Ama Dablam is known as one of the most impressive mountains in the world, not for its altitude, but for its beauty, aesthetics and the pure exposure encountered high on its flanks. Most parties attempt the SW ridge, climbing expedition style, fixing ropes, ferrying loads, and acclimatizing slowly.

The normal route to climb Ama Dablam is from its South- West ridge. Ama Dablam is a small snowcapped peak lying in the Everest region. This South – West ridge is the normal and most popular route in order to ascend the Mt. Ama Dablam.

In addition, an expedition to Ama Dablam is more than just a climb. It’s a journey into the heart of the Himalayas. Located in the Khumbu valley of Nepal, only 12 km from the summit of Mount Everest, Ama Dablam demands the attention of every passer-by. Soaring ridgelines and super-steep faces guard the summit from all but the experienced climber. From the summit you are surrounded by a vista of peaks like no other, five of the highest six peaks in the world are clearly visible.

The first ascent (via the SW ridge) of Ama Dablam was not made until the mid 60’s by a strong NZ/USA team. The north ridge fell to a talented French team as late as 1979. In recent years many parties have successfully climbed the mountain, with nearly all ascents via the original SW ridge route.

Itinerary in Detail (Ama Doblam Expedition)

Day 01: Arrival at Kathmandu Airport (1345 meters)
Meet our airport representative and transfer to the hotel by private vehicle. Overnight at hotel

Day 02: Sightseeing around Kathmandu Valley.
Start the sightseeing trip at 9 am in the morning after breakfast. Where you will be provided with a Private vehicle and a professional tour guide. You will be visiting Pashupatinath Temple, Buddhanath Temple, Monkey Temple, Bhaktapur Durbar Square and Kathmandu Durbar Square. The afternoon includes a final briefing and preparation of the trek. Overnight at hotel.

Day 03: Fly from Kathmandu to Lukla which takes approximately 30 minutes and trek to Phakding. Early in the morning you will be driven from hotel to Kathmandu airport, after 30 minutes spectacular flight you will land to Lukla airport (2800m.).You begin your trek to Phakding (2652m.) and you walk for about 2 and half to 3 hrs. While trekking, you head up the Dudh Koshi Valley on a well-marked trail to Phakding (2652m.) Overnight at Lodge

Day 04: Trek to Namche Bazaar (3440 m.) 5.30 hrs
You then ascend quite steeply to Namche and along the way, if the weather is clear, catch a first glimpse of Mt Everest in the distance. You can also enjoy the view of Mt. Kusum Kangaru, Thamserku, Konde-Ri, Tawache peak. You can also visit some of the village monasteries on the way of trekking to Namche Bazaar (3440 m.). Namche is the main trading village in the Khumbu region and holds a busy Saturday market. There is set a meeting place for the Hindu traders from the lowlands and the Tibetan yak caravans that have reached there by crossing the glaciated Nangpa La. Overnight at Lodge.

Day 05: Rest at Namche Bazar for acclimatization and excursion around the places.
Namche is tucked away between two ridges amidst the giant peaks of the Khumbu and has an abundance of lodges, tea shops and souvenir shops as well as a magnificent outlook. It is an ideal place to spend a rest day for acclimatization to the high altitude before heading off towards Tyangboche. Overnight at Lodge.

Day 06: Trek to Tyangboche (3850 m.) 5 hrs
Passing by several villages and numerous tea shops, the trail descends steeply to a bridge over the river Dudh Koshi at Phunki Tenga (3250m.).The village has an excellent place for lunch and you can take a short rest before making the steep climb to Tyangboche. Although exhausting due to the zigzag path, the trek has numerous attractions like rhododendron bushes, beautiful birds chirping and superb mountain scenery making your trek exciting. Tyangboche is famous for its legendary monastery, the largest in the Khumbu region. Overnight at Lodge.

Day 07: Trek to Ama Dablam Base Camp. Overnight at Tented Camp

Day 08-24 Climbing period for Ama Dablam. Overnight at Tented Camp
Base camp (4600 m) Situated on a large grassy meadow with a wonderful views.
To yak camp (5400 m)
we use yaks to carry most of our equipment for this section, which saves us three to fours hours of heavy work. There is a rough track over very rocky terrain, which the yaks and we use.
To camp I (5800 m)
Your first real camp is only one and half hours walk above Yak camp. This section is marked by rock cairns and involves boulder hopping and some easy scrambling. You sometimes fix a couple of sections with rope to be used as a handrail.
Camp I to Camp II (6000 m)
Now you are really climbing. This section of the route is usually rock climbing only, depending on the season. The granite is high quality and the moves fun, challenging and exposed but “do-able”. You follow a narrow ridge, switching back and forth on each side of the ridge. This is the hardest rock climbing of the entire route. In places the exposure is extreme and you are very thankful of the fixed ropes in place. Whilst it is generally easier not to pull on the ropes all the time if you are finding the going getting a bit too hard you can just rest on the fixed rope. You can also use your jumar to help you over the odd spot of difficulties. Most of the climbing on this section is traversing on rock, so good rock climbing skills will help you move efficiently and quickly over this terrain.
Camp II
Now for the hardest snow and ice pitches of the route. We follow a system of steep snow and ice gullies up to join a feature called the Mushroom Ridge. Whilst the ridge itself is not as technical as the gullies leading up to it, the exposure here is palpable. It is a narrow, windy, snow mushroom-like ridge with giant Himalayan peaks in the background. This feature leads us up onto a small plateau at 6300 m, which serves the purpose of camp three.
Camp III
A cold and exposed position is the start of your summit push. The Sherpas will often use a full climbing rope to tie our tents down as the natural shape of the mountain can at times unfortunately funnel the wind to this location. It is however the only safe flat piece of real estate within range of the summit.
Summit day
The initial route is to the right of the huge “dablam” (ice cliff), up a moderately steep slope, which is often iced. Once past this feature we move toward the centre of the face. The angle eases slightly and a couple of tough hours later we emerge on the summit (6856 m). The summit is the size of a tennis court and allows us to move around and take pictures. Five of the world’s six highest peaks are clearly visible, with many other 7000m and lesser peaks filling the gaps.

Day 25: Trek from Ama Dablam Base camp to Namche. Overnight at lodge.

Day 26: Trek from Namche Bazaar to Phakding (2652m.) 4 hrs. Overnight at lodge.
The trails descend steeply for early one and half hours. After that, the path has small ups and down to Phakding through Monjo. .

Day 27: Trek from Phakding to Lukla (2886m) 3 hrs. Overnight at lodge.
Your final day's trekking follows the Dudh Kosi back down to Lukla.

Day 28: Fly from Lukla to Kathmandu and transfer to hotel.
Enjoying your last glimpse of the mountain you have recently visited for one last time in the 35 min scenic flight back to Kathmandu. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 29: Leisure day in Kathmandu
It's also spare day in case of bad weather in Lukla. If you are interested in continuing onto Chitwan Jungle Safari, River Rafting Adventure, Kathmandu Shopping Tour or Scenic Everest Flight. Overnight at Hotel.

Day 30: Transfer for your final flight departure
The trip ends, our Airport Representative will drop you to the Kathmandu International Airport for your flight departure from Nepal.