Everest region. Today is going to be an easy uphill climb along with some steep, rocky and graveled trail.
You will witness the sun rising above the mountains and gradually walk through the forest filled with rhododendrons. As you walk, you will have the views of snow-capped mountains. On walking further, you will enter the Sagarmatha National Park which is the UNESCO World Heritage site.
It’s now time to take 600 meters to climb towards Namche which might get tougher and steeper. You will cross a suspension bridge over the Khumbu river and get a view of Mount Tabuche. After crossing the bridge, you will now take the final ascent to Namche. This ascent might be one of the hardest parts of today’s journey. Not long after this, you will reach Namche.
Overnight in a lodge at Namche.
Day 05: Rest day at Namche for acclimatization.
Taking a rest day does not mean you will have a cup of tea with your friends and sleep all day. It means you will hike higher and lower to adjust yourself to higher elevations and avoid altitude sickness.
You will have two options for today. You can either explore the hotels, restaurants, shops and the overall market of Namche Bazar or take a short hike to the Everest View Hotel.
Hiking up to the Everest View Hotel involves walking through a narrow uphill trail and steep stairs. In about 20 minutes you will reach the Tashi Delek monastery and then you will lead towards the Everest View Hotel. The Everest View hotel sits 400 meters above Namche Bazaar and is the highest placed hotel in the world. You will have the best view of Mount Everest from the top of this hotel.
From the Everest View Hotel, you will now trek downhill towards the Khumjung valley which is most famous for big and small monasteries. Exploring the beautiful Khumjung village and Edmund Hillary School, you will head back to Namche.
Overnight in a lodge at Namche.
Day 06: Namche to Tengboche
Highest Altitude: 3860 meters
Trekking Duration: 5-6 Hours
The route from Namche to Tengboche is going to be quite challenging. You will start by taking a steep climb from Namche along with the panoramic views of the mountains. On the way from Namche to Tengboche, you will come across different splits in the trail, Khumjung, Gokyo, and Tengboche. You will follow the trail to Tengboche.
You will follow the uphill trail along the Dudh Koshi river that you will lead you to the forest of pine to arrive Sansa. The path then takes a downhill route to Trashinga. Crossing the Dudh Koshi river and walking through the rhododendron forest, you will finally reach Tengboche.
Tengboche is a small village with the most impressive monasteries. You will take a visit to the largest monastery of the Khumbu region, Tengboche monastery. The views of Ama Dablam and Thamserku are spectacular from the top of the monastery. Later, you will descend down to the village of Tengboche and stay overnight at one of the lodges.
Day 07: Tengboche to Dingboche.
Highest Altitude: 4410 meters
Trekking Duration: 5-6 hours
Today, you will cover a distance of 10.8 kilometers from Tengboche to Dingboche. You will walk through a snowy and icy trail surrounded by tall mountains today. The trail takes you through different small settlements and lodges before you cross a bridge over Imja Khola.
As you walk through uphill, you will come across the village of Pangboche. The route to Pangboche involves walking along the Mani Walls and prayer flags. Crossing another river, you will take uphill climb which will bring you closer to Mount Ama Dablam. The route will then take you to a traditional Sherpa Village of Dingboche.
Overnight in a lodge at Dingboche.
Day 08: Dingboche to Chhukung
Highest Altitude: 4730 meters
Trekking Duration: 6-7 hours
The journey today involves trekking through steady inclines and declines. You will walk through stone-paved trails along with the traditional farms and small settlements. The tall mountains overlook the valley and you will be able to see the tradition grazing ground of yaks as you walk to Chhukung.
The major attraction of the journey today is an area where small Buddhist stupa sits surrounding itself with prayer flags stretching out to another stupa in distance.
Overnight in a lodge at Chhukung.
Day 09: Chhukung to Island Peak Base Camp to High Camp. Overnight Tent Camp.
Today is the day when you will leave Chhukung valley and head towards Island Peak Base Camp. You will start early today by having your breakfast in the lodge at Chhukung.
The trail today involves climbing steep route towards the south and then taking east into the Imja Valley. You will be walking alongside the Imja Khola and come across the glacial moraine. The route then follows the Amphu Lapcha Pass towards the southeast direction but you will take the north route direction to Island Peak Base Camp.
The trail is quite challenging as you will walk through Imja and Lhotse glacier moraines towards a wide valley of Island Peak. From the base camp, you will climb along the narrow slopes and enter a steep rock channel which is the high camp of Island peak. It sits at the height of 5600 meters.
Overnight in a tent at high camp.
Day 10: Acclimatization day in case of due to bad weather.
Today is the day for acclimatization before you make it to the summit of Island Peak. From the High camp, you will have the most beautiful views of Imja Lake. On this day, you will be given pre-climbing training by our guides and lead climber as well. They will help train you to use different climbing equipment such as ropes, hammer, ice axe etc.
Technical training may not be very important when Island Peak Climbing but climbing experience and training will make you stronger and confident. So the acclimatization day is mostly used to prepare you mentally and physically for the climb.
Day 11: Summit the Island Peak (6,189m)
Highest Altitude: 6189 meters
Trekking Duration: 8- 9 hours
Today is the day when you will finally summit the Island Peak. You will start early today. First of all, you will have your breakfast before you begin your climbing expedition. Starting early means, you can avoid the strong winds that blow in the Island peak.
The trail to Island peak involves walking through the steep hillside. You climb the hill and come across narrow slopes, entering a steep rock channel. The trails may not be very difficult but you have to cross different rock steps route to follow the ridgeline. This route will lead you to submit glacier. You will now take a steep snow slope leading you to the summit ridge. For safety, you will be using a fixed rope as well as main rope.
As you reach the summit, you will come across two crevasses that are approximately 3 and 4 meters long. You will be using ladders while crossing them. The overall views of the mountains such as the Everest, Lhotse, Ama Damlab, Mera Peak along with the Khumbu glacier look magnificent. You will take some pictures of your accomplishment and then head back to the Base Camp.
Overnight in a tent camp.
Day 12: Trek Island Peak Base Camp to Dingboche
Altitude: 4410 meters
Trekking Duration: 5-6 hours
The walk today will be much easier as you will descend towards lower elevations. You will follow the same route back to the village of Chhukung. Walking through the wide valley Khumbu Khola, you will pass through the beautiful Sherpa villages of Orsho and Shomare.
The route then follows the trail surrounding by Everest to its north along with the views of Ama Dablam, Thamserku, and Kangtega to the east. Crossing the bridge over Imja Khola and walking through the snowy and icy trail, you will finally reach Dingboche.
Overnight in a lodge at Dingboche.
Day 13: Trek Dingboche to Tengboche
Altitude: 3860 meters
Trekking Duration: 4-5 hours
From the traditional Sherpa Village of Dingboche, you will now head towards Tengboche today. At first, you will take a downhill trail towards the village of Pangboche. The way to Pangboche includes walking through Mani Walls and prayer flags. You can also visit the Gompa at Upper Pangboche. The gompa is believed to be the oldest in the Khumbu region.
After crossing a bridge over Imja Khola, the trail will lead you towards small settlements and then towards Tengboche. At Tengboche, you will give a visit the Tengboche monastery again if you want to recall your memories. The views from the top of the monastery are breathtaking.
Overnight in a lodge at Tengboche.
Day 14: Trek Tengboche to Namche
Altitude: 3440 meters
Trekking Duration: 3-4 hours
Leaving all the beautiful mountains behind, you will descend towards Namche today. From Tengboche, you will walk alongside the forest of rhododendron and juniper trees. Crossing a bridge over Dudh Koshi river, you will follow the trail towards Dudh Koshi George.
You will then descend towards the pine forest and reach the village of Sansa. You may come across wildlife such as wild goat, Himalayan Tahr, and peasants as you pass through the forest. Following the trail along the Dudh Koshi river and taking steep descends, you will finally reach Namche. Later in the evening, you can explore the Namche Bazaar which is a large local market consisting of big and small shops. You can also buy souvenirs for your friends and loved ones.
Overnight in a lodge at Namche.
Day 15: Trek Namche to Lukla
Altitude: 1840 meters
Trekking Duration: 5-6 hours
From Namche, you will continue trekking downwards on a rocky terrain towards Phakding. Crossing various suspension bridges and Dudh Koshi River, after about 4 to 5 hours you will reach a village of Phakding. At Phakding, you can explore many small gompas and monasteries.
Taking an uphill climb, you will come across Chaurikharka Village which is a beautiful village in the Everest region. From there, you will walk towards Lukla Village.
Overnight in a lodge at Lukla.
Day 16: Lukla Fly back to Kathmandu (1310m) transfer to hotel. And rest of the time for shopping
Flight Duration: 30-40 minutes
Today you will be leaving the Everest Region and fly back to Kathmandu. You will take a flight at the Tenzing Hilary Airport at Lukla. With a thrilling flight from Lukla to Kathmandu, in about 30- 40 minutes, you will reach the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu. From there, you will be immediately transferred to your hotel.
You can rest in your hotel for some time and then go out shopping in the evening if you want to.
Day 17: Final departure to the Airport
Today is the last day of your adventurous journey to Island Peak Climbing. Gathering some of the best memories, you will return back to your homeland today. Our representative from Nepal Climbing Info (Exciting Nepal) come to pick you at your hotel and drive you to the International Airport in a private vehicle for the final departure.
