Month: June 2022

Trekking to North & East Faces of Everest leads you to the rarely visited eastern face of Mount Everest (also known as Khangsung face).A visit to the famous North base camp of Everest is another highlight of this trip. The trail passes through alpine meadows, forests filled with wildflowers, glaciated valleys, high mountain passes, traditional Tibetan villages, ancient monasteries, rich barley fields, picturesque yak pastures, Tibetan nomadic land, emerald green lakes and so many other captivating sights.

Your adventure begins in Lhasa where you get ample time to acclimatize and to absorb the exoticism of Tibetan cultural heritage. As you are guided around the most significant and ancient monasteries of Lhasa, Gyantse and Shigatse, an expert Tibetan guide will instruct you on the intricacies and mysticism of Tibetan Buddhism.

Driving along the Friendship Highway you pass through small Tibetan settlements, where you will see nomadic herdsmen wandering across the wide arid plains. You will meet the trekking support crew at the trail head point at Kharta. Yaks will carry the food supplies and trekking equipment. You camp amidst spectacular mountain scenery. Crossing the 5330 meter high Langma La (pass), the highest point of the trek, on your way to Everest’s east base camp gives you an ultimate high altitude experience. Some of the peaks which you get to view on this trek are Shishapangma, Cho Oyu, Menlungtse, Gauri Shankar and the Kanchenjunga massif.

Trek to Loh La is a pioneering high altitude trek to the crest of the Lho La, right on the remote border of Tibet and Nepal. The efforts, and lightweight style final approach, is well rewarded by spectacular views into the Western Cwm, across the great Northern Walls Mt Nuptse, and directly into the moving “Ice River” of the Khumbu Icefall across the border. The Lhotse face and South west face are seen from here too.

This trek affords perspectives of Mt. Everest which have only been the domain of mountaineers in the past, due to access being available only by a mountaineering permit. The route followed takes the trail to the North Side of Everest, but continues past the East Rongbuk Glacier to the site of Tilman’s 1938 “Lake Camp”, (west side base camp today) continuing to the site of his old North Face Camp before breaking out across the glacier under Everest’s West Ridge to the vantage point of the Lho La. This is where in 1922 George Mallory stood and pronounced the Khumbu Icefall as ‘unclimbable’. His legacy here was to name the hanging glacier above the ice fall, the Western Cwm, as a fond memory of his welsh climbs back home in UK.

For many adventurous people, the Lho La is a more prized (and achievable) goal than the summit of Everest itself due to its historical importance, remoteness, and its unspoilt and pristine condition as an objective; all this without the inherent risks and dangers associated with higher altitude.

The journey begins with an acclimatisation phase in the Kathmandu Valley, before flying to Lhasa and visiting the Potala Palace, the Norbulinka and other Lhasa sites before crossing in 4 x4 vehicles the Tibetan Plateau to the monasteries and forts of Gyantse, Shigatse and Shegar.

Trekking in Tibet offers you an altogether different experience. As you hike along the rugged Tibetan terrain, you will be greeted with sights so different and new: from the arid Tibetan topography that resembles a lunar landscape, however, with the ancient villages, colorful prayer and magnificent monasteries. As you traverse along the 80km trekking trail that skirts barley fields and nomadic pastureland, you get an opportunity to observe Tibetan lifestyle at close quarters and experience the real Tibet. Before your Ganden Monastery to Samye Monastery trek commences, you will be taken on a sightseeing tour to Lhasa.

During the trek you will be supported by an expert and dedicated trekking crew. With them you cross two high passes in the Tsotup Chu Valley, Shug La (5250m) and Chitu La (5100m). You will also get to explore various monasteries that lie along the trekking trail. The chief highlight of this trek is the trekking trail which connects the two important monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism, Ganden and Samye. Ganden Monastery, which lies 45 km east of Lhasa, is the first monastery of the Gelugpa sect. Built by Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa order, the monastery is renowned as one of the biggest and most important Gelugpa monasteries in Tibet. The Samye monastery with its gleaming facade is reached by crossing the Tsangpo river.  Founded in 779 AD by Trisong Detsen, the monastery has a collection of pagodas and temples.

Excursions to the Tandruk Monastery (which holds wonderful specimen of Tibetan art) and the Yambulakang castle (the home of the Yarlung Kings) are also included in your itinerary.

After an insightful sightseeing tour in Kathmandu, you will take a flight to Tibet – the Forbidden Land. Tibet, with an average altitude in excess of 3500 meters, is the highest plateau in the world. Lying to the north of the great Himalayan range, Tibet is more or less an untamed land of nomads (drokpas), monasteries and high altitude desert that seem to stretch endlessly. Driving overland past the Tibetan plateau (‘Roof of the world’), you encounter a picturesque mosaic of Tibetan settlements, nomadic herdsmen, ancient monasteries, high Mountain passes, wide arid plains and awe-inspiring mountain views.

After reaching Rongbuk, you prepare yourself for the world’s highest trek, Advanced Base Camp Trek that takes you as close to the summit of Mount Everest as any non-climber can go without using any technical climbing gears and without mountaineering skill. This is an incredible adventure trek along surreally sculpted Rongbuk Glacier to the Advance Base Camp for the north Col route up Mount Everest (8848m). As there won’t be any expeditions during Autumn, the Base Camp and Advance Base Camp of Mount Everest (North side) will be virtually empty, devoid of the usual climbing crowd. It may be just you and your guides trekking alone on the mountain. So savor this special moment of having the entire mountain to yourself!