Makalu Sherpani Col Pass Trekking - 25 Days

You will arrive at Kathmandu International Airport at the designated time. Staff from the travel agency will be waiting for you with a complimentary transport facility. The staff will guide you to your respective hotel after he receives you at the Airport. Upon your arrival at the Hotel, you will check in to your room after proper registration at the Front office. After you freshen up from the long travel, the trek leader will invite you to a welcome dinner. You will meet with your trekking expedition later in the evening. The trek leader will give a short briefing about the Makalu and Sherpani trek ahead. Afterward, you will enjoy a pleasant Nepali cuisine for dinner and spend the night at the hotel.

The next morning, you will enjoy a delicate breakfast early in the morning. The tour guide will inform you about the city excursion. You will get ready for the tour of Kathmandu city. A private vehicle will be waiting for you outside the Hotel. The vehicle will drop you at the destination and the tour guide will lead you throughout the city excursion. You will explore Pashupatinath, the Holy temple of Lord Shiva and experience the ancient Hindu ambiance of the place. The excursion will follow up with the exploration of the Monkey temple Swayambhunath and Boudhanath. Both of this stupa emits peace and tranquility. After the city excursion, you will make your back to the Hotel.

After a delicious breakfast, the private vehicle will escort you the domestic terminal of Tribhuvan International Airport. You will arrive 30 minutes prior to your Flight to Tumlingtar. You will board the plane and enjoy a 40 minutes scenic flight to Tumlingtar. You will spectate the glorious snow-capped peaks spreading from Langtang to Mt.Everest, Makalu and Mt. Kanchenjunga. You will finally arrive at Tumlingtar airport after 40 minutes of flight from Kathmandu.Tumlingtar (950m) is a village, it lies on a shelf above the Arun river. Here, you will meet the rest of the trekking crew and potters. You will spend a short time strolling around the village of Tumlingtar. You spend the night at a lodge at Tumlingtar.

Today your trips begin with a pleasant drive through the villages towards Khadbari. You leave the Tumlingtar village early in the morning and continue on the road through the sub-tropical forest of Sal. You will come across many many farmlands along the way to Khadbari. Khadbari is the headquarter of Sankha Shaba and Makalu region. The trail leads through gradual ups and downs terrain after you leave khadbari. You will arrive at the village of Mani-bhanjang (1200m) after 2 hours of a drive along the dirt road. The drive continues through a thick forest full of ferns for another 2 hours until you arrive at Chinchilla. Chinchilla is a farm village with spectacular views of Mount Makalu 8,481m. You spend the night in a lodge at Chinchilla.

You will enjoy breakfast with a morning view of Makalu and it’s surround peaks. Chinchilla is a magical spot to spectate the countryside and majestic mountain ranges. You start your trek hiking through the serene forest blooming with rhododendron and hemlocks. The hike ascends through steep sections and gradually descends to the destination. The trail leads through the village of Kuwapani and continues towards the crossing of Daju La Pass 2100. You will commence your descend from here through the forest full of oaks. You finally arrive at Num after two hours of hike downhill through the dense forest. Your body is exhausted after the strenuous hike for almost 5-6 hours. So, you will stay here for the night in the village of Num (1500m).

The trek continues towards the Arun River with an incredible hike down the incredibly steep and terraced slopes. The path ahead is densely forested and the paths are mostly slippery. So, you must take care when you descend through the narrow valley. After you reach the bottom, you will cross the suspension bridge across Arun River 670 meters. You will continue your hike and climb your way out of the lush rainforest to Runruma. You will rest here for about an hour and have lunch. Today, you will hike the total duration of 5 hours to Sedua. After lunch, you will head towards the suspension bridge and climb up through the forest towards the village of Sedua. You will register here at the National park office and spend your night in a lodge at Sedua (1493m).

After an early morning breakfast, the trek will follow easy trails through Murimi Danda. The trek today is a short 4 hours hike through the rural villages and farmlands. You will have lunch and camp for the night at Tashi-Gaon. The trail gradually ascends through the millet and rice fields for an hour. The trail leads towards Narbugaon through the hillside forest. After a short climb uphill, you will finally arrive and heads at Tashi Gaon (2200m). The sherpa inhabits the village of Tashi Gaon. The Sherpa of Tashi-Gaon is different from the likes of Sherpa from the Everest. You will have enough time to wander around the village. You spend the night at Tashi Gaon.

Today will be the first day of acclimatization on your Makalu and Sherpani pass trek. It is important for your body to adapt to the surrounding environment. Acclimatization helps your body to avoid the symptoms of Altitude Sickness. You also have an option to hike around the area. The rest day gives plenty of time for the porters to re-supply their goods before the walk to Barun and Makalu area. Tashi Gaon is the last village settlement for weeks. So, the necessary materials needed to be an inadequate amount for the trek ahead.

You enjoy a pleasant breakfast at Tashi Gaon early in the morning. The trek ahead is refreshing as the blooming rhododendrons in the forest accompany for an hour and a half. You will enjoy the incredible shade of the rhododendron and oaks forest. You will follow the steep trail through the magnificent cloud forest. You will leave the dense forest behind and head onwards to Kohama ridge. You will hike the strenuous uphill climb along the bushes of rhododendron and juniper. The trail will continue to ascend until you pass through Unshisa. After 5-6 hours from Tashi-gaon, you finally arrive at an opening area of Kohama danda. Kohma dada (3500m) offers a grand view of Mount Makalu 8,481m and Mt. Kanchenjunga 8091m. You and your trekking crew will camp at Kohma Danda for the night. You will feel the cold chill of the Himalayas at night.

You will enjoy your breakfast with a wonderful morning sunrise view of the mountains and surrounding snow-capped mountains. The trail ahead is gradual ups and downs until you reach Thulo Pokhari and Sano Pokhari. The trail can be quite misleading due to the heavy snowfall in the winter. You will head on towards the pass of Tutu-la 4,075m after you pass through the last pond. Here onwards, the path ahead is a gradual descend towards green vegetation. Finally, after 6 hours of hike, you will reach the camp at Mumbuk (3400m). Mumbuk is a campsite in the middle of a forest full of birch, pines, hemlock, and rhododendrons. You stay here in the campsite at Mumbuk for the night.

You can enjoy a glorious morning view of the Khumbu Karana through the shade of the tree. Your trek ahead will head on towards the Barun Valley. Barun Valley is a remote area in the Eastern Himalayan regions of Nepal. The unique remote landscape in the Makalu-Barun National Park is a natural habitation for 440 bird species, 3,000 species of flora, and 75 species of fauna. If you are lucky, you might even come across endangered animals like musk deer, red panda, and clouded leopard. You will enjoy the remarkable bio-diversity in the region and follow the trail that goes along the loose ground. You should be wary of walking along the loose landslide trails. Regardless, the trail is a pleasant hike with gradual uphill slopes of the Arun valley. You will follow the Barun river upstream towards camp at Nehe-Kharka (3750m). The trek today is an action packed 6 hours hike on the remote terrains of the Makalu region. You will camp on the meadow at Nehe-Kharka,

You will continue to hike on the loose trails towards the crossing of Barun River. From here on, your trek will continue to the grassy fields of Yangri Kharka. You will pass through a forest full of rhododendron, pine, and fir. The trail heads on towards Langmale Kharka and eventually enters an ancient lateral moraine. The trek to Sherson is six hours long but the trail gets easier after you arrive at ancient lateral moraine. You will enjoy a magnificent view on your left of a large glacial lake that fills the valley. You will cross wooden bridges over Barun river. You will finally arrive at Sherson after an easy trail from the lateral moraine. Sherson is the lower base camp of Mt. Makalu and the campsite for today. You can observe Mt.Baruntse 7,220m from the campsite at Sherson (4600m). You spend the night here at Sherson.

Today, you will have plenty of time to explore the interesting hike and viewpoints at Sherson. You could go on a scenic hike, away from the camp to get a closer view of Mount Makalu (8481m) and Barun Pokhari. You can also walk an hour towards a large meadow or further to enjoy the magnificent views of the peak of the surrounding mountain. The view of the rare face of Everest the Kangshung face and Lhotse is mesmerizing and enchanting to the naked eyes.

Today, you will bid Sherson farewell and continue your trek towards the remote higher base camp. The trek to High Makalu base camp is 3 hours hike above Sherson. Upon arrival, you will witness a glacial pond at the snout of the Barun glacier. You will have plenty of time in the afternoon for a short hike above this camp. The short hike leads towards a climb on the moraine ridge. The short is certainly pleasing as it offers spectacular views hidden east sides of Lhotse and Everest. The rest of the day, you can rest or prepare for the adventure tomorrow. The porters make their load as light as possible to overcome the difficulties and traverse over Sherpani Col.

You will enjoy a splendid breakfast at the Makalu Base Camp. After you pack up for the trek ahead, you will head westwards to Higher Camp just below Makalu west pillar. You must take your time as you ascend because the altitude is radical. If you do not take enough breaks in the high terrain, you might suffer from Altitude sickness. The path follows on an ablation valley on the west side of the Barun glacier. You will follow the trail onto the glacier and head through the boulder-strewn ice caves towards Puja Camp/High camp (5200m). The 4-5 hours strenuous hike today is rewarded with views of rare Kangshung face (3350m) of Everest.

You will leave Puja Camp or Higher camo and follow the trail up a steep climb over the rocky slopes of the Barun’s west bank. You need to be careful hiking on these steep terrains. A slight misstep may cause an accident. You will follow the trail until a line of cairns leads us into the valley. You will finally arrive at two small glaciers by the slopes of the Sherpani Col (6180m) after 4-5 hours of vigorous climb. You will set up camp beneath the ice cliffs of these two glaciers. You will spend the night at the on route camp (5700m).

Today is an important day for acclimatization. The trek ahead is a difficult climb on the steep terrains. You need to rest and prepare yourself for the challenges ahead. So, your body needs to replenish energy and take rest throughout the day. The higher altitude provides spectacular views of the ginormous west face and west pillar of Mount Makalu. The guides and the trek leaders will check the route ahead and make the trail accessible by fixing ropes on route pass.

You will leave the camp before dawn and climb the icy snout of the Sherpani Glacier (6190m). There are three different Col’s giving access to the trek ahead. Your trekking team will choose the most functional and appropriate of these routes. You will commence the climb on steep snow-covered slopes. You will need the help of fixed ropes to cross the glacier. You will continue to move forward to the rocky crest of the West Col (6190m). The Cirque ahead is a fabulously framed by Baruntse’s icy ridges and the vast cliffs of Makalu.

The wall of Chamlang to the south and the spire of Ama Dablam at the west will leave you speechless. The amazing experience continues with having a packed lunch on the world’s highest picnic spots. The Trek guides will fix scout a safe route leading down to the Hongu Glacier. The long hike over the snow slopes ends after you set up camp on the moraine (5640m).

The trek will lead you to the next adventure over the Amphu Laptsa. You will meet the busy trails of Lukla, Thyangboche, and Namche after you come across Amphu Laptsa. You will head on towards the upper Hongu Basin. The trail passes along the Magnificent Kang Leyamura 6,430 m peak to the west. You will pass many moraine deposits through your 4-5 hours trek to Panch Pokhari. Eventually, you will arrive at the beautiful Panch Pokhari. Panch Pokhari literally means ‘five ponds’ and you will set up camp next to the largest pond. You will sleep here at camp below the foot of Amphu Labtsa Pass 5,850m.

You will start your trekking journey early in the morning. You will pass the top of the pass overlooking impressive views of Lhotse Shar and the summit of Imja-Tse Peaks. After the arrival of the kitchen staffs and porters, the trekking team will descend 150 meters to a relatively less steep ground below the pass. The loads have to be carefully lowered in the steep descent.

The trekking guide will check every member on the expedition team. Then the descent starts slowly and carefully. You will have the assistance of ropes and ice ax if required until you reach the safe side from Amphu labtsa Pass (5850m). You will step on ground free from by early afternoon. You will hike for another hour or more to the ablation valley away from the icy area. The trek will get easier from Imja-Tse valley to the trekker’s civilization at Chukung. You arrive at the temporary settlement of Chukung after 7-8 hours of strenuous hike. You will speed the night in a tea house at Chukung (5780m).

The strenuous and exhausting hike over the high passes ends here. You will start your trek today with a pleasant walk downhill to Dingboche. The trail passes along several icy streams and heads towards Bibre. You follow the route passing through stone-walled fields and alpine landscape towards Dingboche. The trek today is a 6 hours moderate and easy trek to Thyangboche. After you arrive at Dingboche, you continue on a moderate trail towards Dingboche (3867m). You make an easy descent to a and follow the trail to dense forest and green vegetation. After an hour, you will finally arrive at Thyangboche. You stay at Thyangboche for the night.

The journey today will retrace the trail back to Namche Bazaar. You will continue the trek downhill and hike on gradual paths towards Namche Bazar. After you arrive at Namche, you will follow the downhill trail to Monjo village. You will hike approximately for 5-6 hours until you reach Monjo (2835m). Monjo village lies near the entrance of Sagarmatha National park. You sleep in a lodge at Monjo village.

Today is the end of great trekking experience. You will walk 4-5 hours making your way back to Lukla. After your arrival at Lukla, you will spend the remaining time in leisure and pleasant walk in the Lukla village. You will enjoy a pleasant dinner with the fellow sherpa people, guides and porters for the last time. You will reminisce every moment you spent with them on the trekking expedition. You sleepover in a lodge at Lukla (2860m).

You will pack your luggage and prepare yourself to board a flight to Kathmandu. You should be aware of the flight delays due to bad weather and other technical reason. After you successfully board a flight, you will enjoy a 30-minute scenic flight to Kathmandu (1300m). You will have the opportunity to experience the panoramic views of high mountains. Upon your arrival at the domestic terminal, staff from the agency be waiting for you. The respective staff will escort you back to the Hotel.

You will plan your departure from the Hotel according to your international flight time. The trekking agency will confirm your air ticket prior to the flight time. You need to carry the necessary documents to the airport like visa and passport. The trekking agency staff will transfer you to the International airport. The agency staff will bid you farewell for your final departure from Nepal, the land of high Himalayas.