18-Day Island Peak Climbing Tour from Kathmandu via Everest Base Camp

On arrival at Kathmandu International Airport (Tribhuwan International Airport), get transferred to the hotel after being received by our guides and staff. At the hotel, check in and join a group briefing regarding the climb and other useful information, followed by a welcome dinner.

In the morning, depart from the hotel. Our city guide will show you around places of interest within Kathmandu, including a tour of the world heritage sites. Then, return to the hotel for preparation for the Island Peak climb.

In the morning, fly to Lukla with grand views of Himalayan peaks during the 35-minute flight, with Everest appearing as you reach Lukla. You will have time to refresh and then walk on a gradual trail with a few ups and downs past Lukla town, visiting Sherpa farm villages before reaching Phakding for an overnight stop.

Today, take a long walk to reach the famous Namche Bazaar. The morning starts with a gradual walk following the Dudh Kosi River and crossing a few bridges to reach the Sagarmatha National Park entrance near Monjo village. From here, walk on the riverbed and then climb for a few hours on a forested trail with views of snow-capped peaks, as this scenic walk takes you to the exciting Namche Bazaar.

Rest day at Namche Bazaar for acclimatization before heading to the higher area. A good place for a free day, Namche allows you to spend the day on a scenic hike to viewpoints above the town facing Mt. Everest, Amadablam, and other mountain ranges. In the afternoon, explore the streets and shops; Namche also holds a colourful and busy Saturday market once a week.

From Namche, the walk leads along a gradual scenic path with a downhill section to the Imjatse River at Phunge-Tenga for lunch. In the afternoon, climb uphill through rhododendron, pine, and fir forest with grand views of snow-capped peaks. After a few hours of climbing, reach Thyangboche Monastery and enjoy marvellous views of Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Kangtenga, Thamserku, and Kwande, along with magnificent Amadablam. Spend the afternoon visiting the interesting monastery and observing monks and priests in prayer.

From Thyangboche, catch a super panorama of mountains, then head downhill within lush green woodland to reach a metal bridge over the Imjatse River. From here, climb uphill to Pangboche, the last permanent Sherpa farm village before Island Peak and Everest Base Camp. Our walk leads to Somare for lunch, with super views of Amadablam at close distance, and then continues on a gradual path with a short climb to reach the windy valley of Pheriche for an overnight stop.

On leaving Pheriche, walk to the end of the valley and take a short climb to a ridge to reach Thugla (Dugla). Here, the trails from Pheriche Valley and Dingboche join towards Everest Base Camp. From Thugla, enjoy stunning views of Taboche, Cholatse, Lobuche, Pumori, and Amadablam. After a lunch break and rest, the climb leads up to the terminal debris of the Khumbu Glacier, where you come across many memorials to unfortunate climbers who died in the mountains of Khumbu. From here, continue walking to Lobuche for an overnight stop.

This morning's adventure takes you to Everest Base Camp, walking with a short steep climb between glacier and moraine before reaching Gorakshep, beneath the lofty peak of Pumori and the rocky hill of Kalapathar. The walk continues towards Everest Base Camp, where you can enjoy views of the massive Khumbu icefall and glaciers. After an exciting time and the experience of a lifetime, retrace the journey back to Gorakshep for an overnight stop.

Climb early in the morning to the top of Kalapathar at above 5,545 m, the highest point on the trek, with magnificent views of the mountains, including Mt. Everest at close distance. After a great time on top, descend back to Gorakshep for breakfast and continue walking to Thugla, then downhill to the Imjatse Valley, with a nice scenic walk towards the last human settlement at Chukung, where you stay in the comfort of a nice lodge.

After Chukung, from here onward, we stay in tents camping for a few nights until the climb is over. The morning walk leads to our main highlight and goal, Island Peak Base Camp, located in a scenic spot at Parshya Gab. Here, we set our camps, with the afternoon free to practice climbing with our expert guide.

Great thrill and adventure begin as we set a high and advanced camp above 5,400 m to make the climb much more accessible and possible. Leaving the base camp, climb above the moraine towards an open gully located between two well-defined ridges to reach the high camp beneath a small hanging glacier above 5,400 m. Here, we spend the afternoon making final preparations for the big climb in the early morning.

The climb starts early morning before dawn, heading to the summit of Island Peak at above 6,160 m / 20,328 ft, where the grade of the climb is PD+ as per the French and Swiss Alpine Climbing System. As our guide leads you across the snow-covered glacier, avoiding serac and crevasses, climb northwards over snow-covered scree along the margin between a glacier and the top ridge. The climb continues by crossing a gully with some stones and icefall danger. A steep snow and ice ramp of above 100 meters high (300 ft) leads to the main summit, as this strenuous climb takes you to the final and major highlight of the adventure.

Enjoy views facing the panorama of Mt. Everest 8,848 m, Lhotse 8,501 m, Mt. Amadablam 6,856 m, Mt. Makalu 8,463 m, Chamlang, and Baruntse peaks. After a great climb and feeling in high spirits, descend safely on the same route back to base camp.

All climbers should be at base camp on this day to clean up the garbage, hand it over to designated SPPC personnel (Sagarmatha Pollution Project Control), and pack gear for yaks to carry to Lukla. After getting organized, our return route leads towards the Imjatse Valley with scenic views. The walk proceeds towards Chukung to reach Dingboche for a lunch break and then continues downhill to Pangboche village for an overnight halt.

From Pangboche, retrace the journey up to Thyangboche and then head downhill for an hour before continuing on the good winding path to Namche Bazaar for an overnight stop before Lukla.

Today, take a long walk to reach our last stop in the Khumbu area at Lukla. From Namche, head downhill to a river with a short climb to Monjo and then continue on a good trail to Phakding village, from where a few more hours of walking bring you to Lukla for the final overnight stop within the Everest and Khumbu area.

In the morning, as per your flight time, transfer to the Tenzing-Hillary air terminal in Lukla and board a smaller aircraft for a scenic flight back to Kathmandu. On arrival, transfer to your hotel after a most amazing time on the Island Peak climb.

Last day in the land of Himalayan wonders. As per your international flight time, depart from the hotel for the airport for your international flight back to your home country or other respective destination.