Kharta Valley Trek commences from Lhasa and ends in Kathmandu. In this 20 days’ trip, we first explore the heritage sites in Lhasa for couple of days and then begin our trek from thereon. This trip caters us an opportunity to visit the highest mountain pass, the Langma La Pass (5320m) and few ancient monasteries. As we proceed on with the trek, we get ecstatic to see the beatific sights of mighty mountains, virgin unexplored valley, glacial lakes and alpine vegetation unfolding right in front of us. The trek takes us from Kharta village to the east face of the Everest- the Khangsung Face. That is the reason why this trek is alternatively known as the Everest Khangsung Face Trek. The highest point on this trek, the Langma La Pass, offers picturesque view of the Mt. Everest, Makalu, Mt. Cho-oyu, Lhotse Shar and Lhotse. As the trek is graded as strenuous and involves some seriously high altitude climbing, careful acclimatization is needed.
Outline Itinerary
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu (1400m)
Day 02: Trip Preparation and Sightseeing in Kathmandu
Day 03: Fly to Lhasa (3650 m)
Day 04: Sightseeing in Lhasa (3650 m)
Day 05: Sightseeing in Lhasa (3650 m) in Lhasa
Day 06: Drive to Gyantse (3950m/ 5 hrs)
Day 07: Sightseeing & drive to Shigatse (3900m/ 3-4 hrs)
Day 08: Shigatse - Shegar (4,050m/4-5hrs) - Kharta (3750m/5 hours)
Day 09: Trek to Landrubling (4800m/ 4-5 hrs)
Day 10: Landrubling to Jorpokhari (4268m/ 3-4 hrs)
Day 11: Jorpokhari to Joksum (4800m/ 6-7 hrs)
Day 12: Joksum to Sumthang (4420m/ 5-6 hrs)
Day 13: Sumthang to Parthang (4240m/ 5-6 hrs)
Day 14: Perthang to Pethang Ringmo (4880m/ 4-5 hrs)
Day 15: Discover Pethang Ringmo and Khangshung Valley
Day 16: Reserve Day for Contingency
Day 17: Pethang Ringmo to Rabka Chu(4265m/ 6-7 hrs)
Day 18: Rabka Chu to Tso Tshuringma (4880m/ 4-5 hrs)
Day 19: Tsho Tshurigma to Troshay (4270m/ 6-7 hrs)
Day 20: Troshay to Kharta and drive to Rongbuk (5050m/ 4 hrs) Trek or 2 hrs drive
Day 21: Visit Everest Base Camp and drive to Zhangmu (2250m/ 4 - 5 hrs)
Day 22: Drive to Kathmandu (1400m /9-10 hrs)
Day 23: Final Departure
Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu (1400m)
Upon your arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport, our representative will receive you and then transfer you to the hotel. A short briefing will be given about your trip and trekking itineraries. You can spend the rest of the time strolling around the nearby places. Dinner and overnight in hotel.
Day 02: Trip Preparation and Sightseeing in Kathmandu
Marron Treks will assist you in Trip Preparation and other formalities. After the completion of all the formalities hop in to our transport vehicle for a guided tour to the most historical and renowned landmarks in Kathmandu. You will be exploring the sites like- Patan Durbar Square, Pashupatinath Temple, Swayambhunath and the Boudanath, which are all included in the UNESCO world’s cultural heritage list. Overnight in hotel.
Day 03: Fly to Lhasa (3650 m)
You can arrive Lhasa either from Kathmandu, Nepal or via mainland China. If you are flying from Kathmandu, enjoy the captivating view of the Himalayas, including Everest, Makalu, Kanchenjunga and also the Tibetan valleys during flight. Upon arrival at the Gonggar Airport in Lhasa, visitors will be greeted by our Tibetan guide. After immigration formalities are completed, take a 90 minutes’ drive along the 93 km road leading to Lhasa lying at an altitude of 3,650m/11,972ft meters. Or, you can also arrive at Lhasa from different cities of mainland China, either by flight or train. Whatever be the arrival route, once you are in Lhasa, it is advised to rest and relax for the remainder of the day given Lhasa's altitude. In Lhasa, accommodation would be in a good standard hotel near the city center. Overnight in Lhasa.
Day 04: Sightseeing in Lhasa (3650 m)
We spend a few days in Lhasa for sightseeing and acclimatization purpose. While we acclimatize with the high altitude, we also visit important landmarks in Lhasa. Our tour begins with a visit to Sera Monastery. Equally adventurous and exciting tempo builds up while touring Norbulingka, the summer palace of the Dalai Lama. Jokhang Temple is another important sacred site which unravels more deep seated mysteries of Tibetan Buddhism. Visit to Barkhor Markets can be quite a change from other visits as we roam around the city. Overnight in Lhasa.
Day 05: Sightseeing in Lhasa (3650 m)
Life in Lhasa certainly offers glimpses into one of the most preserved ancient cultural heritages. Like the previous day, we experience invaluable insights during our visits to Potala Palace and Drepung Monastery. This 17th century Potala Palace offers an awesome view of the entire city and also has private quarters of the Dalai Lama, numerous grand state rooms and chapels. In ancient time Drepung Monastery, built in 14th century used to be the shelter for around 10,000 monks. But, now there has been quite a declination resulting in only few hundreds. Tibetans' respect and belief are immensely knotted with this monastery. Overnight in Lhasa.
Day 06: Drive to Gyantse (3950m/ 5 hrs)
Early morning after breakfast we drive to Gyantse . The highway then climbs steeply to the Kamba – La Pass with a magnificent view of lake Yamdruk Tso. We follow the bank of Yamdruk Tso lake, one of the holiest lakes of Tibet. We continue to Gyantse and visit Pelkor Chode Monastery , Kumbum Monastery and Fort in Gyantse. This monastery was founded in the year 1418 and it is notable for its Kumbum, which means 100000 Buddha images. Overnight in Gyantse.
Day 07: Sightseeing & drive to Shigatse (3900m/ 3- 4 hrs)
We drive to Shigatse, a prosperous Buddhism city. Here, we visit the Tashihunpo monastery built in 1447 A.D in the northwest. This monastery houses the world’s largest Buddha figure made up of copper and decorated with numerous luxurious jewels. You can also go to visit the Panchen Lama's Palace which is situated in the southwest of the city and houses many historical relics of Tibet as well as many delicate works of art. Overnight in Shigatse.
Day 08: Shigatse - Shegar (4,050m/4-5hrs) - Kharta (3750m/5 hours)
Today we drive to Shegar. En route, you visit Sakya Monastery divided into the south and north two parts by Trum River. The word Sakya means “grey soil” in Tibetan and accordingly, the soil round the monastery is grey. The Sakya Monastery holds the world's largest treasure of Buddhist scriptures written on patter leaves. There are 3,636 pieces in 20 volumes of such scriptures written in Tibetan, Mongolian and Sanskrit. After reaching Shegar we head towards high pass of Pang La . On the way we can view Mt . EVEREST, Makalu, Cho Oyu. Then we descend to Rongbuk valley. Overnight in Kharta.
Day 09: Trek to Landrubling (4800m/ 4 - 5 hrs)
We begin our trek with a steep hike up to the Kharta Tsangpo valley through several villages. The trail to the Shao La leaves the Kharta valley and climbs steadily up a side valley to the south. As we go higher passing through the forests of rhododendrons and highland conifer forest, we arrive at Landrubling and camp on a shelf above the Kharta River. Overnight in Landrubling.
Day 10: Landrubling to Jorpokhari (4268m/ 3 - 4 hrs)
Today, we make a climb along the moraine ridge to twin lakes below the Shao La, also called Jorpokhari. Jorpokhari is our today's campsite. Overnight in Jorpokhari.
Day 11: Jorpokhari to Joksum (4800m/ 6 - 7 hrs)We head towards Shao La Pass, a slightly lower and easier alternative to the Langma La. We can enjoy the view of Everest, Cho Oyu Makalu and many other mountains from this Pass. We descend down again through the rock slopes and once again scene changes from barren rock slopes to lush rhododendrons, birch, and willow trees. After an hour’s walk down the valley, we camp at Joksum following a stream through thick fir and juniper forest. Overnight in Joksum.
Day 12: Joksum to Sumthang (4420m/ 5 - 6 hrs)
Our today’s route is from Joksum to Sumthang, where we have to walk through Rhododendron forests. If the day is clear then we can catch the glimpses of the two beautiful mountains- Everest and Lhotse. The high ridges south of the Karma River drip with hanging glaciers and in the spring are alive with bellowing avalanches. We continue to traverse alpine meadows and pass yak herders camps and a serene green lake to the campsite at Sumthang on a large meadow with great views of the Khangshung Valley.
Day 13 Sumthang to Parthang (4240m/ 5 - 6 hrs)
We hike up a ridge enjoying the clear view of Everest, Lhotse Tshertsa, Petangtse, Chomolonzo, Makalu and many other peaks. We then descend down to the karma river coming from the Langma La. Slowly we enter enter Khangsung valley drained by Khangsung stream. After crossing the stream we arrive at Parthang which is about an hour’s walk uphill from the stream. Camp at Parthang.
Day 14: Perthang to Pethang Ringmo (4880m/4 - 5 hrs)
We go for a hike onto a very large rock slide. The huge faces of Everest and Lhotse now appear to dominate the sky. Mt. Chomo Lonzo (7790m) appears very close. The trail traverses around the mountainside to reach beautiful glade called as Opka. We keep continuing our hike. On the way you can enjoy the view of Everest, Lhotse and Tserse. Finally we reach at our campsite at Pethang Ringmo. Overnight at Pethang Ringmo.
Day 15: Discover Pethang Ringmo and Khangshung Valley
This is our discovery day where we plan to explore Pethang Ringmo and Khangshung valley. The place is surrounded by mountains and the view of Kangshung face and Lhotse appear spectacular. Towards the north of camp, there are two lakes on a ridge overlooking the Khangshung Valley. If interested to discover further, we can take an excursion to a small Col on the Nepalese border overlooking the Makalu base camp area. Overnight at Penthang Ringmo.
Day 16: Reserve Day for Contingency
We keep a day in reserve for any contingency. There is no such guarantee that we can get quite a favorable weather according our schedule, so this day is used as a contingency day in case we are unable to complete our schedule. Sometimes somebody in the group may get some problems in acclimatizing well enough, then the day can be used in that condition too. If the trip goes smoothly, we do not need this spare day and we can use the contingency day at any other forthcoming sites. Overnight at Pethang Ringmo.
Day 17: Pethang Ringmo to Rabka Chu(4265m/ 6 - 7 hrs)
This day we head from Petang Ringmo to Rabka Chu. We retrace down the valley along the Khangsung glaciers across the rockslide opposite the Chomolonzo glacier, and past Pethang to a stream crossing at the Raabka Chu. The camp(4120m) on the grassy meadow across the river is a very pleasant place to spend during the afternoon time. Slowly we descend down to the lake and reach the campsite in about 4 hrs. We can also go for a side trip to Guru Rinpoche’s cave. Overnight at Rabka.
Day 18: Rabka Chu to Tso Tshuringma (4880m/ 4 - 5 hrs)
Today we hike in the route for an hour to climb uphill to Pangboche. We will have our lunch in Pangboche. Slowly we hike in steep route over alpine slopes to a small but beautiful lake at the base of Langma La. We come across Mt. karma changri and camp at Tso Tshuringma Lake. Overnight camp at Tsho Tshurigma.
Day 19: Tsho Tshurigma to Troshay (4270m/: 6 - 7 hrs)
From Tsho Tshuringma, we hike in steep up route to Langma La. On the way we can see prayer flags in abundant number. After every hour we can see such flags on our way. It is said that those flags are in memory of the spirits and deities. Then we move towards to Khangsung valley. From there we can have the wonderful view of mountains and slowly we descend steeply over rocky moraines and glaciated valley. Camp & overnight at Troshay.
Day 20: Troshay to Kharta and drive to Rongbuk (5050m/ 4 hrs)
Trek or 2 hrs drive We head from Troshay to Kharta where we follow the stream from camp. Today we need to cross the track to Kharta. After few hours we reach the fork of the trail, from where we climbed to Shao La. Then we cross the river below Yulbo village which brings us back to the starting point of our trek. Then we drive towards Rongbuk. After arrival in Rongbuk, transfer to lodge and take the time to relax. Afterwards we can go to visit Rongbuk Monastery. Overnight at Rongbuk.
Day 21: Visit Everest Base Camp and drive to Zhangmu (2300m/ 4-5 hrs )
Today, early morning, we go to take the view of Mt. Everest. Have your breakfast and go for a drive to Friendship Highway where we continue to Zhangmu. On the way we can have the magnicient view of Cho Oyu, Gauri Shankar, Shishapangma and many other Himalayan peaks. Finally, we arrive to Zhangmu through Nyalam. Overnight at Zhangmu.
Day 22: Drive to Kathmandu (1400m/9 - 10 hrs)
We cross the Friendship Bridge at the Nepal-China border across Bhote Koshi River. We have some customs formalities to comply with. Then, we continue the drive to Kathmandu. About 4 hours of drive through deep valleys takes us to Kathmandu. Evening in the calm of hotel in Kathmandu. Overnight at Kathmandu. This would be your final day in Nepal unless you opt for extending your trip.
Day 23: Final Departure
Unless you would want to extend your trip and try out some of our other adventurous packages like
Bungy Jumping,
Mountain Biking,
White Water Rafting etc., this will be your last day in Nepal. A representative from Marron Treks will escort you to the airport for the final departure to your homeland. Have a safe flight back home. Please let us know about your desire for trip extension so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
