Pikey Peak Trek
Also known as Pikey Peak Everest View Trek (Lower Solu).
Pikey Peak Trek is a moderate 5-7-day teahouse trek in the Everest (Khumbu) region of Nepal, reaching 4,065 m. It starts at Dhap Bhanjyang and ends at Phaplu.
Key facts
- Region
- Everest (Khumbu) (Solukhumbu (partly Okhaldhunga/Ramechhap borders))
- Duration
- 5-7 days, 4-7 hours walking per day
- Distance
- 55 km
- Maximum altitude
- 4,065 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate — Short trek with moderate daily gains on good ridge trails, but the 4,065m summit and a long summit day (7-8h with a pre-dawn start) make it more than easy. Remote-feeling and quiet, with simpler lodges than the main Khumbu trail.
- Trek type
- Teahouse, point-to-point route
- Best season
- Autumn (Oct-Dec) and Spring (Mar-May)
- Guide
- Not mandatory
- Restricted area
- No
- Budget cost
- NPR 25,000–45,000
- Comfortable cost
- NPR 45,000–70,000
- Guided cost
- NPR 70,000–100,000
- Getting there
- Kathmandu → Ghurmi → Okhaldhunga → Dhap Bhanjyang (shared jeep/local bus, 7-9h, ~250 km) → trek → Phaplu → Kathmandu (jeep/bus 8-9h; Phaplu also has a small airport with infrequent KTM flights)
- Altitude sickness
- Mild AMS possible on summit night: sleeping altitude jumps to ~3,640m at Pikey Base Camp and the summit is 4,065m within 3-4 days of leaving Kathmandu.
Weather
Famous for its dawn panorama from Everest to Kanchenjunga (the view Edmund Hillary reportedly called his favourite of Everest). Clearest skies Oct-Dec; spring adds rhododendron bloom but more haze. Winter is cold with possible snow on the summit ridge yet mostly clear. Monsoon obscures views and makes the Dhap road muddy.
Permits
- Gaurishankar Conservation Area Permit (GCAP) — NPR 3,000 for foreigners. Where to get it: NTNC counter, Nepal Tourism Board Kathmandu, or checkpoint (Shivalaya)
Itinerary
- Day 1: Kathmandu to Dhap Bhanjyang, 0 h, 2,850 m — Scenic drive up the Sunkoshi valley and over Okhaldhunga hills
- Day 2: Dhap to Jhapre, 5 h, 2,820 m — Ridge walking with first Everest/Numbur views, mani walls, small gompa at Jhapre
- Day 3: Jhapre to Pikey Peak Base Camp, 5-6 h, 3,640 m — Yak pastures at Bhulbhule, rhododendron and pine forest, close-up Numbur Himal
- Day 4: Pikey Base Camp to Junbesi via Pikey Peak summit, 7-8 h, 2,700 m — Sunrise on Pikey Peak (4,065m): Everest, Makalu, Kanchenjunga, Numbur, Gaurishankar panorama; descent via Jasmane Bhanjyang through forest
- Day 5: Junbesi to Phaplu, 4-5 h, 2,470 m — Junbesi's Sherpa monastery village; optional side trip to Thubten Chholing monastery; forest trail over Chiwang ridge (optional Chiwang Gompa)
- Day 6: Phaplu to Kathmandu, 0 h, 1,400 m — Drive back via Okhaldhunga and the Sunkoshi