37 tel: 0845 330 8579 (local call rate, UK only) international tel: +44 1453 844 400 www.himalayankingdoms.com Tibet Everest’s Kangshung Face & Sherpa Tenzing’s Birthplace Look at a map of Everest and you will see that there are basically four ways to approach the base of the world’s highest peak. Firstly from the Nepalese side on the original 1953 base camp trail, secondly from Tibet up the Rongbuk glacier (see our Trail to Tibet), thirdly via the east Rongbuk glacier – the famous offshoot that early explorers missed but which leads to the North Col route, and lastly, the all but forgotten Kangshung glacier approach. Of course the gigantic mountains and connecting ridge of Nuptse and Lhotse protect a direct approach from the south. The problem with the Kangshung approach is that one needs acclimatisation before embarking on the trek itself. We have therefore built in time at Lhasa to adjust and to attend the Shoton Festival. It then takes four days to drive to the start of the trek by which time we should be wellacclimatised. Tenzing Norgay was in fact born in a village very close to the roadhead. The trek itself is tougher than our normal Trail to Tibet route, the Kangshung side less frequented, but the views equally impressive. In particular the world’s fourth and fifth highest mountains, Lhotse and Makalu, are close by and are vastly impressive, not to mention that we are approaching to within four miles of the east face of Everest itself. There is time to celebrate the adventure in Kathmandu afterwards! Trail to Tibet This is one of our most diverse adventures and gives a journey with a succession of excellent objectives, not least of which is walking in the footsteps of Mallory and Irvine at the original Base Camp of Everest. From Kathmandu a three-hour drive takes us to the Balephi Valley in the Jugal Himal. This is little frequented by Western trekkers and provides a glorious hike to the Tibetan border. The route follows a long airy ridge, giving superb views of the mountains on Nepal’s northern border. After five days we reach Bhairev Kund, our home for the next two nights. The time spent here provides important acclimatisation for our visit to the Tibetan side of Everest. Time for local exploration or you may prefer to rest at camp, perhaps meeting pilgrim visitors to the nearby holy lake. A long descent, taken over two days, leads to the hot springs at Tatopani and the Friendship Bridge. Crossing the border into Tibet, we drive up a huge gorge to emerge onto the Tibetan Plateau. During this memorable journey, the terrain undergoes a complete transition from fertile valleys to arid plateau. It takes two and a half days to reach Everest Base Camp in the Rongbuk Valley. From here the world’s highest mountain is at its most spectacular, rising in a sheer 3,000m/10,000ft wall from the head of the high altitude valley. We expect to trek up the historic Rongbuk glacier to see the famous ice pinnacles and visit Tilman’s Meadow. Another long dramatic journey visiting Shegar, Shigatse and Gyantse leads to the ‘Forbidden City’, Lhasa. The Potala palace, ancient monasteries and the beautiful Tibetan people make this city perhaps the most celebrated in the Himalaya. To round off the whole experience we fly over the Himalaya back to Kathmandu, passing close to Kangchenjunga, Makalu and Everest. £2,995 £2,460 Dates: Wed 27 Aug – Sat 20 Sep land only Grade: Strenuous On Trek: 10 days European Leader: tbc Nights’ Accommodation: Hotels: 11 Camping: 11 Guest House: 1 Optional: Single Room £195 Single Tent £45 Insurance: £149 (Insurance Plus) Days Itinerary Duration: 25 days 1–3 Fly to Kathmandu, at leisure 4–6 Fly to Lhasa, sightseeing, attend Shoton Festival 7–9 Drive to roadhead via Gyantse, Shigatse & Shegar 10–14 Visit Sherpa Tenzing’s birthplace, trek to Everest base camp 15–16 Exploring Kangshung base camp area 17–20 Return trek to Khata 21–23 Drive to Kathmandu 24–25 At leisure, fly to London Guaranteed to run for a minimum of clients Shoton Festival 5 £2,650 £2,125 Dates: Fri 28 Mar – Sun 20 Apr*, Fri 26 Sep – Sun 19 Oct † land only Grade: Vigorous On Trek: 11 days European Leader: Roope Roine*, Chris Brightman † Nights’ Accommodation: Hotels: 10 Camping: 11 Lodges: 1 Optional: Single Room £195 Single Tent £50 Insurance: £99 (Standard Policy) Days Itinerary Duration: 24 days 1–3 Fly to Kathmandu, at leisure 4–12 Drive to road head, acclimatisation trek in Jugal Himal 13–14 Drive into Tibet to Everest Base Camp North 15–16 Exploring the Rongbuk Glacier 17–20 Drive to Lhasa, via Shigatse and Gyantse 21–22 Sightseeing in Lhasa 23–24 Fly to Kathmandu and London Guaranteed to run for a minimum of5clients Other Everest treks – see page 32–34 & 38 Left: Tibetan lady Right: Mt Kailash Photos: Steve Berry

In the 50th anniversary year of the first ascent, we organised for the first time a trek that visited both the Nepalese and Tibetan base camps. This year we shall again use a Sherpa leader who has been to both sides of Everest to lead this trek. After trekking to Kala Pattar to overview the 1953 Base Camp on the southern side, we drive up onto the Tibetan plateau. We will already be well-acclimatised and continue to the snout of the Rongbuk Glacier, where the expeditions in the 1920s and 1930s had their base camps. We spend three nights here exploring up the Rongbuk Glacier and stand in awe under Everest’s north face. Lastly, we travel across the Tibetan plateau via Shegar, Shigatse and Gyantse to Lhasa and fly back to Kathmandu, right past Everest. 38 Download detailed itineraries from www.himalayankingdoms.com e: info@himalayankingdoms.com £2,795 £2.270 Dates: Tue 25 Mar – Thu 24 Apr, Tue 30 Sep – Thu 30 Oct land only Grade: Strenuous On Trek: 16 days Sherpa Leader Nights’ Accommodation: Hotels: 11 Camping: 3 Tea Houses: 15 Optional: Single Room £230 Single Tent £40 Insurance: £156 (Insurance Plus) Days Itinerary Duration: 31 days 1–3 Fly to Kathmandu, at leisure 4–17 On trek to Everest Base Camp, Nepal 18–21 Fly to Kathmandu, drive to Everest Base Camp, Tibet 22–23 Exploring the Rongbuk Glacier 24–28 Drive to Lhasa and sightseeing 29–31 Fly to Kathmandu, at leisure, fly to London Guaranteed to run for a minimum of5clients Nepalese and Tibetan Base Camps of Everest The Windhorse (Lung-ta) has come to be seen as a symbol of Tibet. Our exciting Windhorse cultural tour to Tibet takes us to some of the most important religious and cultural sites in this fascinating country. Recent history has left its scars on both Tibet and its people, but the Tibetans are a resilient race. Despite everything they remain exceptionally friendly and welcoming to visitors to their country and there are still a wealth of treasures, both architectural and landscape, to explore. After an exciting flight through the Himalaya to Gonggar Airport we visit Yarlung Valley, considered to be the cradle of Tibetan civilisation. There the tapering finger of Yambulagang is one of the iconic images of Tibet. We then travel on to Lhasa visiting the important monastery of Samye on the way. There will be plenty of time to explore Lhasa and see some aspects of the city perhaps less-commonly visited, possibly doing a traditional kora around the Potala Palace or joining devout pilgrims as they shuffle their way round the ancient lamp-lit Jokhang temple. We head west to Shigatse with its spectacular Tashilunpo Monastery, and on to grey-walled Sakya Monastery before returning to Lhasa by way of Gyantse, still one of the most ‘Tibetan’ of towns. There we can visit the wonderful Kumbum stupa. A final day’s drive back to Lhasa takes us past the huge scorpion-shaped lake of Yamdrok Tso. £2,450 £1,945 Dates: Sat 14 Jun – Mon 30 Jun, Sat 23 Aug – Mon 08 Sep*, Sat 20 Sep – Mon 06 Oct land only Grade: Cultural Tour European Leader: Alison Foot* Nights’ Accommodation: Hotels: 15 Optional: Single Room £245 Insurance: £69 (Standard Policy) Days Typical Itinerary Duration: 17 days 1–3 Fly to Kathmandu, at leisure 4–5 Fly to Gonggar, drive to Tsedang, visit Yarlung Valley 6–9 Continue to Lhasa and sightseeing in Lhasa 10–13 Drive to Shigatse, Sakya and Gyantse 14–17 Return to Lhasa, fly to Kathmandu, fly to London Guaranteed to run for a minimum of clients Land of the Windhorse – Travels in Tibet Da Dorji Sherpa “This is my third time trekking to Mount Kailash with Steve Berry and Himalayan Kingdoms. A great time and weather was perfect. The best thing we did this time was we managed to do the Inner Kora of Kailash which is not possible for everybody and every year. I will always enjoy a lot of trekking with Himalayan Kingdoms groups in Nepal and Tibet and look forward to more treks in the near future.” Da Dorji Sherpa Other Everest treks – see page 32–34 & 37 All departures attend a national festival Other cultural tours – see page 17, 29, 39, 52, 56 & 58 5 Buddha statue at Drak Yerpa Photo: Ann Sainsbury Right: Riding yaks at Yambu Lakhang Photo: Ann Sainsbury