Rolwaling and Tashi Lapcha Pass Trek
- Duration
- 21 days
- Max altitude
- 5,755 m
- Difficulty
-
Very strenuous
Difficulty scale
- Easy Short walking days on good trails below about 3,000 m. Suitable for anyone in ordinary health, including families.
- Moderate 5 to 6 hours a day with some steep sections, reaching up to about 4,000 m. A reasonable level of fitness and a few weeks of preparation walking recommended.
- Strenuous 6 to 8 hours a day, high passes or altitudes above 5,000 m, and remote stretches. Good fitness, prior trekking experience and proper acclimatisation days are essential.
- Very strenuous Long days, multiple high passes or technical sections, sustained time above 5,000 m. For experienced, well-conditioned trekkers only.
- Best season
- Autumn (Sep–Nov) · Spring (Mar–May)
- Group
- Private
- From
- $2,285.00
Overview
A crossing rather than a trek. The Rolwaling valley, then the Tashi Lapcha at 5,755 m, a glaciated pass with fixed rope and crampon ground, into the Khumbu. Expedition support and previous mountaineering days are both required.
Every departure is private and led by a government-licensed Nepali guide, so the plan flexes to your party and to the mountain. Permits, park fees and local taxes are inside the price you see.
Trip highlights
- Tashi Lapcha pass at 5,755 m
- Tsho Rolpa glacial lake
- A glaciated crossing into the Everest region
- Full camping and expedition support
Day by day
The itinerary
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Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu (1,400m) 1,400 m Hotel
Our representative meets you at Tribhuvan International Airport and transfers you to the hotel, followed by the trek briefing.
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Day 2: Kathmandu: permits and technical kit check 1,400 m Hotel
Rolwaling is a restricted area, so the permit is issued in person against your passport. The rest of the day is a serious gear check: this route crosses a glaciated pass, and boots, crampons, harness and axe all get looked at rather than assumed.
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Day 3: Drive to Gongar (1,440m) 1,440 m 8-9 hrs Camp
A long day east on the Araniko highway and then north up the Bhote Koshi on rough road through Charikot and Singati. The road ends where the Rolwaling valley begins.
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Day 4: Gongar to Simigaun (2,000m) 2,000 m 4-5 hrs Camp
A steep climb straight out of the valley floor to Simigaun, a Sherpa village on a shelf with a small gompa and a long view back down the gorge. A short day on the map and a hard one on the legs.
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Day 5: Simigaun to Dongang (2,800m) 2,800 m 6-7 hrs Camp
Into the Rolwaling proper, traversing high above the river through dense rhododendron and bamboo. The valley walls close in and the trail is narrow and exposed in places.
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Day 6: Dongang to Beding (3,690m) 3,690 m 6-7 hrs Camp
Out of the forest and into open high valley, with Gaurishankar's face filling the head of it. Beding is the main village of Rolwaling, a single row of stone houses and a gompa, occupied seasonally by families who move up and down the valley with the year.
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Day 7: Beding: acclimatisation day 4,200 m 4-5 hrs Camp
A day held here, with a climb on the slopes above the village and a return to sleep low. There is no quick way off this route once you are past Na, so the acclimatisation days are not optional padding.
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Day 8: Beding to Na (4,180m) 4,180 m 3-4 hrs Camp
A short, gentle walk up the valley to Na, the summer settlement and the last habitation of any kind. Yak pasture, stone walls and the first proper view of the peaks ringing the head of the valley.
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Day 9: Na: acclimatisation day 4,600 m 4-5 hrs Camp
Another built-in day, spent walking up towards the side valleys above Na and coming back down. Rest, hydration and an honest assessment by your guide of how everyone is going, because the days ahead do not forgive a bad start.
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Day 10: Na to Tsho Rolpa (4,580m) 4,580 m 4-5 hrs Camp
Up the valley to the moraine wall and the lake behind it. Tsho Rolpa is the largest glacial lake in Nepal and it has been growing for decades as the glacier retreats, which is why it is monitored and partly drained. Camp near the outflow, with ice cliffs at the far end.
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Day 11: Tsho Rolpa to Kabug (4,750m) 4,750 m 5-6 hrs Camp
Along the lateral moraine above the lake on loose, awkward ground where the trail comes and goes. Slow progress for the distance covered. Camp on the moraine.
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Day 12: Kabug to Tashi Lapcha base camp (5,050m) 5,050 m 5-6 hrs Camp
Onto the glacier system below the pass, with rope work beginning here if the ice demands it. A cold camp, an early night and a briefing on the order of the party for tomorrow.
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Day 13: Cross the Tashi Lapcha (5,755m) to high camp (5,000m) 5,755 m 8-10 hrs Camp
The day everything else has been for. A very early start on hard snow, roped, with crampons on and fixed line where the guides judge it necessary. The pass itself is a notch between rock walls with the Khumbu opening ahead. The descent on the far side is technical before it is merely long. This day moves for weather and nothing else: if the forecast is wrong we wait, because there is no safe way to hurry it.
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Day 14: Descend to Thengbo (4,350m) 4,350 m 5-6 hrs Camp
Off the glacier and down the Thame valley on rock and then grass. The first running water and the first vegetation in days, and the relief of being on ordinary ground again.
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Day 15: Thengbo to Thame (3,800m) 3,800 m 4-5 hrs Teahouse
Down to Thame, a Sherpa village with an old gompa on the hillside above it and a mountaineering history out of all proportion to its size. Teahouses again from here.
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Day 16: Thame to Namche Bazaar (3,440m) 3,440 m 4-5 hrs Teahouse
An easy valley walk down the Bhote Koshi to Namche, past mani walls and water-driven prayer wheels. Namche after Rolwaling feels like a city.
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Day 17: Namche: rest day 3,440 m Teahouse
A day off after the crossing. Bakeries, a hot shower, the Sherpa museum above town, and the chance to sleep in for the first time in three weeks.
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Day 18: Namche to Lukla (2,840m) 2,840 m 7-8 hrs Teahouse
The last walking day: down to the Hillary Bridge, along the Dudh Koshi through Monjo and Phakding, then up into Lukla. The crew marks the end of the trek in the evening.
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Day 19: Fly to Kathmandu (1,400m) 1,400 m Hotel
The morning flight out, weather permitting. Afternoon free.
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Day 20: Spare day in Kathmandu 1,400 m Hotel
The buffer, and on this route it is genuinely needed: it covers either a weather day held at the pass or a delayed Lukla flight. If neither happened, the day is yours.
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Day 21: Departure 1,400 m
Our representative takes you to the airport about 3 hours before your onward flight.
Altitude profile
The climb, day by day
Comfort tiers
Choose your level of comfort
| Amenity | Standardfrom $2,740.00 | Comfortfrom $3,233.20 | Luxuryfrom $3,973.00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu hotel | 3★ | 4★ | 5★ |
| Trail accommodation | Standard teahouse | Best lodge in each village | Premium lodge where the route has one |
| Porter support | Shared porter | Private porter, lighter load | Extra porter, carry almost nothing |
| Transfers | Shared | Private | Private, throughout |
What's included
Included
- Included: All airport transfers in a private vehicle
- Included: Four nights' twin-sharing accommodation with breakfast at a 3-star hotel in Kathmandu
- Included: Twin-sharing tented accommodation for 12 nights on the trek
- Included: Twin-sharing teahouse accommodation for 4 nights in the Khumbu after the pass
- Included: All meals on the trek: breakfast, lunch and dinner, cooked by our own kitchen crew while camping
- Included: Boiled and treated drinking water throughout the trek
- Included: Private vehicle from Kathmandu to the Rolwaling roadhead
- Included: One-way flight Lukla to Kathmandu at the end of the trek
- Included: Rolwaling restricted area permit, Gaurishankar Conservation Area and Sagarmatha National Park entry fees, and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit
- Included: A government-licensed climbing guide qualified for glaciated terrain, plus assistant guides at one to every three trekkers on the pass
- Included: A full camp crew: cook, kitchen staff and high-altitude porters, with all their wages, meals, insurance and equipment
- Included: All camping equipment: two-person tents, dining tent, kitchen tent, toilet tent, table, chairs and kitchen utensils
- Included: Group climbing equipment for the Tashi Lapcha: ropes, snow bars, ice screws and fixed line
- Included: Duffel bag, down jacket and a four-season sleeping bag on loan for the trek
- Included: A comprehensive first aid kit, a pulse oximeter and a bottle of emergency oxygen carried by the crew
- Included: Trekking map and trip completion certificate
- Included: A farewell dinner in Kathmandu
- Included: All government taxes and official expenses
Not included
- Not included: International airfare and the Nepal entry visa
- Not included: Travel insurance, which must cover mountaineering activity, glacier travel and helicopter evacuation to at least 5,800 m. Ordinary trekking cover is not enough for this route and we will ask to see the policy
- Not included: Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu, apart from the farewell dinner
- Not included: All drinks, including bottled water, alcohol and soft drinks
- Not included: Hot showers, battery charging and wifi at the teahouses after the pass
- Not included: Personal climbing and trekking equipment: mountaineering boots, crampons, harness, ice axe, helmet and personal clothing
- Not included: Tips for the guide, climbing staff, cook, camp crew and porters
- Not included: Extra costs caused by weather days held at the pass beyond the spare day already in the itinerary
- Not included: Extra costs caused by flight delays, landslides, illness, early departure or any other event beyond our control
- Not included: Anything not listed under what is included
Your team
Led by a licensed guide
Every route is led by a government-licensed guide from our team. Licences are on record with us before departure, and you'll meet your guide once your trip is confirmed.
Guide language(s): English, Nepali
Group-size pricing
Walk together, pay less
Every trip is private, so the guide, permits and transfers cost the same however many walk. Sharing them is why the per-person price falls: arithmetic, not a sale.
| Group size | per person | You save each |
|---|---|---|
| 1 trekker | $2,740.00 | base rate |
| 2 to 3 trekkers | $2,285.00 | $455.00 |
| 4 to 6 trekkers | $2,145.00 | $595.00 |
| 7 or more | $2,010.00 | $730.00 |
Per person, including permits, park fees and taxes. Nothing is added at checkout.
Weather
What to expect, month by month
- Autumn (Sep–Nov)The most reliable trekking season: clear air, stable weather and cold nights, right after the monsoon clears.
- Spring (Mar–May)Warmer than autumn, with rhododendron forests in flower and slightly hazier mountain views as the season goes on.
Traveller reviews
What trekkers say
Why book with us
Every trail, one licensed team
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