Island Peak (Imja Tse) Climbing Itinerary

  • Day 1 Arrival at Kathmandu Airport and transfer to hotel. Overnight at hotel.

    A representative from our company will receive you once you arrive in Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu and takes you to your pre-arranged place of accommodation.

    • Day 2 Fly to Lukla (2,804 mt.), trek to Phakding (2,610 mt.). Walking 3 hours. Overnight at guest house.

      This early-morning flight to Lukla lasts for around half an hour. The views outside the window sufficiently capture the attention of all on board – cameras, mobiles, photographs. Our walk to Phakding starts after breakfast in Lukla. Mostly on a flat trail all the way, it’s the Sherpa settlements, the huge prayer stones, monasteries and the distant mountains that seem to attract everyone’s attention on this first walk. Phakding is where we stop for the night today.  

      • Day 3 Phakding to Namche Bazar (3,441 mt.). Walking 6 hours. Overnight at guest house.

        Along the banks of the Dudhkoshi River and over a number of suspension bridges, the route enters and leaves Monjo Village on the way and heads for Jorsallé, where we stop for lunch. After lunch in this only settlement until Namché Bazaar, we move on. The pine forest, perhaps, is the only relief in those final two hours of the steep demanding climb just before the arrival of Namché. This headquarters of the Khumbu

        Region is where we stop for the night. 

        • Day 4 Acclimatization day in Namche Bazar. Overnight at guest house.

          The day today is for acclimatization. Once in higher altitudes, it is important that we allow the body the opportunity to adapt since the amount of oxygen in the air now becomes less and less. This process requires us to walk higher up but come down for the night. As a part of this process, we first visit the Sagarmatha National Park Museum, where those of us interested get to know about the landscape, wildlife and people for whom the Everest Region is a home. After this visit, we go further up to Everest View Hotel. This is a location that offers a spectacular view of the Himalayas in its proximity including Mt Everest, Mt Lhotsé and the awesome Mt AmaDablum. The Khumjung Valley, along with its famous Monastery, is yet another sight most find intriguing. After we return, a walk around the bazaar keeps many travelers engaged in one or the other activity of personal interest. 

          • Day 5 Namche Bazar to Tengboche (3,860 mt.). Walking 5 hours. Overnight at guest house.

            Our stop for lunch today is Phunke Thanga, a small settlement, around three hours away. With pines and rhododendrons thick in the area and the raging Dudhkoshi somewhere close, a lunch here in PhortseTenga is something of an experience. On a sharp ascent and still through a forests, Tyangboché is yet another three hours from here on. With its highly revered Monastery, the biggest in the area, along with a breathtaking view of Mt AmaDablum, the village is certain to inspire many upon arrival. Tyangboché is where we spend the night. 

            • Day 6 Tengboche to Dingboche (4,410 mt.). Walking 5 hours. Overnight at guest house.

              Pangboché, our stopover for lunch today, is around three hours away. Downhill to Diboché then up a gentle prolonged incline, from end to end of patches of forests along the way and crossing a suspension bridge, we arrive in Pangboché. After a decent lunch, it’s three hours to Dingboché in the presence of the majestic Mt AmaDablum. Dingboche, with around forty households, is home to approximately two hundred locals. This is where we stop for the night. 

              • Day 7 Acclimatization day at Dingboche. Explore around the valley. Overnight at guest house.

                Like in Namché, this acclimatization day built into this programme also requires all to go up a sharp ascent towards NangkarTshang (5,616). Atop this vantage point, the wonder can only be rightfully explained by those who have made it there. 

                • Day 8 Dingboche to Lobuche (4,910 mt.). Walking 4-5 hours. Overnight at guest house.

                  Before that demanding ascent to Dugla, we pass a chorten and some memorials on the way. After a steep uphill to ChukpoLari, the trail arrives in Lobuché with the walk for the last twenty minutes or so gentle on the legs. Lobuche, where we stop for the night, is a very small settlement with only two or three constructions. Mt Nuptse close by, however, sufficiently keeps everyone engaged. 

                  • Day 9 Lobuche to Gorakshep (5,153 mt.) to EBC and back to Gorakshep. Walking 7 hours. Overnight at guest house.

                    Up a three-hour climb with winds blowing at uncomfortable speeds, the trek arrives in Gorakshep, where we check-in. After lunch, the next to follow is a two-hour walk up a gradual but exhausting uphill, owing much to the thinning of the air at higher altitudes. Everest Base Camp (EBC) sits right on the Khumbu Glacier. Once in the Base Camp of the highest mountain on earth, it’s a time for celebration for many, our actions highlighting the emotions – smiling, taking photographs and hugging one another. We walk back to Gorakshep for the night.

                    • Day 10 Hike up to Kalapatthar (5,545 mt.) in the morning and retreat trek to Lobuche (4,910 mt.). Walking 7 hours. Overnight at guest house.

                      Today’s early morning is for that two-hour climb to Kala Pathar almost four hundred metres up. The famous vantage point is famous for a good reason: surrounded by all those gigantic elevations including two of those that have risen more than 8000 meters, Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse. Back in Gorakshep for lunch and we retrace our footsteps to Lochuche. This is where we stop for the night. 

                      • Day 11 Lobuche to Chhukung Village (4,730 mt.). Walking 5-6 hours. Overnight at guest house.

                        Today, we walk all the way to Chukung. We retrace our footsteps to Dingboche in approximately two hours by most peoples watch. It is from here that we opt for a different route that leads to Chukung. In one of the five or six accommodation facilities on offer in Chukung, we check-in for the night. That our gears need to be good condition is not something that requires any exaggeration. It is here we therefore ascertain that our climbing equipment are ready for the climb. 

                        • Day 12 Chhukung to Island Peak Base camp. Walking 4 hours. Overnight at tent camp.

                          Our destination today is the Island Peak Base Camp. We therefore head off in this direction after breakfast. This walk lasting for about four hours brings us to the Camp. We put up our tents. A little training before the climb is always useful. We engage in one of the elevations around, practicing some of the vital skills. 

                          • Day 13 Island Peak Base Camp to summit (6,189 mt.) and back to Base Camp. Overnight at tent camp.

                            We start out early today, at around one or so in the morning. Inspection of the equipment once again and after a quick breakfast, we start out up a sharp ascent for those three hours for most. Upon reaching the snowline, gear up. We forge ahead now that the crampons hold us on the trail that otherwise would have impossibly slippery to walk on. The next five hours of exhaustion and we land on the summit. It’s a time for a celebration for many, our actions highlighting the emotions – smiling, taking photographs and hugging one another. We may not be able to stay for long on top, however, owing much to the unpredictable weather conditions. We climb down to the Base Camp and this is where we stop for the night. 

                            • Day 14 Island Peak Base Camp to Dingboche. Walking 5 hours. Overnight at guest house.

                              Retracing our footsteps back to Dingboche after a successful summiting is an experience only those who have made to top would be in a position to aptly feel. We stop for the night in Dingboche. 

                              • Day 15 Dingboche to Namche. Walking 6 hours. Overnight at guest house.

                                Stopping for lunch in Tyangboche on the way, we wall all the way to Namche Bazaar, where we plan to stay the night. 

                                • Day 16 Namche to Lukla. Walking 7 hours. Overnight at guest house.

                                  Stopping only in Phakding Village for lunch, the walk back to Lukla takes about seven hours to some and eight to others. 

                                  • Day 17 Early morning fly back to Kathmandu. Overnight at hotel.

                                    Weather willing, the flight back to Kathmandu should bring most of us for lunch on time. With the day still young, many people choose to spend the afternoon walking around Thamel. 

                                    • Day 18 Leisure day in Kathmandu (Sightseeing optional). Overnight at hotel.

                                      This is totally a free day in Kathmandu for relaxation after a long journey. On the other hand we can say its a reserve day, in case of bad weather if the flight from Lukla to Kathmandu is cancelled on the earlier day. Sightseeing trip in UNESCOs' World Heritage sites and shopping are the other options of the day.

                                      • Day 19 Transfer to Airport for your final departure from Nepal.

                                        Depending largely on your travel fixture, you will be leaving for Tribhuwan International Airport for your departure from Nepal either in the morning or in the afternoon or in the evening.