Island peak climbing - 17 Days | Nepal Guide

01 / THE EXPERIENCE

Discover the journey

Island Peak climbing is a fantastic experience in the Himalayas of Nepal. It is designed for energetic and physically fit trekkers with little or no experience in mountain expedition. Island Peak (6,189m/20,305ft) is one of the main climbing peaks in the Everest Region of Nepal with an impressive and highly glaciated West Face that rises from the Lhotse Glacier. Being one of the 'trekking peaks' with very little technical aspects, Island Peak is not a difficult undertaking for a beginner climber wishing to enter the incredible world of mountain climbing. Hundreds of climbers flock to Nepal every year to get a permit for Island Peak climbing. The Island peak itinerary has proper and gradual acclimatization at suitable intervals. The 14-day journey begins from and comes to a conclusion at one of the most famous airstrips in the world, the Lukla airport in the Everest Region.

02 / WHY GO

The memorable moments

Highlights

03 / YOUR ROUTE

Journey at a glance

Day Day 1: Welcome to Kathmandu! — Flying into Kathmandu, you'll have views over the valley, the Himalaya, and the terraced fields below. After completing customs, a representative will be waiting to greet you outside the airport and to guide you through the initial culture shock of Kathmandu’s narrow, winding streets to your hotel. Day Day 2: Explore Kathmandu, Evening Trek Briefing — Kathmandu has a special atmosphere during the early morning hours when the city is slowly coming to life yet not too chaotic. It's a great time to walk and explore the streets or have a chai overlooking one of the local courtyards or durbar squares. After breakfast, there are then a number of ways you can spend your day given the numerous famous sights around the Kathmandu Valley. You can use this as a free day or we can provide a local English-speaking guide who knows the city well and can explain the history and significance of the sights (along with a private jeep to take you around). Day Day 3: Fly to Lukla and trek to Phakding (2,652m/8,700ft) — Early in the morning, you will be escorted to Tribhuvan International Airport (in a private vehicle) to board a flight to Lukla (2,800m). After 30-35min scenic flight, the plane will land at a Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla. Lukla is known as a gateway destination. A clear day normally offers a great aerial view of the terrain while you are in the sky. On reaching Lukla Airport, you will be introduced to other crew members. Breakfast will be served at the lodge and luggage will also be prepared for the Porters. Shortly after this without wasting any time, the trek begins following the stone pathway downhill that leads you out of Lukla and towards Phakding. We walk for four hours before we reach Phakding. This trail from Lukla to Phakding offers downhill and flat trail experience. Along the trail, you can also experience prayer rocks (Mani in local language) and a splendid view of the colorful Lukla village. Upon reaching Phakding, you can freshen up and then our guides will take you for a short walk to the village or even hike up to the nearby Gompas (monasteries) for the purpose of acclimatization. We then get back to the lodge where the dinner is served. After dinner briefing regarding the following day’s trek will be made by the team leader. The night is spent at a lodge in Phakding. Day Day 4: Trek to Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,283ft) 5-6 hours walk — After having breakfast, without wasting much time we set out from our lodge in Phakding and move towards Monju which is also known as the gateway to the Sagarmatha National Park. In between Phakding and Sagarmatha National Park you will get to experience the thrill offered by many suspension bridges, and the small settlements like Zapute, Toktok, Benkar, Chumoa and Monju. Here, you can also enjoy small tea houses and shops while your leader takes care of the necessary national park formalities at the entrance to the park. On entering the national park the trail drops steeply down to the river, crosses another suspension bridge and continues towards the high Hillary Bridge at the bottom of the hill. After the bridge, the trail leads you uphill to the Namche Bazaar offering you the first great view of Mt. Everest, hidden behind Lhotse-Nuptse along with the view of Mt. Kusum Khangru. The night will be spent at a lodge in Namche Bazaar. Day Day 5: Acclimatize day at Namche — Namche Bazaar, a gateway to the high Himalayas, is the main trading center and a tourist hub in the Khumbu region. This place is very popular for altitude acclimatization. Though this is a rest day it is highly recommended to keep moving and stay active for proper adaptation. Therefore, we organize a short hike to Thame, which is an old Sherpa village or visiting Khumjung/Khunde/Khongde is also considered a very good option to enhance acclimatization. Moreover, Namche Bazaar offers many ways to spend a day. You will have you enough time to visit the National Park Head office, Museum, and other monasteries. You can also have your own quality time at cafes, shops, bakeries or restaurants. The place also features other essential services like a post office, hospital, government health post, 24-hour electricity and water supply and high-speed internet access. You can also contact your family before heading towards the base of Everest Base Camp. This is night is also spent in a lodge in Namche Bazaar. Day Day 6: Trek to Tengboche (3,867m/12684ft) 5 hours walk — Shortly after having breakfast at the lodge in Namche Bazaar, we continue to follow the trail along the hastening glacial waters of the Dudh Koshi. The trail offers dramatic views of Mt. Everest, Mt. Nuptse, Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Ama Dablam along with the close-up view of Thamserku. Before reaching Sanasa, you can also enjoy the blooming Rhododendron forest. If you are lucky you will also get a chance to spot wildlife musk deer, multi-colored pheasants and a herd of Himalayan Thar. On reaching Sanasa, which is a major trail junction to Gokyo valley and Everest Base Camp, we take a steep ascent that will lead us to the famous Tengboche monastery (the largest Gompa in the Khumbu region of Nepal) which is draped with a spectacular view of the Himalayan Mountains. We spend our night at a lodge in Tengboche. Day Day 7: Trek to Dingboche (4,358m/14,295 ft) 5-6 hours walk — After having breakfast, we again start the usual hike walk. This time, we first hike half an hour downhill to the riverside then through the lush forest, across the river and finally climb up to Pangboche (3,860m/12,664ft). Here you can experience magnificent Chorten and Mani walls. We then ascend to Pheriche and from here a moderate walk will lead you to the Imja Valley. From here, we climb the last and the steepest climb of the day and finally reach Dingboche. The night is spent at the lodge in Dingboche. Day Day 8: Acclimatized day — This is the final, yet the mandatory acclimatization day before heading towards Island Peak. Dingboche is a summer settlement that offers a magnificent view of Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Lhotse, and numerous other peaks, from the ridge on the north behind the village. You can also observe the Imja River that flows directly east of the village. Another interesting thing about this village is the kilometers of stone walls that cover the entire valley of Imja. You will also be surprised to see an internet café and one of the world’s highest billiard parlors. Therefore, this place offers some of the best options to spend your day. Day Day 9: Trek Chhukung( 4,730m/15,518ft)- 3 to 4 hrs — After having breakfast, the day’s walk begins towards the east of the Chukkung valley through stone walled fields, Imja Khola valley. This rocky trail is overshadowed by the beautiful views of Mt. Lhotse and Ama Dablam. On reaching Chhukung, we check into the lodge and meet our climbing guide. Our guide will brief you regarding the following climb. You can also discuss your queries related to climbing with our climbing guides. We will also check the necessary gears and equipment to get prepared for the next day’s climb. The night will be spent at a lodge in Chhukung. Day Day 10: Trek to Island Peak Base camp (5,200m/17,060ft) 3-4 hours — After having breakfast, we will be lead by our climbing team towards the south, which then heads toward the main valley in the east. The trail is fairly pleasant along the stream. The trail heads towards huge rock and then becomes glacial as it crosses Imja and Lhotse glacier moraine. After this, we finally reach the valley where we set our camp for the day. The base camp presents the magnificent view of the southwestern face of Island peak. The night is spent in a tented camp at the base camp. Day Day 11: Island Peak High Camp (5,600m/18,372ft), 2-3 hours — After having breakfast, we start the climb up the hill making our way through the narrow slopes and uncompromising paths. After 2-3 hours walk upwards, the trail will finally take you to the High camp of Island peak where we stop for overnight. The high camp itself offers the spectacular view of lofty pinnacle and glacier surrounding the Island Peak. At high camp, all the required elements and gears will be re-checked, your boots will be fitted with crampons and if required, you may also be provided with the last minute techniques for your following day’s successful climb. The night is spent in a tented camp at the high camp. Day Day 12: Island Peak summit (6,189m/20,305ft) & return back to Chhukung, 8-10 hours — This day is the day that takes you to your actual destination. Therefore, we start as early as light permits. The techniques learned earlier will fully come into play today. We walk past short rock steps, seracs, crevasses, snout of summit glacier and icy 40-45 degree slopes to finally get to the summit. On reaching the summit (6189m) you can enjoy the view of breathtaking peaks like Lhotse, Lhotse Middle Peak, Lhotse Shar, Nuptse, Makalu, Baruntse, and Amadablam. We spend some time taking snaps and then descend all the way to high camp to collect the remaining gears and walk all the way to Chhukung. The night is spent at a lodge in Chhukung. Day Day 13: Trek to Khumjung (3,780m/12,401ft) — After having breakfast at the lodge, the trail heads towards Pangboche and then Tengboche through Rhododendron and pine. The trail then drops, steep down to the valley crosses the suspension bridge and continue towards Khumjung. You can enjoy a hot shower and loosen your muscles. The night is spent at a lodge in Khumjung. Day Day 14: — After having breakfast, we start the day towards Namche Bazaar. The trail first drops down through the ridge and then the walk is fairly easier till Namche Bazaar. We spend the night in Namche Bazaar, where you can enjoy a hot shower and loosen up your muscles. You also have an option to relax in the nearby restaurants, cafés, and bakeries. The night is spent at a lodge in Namche Bazaar. Day Day 15: Trek to Lukla (2,652m/8,700ft) — After the breakfast, we continue our walk downhill from Namche toward the second bridge across the Dudh Koshi River near the meeting point of Bhote Koshi and Dudh Koshi rivers. Then we walk towards Monjo where on fulfilling the formalities at the check post of the National Park at Monjo, we continue our walk towards Phakding. We stop at Phakding for lunch and soon after lunch we continue the trail that leads us to Lukla. Along this flat trail, you can enjoy prayer stones, rhododendron and pine forest, prayer flags, Sherpa village as well as open plains. This is the last day of the trek. On reaching Lukla you can either spend your time with the rest of the crew members or look for some alone time to summon up the wonderful memories made during the past few days. The night will be spent at a lodge in Lukla. Day Day 16: Fly to Kathmandu (1,300m/4,264 ft) — Finally, it’s time to bid farewell to the Khumbu region of Nepal. The Sherpas will take your luggage to the airport and other airport formalities will be taken care of by the guides allowing you to enjoy your last breakfast in the Khumbu region. Once the aircraft arrives, you can directly board the plane and fly back to Kathmandu. A private vehicle depending on your group size will be awaiting your arrival at the airport. Your guide will then escort you to the hotel. Trip concludes !! Day Day 17: Depart Kathmandu — It's time to say farewell to Nepal. Enjoy your last moments in Kathmandu with breakfast in a café, a final stroll through the narrow alleys and temples, and some final souvenir shopping. A driver will be waiting for you at your hotel to take you to the airport for your return flight home. It's best to be at the airport at least two hours prior to departure.

YOUR DAY-BY-DAY ROUTE

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1Welcome to Kathmandu! — Flying into Kathmandu, you'll have views over the valley, the Himalaya, and the terraced fields below. After completing customs, a representative will be waiting to greet you outside the airport and to guide you through the initial culture shock of Kathmandu’s narrow, winding streets to your hotel.+