Trekking in The Everest Area Part II
Everest Base Camp & Gokyo
Practical information:
Difficulty: D (average +)
Number of days: 17
Height (max.): 5,635 m.
See Tourists: Everest Base Camp & Gokyo trek
Everest Base Camp and Gokyo is a variation of the classic Everest Base Camp trek that adds a few days of trekking in the beautiful Gokyo Valley to the route.
According to sunglasseswill, the Gokyo version follows the classic Base Camp route from Lukla to Namche Bazaar, on to the Thame and through the Kumjung Valley until the 6th day of the trek, where the route turns into the Gokyo Valley on paths that see far fewer trekkers than the usual ” Everest Highway “. Here the landscape is harsher and more desolate. A hiking climb of the 5,483 meter high Gokyo Ri is on the program before the route continues through the valley and eventually merges with the Everest Highway at Lobuche at 4,950 meters altitude.
Then the trip goes, just like on the classic Base Camp trek, towards the highest point of the trek, Kala Pattar. Here at an altitude of 5,635 meters, the view of Mount Everest is absolutely phenomenal and undisturbed. From Kala Patter, the route continues along the classic route to Everest Base Camp at an altitude of 5,364 meters, and from here the route returns to Lukla, stopping at the beautiful Tengboche Monastery.
Everest Tre Pas
Practical information:
Difficulty: E (hard)
Number of days: 20
Height (max.): 5,635 m.
See Tourists: Everest Tre Pas trek
The Everest Three Pass is a true high alpine trek for the experienced trekker who cruises through most of the Everest region. The route goes over three different mountain passes over 5,300 meters and three mountain peaks over 5,400 meters. Like a real Everest trek, the route of course also swings past Everest Base Camp and to be sure it is not a lie, a visit to the beautiful Ama Dablam Base Camp is also woven into the route – it is thus the most complete trek in the whole The Everest region.
Trekking starts along the classic road, from Lukla up to Namche Bazaar and on to Kumjung, where the remains of fallen mountaineers are kept alive with beautifully decorated memorial stones. Then leave “The Everest Highway” and head towards the Himalayas’ most beautiful mountain, Ama Dablam. A visit to the Beauty’s Base Camp at an altitude of 4,600 meters is one of the highlights of the trek, before the route once again takes a detour onto “The Everest Highway” at Dingboche. The visit is short-lived, and the route instead continues again along less trodden paths to the trek’s first mountain peak, Chhukung Ri, at an altitude of 5,557 meters.
The next day, the trek’s first elevation pass, Kongma La, is reached at an altitude of 5,528 meters, from where there are beautiful, unobstructed panoramic views to several surrounding snow-white mountain peaks. The very next day, the trail swings back to the heights when Kala Pattar, the classic 5,635-meter-high Everest Base Camp summit, is on the program, followed by a visit to Everest Base Camp the next day.
From here, a full two days of hiking through stunning scenery is required, before the route again becomes thinner at the top of the Cho La mountain pass at an altitude of 5,420 meters, where views of Ama Dablam and Cholatse dominate the landscape. Then the route turns into the Gokyo Valley and goes to the top of the 5,483 meter high Gokyo Ri mountain top.
The route now begins to meander slowly downwards towards Thame and namche Bazaar and finally back to Lukla, before departing back to Kathmandu.
Solu (Jiri to Lukla)
Practical information:
Difficulty: C (light medium)
Number of days: 5
Elevation (max.): 3,450 m.
For most visitors to the Everest area, the trip starts with an approach to the small town of Lukla at 2,800 meters altitude. But it was not always so.
The famous and infamous Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla was established as late as 1971 and before that time, the only entrance to the Everest region was along winding hiking trails through the green hills of the Solu part of the Solukhumbu region.
The route from the small town of Jiri to Lukla is the real, old classic that can actually still easily make it out for a beautiful trekking trip through the rugged landscapes of the low Himalayas. For practical reasons, the route is often chosen in favor of trekking through the upper Khumbu, and the low number of trekkers means that the route to this day can offer both beautiful, historic and unspoiled trekking to the adventurer who wants to trek in the old mountaineers. footprints while avoiding the large tourist flocks of the Khumbu region.
The Solu trek can be completed in less than a week, and the route peaks at an altitude of 3,530 meters before the road goes towards Lukla. The adventure begins with a seven-hour bus ride from Kathmandu to Jiri, the starting point of the trek. From Jiri, pull over the small Deorali pass to Bhandar and then through woodland to Sete via the Lamjura pass, where the route hits its highest point. Along the way, you pass many smaller tea houses and villages populated with local low-income Sherpas.
Next destination is Junbesi, which is one of the area’s largest cities, but still only one village. On the way further towards Kingmo Khola, the first glimpse of Mount Everest can be spotted, although it is far away and looks much smaller than the mountains that are closer.
The route continues to the village of Nunthala and further up to Bupsa. From here it goes uphill to Lukla.
