Cho La Pass Trek
Trip Overview
Trip Facts
- Country: Nepal
- Trip grade: Challenging
- Destination: Everest
- Activities: Trekking
- Accommodation: Hotel, Teahouse
- Meals: Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners
- Maximum altitude: 5545m
- Group size: 1+
- Best Season: Mar-May / Sep-Nov
One of the best long trekking adventures in the Himalaya, Cho La Pass Trek is a wonderful adventure to go for. This trekking adventure takes you through the beautiful Gokyo Valley region to Everest Base Camp via Cho La pass (5,420m). It is an adventure exploration of the Himalayas in the Everest region.
This adventure takes you on a trek to the Everest Base Camp crossing a beautiful and adventure pass – Cho La. It also lets you explore and enjoy a beautiful trek through Gokyo Valley and the lakes.
What you see during Cho La Pass Trek
A combination of exploring two beautiful regions in the mountains, this adventure is certainly an incredible trekking adventure. Exploring the lower Khumbu region and trekking higher up towards the beautiful Gokyo lakes offers a nice adventure. The beautiful nature and surroundings as you trek add a charm to the trip.
Once you reach the Gokyo valley, you can explore the beautiful glacial lakes in the vast mountain surroundings. Early morning hike to Gokyo Ri (5,357m) brings an unbelievable view of the mountains and glaciers. Trekking over Cho La pass is an adventure that adds some thrill to the trip.
Eventually, you will reach Everest Base Camp to enjoy the magnificence of its surroundings. Hiking to Kalapatthar (5,545m) makes the adventure even more adventurous and beautiful. Cho La pass trek is certainly a once in a lifetime adventure experience.
Reasons this trip becomes an Experience
Nepal Climbing Adventure always strives to offer an adventure traveling experience that you can cherish. While the Cho La Pass Trek is beautiful in its all essence, your experience of trekking there becomes even more beautiful with us.
By the time we take you to the base camp and bring you back, we take one step ahead to offer you a beautiful experience. We keep your safety and happiness is our top priority and you will experience the same during the trip.
Trekking with us to Cho La Pass is traveling in safe hands.
Detail Itinerary
Day 01: Arrival Day in Kathmandu
Normally, your arrival in Kathmandu is day one of this trip. We will come to pick you up at the airport as per your flight time and transfer you to the hotel. There are no activities today apart from a trip briefing meeting. The information about the meeting time will be available upon your arrival at the hotel.
You have time to relax and go for any last-minute preparation of the trip. Welcome to Kathmandu!
Accommodation: Hotel
Day 02: Sightseeing Tour in Kathmandu
We have a full day in Kathmandu to explore the heritage sites in the valley. If we have not met for the meeting yesterday, we will meet today after breakfast. If we have met yesterday, we will continue on a full-day sightseeing tour.
Your entire afternoon will be busy going around different ancient and medieval heritage monuments in the Kathmandu valley. We will take you to Swoyambhunath, Kathmandu Durbar Square, Boudhanath, and Pashupatinath to explore the ancient and medieval magnificence of the valley.
The tour will show you a lot about the culture, spiritual practice, history, and lifestyle of people in the valley. You will have an awesome cultural tour day today. Our city tour guide will make it easier for you to understand what you are looking at to make your experience even better.
Accommodation: Hotel
Meal: Breakfast
Day 03: Kathmandu – Phakding (2,680m)
We will start our trekking adventure towards the Everest Base Camp today. Early in the morning, we will take a flight to Lukla. The adventurous flight of about forty minutes takes us to Lukla to enter the Everest trekking region. Once we land at Lukla airstrip, we will get ready to start the walk of the day.
We start the trek to Phakding as our overnight destination today. It is about 4 hours of the easy trek on the gentle and gradual downhill trail to Phakding on the bank of a river called Dudh Koshi. It will be an amazingly peaceful day on the trail to Everest base camp.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 04: Phakding – Namche Bazar (3,440m)
We continue the walk on the Everest base camp trail after breakfast. Our destination for the day is the beautiful mountain town of Namche Bazar. The trail takes us through a winding trail up the mountains. As we continue the walk towards the destination, we cross several suspension bridges on the trail. After checking into the Sagarmatha national park at Monjo, we continue the walk to Namche for the day.
Once we reach Namche Bazar, a prosperous mountain trading town in the Everest region, we will check into a guest house and relax. A nicely settled town in the terraced slope, Namche Bazar brings you spectacular views of mountains like Thamserku (6,6232m) and Kongde Ri (6,187m) to its west.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 05: Acclimatization Day
We are already above 3000 meters above sea level so we need to take an extra day at Namche to acclimatize. On this extra day at Namche Bazar, we will go for a hike and explore the surroundings.
We will have the latter half of the day to rest and relax once we are back from the hike.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 06: Namche - Dole (4,038m)
The trek today continues towards Gokyo Lakes and the destination for the day is the beautiful settlement of Dole. The trek ascends up a ridge and then descends down from the Khumbila peak. We descend down towards Sanasa and ascend up to Mongla. Along the way, the panoramic views of the Himalayas can be viewed. The trail descends further through Phortse Tenga and climbs steeply to Dole through the Rhododendron forest. We spend overnight at the local lodge.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 07: Dole - Machhermo (4,470m)
Our trek continues through the peaceful trail with fewer trekkers. The trek takes us to Machhermo to stay overnight today. We climb up steadily along the side of the valley. The trail passes through settlements with views of Mt. Cho Oyu, and views of Kantega and Thamserku as we descend down the valley. By the time of lunch, we arrive at Machhermo. We stay overnight at the local lodge.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 08: Machhermo - Gokyo (4,750m)
We follow the trail to Pangka and descend following one of the rivers flowing down from the west side of Ngozumpa Glacier. The path climbs past the first of the holy lakes and leads to the second lake. Crossing the second lake heads to Lobuche. Gokyo is located at the eastern shore of the third lake, Dudh Pokhari. We stay overnight in a lodge.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 09: Gokyo - Gokyo Ri (5,357m) - Thagnak (4,780m)
We have an early morning hike to Gokyo Ri that brings a breathtaking view of the mountains, glaciers, and lakes. Later on, we trek to Thangnag today. Comparatively a short walk today, we trek towards Thagnag via the third lake. The walk takes us past glacial moraine and shortly to Thagnag thereafter. After the beautiful short walk of the day, we reach Thagnag and explore the place for the rest of the day or simply take a leisurely time to rest.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 10: Thagnak - Cho La (5,420m) - Dzongla (4,840m)
It’s a long day today which takes us to Dzonghla for an overnight stay. The walk goes past a high Himalayan pass called Cho La at an elevation of 5420 meters above sea level. Today is not only a long day of trek but also a difficult walking day. The day starts early to trek up towards Cho La pass passing through huge boulders. We walk on a narrow and icy path through the pass thus have to be extra careful not to slip. After crossing the pass, we descend down towards Dzonghla where we spend overnight today.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 11: Dzongla - Lobuche (4,910m)
Today we are going to meet the regular Everest base camp trekking trail when we reach Lobuche for our overnight stay. We are heading closer to the base camp of Everest as we walk further ahead towards Lobuche along the Khumbu valley. Once we reach Lobuche, we will meet trekkers making their way to the Everest base camp along the regular trekking trail to the base of the world’s highest mountain.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 12: Lobuche - Everest Base Camp (5,364m) - Gorakshep (5,164m)
We are eventually going to make it to the Everest Base Camp today after these many days of trekking in and amidst the wonderful Himalayan peaks. Our determined and sincere effort to be at the base of the highest mountain in the world is going to materialize this afternoon. We are going to stand at the place where many climbers have spent days and nights training, preparing, and attempting the summit of the formidable Mt. Everest.
We walk to Gorakshep, a small settlement on the glacial lakebed in the Everest region, where we are going to spend overnight today as the highest overnight stopover for the trip. After relishing our lunch at our tea house, we set off for the Everest Base Camp. A slow-paced walk on the moraine and boulder-strewn gradual path up to base camp is going to test our excitement and stamina. Anyway, we are going to get to the base camp regardless of the difficulty of walking at the elevation. We click countless pictures and enjoy the moment of being at the classic Everest base camp before making a return trip to Gorakshep for an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 13: Gorakshep - Kalapatthar (5,545m) - Pheriche (4,371m)
We get up early, really early, in the morning to hike up to Kalapatthar, the highest elevation on the trip, for a breathtaking view of Mt. Everest, Lhotse, and other Himalayan panoramas up close with a spectacular sunrise over those mighty peaks. This never-seen-before view and sunrise on earth are going to blow our mind away alluring us to stay there forever. Alas, we wish we could!
We have to make a return trip back to Gorakshep for breakfast. We start the trek back to Pheriche after breakfast. The trek down today is taking us to a new place that we have not covered on the trek. Pheriche is a beautiful settlement in the Khumbu region which is normally the stopover place for many Everest trekkers on their way back down after the base camp and Kalapatthar joy on the trip.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 14: Pheriche - Namche (3,440m)
On the way back down towards Lukla, we traverse the trail to Khumjung today which lies on a different route that normally doesn’t come on the way up to the base camp. Khumjung is a beautiful settlement situated near Mt. Khumbila with the view of other mountain peaks around. The Buddhist monastery here in the village has a Yeti Scalp.
We will trek further to Namche Bazar to stay overnight today.
Accommodation: Teahouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 15: Namche - Lukla (2,860m)
It’s the last day of trekking when we trek to Lukla today. The lower we walk, the farther we are leaving the iconic Everest base camp behind physically but we are carrying a beautiful memory of being there. We cross suspension bridges and walk past Phakding and advance towards Lukla. Once we reach Lukla to bring our trekking part to an end, we duly thank our supporting team members. If it were not for their amazing effort, our journey would be very difficult. We celebrate the joy of making it to the base of the highest peak in the world.
Accommodation: Guesthouse
Meal: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 16: Lukla - Kathmandu
We take a morning flight from the Lukla airstrip leaving the mighty mountains behind us. Another exciting flight with adventure takes us back to the city civilization. Once in Kathmandu, we spend leisurely time back in the chaos of the city after so many days of serene mountain air and incredible adventure.
Accommodation: Hotel
Meal: Breakfast
Day 17: Contingency Day
We have an extra day to make up for any possible delays on the trip.
Accommodation: Hotel
Meal: Breakfast
Day 18: Departure Day
The trip has come to an end today. We have to bid farewell for this time hoping to meet again for another adventure soon. We will drive you to the airport for your departure flight as scheduled.
Meal: Breakfast
Cost Details
What is included?
- All airport and hotel transfers
- Welcome and farewell dinner
- The flight between Kathmandu to Lukla and back
- Accommodation and meals during the whole of the trek
- 3 nights in a 3-star hotel in Kathmandu
- All necessary paper works and permits
- Government and local taxes
- An experienced English speaking trekking guide, assistant trek guide (4 trekkers: 1 assistant guide), porters (2 trekkers: 1 porter) including their salary, insurance, food, lodging, and all equipment.
- A comprehensive medical kit
What is not included?
- Nepal Visa fee(bring small denomination cash USD and two passport photographs)
- International airfare
- Excess baggage charges
- Extra night accommodation apart from the schedule due to any reasons
- Lunch and evening meals in Kathmandu and in case of early return than the scheduled itinerary
- Travel and rescue insurance
- Personal expenses
- Tips for travel guides or porters
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions - Trekking in Nepal
Are you a licensed trekking agency?
Do the guides speak English and have first aid training?
How big are the groups?
Are permits included in the price of the trek?
Do you arrange private treks?
Do you provide any equipment while trekking?
How difficult are the treks?
How long do we walk each day?
What is exactly 'teahouse' trekking?
What do we mean by FOT trek?
What is security like during trekking?
Security for our clients is always a foremost priority for us. All our guides and other support crew are carefully chosen for your trips. Our guides hold licenses issued by the Nepal Government. They are very honest and reliable. But we would also advise you to take care of your own personal belongings. If you are on ‘camping treks’ please do not leave your bags unattended at any time for your own safety. Take your main bag inside the tent once you reach the campsite. At night, all bags and belongings are kept in the middle of the tent. Your guide assigns a Sherpa on a rotation basis to guard the campsite throughout the night. If you are on a ‘Tea house or GAP trek’ arrangement, you will be sleeping in local teahouses. You need to take sensible precautions yourself at all times. Never leave your baggage unattended and keep your lodge room locked when you go out.
What happens if I fall ill during the trek?
What type of food is served during a trek?
Do I need to carry my own gear?
How much could porters carry?
What is the overnight accommodation like?
Can we change the itinerary?
Depending on the prevailing situation, you can modify it to some extent after consulting with your senior guide. However, the date of trek completion should always coincide with the original itinerary. You should keep in mind that this is an adventure trip into some of the most remote regions in the world, where many unforeseen circumstances may contribute to the need for a change in itinerary. In such cases, we or your guide will suggest the best alternative similar to your original itinerary.