Mera Peak Climbing

We will begin our trip with a spectacular morning mountain flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. The flight first introduces us to mountain ranges like Ganesh, Langtang, and Lakpa Dorje located in the central part of Nepal. The early morning sun glistening the crest of these mountains provides us with a blissful sight. As we approach east, we will see some of the tallest mountains in the world like Everest, Lhotse, Kanchenjunga, Pumori, Nuptse, etc. We will land at the Lukla airstrip which is located in the middle of a mountainous valley.

We will recollect our luggage at the airport and then begin our trek towards the village of Chutanga. The first part of the trek goes through the lush green forests of Rhododendron. The Rhododendron flower is the national flower of Nepal. As we move further, pine trees start to dominate the beautiful mountain landscape. This part of the trek falls below the Kalo Himal Range. Many streams cross our path to Chutanga. We will cross them via picturesque suspension bridges. We will stay at a hotel in Chutanga for the night.

We will begin our trek from Chutanga following breakfast. We will keep walking along the Kalo Himal ridge for the first part. As we move along we will see a spectacular view of the ridge separating the two famed valleys in the Everest Region – the Hinku Valley and the Khumbu Valley. We will first trek up to Zatra Wa La Pass. The pass is located at an altitude of 4,600 m (15,091 ft).

We will see many prayer flags on our way as we move towards the Zatra Wa La Pass. The path goes downhill from Zatra Wa La Pass. We will meet many yak herds on our way. The place is famous for Yak grazing pastures. There are a few trees in the area. The last destination of the day – Thuli Kharka – is also a famous yak grazing pasture. In fact, the Nepali translation of the name Thuli Kharka is ‘large pasture’. There is a small settlement in Thuli Kharka. We will rest at a hotel there for the night.

We will begin the day with a spectacular view of the rising sun over tall Himalayan peaks like Everest, Lhotse, Pumori, Kangneta, etc. The trek will begin after breakfast. We can indulge ourselves in a breakfast of Tibetan bread and local lentils. We will then begin the trek via beautiful forests of pine, juniper, and berries. The forest starts to get sparser as we move ahead.

This part of the trek will provide us an opportunity to spot many endangered wild animals and birds like sloth bear, Himalayan musk deer, Danphe (the national bird of Nepal), Himalayan Blue Sheep, Jharal, etc. Mousam Kharka is also a popular grazing pasture located on the slope of a wide mountainside. We will rest at a hotel in Mousam Kharka for the night.

We will begin our trek to Tangnang following breakfast. Tangnang is a mountainous valley. The first part of the trek is easy and goes through patchy forests, mountain ridges, and grazing pastures. We will see Buddhist prayer flags here and there along the way as most people in the region are Buddhists.

We will get first sight of the Mera Peak on our way to Tangnang from Mausam Kharka. We will also get spectacular views of mountains like Kusum Kangaru and Mount Charpate. The second part of the trek is slightly challenging as we need to climb steeply to reach the edge of the Tangnang valley. We will stay at a hotel in Tangnang for the night.

Since it is considered wise to take breaks in between during long mountain voyages, we will stop at Tangnang today. We will take a full rest today without any adventure so as to acclimatize ourselves for the long and hard trek to come. We can also explore a local Gumba situated on the side of the mountain atop a large rock if we are interested.

The Tangnag valley holds a unique variety of Tibetan culture. We will explore the village of the local Sherpa people in the evening and learn more about their traditions and culture. We will have a meal with the locals tonight. We will slide into our beds early tonight.

We will begin another round of walking today following a day of solid rest. We will first walk along a wide area that opens up into a valley. We can get a wonderful view of the Hinku Nup glacier on the northern side from this place. We will also get a view of the mountains like Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, Kangneta, and Pumori on the further northern part.

We will then come to a place called Chhatrapati Tal. The place is named after a lake (Tal in Nepali) of the same name. The lake lies at the bottom of the valley. From here, we will go steeply upwards towards the place called Dig Kharkha. The place is a large pasture that feeds herds of yaks from the surrounding area. We will climb more from Dig Kharka to reach Khare, where we will sleep for the night.

We will trek to the Mera Peak Base Camp today. It is only located a few hundred meters above Khare but the path goes through winding mountain trails that frequently go up or down, thus elongating our journey. We will also walk slowly to preserve energy and help acclimatize ourselves as we are now entering territory over 5,000 m.

The final part of the walk reveals a wonderful sight of the wide mountain valleys and tall mountains arranged like jewels in a bead. We might have to rest in camps during the night at the Mera Peak Base Camp as round the year accommodation is not guaranteed. We will either sleep at a temporary hotel or our camps tonight.

We will trek to the Mera Peak High Camp today. We will get a spectacular view of the mountains like Makalu, Baruntse, Kangneta, Lhotse, and Everest from our way. We will also get a spectacular view of the Mera Peak and Mera Glacier from our path. As we move closer to the High Camp, we will get an opportunity to spot the Hinku Valley for the first time.

We will also see the evening sun setting against the backdrop of Mount Everest. We will learn to use equipment like ice axes, ropes, and harnesses in the evening. We must also learn how to communicate and coordinate effectively while walking in a single file in the mountain. Our tour leader and crew will help us with this training. We will set tents at the Mera Peak High Camp today and slide into our makeshift home early.

We will begin our day very early today. It is preferable that we wake before 3 am because we will need to climb the peak before the typical strong mid-day wind blows in the mountain top. We will need ample time to arrange our gear and costume. We need to be quite prepared as we are going over 6,000 m in altitude for the first time in our journey. Moreover, this involves a steep and hard climb to the top of Mera Peak itself. Therefore early start is our most important asset of the day. We will first walk along a slope of the mountain, where some little patches of green grass are located. The path is all full of either snow or large black boulders as we move along.

After reaching the altitude of 6,000 m, we will need to walk along the slippery slope of a glacial moraine. We will need to make use of a rope for the final 300 meters of the climb. Our tour leader and crew will lay the ropes and we will walk carefully with its support. The view of the Hingku and the Hongku valley as we reach the top of the Mera Peak is spectacular. The valleys are separated by a narrow ridge of mountains which joins with the mountains like Everest, Lhotse, Cho Oyu further north.

The view of the two valleys against the backdrop of some of the tallest mountains in the world is one of the best views in the Himalayan region. We will also get enthralling views of the Baruntse and the Kangneta peak from the top of Mera Peak. The view of mount Kusum Kangaru is another highlight from the top of Mera Peak. We will spend some time at the peak and begin a slow descent towards the High Camp. We will celebrate our success upon reaching the high camp.

Today is a contingency day left aside so that we have a spare day to climb the top of the Mera Peak if sudden weather change prompts us to cancel the trek on the scheduled day. We will plan as usual and continue with the trek if the contingency day is not required.

We will trek back to Kothey today. We will set on a glorious downhill journey via mountain slopes and river basins today. After we cross the mountainous terrain following the first part of the trek, we will reach large grazing pastures used for grazing yaks from nearby villages. These pastures provide a welcome respite to us during the trek as we will rest and have hot tea in these grazing pastures.

As we move further down from the mountains, we will start to see occasional forests of pine and juniper. These forests become more abundant as we move south. The lower belt of our trek is home to dense rhododendron forests. Many endangered species of wild animals like the Himalayan Blue Sheep, Jharal, Himalayan Tahr, Himalayan Musk Deer, etc. are found in these parts. We will reach Kothey and stay there for the night.

We will trek to Thuli Kharka today. This brings us closer to the end of our trek. We will walk further downhill through picturesque green hills. We will get closer to the Kalo Himal range today. We can see the distant rim of the Mera Peak valley on our back from most parts of the trek. The forest starts to get thicker and the temperature significantly higher.

The last part of the trek is along the river basin. We will get a chance to spot Danphe, the national bird of Nepal around this part. Danphe is also found further up in the mountains but most birds spend time in the lower mountainous region. We will reach Thuli Kharka following five hour of walk from Kothey. We will rest at a hotel in Thuli Kharka for the night.

We will trek back to Lukla today. Numerous mountain streams converge in a narrow basin surrounded by the mountains as we approach Lukla. We will also see numerous prayer flags, gumbas, Chortens, etc. on our way. The last part before reaching Lukla passes through dense forest wherein lie far-flung small settlements.

We will reach Lukla after a gentle downhill climb in the last part. We will place our belongings at the hotel and then take a tour of Lukla town. We can buy souvenirs for our loved ones back home if we are interested. We will rest at a hotel in Lukla for the night. This concludes the walking part of our trek.

We will fly back to Kathmandu today. This is the last day of our tour. We will begin the day by experiencing the beautiful mountain flight for the second time in two weeks. We will say goodbye to the mountains from mid-air as the mountains of the central and eastern part of Nepal line up in a spectacular array before our eyes.

We will land at the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu following the flight. We will transfer you to your hotel after the flight. This officially ends our 14 day Mera Peak Climbing adventure.

After breakfast an early morning flight back to Kathmandu from Lukla and transfer to the hotel at 3 stars level, inclusive breakfast. Flight time 30 minutes. O/N at hotel.