Island Peak Climbing & Trekking - 13 days

Early morning we will catch up an early flight to Lukla (2,800m/9,186ft), the starting point of the trek. The flight will be an interesting one since we will be flying amidst the grand Himalayas in a Twin Otter airplane. Upon arrival at Lukla, we will have a short tea break and introduction to our trekking crew. Then we begin our short trek to Phakding which starts with most scenic view of Numbur Himal & Phari and passing through some Sherpa farm villages. We follow the trail to Dudh Koshi River with gradual ups from Thado Koshi, where we can have a lunch with superb view of Kusum-Kanguru (6,369m/20,890ft). Crossing a short suspension bridge from here after a short climb brings us to the Ghat village and further walk of about another 1 ½ hours brings you to Phakding village for the overnight stop.

Your destination today is Namche Bazaar. Namche Bazaar is the central village of the Sherpa in Khumbu region. It is situated on a horseshoe shaped flank and is crowded with about 100 buildings including lodges, bhattis, store and banks. There is a plateau in the right side of the village entrance, where they have a bazaar every Saturday. It is thronged with people especially in the morning. Our trek starts after crossing the suspension bridge of Dudh Koshi River. Today, the walk is pleasant with few ups and down. Enroute, we will have a magnificent view of Mt. Thamserku (6,608 m / 21,675ft) from the Benkar village. Crossing the bridges and reaching at the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo, our trekking permits will be checked. After entering the National Park boundary, we descend towards the suspension bridge-Koshi River. After crossing the bridge, we reach Jorsale village, the last village till Namche. From here the walk is pleasant on the river bed till the last bridge over the Imja Tse River is reached. Further continuing our trek, we walk along the winding uphill path all the way to Namche Bazaar, with magnificent view of Kwangde peak and it’s other sister peaks towards east with Kusum Kanguru on the back. As you climb higher, view of Mt. Everest, Lhotse and the closer view of Taboche peak can be seen from some part on the way to Namche. Finally we reach at colorful houses called Namche Bazaar main gate of Khumbu region. We stay overnight at Lodge.

On the following day, you are going to have a rest day in Namche for acclimatization. Namche Bazaar is a very old trade point. You can see Tibetans by crossing the Nangpa La Pass to sell cheap goods from China. The village itself is a beautiful place to spend a day for proper acclimatization. Since experts believe that it is better to stay active even during rest days for better trekking experience, you can spend the day enjoying small hikes in and around Namche Bazaar. Along the way you can see the changing vegetation as we gain height. Trees give way to bushes and shrubs. Around Namche there are numerous ridges for day’s hiking. You can relax and take a look around the shops and Sherpa houses, observe their culture and life style. Our guide can also take us to the Tourist Visitor Center near the headquarter of the Sagarmatha National Park where we can observe an assortment of things related to the first Everest ascenders, Sherpa culture and learn about the various plant and animal life in the Everest region. You can also visit Sherpa Museum as well a great place to learn Sherpa culture and history of mountaineering or visit up to the luxury Everest view hotel & Syangboche airstrip and stroll back to hotel for overnight.

We begin today’s trek on an easy trail to Phunki Tenga. Enroute you can observe close up view of Thamserku (6618m), Ama Dablam (6814m), Mount Everest (8848) and other world high mountains. On the way you can see Nepal national bird Pheasant and mountain animal called Himalayan Thar. The trail contour through the yak pasture land until Kyangjuma (3550 m) and then the trail goes all the way down to the Dudh Koshi. After crossing long suspension bridge, the trail ascends through the pine trees. The magnificent view of Kangtega (6783m) at right side of the trail is just glamorous. From here we ascend towards Tengboche village which is home to the largest monastery in the Everest region. Tengboche is famous as the name of Tengboche Monastery. The monastery is located within the Sagarmatha National Park and provides panoramic views of the highest mountains on earth including Everest, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Nuptse and Lhotse. This monastery is open for visiting hours after four o’clock in the afternoon. Visiting Tengboche Monastery is an exciting part of your journey and you may even be able to witness a religious Buddhist ceremony. At evening you will be able to see exciting sunset on the top of the world and other high mountains. Overnight stay at lodge.

Form Tengboche, the trail moves downhill and pass through lush forests filled with birch, conifers and rhododendron trees. We continue our trek with views of Mt. Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam to keep us company. We then cross the Imja River which takes us to Pangboche from where we get a more pristine view of the Himalayas and Pangboche Monastery. The trail becomes very pleasant and if you are lucky, you will have an opportunity to see Musk deer which is very rare wild animal. We move ahead towards the Imja Valley, Lobuche River and ultimately climb up to Dingboche. The village is a beautiful windy settlement overlooked by chortens and prayer flags. Overnight in Dingboche.

The walk is pleasant as we leave Dingboche through stone walled fields and alpine landscape. We take the trial from Dingboche through Imja Khola valley to land raven by glacier moraines amidst towering formidable mountains. We walk leisurely as our schedule for today is only 2 to 3 hours. While walking through the valley, Lhotse towers on our left and Ama Dablam on our right. After walking about 3 km, we reach at yak herdsman’s place called Bibre. Straight ahead, beyond a terminal moraine wall, soars the Island peak (Imja Tse), a most popular trekking peak. The pyramidal Imja Tse looks awesome with its step rock and-icy south face. The trail ahead is intersected by icy streams. We reach Chukung in about half an hour from Bibre. There are glaciers and massive snowy mountains all around the place. We might choose to hike to the rocky knoll of Chukung Ri which offers stunning views of Lhotse, Island Peak, Ama Dablam, Makalu and several others including Barun Tse. Overnight at Chukung.

On The following day, we trek towards our destination for the trek, Island Peak. Leaving Chukung, we have steep ascend towards the south and then turn east to enter the main line of the valley. We then walk on a winding path below the southern flank of the moraine from the Lhotse Glacier. Next, we continue walking on a pleasant trail along a streamside which lead us to the big rock. At this point, the route to the Amphu Lapcha Pass stretches on the southeast direction; however, we head the trail on the north. A crisscross route through the Imja and Lhotse glacier moraines leads to a wide valley flanking the South-West side of Island Peak. After this we finally reach the valley where we set our camp for the day. The base camp presents the magnificent view of the southwestern face of Island peak. The night is spent in a tented camp at the base camp.

Today after the breakfast, our Island Peak Climbing Adventure begins. It is possible to make the Island Peak summit with no prior climbing experience (assuming sufficient physical fitness), but having past climbs under your belt will make you a stronger and more confident climber. You’ll enjoy the summit more if you aren’t quite so anxious about the actual climbing! Staff will give you hands-on training on the use of implements like the ice axe and climbing boot, and demonstrate moving up and down on ropes.

To boost up your confidence, our guides will provide training on peak climbing techniques and the proper ways of using climbing gears such as the ice axe, climbing boots and crampons, harness, ascender, etc. The training will also include using ropes to go up and down. Usually we will be climbing on rock surface for up to around 5770 meter. After that, we climb on ice and use ropes when necessary. However, the use of the rope and the length depends upon the season and the crevasses. We can spend the rest of the day hiking to high camp and back or resting for the next day’s climb. Overnight camping at the base camp.

We wake up very early today and have our breakfast before beginning our climb. It is important we reach the summit before noon because in the afternoon the strong winds in the highlands might become a barrier for a successful summit. The trail moves up beyond the base camp for several hundred meters before striking off the steep hillside. Initially sandy, the path soon turns to grass before becoming boulder strewn. As we climb up the hill, we will see that the slope narrows and the trail enter a steep rock channel. This is where our guide will fix crampons on your climbing boots and re-check the entire climbing group and personal equipment once again for better safety. If required, you may learn last minute climbing technique with our climbing Sherpa at this stage. We climb the rock gully. This is not difficult, but there are several short rock steps to climb before we emerge on the right side of the gully. The route then follows a ridgeline, which leads to an exhilarating and exposed traverse onto the snout of the summit glacier. We need to rope up for the glacier as it contains several crevasses. The guides will fix a rope wherever necessary. A steep snow slope leads us onto the summit ridge. Both fixed rope and man rope will be used during the climb for safety. We use fix rope after successfully climbing on rock. The length of the rope will usually be of 350 meter. However, the length depends on the time of the season and the crevasses. There are two newly formed crevasses. We will be using ladders to cross them. After enjoying the summit views, and taking pictures, we descend all the way to Island Peak Base Camp then same day back to chhukung  where we will stay  overnight.

After such and adventurous climb on the previous day, you will find today’s trail very convenient. The trail descend down to the lower altitude and you will have a pleasant walk through out the route. We trek through the wide valley of Khumbu Khola, passing through the beautiful Sherpa villages Orsho and Shomare. We can also take a different trail to visit the Gompa in Upper Pangboche, which is believed to be the oldest in the Khumbu region or take the regular trail to reach Pangboche. Pangboche is a scenic village surrounded by Everest to its north, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, and Kangtega to the east, the Kongde range to the south and the Imja Tse River flowing through the wide fertile valley. Overnight stay at Pangboche.

From Pangboche we retrace our steps down to the Imja Khola and up through the forest to Tengboche. If interested, we can also visit nuns at the Tengboche monastery. After lunch at Tengboche, we continue through the hillside blanketed by rhododendron and juniper trees. After crossing the bridge over the Dudh Koshi River, our trail follows the Dudh Koshi gorge descending rapidly through the pine forests before reaching Sansa. We keep a lookout for wildlife such as mountain goats, snow leopards, colorful pheasants, etc., while passing through the forest. After passing a chorten, we reach the army camp at Namche Bazaar.  Overnight in Namche Bazaar.

We descend on a steep trail so it is important that we walk cautiously as our shaky legs continuously battle the rocky terrain. After crossing the suspension bridges over the fast flowing Dudh Koshi and its tributaries, the trail becomes more level. After reaching Lukla, we stretch those sore legs and recall the experiences of the last couple of weeks. Overnight in Lukla.

We catch an early morning flight to Kathmandu after our long mountain journey. After reaching Kathmandu, we can take a rest or do some souvenir shopping. If we want to explore any other areas of Kathmandu, we may do that today. Our guides can help you with both souvenirs shopping or sightseeing. There will be a farewell dinner in the evening to celebrate the climbers’ successful summit of the Island peak. Overnight in Kathmandu.