19 days Mera Peak Climbing

We will drive you straight to your hotel in private vehicle as soon as you land at Tribhuvan International of Kathmandu. We will give you short briefing on our final agreed program. And if you are the first time traveler in Nepal we will give information about restaurant, ATM, money exchanges and other useful information until we meet for next day.

There are various major cultural historical and religious places around Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur for sightseeing. Pashupatinath, Bauddhanath, Swayambhunath, Bhaktapur Durbar Square,Kathmandu Durbar Square and Patan Durbar square are our top lists. Most of them are listed on UNESCO world heritage sites. Later in the evening we will arrange dinner with your trekking guide so you can know each other and talk about your trekking itineraries.

Flying to Lukla is always a thrill. The 45 mins flight from Kathmandu highly depends upon vulnerable weather. You need a lot of patience to fly to Lukla since most of the time the flights are delayed. As you fly you can see beautiful Himalayan ranges on Northern part. You can take a short tea break in Lukla until your guide finds porters to carry your luggage. Instead of taking common route to Chuthang(that eventually leads Zatrwa-La pass) we trek down to Paiyon to acclimatize properly and avoid AMS. Trekking on beautiful temperate forest and farm fields for about 5hr passing by Surkhe takes you to Paiyon.

The quite and narrow trekking path is mostly used by the local people. You may only see few trekkers along the route. Trekking continues in between upper temperate rhododendron and bamboo forest passing by small local settlements. We climb two ridges Chutok-La(2945m) and Khari-La(3080m) enjoying the Dudhkoshi valley to reach Pangkongma which is approximately 6 hr trek.

Today we climb Pangkongma-La(3170m) ridge and descend to Hinku river. The path gradually heads uphill to northern direction to reach another ridge Surke-La. We officially enter Hinku valley. The vegetation and climatic landscape we follow is much similar to temperate region with forest of oak maple and rhododendron with few terraced cultivating land.

We gradually enter subalpine zone and trek for about 6hr from Nashing Dingma to Chalem Kharka. The trekking becomes even more quite and occasionally see small human settlements making a natural countryside. The open green meadows (Kharka) are seen occasionally with small bush of juniper. Alpine pine and fir trees often breaks the vegetation . The area is considered a suitable habitat for red pandas.

From Chalem kharka we enter alpine region of Nepal. As well trekking gets more demanding on high elevation. The trekking landscape mostly has rocky black cliffs and meadows with small juniper bushes. Chunbu Kharka is open grassland surrounded by towering cliffs. It remains cloudy and cold during the most of the evening time. The region is also popular for Paanch Pokhari (sacred five lakes) where you can make a short hike.

We climb 200m from Kharka and enjoy the spectacular lakes and snowy peaks from the ridge. The trekking is steep down between rhododendron forests till we reach river bank. The wide and open Hinku valley looks magnificent. Trekking by the river bank and soon crossing the river we climb gentle up to reach Kothe.We actually dropped altitude of approximately 600 from Chunbu Kharka to reach Kothe.

Today the trekking path joins with other trekkers who started their journey through Zatrwa-La pass(4600m) .The trekking path from Kothe is easy and gentle mostly by the bank of Hinku river. We head further north of the valley. On clear day you may see Kusum kanguru(6367m) on your left side and glimpse of Mera peak as well. Approximate 6 hr walk from Kothe and you are at open flat meadow of Tagnag.Tagnag is surrounded by cliffs around you.

The trekking is generally gentle climb although you encounter few number of short and steep climbs. The trekking pace gradually decreases as you gain altitude. Passing by the Ding glacier on other side you descend down to pasture land Ding Kharka surrounded by unnamed snow capped peaks. The trekking continues further North to Khare with nice view of Mera North (6476m) and Hinku glacier .Here we prepare for final approach to Mera Peak.

In order to adopt our body with new environment ,humidity,temperature and altitude it is highly important to acclimatize yourself. And above all we are trying to conquer Mera Peak which requires few more preparation. You will hike around Mera Peak Base Camp to amplify your acclimatization and return back to Khare . Besides that climbing guide will also explain technical difficulties on climbing Mera Peak. The climbing guide will inspect your climbing gear for final time.

We trek on snowy and rocky path below the section of Hinku glacier to reach base camp which normally takes 4 hr. The landscape around the region surely activates adrenaline .Upon arrival on base camp we use our climbing gear for the first time and try our attempt towards the high camp.It is as an exercise which is beneficial for acclimatization. As well the first encounter with the peak eases the following day for climbing High Camp. We return base camp and spend overnight at tent.

Though technically not difficult, Mera Peak can be dangerous due to numerous crevasses while climbing to High Camp. Though summit looks nearby, the altitude makes all the difference on your pace. We set High camp at the Northern slope of the peak at the height of 5700m by the side of boulder. From here we can still see some major mountains and peaks like Mount Everest, Cho oyu, Makalu,Baruntse. The night can be awful at this altitude to spend night on tent.

We start around 2 am in the morning to avoid the bad weather and climb remaining 700m.The climbing is smooth except the last section of the summit. It is little steeper and requires climbing equipment and skills. When you summit the peak you can see Mount Everest(8848m),Lhotse(8516m),Cho oyu(8210m) Makalu(8463m) Kanchanjunga(8586m) along with Ama Dablam,Baruntse,Nuptse surrounding you. After quick picture session we start descending and trek all the way back to Khare.

We retrace same path down the valley to reach Kothe passing by open meadows small juniper bushes and forest leaving behind isolated landscape. Trekking by the bank of Hinku river enjoying the lively green vegetation and looking back the peak we conquered. We trek 5 hr to reach Kothe.

The first part of trekking starts uphill in between the dense and green forest of birch, rhododendron and juniper. Soon we descend in between shrubs of rhododendron and continue our trekking by the bank of river. The last section of trekking is steep down to reach Thulikharka from where we can still see Mera Peak on clear day.

We gradually climb for 2 hr to reach the top of Zatrwa-La pass(4600m) from Thuli Kharka. Lukla valley looks wonderful from the pass with Numbur Himal ranges on the horizon. We soon descend down to open pasture meadows and enter the rhododendron forest. The landscape becomes more familiar and the path is easy and gentle to reach Lukla. You can enjoy the last trekking dinner with your guide and porter as a tribute to their hard work for making your trekking successful.

A final good bye to Everest trekking region. We take a short flight from Lukla to reach Kathmandu. After refreshment and relaxing in your hotel you can walk around the town to buy some souvenirs for your relatives and friends.

Our office representative will be in your hotel 3 hour prior your flight time to drop you at Tribhuvan International Airport.