Mt. Cho Oyu (8,201m) Expedition – 38 Days

After you arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, you will have to go through custom formalities. You will be greeted by our representative who will be anxiously waiting for you with a placard displaying your name in his hand. You will be transferred to the 3-Star category hotel in a private vehicle. Once you get refreshed, you will get briefing regarding the itinerary and you will also be introduced with your crewmembers and other trekkers who are going to join you on the trip. Enjoy welcome dinner in the evening where you can taste authentic Nepali dinner. Stay overnight in a hotel.

In the morning after breakfast, we will organize half day sightseeing tour during which you will be taken on memorable UNESCO Heritage Tour. Tour begins with visit to Nepal’s holiest Pashupatinath Temple Complex and takes us through Nepal’s largest BouddhanathStupa and 2500 years old SwoyambhunathStupa. We will return to hotel in the afternoon and time for shopping of any missing items, equipment checking and getting ready for the trip.

This is the preparation day. Expedition is a long and challenging activity. We need to get well prepared and equip ourselves with all necessary equipment and accessories for successful and enjoyable expedition.

You will be picked up from the hotel and transferred to Tribhuvan International Airport. Remember to carry your Tibet Permit and Visit Visa papers. Almost 70 minutes of flight over Everest and other mountains will take you to Lhasa Gonggar Airport. You will take a ride in 4WD vehicle to cover 60km distance along Friendship Highway to Lhasa City. Stay overnight in a hotel in Lhasa.

Lhasa is located on the northern edge of Kyi Chu River. Lhasa is the spiritual centre of Tibet. We will visit Potala Palace, Ramoche Monastery andNorbulingka Palace. Potala Palace is the home of Dalai Lama which was built in 637 AD. Norbulinkha is the summer palace of Dalai Lama which has been identified as the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sera Monastery and Jokhang Monastery are other places of interest in Lhasa.

Leaving Lhasa, we will cross Kamba La (4794m) and Karo La (5010m) Pass. The path is scenic and allows view of beautiful Yamadroke-Tso Lake while nreath-taking views of surrounding mountains can be viewed to the south. We will reach Gynatse. KhumbumStupa and Palkor Monastery are places of interest in Gyantse. We will continue to drive to Shigatse (Xigatse) and reach there in about two hours from Gyantse. We will visit Panchen Lamas’ Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.

Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse lies in the base of Dolmari. This monastery was built in 1477 by Gendun Drukpa and the monastery holds the Maitreya Chapel which holds the largest Brass statue of Buddha. We will drive for 4 hours to reach Shegar. Shegar is close to Everest Base Camp. We will stay overnight at Shegar.

Take a day of rest at Shegar. It will help us in proper acclimatization to the increasing altitude. We can explore Shegar town on this day. Local Monastery and a fort is attraction in Shegar. Stay overnight at Shegar.

We drive to Base Camp from Tingri to Mt. Cho Oyu where we stay few other nights for the better acclimatization and preparing to attempt to Intermediate Camp (5,200m) and also to Advance Base Camp (5,650m)

We will dedicate these days on preparation to climb Cho Oyu. Guide will share the Cho Oyuclimbing strategy with team. He will also provide you with necessary instructions and explain you the risky part of the mountain and also explain you how you have to tackle it. Teach you what to do and how should you call for help if in case of emergency. For proper acclimatization, we can return to less altitude area. We will pack food and prepare our gear.

We will make necessary arrangement for successful climbing of Cho Oyu. Sherpas will make way and fix cables wherever necessary and set up High camps. Advance Base Camp will be at 5700m. Similarly, High Camp 1 will be at 6400m, High Camp2 will be at 7200m and High Camp3 will be at 7600m elevation before we make final push to the summit. Rotation of higher camps is necessary for proper acclimatization.
Base Camp (4,900m) to Advance Base Camp (5700m)
Leaving Base Camp, we will proceed to Advance Base Camp of Cho Oyu. Our trail continues along freezing Ra Chhu River and we will reach close to Nangpa La where we will set the camp.
Advance Base Camp to High Camp 1 (6400m)
Climbing through the steep terminal moraines of glacier, we will reach to the snow shoulder where we will set our Advance Base Camp. We can reach Advance Base Camp in about 4 to 6 hours.
High Camp1 to High Camp 2 (7200m)
Our trail traverses thesnow ridge. We will climb up a steep 50m ice cliff from where we will climb 50m headwall. Passing between crevasses, we will reach High Camp2 in about 6 to 7 hours.
High Camp2 to High Camp3 (7600m)
Trail from Camp2 onwards gets tough. We need to use fixed ropes at several seracs. Climbing further through snow and glacier, we will reach High Camp 3 which will be located on the northwest face of Cho Oyu.
High Camp3 to Cho Oyu Summit (8201m), Descend to Base Camp
We will start our climb early before dawn at around 2:00am. We aim to reach the summit at around 9:00 or 10:00am. We will make vertical climb to the summit and enjoy breath-taking views from the top of Cho Oyu before making gradual descend to Base Camp.

Leaving Base Camp, we drive to Old Dongba and stay at the guesthouse, or we can drive further as well.
If we take Lhasa route then we drive to straight to Shigatse about 350km, and stay at guesthouses for the night.

From Old Dongba, we will drive to Keyrong and possible cross the border to Nepal side to Sybru.

Or from shigatse, we drive to Lhasa about 350km and stay at hotel for the over night and get ready for the next day flight to Kathmandu.

From Keyrong or Sybru, we drive to KTM (8 hours drive).

If we take route via Lhasa then we fly to Kathmandu and our representative from KTM airport and transfer to hotel will pick you up. Free afternoon and evening

This is a leisure day. Spend the day as you like. You can go for shopping in Thamel where you can buy souvenir items. We can also arrange for guided sightseeing tour. Alternatively, you can arrange your photo albums and jot down memories in your journal.

You will be transferred to the Airport as per your schedule flight for international departure. Safe journey. We hope to see you soon.