Everest Base Camp, Three Passes Trek, Travel
Dingboche to Chukhung, Everest Base Camp Honeymoon (Day Eight & Nine)
DESTINATION: Chukhung
ELEVATION: 4,750 meters
ELEVATION GAIN: + 340 meters
DISTANCE: 4.5 km (2-3 hours of walking)
OXYGEN: 57% of sea level (previous 59%)
After spending an additional day in Dingboche to get over my altitude sickness symptoms, we headed over to Chukhung, the starting point for the first pass crossing of the Three Passes trek – the Kongma La Pass (5,545 meters). Some trekkers also add the Island Peak climbing to their itinerary – an unforgettable experience, according to a few hikers who ascended it. The Island Peak is definitely on our bucket list, but this was our first time in the magnificent Himalayan mountains, and we still didn’t know what our bodies could and couldn’t handle.
To get adequately acclimatized before the Kongma La Pass, we scheduled two nights in the village of Chukhung to rest and ensure we’re feeling strong enough before pushing ourselves over the heights we’ve haven’t been exposed to yet.
If you’re in top shape (and have no AMS symptoms), it’s not a bad idea to go up the Chhukhung Ri side trek to acclimatize. Despite being a good challenge, the views from there are stunning, and you get an idea of the hike you’ll be attempting next. Your rest days on the Everest Base Camp and the Three Passes treks are reserved for short acclimatization hikes or, if you’re not feeling up for it, just a day to rest at your teahouse. As you might have guessed, there isn’t much to do other than hiking, so a good book would come in handy for those quieter days.
The walk from Dingboche to Chukhung only took a few hours, so when we got to Chukhung and settled in our tea house for the next two nights, we decided to go up to Chukhung Ri to acclimatize a little more (5,559 m). The whole trek takes about 3-4 hours to reach the peak, and although not considered high for Nepali standards, hiking to the very top is a challenging side trip. However, this was probably the first time I was in top shape to go all the way up; however, my hubby was feeling slightly off. We later found out that he caught a stomach bug and that evening and night (was not a good experience for him). So it was a good idea to spend an extra night (which we already planned in) at Chukhung.
Thankfully, we visited a travel clinic before our trip, so we were prepared for this situation. Antibiotics helped within 24 hours. This stomach flu situation wasn’t on our itinerary, but going over one of the three passes feeling slightly off wasn’t the smartest decision. We considered staying an extra night, and this was the first time on our trip when we seriously considered hiring a porter for the hike. If you start hiking solo but then change your mind, you can still get a porter up to a certain point on your trek. You can always inquire with the teahouse owner.
Thankfully, one porter still had the capacity, so we hired him to carry one of our bags. Because we were piggybacking on an already loaded caravan, our backpack weight limit was 15 kg. We later also found out that the porters walk around the pass instead of going over. They do so to avoid AMS, which gets worse with heavy bags and exhausting trips. Happy that we’ll be travelling light over our very first pass crossing, we split the weight from our backpacks and paid the porter USD 50 (which was totally worth it).
The only issue and uncertainty at the time were whether my husband will feel better on schedule or if we would have to spend a third night in Chukhung. If we were to stay an extra night, though, we’d have to carry our heavy backpacks in suboptimal shape over one of the toughest passes of the Three Passes trek. So we decided to stick to the plan and leave as scheduled.
Travel Tip: If you’re travelling in the busy season as we did, you may have issues finding accommodation in Lobuche and Gorakshep. Our Chukhung lodge owner offered to inquire with his sister in Lobuche about lodging for our stay.
Luckily, we both felt better right on schedule and headed out to conquer the Kongma La Pass, one of the most challenging treks I’ve ever done, which also took us 11 hours instead of the sever promised by the lonely planet, but that is because we did get a little lost.
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Everest Base Camp Trek Series:
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- Day 1 – Toronto to Kathmandu
- Day 2 – Exploring Kathmandu
- Day 3 – Kathmandu to Lukla
- Day 4 – Namche Bazaar
- Day 5 – Namche Bazaar to Tengboche
- Day 6 – Tengboche to Pangboche
- Day 7 – Pangboche to Dingboche
- Day 8 & 9 – Dingboche to Chuchung
- Day 10 – Chuchung to Lobuche (over the Kongma La Pass)
- Day 11 – Lobuche (and the Italian Pyramid)
- Day 12 – Gorakshep to Everest Base Camp
- Day 13 – To Kala Patthar and Dzongla
- Day 14 – To Dragnak (over Chola Pass)
- Day 15 – Gokyo (with Gokyo Ri ascent)
- Day 16 – Back to Namche Bazaar
- Day 17 – Namche Bazaar to Lukla
- Day 18 – Lukla to Kathmandu
- Day 19 – Kathmandu to Toronto
