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Mount Everest jeep trek
Everest, the world's tallest mountain. Seeing it once in a lifetime is quite an incomparable experience. Our 5-day Tibet trip (or minibus trek, depending on how many people are travelling with you) will take you from Lhasa to the Tibet Everest base camp. Although you may not be climbing Everest, you'll still have quite an adventure since you'll be travelling at extreme heights. |
| Duration |
5 days/ 4 nights Daily from May - October |
Accommodation |
4 nights in a double occupancy room with shower/ toilet. Can be cold and modest. Comfort level 2/3 (see accommodation). |
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Price |
£925 per person - based on 2 people sharing |
Includes |
Transport, accommodation, english-speaking guide, driver, permits, Everest Park fee. |
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Transport |
Land cruiser and minibus |
Excludes |
Meals and entrance fees |
Day 1: Lhasa - GyantseTravel time: 8 hours - 260km (you'll spend the night at 3950m)On the first day of your Tibet Everest base camp trip, you'll head out of Lhasa for a trip to the beautiful Tibetan countryside. You'll leave Lhasa and drive to Gyantse; a 260km drive of which only the first part on a paved road. The paved road will quickly turn into a gravel road. Along the way you'll see Buddhist monasteries, picturesque villages, residential camps built against rolling hillsides and nomads roaming around with their yaks. After while you'll start to see the first pass, the Kamba-La. On top of the pass (4795m - 82 km from Lhasa) you'll have a breathtaking view of the deep-azure blue Yamdrok-Tso (Tso means lake). This incredibly high elevation, scorpion shaped lake (4488m) is one of Tibet's four holy lakes. |
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Naturally you'll see quite a few prayer flags on this mountain pass and you can even hang a few of your own up here. You'll have lunch in one of the villages along the way and then you'll continue on to the next mountain pass, the Kora-La at an altitude of 5045m. You'll see your first truly sky-high mountain tops and glaciers here at an altitude of approximately 7000m. At the end of the afternoon you'll reach Gyantse (elevation 3950m). Gyantse was once an important trading post on the route between India, Sikkim, Bhutan, Tibet and China. Your hotel is located on Main Street and you'll stay in a room with your own shower/ toilet. If you feel up to it you can go for a walk through town and have a look at the monastery and the outside of the fortress. You'll probably feel the 250m altitude difference with Lhasa. |
Day 2: Gyantse - SakyaTravel time: 5 hours - 285km (you'll sleep at 4100m)On day two of journey to the Tibet Everest base camp, you'll visit the Pelkor Choede Monastery and the Kunbum Stupa (entrance fee £4) in the historic part of town. The Kunbum Stupa (= "house with 100.000 Buddha statues") is not only considered a spectacular museum, but is also one of the most spectacular architectural structures in Tibet. Take your time climbing the stupa and explore all the hidden rooms and levels. You'll then go on a lovely trip to Sakya via Shigatse. You'll spend the night in a modest hotel and you'll have the rest of the day to go sightseeing. Sakya is a small town that's dominated by the Sakya Gompa, one of Tibet's largest monasteries with unique colours, prayer mills and chapels. |
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Day 3: Sakya - RombukTravel time: 6 to 7 hours - 250km (you'll sleep at 5050m)This morning you and your guide will visit the Sakya Gompa (entrance fee £4.50). From on top of the roof you'll have lovely view of the surrounding area. Afterwards it's time for the real adventure to begin as you leave civilisation and head for the Tibet Everest base camp. You'll travel through remote plateaus, past small Tibetan country villages and past some of the world's highest mountain passes.... literally and figuratively, breathtaking. Tibetan prayer flags line the pass. Here and there you'll see a shephard with his yaks grazing on a mountainside. From this point on any hotel you come across will be quite basic. |
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The Tibetan hospitality will make up for any lack of comfort you'll experience around here. The people here are friendly and accommodating and don't mind posing for your most beautiful Tibet holiday photos. Just make sure you ask permission first. At Shegar you'll leave the Friendship Highway and you'll follow an unpaved road from this point on. The landscape will become flat and barren, the mountain peaks will become whiter and at the end of the day you'll reach the Rombuk Monastery; at 4980m it is the world's highest laying monastery. The Rombuk Guest House lies next to the monastery. You'll spend the night here in a very basic room. |
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Day 4: Hike to Everest - ShigatseTravel time: 6 to 7 hours - 350km (you'll sleep at 4200m)Brace yourself, this will probably be a tough - but unforgettable - morning. Today you'll visit the Tibet Everest base camp (elevation 5200m). At 8852m, Mount Everest - also known as Quomolangma in Tibetan - is the tallest mountain in the world. By experiencing how strenuous it is to even simply walk in this area, will give you renewed respect for the real Everest climbers. If you don't feel like walking, or can't walk any further, you can continue by horse and cart, no problem. After your adventurous trip to the Tibet Everest base camp, you'll return to the civilised world in the afternoon. Via Shegar you'll drive back to second largest city in Tibet: Shigatse, where you'll arrive around 17:00. Tonight you'll sleep in the 3-star hotel with shower, toilet and all the necessary 'mod-cons'. |
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Day 5: Shigatse - Lhasa Travel time: 6 hours - 280km (you'll sleep at 3900m)With about 40,000 inhabitants, Shigatse is known for its Tashilhunpo Monastery, where a gigantic golden stupa marks the 4th century Panchen Lama's tomb. A holy place and the most important monastery in the Gelukpa sect. The enormous 27m statue of Maytreia represents the future Buddha. Currently about 600 Tibetan monks still live here. You'll visit the monastery with a guide (entrance fee £5.50). If you feel like getting some exercise afterwards, climb the mountain that the monastery is built up against. Many prayer flags left behind by those who reached the top still wave in the wind. Along the way you'll pass the Kora first, the pilgrim's path lined with prayer wheels where pilgrims come to say their mantras while continuously spinning the wheels. Later in the day you'll drive into Lhasa; this marks the end of an impressive journey through to the Tibet Everest base camp. |
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