Three Passes

Elevation profile

Your trip, day by day — all 20 days, travel included

Every day of the 20-day trip in the order it happens, including the flights, drives and rest days that have no walking stage. These are trip day numbers. The next section numbers walking days instead, starting again at 1, so a day number here and a walking day number there are not the same day.

1. Day 1 of 20

   Fly to Lukla — Trek to Phakding (2,610m)

   The flight lands at Lukla (2,840m), then the trail drops through pine forest along the Dudh Kosi to Phakding — a net descent for the day despite the ups and downs along the way.

2. Day 2 of 20

   Phakding to Namche Bazaar (3,440m)

   The trail climbs above the confluence of the Dudh Kosi and Bhote Kosi to Namche Bazaar, the Khumbu's trading hub built into a natural amphitheater on the hillside — an 830m gain over the day.

3. Day 3 of 20

   Acclimatization Day in Namche Bazaar

   A rest day before the trail continues deeper into the Khumbu. Three passes lie ahead, and the itinerary treats altitude adjustment early and often.

4. Day 4 of 20

   Namche Bazaar to Tengboche (3,867m)

   The trail climbs through rhododendron forest into the alpine zone, a 427m gain over the day. Tengboche's monastery, the largest in the Khumbu, sits above the treeline, with Everest, Nuptse and Ama Dablam visible from the monastery grounds.

5. Day 5 of 20

   Tengboche to Dingboche (4,410m)

   Forest thins into alpine scrub as the trail continues climbing, a 543m gain into a wide valley flanked by high ridgelines.

6. Day 6 of 20

   Acclimatization Day in Dingboche

   A second rest day, with an optional hike partway up the ridge toward Nangkartshang for wider views over the valley before the trail turns toward the first of the three passes.

7. Day 7 of 20

   Dingboche to Chukhung (4,730m)

   A short climb up a side valley to Chukhung, the staging village for Kongma La — the first and highest of the route's three passes.

8. Day 8 of 20

   Cross Kongma La (5,535m) — Descend to Lobuche (4,910m)

   The highest of the three passes, crossed in a single long day — nobody sleeps at the top. The descent on the far side drops into the Khumbu valley at Lobuche, on the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier.

9. Day 9 of 20

   Lobuche to Gorak Shep — Everest Base Camp

   The trail continues up the moraine to Gorak Shep (5,164m), the highest night on the route. From there, a day trip continues to Everest Base Camp (5,364m) — nobody sleeps at Base Camp; the return is to Gorak Shep for the night.

10. Day 10 of 20

    Climb Kala Patthar (5,545m) — Return to Lobuche (4,910m)

    A pre-dawn climb to Kala Patthar, the highest point touched on the route and the classic sunrise viewpoint over Everest — nobody sleeps at the top. The trail then returns to Lobuche for the night.

11. Day 11 of 20

    Lobuche to Dzonglha (4,830m)

    A staging day ahead of Cho La, the second of the three passes. The trail climbs away from the main Everest Base Camp corridor toward the pass's eastern approach.

12. Day 12 of 20

    Cross Cho La (5,420m) — Descend to Gokyo (4,750m)

    A glacier crossing, with crampons often needed underfoot — nobody sleeps at the pass. The route continues down the western side via Dragnag and the Ngozumpa Glacier to Gokyo.

13. Day 13 of 20

    Acclimatization Day in Gokyo — Climb Gokyo Ri (5,357m)

    Gokyo Ri is climbed as this rest day's outing rather than a full trekking day — a view across four 8,000m peaks, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu, and nobody sleeps at the summit.

14. Day 14 of 20

    Cross Renjo La (5,360m) — Descend to Lungdhen (4,380m)

    The third and final pass, and the only one of the three without a glacier crossing — nobody sleeps at the top. The descent drops into the Bhote Kosi valley at Lungdhen.

15. Day 15 of 20

    Lungdhen to Thame (3,750m)

    The trail descends the Bhote Kosi valley to Thame, Tenzing Norgay's home village and once a stop on the old Tibetan salt-trade route.

16. Day 16 of 20

    Thame to Namche Bazaar (3,440m)

    A shorter day back down the valley rejoins the main Khumbu trail at Namche Bazaar.

17. Day 17 of 20

    Namche Bazaar to Lukla (2,840m)

    The final trekking day retraces the route down to Lukla, closing the loop seventeen days after it began at the same airstrip.

18. Day 18 of 20

    First Reserve Day for the Return Flight

    Lukla flights are delayed often enough that this itinerary holds three days in reserve rather than one. Day 18 is the earliest the return flight might go.

19. Day 19 of 20

    Second Reserve Day

    Used only if day 18's flight did not go. Otherwise this is unclaimed time, either still in Lukla or already back in Kathmandu.

20. Day 20 of 20

    Departure

    By the second reserve day the flight has gone out, whichever day it landed on, and day 20 is departure from Kathmandu.

Walking days on the mapped route — 17 days of sourced altitudes

Numbered by walking day: walking day 1 is the first day with a mapped stage. Every altitude below is a waypoint from this route's own sources, listed at the foot of the page.

The remaining 3 days of this 20-day trip cover travel to and from the trailhead, and buffer time for delays en route — the specifics vary by route.

When to go

Month-by-month fit for Three Passes, based on this route's own best-months window.

• Jan avoid
• Feb shoulder
• Mar best
• Apr best
• May best
• Jun shoulder
• Jul avoid
• Aug avoid
• Sep shoulder
• Oct best
• Nov best
• Dec shoulder