A full circuit of the Khumbu over the Kongma La (5,535 m), Cho La (5,420 m) and Renjo La (5,360 m), taking in Everest Base Camp, Kala Patthar, Gokyo Ri and the Gokyo Lakes on one demanding high-altitude route.
A full circuit of the Khumbu over the Kongma La (5,535 m), Cho La (5,420 m) and Renjo La (5,360 m), taking in Everest Base Camp, Kala Patthar, Gokyo Ri and the Gokyo Lakes on one demanding high-altitude route.
The Everest Three Passes Trek links the main valleys of the Khumbu in one loop. From Lukla and Namche Bazaar we head east up the Imja valley to Dingboche and Chhukung, cross the Kongma La to the Khumbu Glacier, visit Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar, then cross the Cho La to the Gokyo valley and the Renjo La to the Bhote Koshi, returning to Namche through Thame.
We walk the loop clockwise, Kongma La first. It is the highest pass, but by the time you reach it you have spent nights at Dingboche and Chhukung and are well acclimatised. The Cho La, in the middle, is the most technical: a steep rocky climb followed by a short glacier crossing that is usually icy. The Renjo La, last, rewards you with the view back over Gokyo to Everest.
Along the way you reach six points above 5,000 m: Nangkartshang, the Kongma La, Kala Patthar, the Cho La, Gokyo Ri and the Renjo La. Between the passes the route passes through Tengboche Monastery, the Everest Base Camp trail and the turquoise Gokyo lakes, and the final day follows the old salt-trading route down from the Nangpa La through Thame.
Pass days are long: eight or nine hours, starting in the dark, on rough and loose ground above 5,000 m. We build in acclimatisation days at Namche, Dingboche and Gokyo, a short day to Chhukung and a short glacier crossing to Gokyo, so the hardest days are separated by easier ones. A contingency day at the end covers flight delays or waiting out bad weather before a pass.
In spring and autumn Lukla flights leave from Ramechhap (Manthali), four to five hours by road from Kathmandu. Teahouses on the route are simple, especially at Dzongla, Thagnak and Lungden, and nights above 4,700 m are cold.
This is one of the hardest teahouse treks in Nepal. You walk sixteen days in a row, three of them eight to nine hours long over passes above 5,300 m on loose rock, scree and, on the Cho La, a short glacier. No climbing skills are needed, but you should be comfortable on steep, rough ground and using microspikes on ice. It suits experienced hill walkers who have trekked at altitude before, ideally above 4,000 m, and who can walk eight hours with 1,000 m of ascent and still go again the next day. Train for at least three months: long hill days with a loaded daypack, stair or step sessions for descent strength, and several weekends of back-to-back long walks. Altitude affects everyone regardless of fitness, so your guide will hold or turn the group around if conditions or health require it. Talk to your doctor before booking if you have heart, lung or blood pressure conditions.
We meet you at Tribhuvan International Airport and take you to your hotel. In the afternoon your guide checks your kit, including microspikes and gaiters for the passes, and confirms whether the Lukla flight leaves from Kathmandu or Ramechhap.
In peak season we drive through the night to Ramechhap (Manthali) for the short flight to Lukla; at other times we fly from Kathmandu. From Lukla (2,860 m) the trail descends gently along the Dudh Kosi to Phakding.
We follow the Dudh Kosi over a series of suspension bridges, enter Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo and climb steadily from the Hillary Bridge to Namche Bazaar, the main town of the Khumbu.
We climb to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m) above Syangboche for the first proper view of Everest and Ama Dablam, and visit Khumjung on the way back down. The afternoon is free.
The trail contours above the Dudh Kosi with Ama Dablam ahead, drops to Phunki Thanga and climbs through forest to Tengboche and its monastery, the largest in the Khumbu.
We descend through Deboche, cross the Imja Khola and climb past Pangboche into the Imja valley, where the forest thins to juniper and the stone-walled fields of Dingboche sit below Ama Dablam.
We climb the Nangkartshang ridge above the village to around 5,083 m for views of Makalu, Lhotse and Island Peak, then return to Dingboche to sleep. This day matters more than usual, because the first pass comes in two days.
A short walk up the Imja valley past yak pastures to Chhukung (4,730 m), the last settlement below Island Peak, with Lhotse's south face and the Nuptse wall rising directly above. After lunch we take a short walk above the village to help acclimatisation; strong walkers can climb towards Chhukung Ri.
The highest and longest of the three crossings. We leave before dawn and climb steadily over grassy slopes and then rock to a string of small lakes below the Kongma La (5,535 m), with Makalu and Ama Dablam behind. A steep, loose descent leads to the Khumbu Glacier, which we cross on a rough moraine path to reach Lobuche in the afternoon.
We follow the moraine beside the Khumbu Glacier to Gorak Shep, have lunch and walk on over rock and ice to Everest Base Camp (5,364 m) beneath the Khumbu Icefall, before returning to Gorak Shep for the night.
We climb Kala Patthar (5,545 m) at dawn for the classic view of Everest, Nuptse and Pumori, then descend past Lobuche and turn west on a quiet trail to Dzongla, a handful of lodges facing Cholatse and Taboche.
We start in the dark and climb a valley of boulders to the foot of the Cho La, scramble up a steep rocky section and cross a short, gently sloping glacier to the pass at 5,420 m. The glacier is usually icy, so microspikes are needed in most conditions. The descent on the Gokyo side is steep and loose before easing down to the lodges at Thagnak.
A short day across the rubble-covered Ngozumpa Glacier, one of the longest in the Himalaya, on a path that shifts each season. We reach Gokyo on the shore of Dudh Pokhari, the third lake, by late morning and spend the afternoon resting.
An early start for the climb up Gokyo Ri (5,357 m), roughly two to three hours from the village. From the summit you see four 8,000 m peaks, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu, and the full length of the Ngozumpa Glacier and the Gokyo lakes. The rest of the day is for recovery before the last pass.
We follow the north shore of Dudh Pokhari and climb a long rocky staircase to the Renjo La (5,360 m). The view back east, over Gokyo and its lake to Everest and Makalu, is one of the best on the whole trek. The descent passes a frozen lake and drops down the Bhote Koshi side to Lungden.
We walk down the Bhote Koshi valley on the old salt-trading route to Tibet, through Marlung to Thame, the home village of many well-known Everest Sherpas, which is still rebuilding after the glacial lake flood of August 2024. From Thame the trail continues through Thamo to Namche.
We drop to the Hillary Bridge, leave the national park at Monjo and follow the Dudh Kosi back through Phakding, with a final climb of about an hour to Lukla.
We fly out of Lukla in the morning, directly to Kathmandu or in peak season to Ramechhap with a drive back to Kathmandu, and transfer you to your hotel.
We keep this day spare in case weather delays the Lukla flights or a pass crossing has to wait for better conditions. If it is not needed, use it to see Boudhanath, Pashupatinath or Patan.
We drive you to Tribhuvan International Airport for your flight home.
Permits we arrange: Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu fee
In the main spring and autumn seasons (roughly late March to May and late September to November) scheduled flights to Lukla leave from Ramechhap Airport in Manthali rather than Kathmandu, to ease congestion at Tribhuvan International Airport. Manthali is about 132 km from Kathmandu, a four to five hour drive, so on those dates we collect you from your hotel at around 1 to 2 am to make the early morning flight, which takes about 20 minutes. Outside those windows the flight usually leaves from Kathmandu domestic terminal and takes about 35 to 40 minutes. The return works the same way in reverse. Lukla flights are small twin-engine planes and fly only in clear morning weather, so delays of a day or more happen, especially in autumn cloud and spring haze. The baggage limit is usually 15 kg per person including hand luggage, so we store anything you do not need on the trek at your Kathmandu hotel.
Each pass is crossed early in the day, before the wind rises and cloud builds. The Cho La includes a short glacier that is icy for most of the season, so microspikes are needed; after fresh snow all three passes can become slow or unsafe, and in December to March they are often closed by snow. Your guide decides each pass on the morning, and if a crossing is unsafe we wait a day or reroute, for example via Pheriche and Phortse instead of the Cho La. The contingency day exists for this.
You spend ten nights above 4,000 m and cross or climb six points above 5,000 m. We climb the Kongma La only after acclimatisation days at Namche and Dingboche and nights at Chhukung. Your guide records your oxygen saturation and pulse every evening. Worsening headache, vomiting, breathlessness at rest, confusion or unsteadiness mean we descend straight away. Drink three to four litres a day.
You need the Sagarmatha National Park entry permit, checked at Monjo, and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit, collected at Lukla. The Khumbu uses this local permit instead of a TIMS card. We arrange both. Nepal's 2023 rule requiring licensed guides is applied unevenly in the Khumbu, but on a route with glacier crossings and remote passes we only run it with a licensed guide.
Your policy must cover trekking up to 6,000 m and helicopter evacuation. Dzongla, Thagnak and Lungden are remote, so a helicopter is the realistic way out in an emergency. Bring your policy number and the insurer's 24-hour emergency number.
The only ATMs are in Lukla and Namche, and they often fail. Carry enough Nepali rupees from Kathmandu for nearly three weeks of drinks, snacks, showers, charging and tips. Lodges at Dzongla, Thagnak and Lungden have limited solar power, so bring a large power bank and keep batteries warm in your sleeping bag at night.
Everything is yours to bring, except items marked “We provide” or “Rent locally”.
Thermal base layers, top and bottom (two sets)
Merino or synthetic, not cotton
Fleece or light insulated mid layer
Down jacketWe provide
On loan from us; bring your own if you prefer
Waterproof and windproof shell jacket
Waterproof overtrousers
Trekking trousers (two pairs)
Quick-dry trekking shirts
Two or three
Warm hat and sun hat
Buff or neck gaiter
Useful against trail dust and cold morning air
Liner gloves and insulated waterproof gloves
Trekking socks (four pairs)
Broken-in waterproof trekking boots with ankle support
Camp shoes or sandals
For evenings in the teahouse
MicrospikesRent locally
Essential for the Cho La glacier; rent in Kathmandu or Namche
Gaiters
Keep snow and scree out of your boots on the passes
Sleeping bag rated to about -15 °CWe provide
On loan from us; a liner is recommended
Daypack of 25 to 35 litres with rain cover
Trekking polesRent locally
Easy to rent in Kathmandu or Namche
Head torch with spare batteries
Needed for early starts
Water bottles or bladder, 2 to 3 litres total
Insulated bottle helps at night
Water purification tablets or filter
Power bank
Charging costs extra and cold drains batteries
Category 3 or 4 sunglasses
Glare off snow and glacier is strong
Sunscreen SPF 50 and lip balm with SPF
Personal first-aid kit and any prescription medicines
Talk to your doctor about acetazolamide
Hand sanitiser and biodegradable wet wipes
Passport with at least six months' validity and spare passport photos
Travel insurance policy details covering helicopter rescue
Nepali rupees in cash for the trek
Clockwise: Kongma La, then Cho La, then Renjo La. Although the Kongma La is the highest, you reach it after acclimatisation days at Namche and Dingboche and a night at Chhukung, so it is the safer order. Going anticlockwise means crossing the Renjo La at 5,360 m after much less time at altitude.
No ropes or technical climbing are involved, but the Cho La crosses a short glacier and has a steep rocky section, and all three passes have loose scree. You need to be steady on rough ground and comfortable walking in microspikes. Previous trekking at altitude is strongly recommended.
Most trekkers find the Cho La the most demanding because of the glacier and the steep, loose descent to Thagnak. The Kongma La is the highest at 5,535 m and makes for the longest day, at eight to nine hours from Chhukung to Lobuche.
Your guide decides each crossing on the morning. If a pass is unsafe we wait a day, using the contingency day, or take an alternative route: Dingboche to Lobuche via Thukla instead of the Kongma La, or Lobuche to Gokyo via Pheriche and Phortse instead of the Cho La.
In the main seasons, roughly late March to May and late September to November, scheduled Lukla flights operate from Ramechhap Airport in Manthali, a four to five hour drive from Kathmandu. We include the private transfer, which usually leaves at around 1 to 2 am. Outside those dates flights normally depart from Kathmandu.
October and November give the most settled weather and clear views. April and May are also good, with warmer days but more afternoon cloud. Early spring and winter often bring snow that closes the passes, and the monsoon from June to September brings rain, cloud and flight cancellations.
Yes. Between the Kongma La and the Cho La we spend a night at Gorak Shep, visit Everest Base Camp in the afternoon and climb Kala Patthar the next morning.
Dzongla, Thagnak and Lungden have only a few simple lodges with basic twin rooms, shared toilets and limited power. Chhukung and Gokyo have more choice. Lodges can fill up in late October, and your guide books ahead where phone signal allows.
Everest Three Passes Trek
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