Island Peak Climbing Expedition

The flight into the Himalayas offers breathtaking views of the major peaks Mt. Dorje Lakpa (6,966 m), Mt. Ganesh (7,422 m), Mt. Purbi Chhyachu (6,637 m), Mt. Langtang (7,227 m), etc. (weather permitting), taking you directly into the Himalayan capital of Kathmandu. After immigration formality on arrival, as you exit the airport terminal you will be greeted and welcome by a Sampurna Adventure personal & transferred to your hotel, Spend the rest of the day at leisure for personal activities following your program briefing or you may familiarize with the narrow lively, and endless streets around Thamel town (Touristic center), where you will find all kinds of good restaurants, ATMs and exchange money, full of typical Nepali handicrafts, fine jewelry, clothing, and trekking gear stores.

After breakfast, we take an enchanting 25-minute flight takes you offering breathtaking views of lush green and White Mountains, will reach the Tenzing-Hillary Airport at Lukla. This is one of the most beautiful air routes in the world culminating in a dramatic landing on a hillside surrounded by high mountains peaks. Upon arrival at Lukla, you will meet our other Sherpa crew members and after some further arrangements, the trail start through the prosperous village of Lukla until we reach Phakding. Due to acclimatization, we will have short trek up to Phakding, later we can visit the nearby monastery. 

The trek through a beautiful pine forest, the trail leads us along the Dudh Koshi River passing by some suspension bridges; one of them is the famous Hillary Suspension Bridge. On the way we will have first glimpse of Mt. Thamserku (6618 m). We will pass through the beautiful villages of Benkar, Chumoa, and Monjo, followed by check post and entrance to Sagarmatha National Park. At the last we will pass by Jorsale before reaching Namche Bazaar. The trail climbs through the forests and bridges until we reach the confluence of the Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi rivers. After a final steep ascent of two hours, we will have first sight of Mt. Everest peering over the Lhotse-Nuptse ridge where we can stop to catch the view. Finally, we will reach to Namche Bazaar, a gateway to Mt. Everest and main trading and Sherpa village of this region. 

In the morning we take an excursion of about 4.5 hours, which serves for acclimatization and offers us views of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam. The trek includes a visit to the Sherpa culture museum, Sherwi Khangba, a visit to the Everest View hotel.

Then we continue with the visit to the town of Khumjung where we can visit the first school made in the name of Edmund Hillary, the first person to climb Everest. Return to the town and free afternoon to wander around and visit the Tibetan markets. Overnight at a hostel in Namche Bazaar.

Today we leave early because we have 5–6 hours of walking ahead of us. We leave behind the steep streets of Namche Bazaar to continue only surrounded by enormous mountains such as Mount Everest (8,848 m), Thamserku (6,618 m), Kantega (6,718 m) and Ama Dablam (6,856 m).

Ama Dablam is one of the most beautiful mountains in the world that will accompany us almost to the town of Lobuche. Tengboche is a magical, beautiful place that invites you to peace and meditation and is famous for the Buddhist Monastery, where you can attend the Puja, and for the views of Everest. Accommodation in a hostel.

We start the day in the morning as usual because we have about 6 hours of walking to Dingboche. At the beginning we will descend along a narrow path through a forest of conifers and rhododendrons to an area from where we have a close view of the imposing Ama Dablam.

Next, the trail continues climbing to the height of the Pangboche village. After a few more hours we arrive at our destination where we will spend the night in a hostel.

Acclimatization day in which we can rest and enjoy the landscape that the environment gives us. Optional there is a walk that offers very beautiful views of Ama Dablam on one side and on the other side of Chollatse, two very technical peaks that dominate the valley. The climb to Nangkartshang offers us better acclimatization. Overnight at the hostel in Dingboche.

We continue our journey from the Dingboche valley in an ascending direction. We soon reach a viewpoint from where we have panoramic views of the Tawachee (6,495 m) and Cholatse (6,440 m). After lunch in Dughla (4,620m) we continue with a steep ascent to the final mouth of the Khumbu glacier, which comes from Everest.

After walking four or five hours we arrive at the small town of Lobuche (4,930 m), where it is very possible that we will notice the effects of the altitude gained. If possible, we take a guided tour of the pyramid (ancient geomorphology interpretation center of the Himalayas) that now studies the effects of altitude sickness on the human body.

Night in Lobuche.

The road to Gorak Shep (5,160 m) is steep and somewhat difficult but the views are impressive. Little by little we began to enjoy splendid views of the most emblematic peaks of the Himalayas, including: Pumori Peak (7,145m), Nuptse (7,864m), Kala Pattar (5,545m) and Mount Everest.

Looking to our right we can see the enormous Khumbu glacier that marks its evolution along the slopes of Everest. We have lunch in Gorak Shep and in the afternoon we continue to the base camp of the highest peak on the planet, Everest (8,848m). We rest, enjoy the views, take photos and then return to Gorak Shep for the night. Accommodation in a hostel.

We started the march at dawn, our objective today is the summit of Kala Patthar – the Black Rock which is located at (5,545 m) above sea level. This is one of the few magical places on Earth from where we have a spectacular view of the giants of the Himalayas, including Pumori, Nuptse, Lhotse and the great Everest. Next, we descend to Dingboche (4,410m), where we spend the night. Accommodation in a hostel.

The trekking on this day is relatively simple, only about 3 hours of walking. Optionally, from Chukkung, you can take a walk to the town's viewpoint, Chukkung Ri (5,550m). The climb to the viewpoint will be very good for the acclimatization process. Round trip would be about 4.5 hours of walking. If you need some climbing/mountaineering equipment, there is the possibility of renting it in the town. There are two stores that have everything. Night in hostel.

Today is very similar to the previous one, the only difference is that we exceed 5,000 m altitude. The Island Peak base camp located in a valley that is right next to Lake Imja Khola. It is the day when we meet the high-altitude Sherpa and the base camp team.

We camp, have lunch and in the afternoon we take the mountaineering course where the guide teaches us how to use the fixed ropes and how to move on the snow/ice. Overnight at Island Peak base camp in tents.

Today is the big day. Prepared, we began the ascent to meet our challenge: climbing Island Peak. In general, you leave at one in the night to reach the summit around nine in the morning. You walk at night, with a headlamp. You have to go slowly, today you gain about 1000 meters of elevation, it's a long day.

After walking for about 3 hours you reach the place where you have to put on your crampons. The glacier begins at about 5800 meters. Along the glacier there are several sections secured with fixed ropes and ladders. The most exciting part is yet to come. You have to be very careful and pay maximum attention.

The last section is a snow shovel of 30-45 degrees and 3-400 meters that climbs directly to the summit. This entire section is secured with a fixed rope. Once at the top, we enjoyed magnificent views of Lhotse, Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Cholatse, Makalu, Baruntse, Mera and many other unnamed or lesser-known peaks. We spent about 15-20 minutes at the summit celebrating and taking photos and then headed down the same path to base camp where we spent the night.

After the previous day, today is an easy, relaxing day. We went down the same path to the town where we rested and celebrated the ascension. Night in hostel.

We started the day with a long descent and after a couple of hours we arrived at the town of Dingboche. Next, we arrive at Pangboche, where the oldest monastery in the Khumbu region, Gompa Pangboche, is located. Almost the entire route the statue of the impressive Ama Dablam watches us closely. We continue descending and after about 4.5 hours of walking we reach today's objective, Tengboche. We spent the night at the hostel.

We continue the easy descent through the Khumbu valley to where we cross the river to climb back up to Namche Bazaar. Again we have great views of Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse. Overnight at a hostel in Namche Bazaar.

We left early and in about 7.8 hours of walking we arrived at Lukla and finished the circuit. Free afternoon to get to know the town a little and celebrate with fellow travelers the success of having climbed Iceland Peak along with Everest Base Camp. Night in hostel in Lukla.

Today we say goodbye to the Khumbu Valley. We take our small plane that takes us back to the secondary airport of Ramechapp from where we take the car to Kathmandu. 4.5 hours of travel. Transfer to the hotel. Free afternoon.

Free day for unforeseen events: altitude sickness, flight cancellations Lukla – Kathmandu, for the last purchases or to rest. Night in Kathmandu.

After breakfast at the hotel, departure to the airport or connection to another tour.