Lobuche Peak Climbing

We will start our day with a 30 minute morning flight from the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu to the Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla. The flight introduces us to the beautiful Himalayan peaks in the central and eastern part of Nepal. After landing at Lukla we will collect our luggage, assemble our trek team and take part in a short introductory trek of three hours.

We will first walk past the beautiful Chaurikharka village. The village is settled primarily by the indigenous Sherpa people. We will meet the Dudh Koshi river on our way. We will trek downwards to the Dudh Koshi Ghat (meaning cemetery) first and then take a short uphill walk to the village of Phakding which provides spellbounding view of the Ama Dablam peak.

We will begin our trip with a short trek to the village of Monjo. The trail takes us along the Dudh Koshi river and goes through dense woods of Rhododendron, Juniper, Pine and other conifers. We will take a short rest at Monjo and start our trek further. We will reach the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park right after crossing Monjo. We will have our permits checked and then we will enter the territory of the national park, which was established in 1976 to protect the pristine flora and fauna of the Everest (sagarmatha) region.

We will cross the Dudh Koshi river many times today. The Hillary suspension bridge, named after Sir Edmund Hillary – one among the first two Everest climbers, is a major attraction during our trek. We will reach Namche Bazaar after a steep climb in the last part of our trek. Namche Bazaar is a trading and tourist centre and it is also the largest Sherpa village in Nepal. We will get a first glimpse of Everest upon reaching Namche Bazaar.

We will stay at Namche Bazaar today to acclimatize for the trek ahead. There are plenty of things to do while staying in Namche Bazaar. If we happen to be in Namche Bazaar on Saturday then we can visit the local Haat Market, which is a temporary market where you can find a wide variety of items on sale.

If you are interested in hiking then you can trek to Thame and Chhukung village. Thame is located near Namche Bazaar and provides a stunning view of Ama Dablam, Thamserku and Tabuchi peak. The Chhukung village is home to the Chhukung monastery. If you are not interested in hiking then you can visit the Sherpa museum in Namche Bazaar. It provides a glimpse into the unique culture and heritage of the Sherpa people. You can also take a tour of Namche Bazaar and interact with the locals.

We will walk towards the Tengboche village today. Everest starts to become more prominent to our north as we move further from Namche Bazaar. The path also starts to get narrower as we venture deep into the Sagarmatha National park. We will reach the village of Phunki first and take a rest there. The road ahead leads us along beautiful forests of rhododendron, pine, fir, bamboo, juniper and other plants.

We will reach Tengboche after a hard climb in the last part of our trek. Tengboche is a large village wherein lies the Tengboche monastery. The Tengboche monastery is the largest and one of the oldest monasteries in the Everest (Khumbu) region. A special religious ceremony takes place at the monastery at 3 pm, after which you can request the lamas at the monastery to chant special prayers in you name wishing you a safe passage into the mountains.

We will start our trek after breakfast. The first part of the trek is a downhill walk to the foot of the Imja River valley. The Imja River flows from the Imja Tse glacier in the Imja Tse peak which is also known as Island Peak. We will reach the village of Debuche at the foot of the valley and cross the Imja river through a suspension bridge.

The trek after crossing the river is relatively difficult as we will have to go uphill. The ordeal is made easy by the beautiful forests, waterfalls and sight of the Himalayan peaks. We will rest for a short while at the village of Pangboche and continue our trek further. There are many Yak grazing pastures just before reaching Dingboche. Beautiful fields of potatoes, millet and barley welcome us. No wonder the Dingboche is also known as the summer valley. We will rest at a guest house in Dingboche for the night.

We will begin our trek towards core Everest region today. The path gets more tough due to thick snow and as we reach the village of Lobuche we will also meet the lower end of the Khumbu glacier, which is the largest glacier in Nepal. We will cross a suspension bridge at Thukla and the uphill part of the trek starts from here.

We will reach a cemetery where in are rested many mountaineering heroes including ten time Everest climber Babu Chhiri Sherpa. The last part of the climb before reaching Lobuche is slightly trickier because you have to go through the Lobuche pass. The village of Lobuche is a small settlement which is often packed with mountaineers and trekkers. You will get close by view of mountain peaks like Pumori, Nuptse, Lingren, Lobuche and Khumbutse. We will stay at a guest house in Lobuche for the night.

We will trek to Kala Patthar today as it provides the best view of the mountains in the Everest Region. You can get a clear view of mountains like Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Makalu, Pumori and the Khumbu Glacier in its entirety from Kala Patthar. We will stay for a short while at Kala Patthar and take photographs. The literal meaning of Kala Patthar is black stone. There are many large black stones in the area that stand above thick snow proving the place a dreamy look.

We will return back towards the lower Lobuche Base Camp today. The lower base camp is located near the village of Lobuche where we had stayed a day earlier. The second part of the trek is a climb down hence is easily accomplished. We will rest at the lower Lobuche Base Camp today and learn the basics of camping in the high mountains.

We will trek towards the High Base Camp of Lobuche today. The path from here onwards is slightly challenging as we will have to move along the Lobuche glacier. We will tread carefully as we walk along the moraines of the glacier. We will see a stunning view of mountains like Cholatse, Thamserku, Amadablam, Kangneta and Lobuche from here.

We will check out our surroundings today by exploring a bit further along the High Base Camp of Lobuche. We will set up our tent by the campsite before exploring and let our luggage and kits in. We will rest at the base camp during the night.

We will stay at the Lobuche High Base Camp today. This will help us prepare and acclimatize for the climb tomorrow. The oxygen is very thin at the peak of Lobuche so it is better that we stay at the base camp for a day before taking the hard trek.

Moreover, we will also get the time to prepare ourselves for the climb. We need to make use of ice axes, ropes and harnesses during the climb. We also need to be able to communicate and coordinate as a team in the mountains during the climb. The climb from the base camp to the trek is much different than the rest of the trek so we will have a complete team exercise today. We will rest early at our campsite today.

We will summit the Lobuche east peak today. We will have to get up much earlier today (preferably before 2 am) because our target is to reach the mountaintop before the headstrong afternoon mountain wind starts to blow. These winds are notorious for making climbing very difficult.

Our team leader and crew will make paths using ropes, harnesses and ladders wherever necessary. We will walk slowly along the ridge of the peak, often stopping to look at the beautiful mountains surrounding us. We will reach the peak of Lobuche east before midday if we are on track with our plan. The ridge connecting the Lobuche East and the Lobuche West looks like a rope that is pulled by a pin in between. This sharp drop in the ridge is the reason why both peaks are not often climbed together.

We will get a spectacular view of the mountains in the Everest region from the top of Lobuche peak. We will stay for some time at the peak and return back slowly towards the base camp. We will celebrate our success upon reaching the Base Camp and take a rest in our camp after a hard day’s adventure.

We will walk back to the Tengboche village today. We will have to walk downhill from today so we’ll take it easy on the road. We will enjoy the beautiful forest ambience once again as we stroll along narrow trails which are often criss-crossed by waterfalls and streams. The first part of the trek up to the village of Lobuche is slightly difficult as we have to go down slippery snowy surface.

We will reach the village of Tengboche in the latter half of the day. The view of the mountains during sunset is one to cherish for ages. We will thank the lamas at the monastery for praying for our successful journey into the mountain and head back to our guest house where we will enjoy a wonderful evening by the fireside.

We will trek back to the tourist town of Namche Bazaar today. We will walk along the beautiful Imja River valley today. The path after reaching the village of Debuche, which is at the foot of the valley is slightly uphill otherwise the whole trail today takes us downwards.

We will be lucky if we spot some animals like musk deer, himalayan tahr, jharal, asian black bear, a snow leopard, mountain  fox etc. which roam these forests. These animals are often shy and maintain their own distance with people. Occasionally, they can be caught at a clearing a few meters away but they move away at the first sight of people. We will reach Namche Bazaar in the evening and rest at a guest house there.

We will trek back to the airstrip town of Lukla today. Todays part of trek is a gentle downhill walk along the basin of the Dudh Koshi river. We will cross the river multiple times today and most of our path today is flanked by this snow white river, which is a tributary of the Sapta Koshi, the largest river in Nepal.

We will rest at the village of Phakding during mid-day and then continue our trek further along other small sherpa villages like Chaurikharka. We will reach Lukla in the evening and rest at a guest house there. You can go out in the evening to explore the town of Lukla and buy some souvenirs for your loved ones back home.

We will take an early morning mountain flight back to Kathmandu. The mountain flight provides us an opportunity to wave goodbye to the mountains in bulk as all of the mountains we encountered during our journey are visible in a single glance from up above.

We will land at the airport in Kathmandu and head back towards our hotel. Our trip ends from here and you will take a well deserved long rest after completing an adventurous ascent of the Lobuche peak and a hard trek in the Everest Region.