Mt. Everest Kama Valley is also called Kangshung Face or Kangshung Valley of Mt. Everest. It is located by the east of Mt. Everest in Shigatse Prefecture of Tibet by the border with Nepal. Kama Valley of Mt. Everest is a quiet place with stunning views of big mountains including Mt. Everest (8848m, the highest peak in the world), Mt. Lhotse (8516m, the 4th highest peak in the world), Mt. Shartse (7591m), Mt. Pethangtse(6739m), Mt. Kangshungtse (7678m), Mt. Makalu (8485m, the 5th highest peak in the world), Mt. Chomo Lonzo(7804m). It is also home to the Kangshung Glacier, one of the three giant glaciers of Mt. Everest. It is probably the least explored place around Mt. Everest.

Mt. Everest Kangshung/Kama Valley Trek

Mt. Chomo Lonzo

A trek to Mt. Everest Kama Valley is one of the most classic treks in China. Comparing to the south and west side of Mt. Everest which are located in Nepal and usually have many hikers and with relatively well-developed hiking, and the north side of Mt. Everest that can be accessed by good road, the east face of Mt. Everest in Kama Valley, or Kangshung Valley, is a less explored place and a quiet trek in the Himalayan Mountains. Trekking in Kama Valley of Mt. Everest provides you chance to experience the rich flora and fauna due to the drastic elevation change of the place. The many good campsites provide chance for great photo shots. Kama Valley (Kangshung Face) of Mt. Everest is considered a very isolated place.

Highlights

Mt. Everest and Other Mountains

A trek to Mt. Everest East to Kama Valley/Kangshung Face is mainly to see the big mountains. Big mountains in Kangshung Face include Mt. Everest (8848m, the highest peak in the world), Mt. Lhotse (8516m, the 4th highest peak in the world) and its side peaks, Mt. Shartse (7591m) and its side peak, Mt. Pethangtse(6739m), Mt. Kangshungtse (7678m, also called Makalu II), Mt. Makalu (8485m, the 5th highest peak in the world), Mt. Chomo Lonzo(7804m). The most prominent mountain in the central part of Kama Valley is Mt. Chomo Lonzo. The glacier by the east of Mt. Everest is called Kangshung Glacier or Dzogchong Glacier.

Kangshung/Kama Valley

Mt. Everest and Mt. Lhotse

Mt. Everest East Base Camp

A trek to Kangshung Face/Kama Valley will have the chance to go to the Base Camp of Mt. Everest by its east. The Base Camp is located by around 5200m by the Glacier Moraine of the valley. From the base camp one sees splendid views of mountains in upper Kama Valley. The base camp in Kangshung Valley has been quiet for many years due to hard access and difficult paper works for climbing expeditions.

Mt. Everest

Highland Lakes

A Mt. Everest Kama Valley trek will also bring you the chance to see many highland lakes including Shaotso Lakes, Tsolang Lake, Sharlung Lake, Gonglitso and Suzongtso lake. Some of the lakes provide excellent mirror views of the big mountains. Some camps were made by the side of some lakes to better catch good views of mountains especially during sunrise and sunset.

Mt. Everest Kangshung/Kama Valley Trek

Mt. Everest Kangshung/Kama Valley Trek

Getting to Mt. Everest Kama Valley

To do Mt. Everest Kama Valley Trek one usually starts from Lhasa. From Lhasa it is around 640km drive to Qutang Village in Tashi Dzong of Tingri County in Shigatse Precture. From Qutang it is another 6km drive to the hiking start point in Yulba Village. Recommended to spend one or more nights in between and before the hike for acclimating. The trek starts by Yulba Village in Kharta Valley and then over the mountain pass into Kama Valley then go up the Kangshung Face before hike back over another mountain pass then down to Kharta Valley again and will usually end by Lhundrubling Village that is only 5km west to Yulba Village. Road is in good conditions in Tibet in general.

Mt. Everest Kama Valley Trekking Season

The good season to trek Mt. Everest Kama Valley (Kangshung Face) is May, June and September, October, November. If you don’t mind higher chance of foggy weather then July and August are also good time to trek Kama Valley of Mt. Everest. Trekking in May and June you will have the chance to see the rhodedandra flowers while enjoying the trek in relatively dry and clear conditions. Trekking in second half of September, October and first half of November after the monsoon you have more stable weather conditions with relatively better visibility of mountains and clear sky. From December to the next April the mountains may have heavy snow by the passes and not possible to walk thus not good season to trek even though it is a very dry period of time and with usually very good visibility of views.

The east of the Kama Valley is at Chentang by the actual border with Nepal. Chentang has an elevation of only 2200m. It connects to the even lower valleys by its south in Nepal and gets warm current that goes northwards and usually brings rainfall or snowfall. In general you have better visibility of views in October/November than in May/June while hiking in Kama Valley of Mt. Everest East.

Mt. Everest Kangshung/Kama Valley Trek

Mt. Everest Kama Valley Trekking Planning

From Lhasa to the hiking start point it is around 650km and by driving it takes around 2 days. We normally recommend you to even have more nights slept or traveled at high altitude in Tibet at over 4000m before doing this trek if possible to avoid getting mountain sickness and to make sure you do your trekking under healthy conditions and enjoy the trek to its maximum. Traveling in Tibet for foreigners will require special travel permit and will need to use a company to arrange tours for you. China Adventure arranges treks for foreign travelers in Tibet. Please feel free to contact us for more information.

From hiking start which is at Yulba Village to the deep valley of Kangshung by the Mt. Everest East Base Camp and then back to Lhundrubling Village it is total around 90km and takes total around 7 days. Extra days and extra trekking can be added by Mt. Everest East BC to explore more in Kangshung Valley. Most of the camps are used by former hikers and local nomads. Many of the camps provide good views of the mountains. You can also add on extra day/days by campsites such as by BC to have more time to explore or by Coxoirinma to wait for window to have clear view of the mountains in case of bad weather.

Mt. Everest Kama Valley Trekking Information

The whole trekking will be in the wilderness without access to modern services along the trek. There maybe phone service available by the mountain passes but once you drop down to the valley it’s gone. Elevation of trekking is between 3700m at Yulba and 5340 by Langma La Pass. Most of the nights you will be sleeping at over 4500m and with some nights around 5000m. You are strongly recommended to train for this trip and to be well-acclimatized before the trek. A daily walking distance is between 10 and 15km in general. Some part of the trek you will be walking on steep but safe terrain.

Shaotso Camp is at 4700m by the side of Shaotso Lake and has good views of Mt. Makalu and Mt. Chomo Lonzo. Joksam Camp is at 4000m and the lowest in this trek. Tangsum Camp is at 4500m and one of the best camps in this trek that has great views of Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Chomo Lonzo. Pethang Camp is at 4300m and it is another camp with great views of big mountains but is closer to the mountains. Ega Camp is higher than Pethang at 4700m with similar views of Pethang Camp. Coxoirinma Camp is usually the last camp of the trek. It is at the elevation of 5000m. Coxoirinma is usually considered to be the camp with the best views of mountains of Mt. Everest East. it is a camp that one can spot all three 8000ers: Mt. Everest Eastface, Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Makalu as well as Mt. Chomo Lonzo and other peaks.

Camping is necessary in this trek. You will need Tibet Travel Permit and Border Permit to do this trek.