Mt. Baruntse

01 / THE EXPERIENCE

Discover the journey

If you want the journey of a lifetime filled with unmatched thrills, spellbinding sights and adventures hidden each step of the way, there is a mountain between Mt. Everest and Makalu. This attractive mountain, known as Mt. Baruntse is surrounded by some of the world's tallest Himalayas including Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Makalu, and Mt. Ama Dablam. It has four peaks and a total of four ridges. The excursion offers the chance to go trekking in the Himalayan foothills in addition to an exhilarating climbing experience. On May 30, 1954, Colin Todd and Geoff Harrow of a New Zealand expedition under Sir Edmund Hillary made the first ascent of the mountain via the south ridge. On April 27, 1980, members of a Spanish expedition headed by Juan José Dáz Ibaez—Lorenzo Ortas, Javier Escartin, Jeronimo Lopez, and Carlos Buhler—made the first ascent of the East Ridge.

03 / YOUR ROUTE

Journey at a glance

Day Day 1: Arrival at Kathmandu — Upon arrival in Kathmandu, you will be picked up by our representative at the airport and taken to the hotel. You will meet your guide, discuss the trek program, and make final preparations for the trek. If you have an early arrival, we will take you for a sightseeing trip in the UNESCO world heritage site in Kathmandu and later, in the evening, you’ll have dinner in the hotel. From 20th March 2020 due to heavy congestion, all flights to and from Lukla depart from Ramechhap airport, 130km, a 4-hour drive from Kathmandu. It means now it’ll take an extra day to get to Lukla from Kathmandu though the flight price is the same. Day Day 2: Welcome brief, Gear check and Official formalities in Kathmandu — Today, you will go on a sightseeing tour of the city, visiting some of the popular tourist attractions. In the afternoon, you will have a pre-climbing briefing with your guide and do some final preparation. Day Day 3: Fly to Lukla and trek to Paiya (2,730m/8,956ft) — Lukla - Paiya After an early morning flight to Lukla, the trek begins with a steep descent towards the Dudh Koshi River. From there, the route heads up towards Paiya, passing through beautiful forests and crossing several streams. Distance: 7.5 km / 4.7 miles Trekking time: 5-6 hours Total ascend: 1,226m / 4,022ft Total descend: 610m / 2,000ft Day Day 4: Trek to Panggom (2,846m/9,337ft) — Paiya - Panggom The trek continues along a trail that offers beautiful views of the surrounding landscapes of Kharikhola Village, native to Sherpas. You may get a chance to experience the local culture and way of life as you trek. Distance: 6.5 km / 4 miles Trekking time: 5-6 hours Total ascend: 1,116m / 3,661ft Total descend: 853m / 2,798ft Day Day 5: Trek to Nashing Dingma (2,600m/8,530ft) — Panggom - Nashing Dingma The route heads towards the north, crossing a beautiful pass and descending into a dense forest. You'll camp for the night at Nashing Dingma. Distance: 6.4 km / 4 miles Trekking time: 4-5 hours Total ascend: 774m / 2,539ft Total descend: 1,030m / 3,379ft Day Day 6: Trek to Chhatra Khola (2,800m/9,186ft) — Nashing Dingma - Chhatra Khola The trail continues along the river and offers stunning views of the surrounding mountains. You'll camp for the night at Chhatra Khola. Distance: 7.6 km / 4.7 miles Trekking time: 6-7 hours Total ascend: 1,200m / 3,937ft Total descend: 1,200m / 3,937ft Day Day 7: Trek to Kothe (3,691m/12,109ft) — Chhatra Khola - Kothe The trek involves crossing several streams and bridges before reaching the beautiful village of Kothe. Distance: 6.2 km / 3.9 miles Trekking time: 5-6 hours Total ascend: 1,503m / 4,931ft Total descend: 249m / 817ft Day Day 8: Trek to Thagnak (4,350m/14,272ft) — Kothe - Thagnak The trail heads towards the north, crossing the Hinku Khola River and passing through beautiful landscapes. You'll camp for the night at Thagnak. Distance: 6.8 km / 4.2 miles Trekking time: 4-5 hours Total ascend: 659m / 2,162ft Total descend: 0m Day Day 9: Acclimatization day at Thagnak — It is a rest day to help you acclimatize to the higher altitude. You can spend the day exploring the surrounding area and taking in the stunning views. Day Day 10: Trek to Khare (5,045m/16,486ft) — Thagnak - Khare The trail continues up towards Khare, passing through rocky landscapes and offering stunning views of the Mera Peak. Distance: 3.5 km / 2.2 miles Trekking time: 3-4 hours Total ascend: 695m / 2,280ft Total descend: 0m Trekking distance: 8 km / 5 mi Trekking time: 4-5 hours Total ascent: 980m / 3,210ft Total descent: 0m / 0ft Day Day 11: Acclimatization day at Khare — It will be another rest day to help you acclimatize to the higher altitude. You can spend the day exploring the surrounding area and preparing for the climb. It is a good idea to climb 300m and come back to the lodge. Day Day 12: Trek from Khare to Khamedingma — Khare - Khamedingma The short trek begins from Khare to Khamedingma which only takes about 3-4 hours with few ascent and descent. Overnight stay at Khamedingma. Trekking distance: 6 km / 3.7 mi Trekking time: 3-4 hours Total ascent: 200m / 660ft Total descent: 300m / 980ft Day Day 13: Trek from Khamedingma to Seto Pokhari (5,035m) — Khamedingma - Seto Pokhari The 4-5 hours trek to Seto Pokhari contains continuous ascent with very few descents. It is only 8 km far from Khamedingma where we will be staying overnight. Trekking distance: 8 km / 5 mi Trekking time: 4-5 hours Total ascent: 980m / 3,210ft Total descent: 0m / 0ft Day Day 14: Trek from Seto Pokhari to Baruntse Base Camp (5,400m) — Seto Pokhari - Baruntse Base Camp The final hike before climbing is the trek to Baruntse Base Camp. This 4 km trek contains around 365m ascent with no distinctive descent. Overnight stay at the Base Camp. Trekking distance: 4 km / 2.5 mi Trekking time: 3-4 hours Total ascent: 365m / 1,200ft Total descent: 0m / 0ft Day Day 15-26: Rotation: [Basecamp – Rotation (Camp I and Camp II)- Basecamp] — The climb to Mt. Baruntse finally starts but we do not summit directly. Rather we should start the rotation in order to acclimatize climbers with the high altitude. By the time you reach base camp, the difficult chores, such as moving and establishing additional camps above base camp, providing hygienic meals during our climbing days, and selecting the optimum ascending route, will be handled by our strong Sherpa team. We will take enough days to acclimatize with the high altitude along with practicing climbing. We shall adhere to the guidance and directions of our skilled climbing specialists once we are fully outfitted with all the required climbing equipment. We head from base camp to camp I and rotate between camp I and camp II with enough rest days. We finally headed to base camp Day Day 27-31: Summit Push [Basecamp - Baruntse Summit (7,129m) - Basecamp] — We progress towards the top of Mt. Baruntse, negotiating many difficult climbing sections, and taking the weather into consideration. Summit starts from base camp to Baruntse peak early in the morning. We will spend a short but important time at the peak before descending and returning the same way to base camp. Day Day 32: Trek from Baruntse Basecamp to Khamedingma — Baruntse Basecamp - Khamedingma The return trek begins from base camp to Khamedingma that contains a lot of descents and minimum or no distinct ascent. Trekking distance: 8 km / 5 mi Trekking time: 4-5 hours Total ascent: 0m / 0ft Total descent: 980m / 3,210ft Day Day 33: Trek from Khamedingma to Thangnak — Khamedingma - Thangnak After a quick meal, we’ll return to the small village of Thangnak. The trails contain 300m ascent and 200m descent on the way. Trekking distance: 6 km / 3.7 mi Trekking time: 3-4 hours Total ascent: 300m / 980ft Total descent: 200m / 660ft Day Day 34: Trek from Thagnak to Chatrabu — Thagnak - Chatrabu Return from Thangnak to Chatrabu and the trail contains a lot of descents on the way. Stay overnight in Chatrabu. Trekking distance: 9 km / 5.6 mi Trekking time: 5-6 hours Total ascent: 0m / 0ft Total descent: 880m / 2,890ft Day Day 35: Trek from Chatrabu to Lukla — Chatrabu - Lukla It’s a long and final day of trek back to Lukla. It is about 15 km but mostly downhill with occasional uphill climb. We will retrace our steps on the left bank of Dudh Koshi river passing through lush forests and villages of lower Khumbu valley en route to Lukla. It will take about 8-9 hrs. Dinner and overnight stay at Lukla. Trekking distance: 15 km / 9.3 mi Trekking time: 8-9 hours Total ascent: 0m / 0ft Total descent: 1,220m / 4,000ft Day Day 36: Drive to Ramechhap and fly to Kathmandu (1,400m/4,593ft) — Lukla - Ramechhap - Kathmandu You’ll need to fly back to Ramechhap and drive to Kathmandu. After reaching, we will transfer you to a hotel. In the evening, you can go shopping for souvenirs, trying Nepali or Newari Cuisine (Ethnic group and native people of Kathmandu Valley. We will organize a farewell program for you to create memories with us. Day Day 37: Leisure day at Kathmandu — This is a free day in Kathmandu. Visiting Durbar squares, temple and stupas some of which are also listed in UNESCO world heritage sites or strolling around Thamel area for some souvenir shopping are the few activities you can enjoy in Kathmandu. Try various Nepali and newari cuisines if you are a food lover and want to try something new in Nepal. On top of it, people in Nepal are really humble and hospitable. You can try talking to locals and learn a few Nepali words. In the evening, you can go to local bars or pubs if you love live music where local bands perform live every night especially on weekends. Day Day 38: Depart — If your flight is in the evening, we will take you for sightseeing in one of the Buddhist stupa; Boudhanath/Swayambhunath which is also listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then, Our representative will receive you from the hotel and drop you at the airport for your return journey back home.

YOUR DAY-BY-DAY ROUTE

Day-by-day itinerary

Day 1Arrival at Kathmandu — Upon arrival in Kathmandu, you will be picked up by our representative at the airport and taken to the hotel. You will meet your guide, discuss the trek program, and make final preparations for the trek. If you have an early arrival, we will take you for a sightseeing trip in the UNESCO world heritage site in Kathmandu and later, in the evening, you’ll have dinner in the hotel.+