Tibet: Shigatse Prefecture - Mt Qomolangma Base Camp, Rongbuk Monastery and mountain passes
July 23, 2025
Day 1
Start: Saga 萨嘎
1. Pelku Tso 佩枯措观景台
2. Rongbuk Monastery 绒布寺
3. Qomolangma Base Camp 珠穆朗玛大本营
End: Rongbuk Guesthouse
Day 2
Start: Rongbuk Guesthouse
4. Gawu La Mountain Pass 加乌拉山口
5. Gyatso-La Pass 嘉措拉山口
End: Shigatse 日喀则市
Pelku Tso 佩枯措
Nestled at the foot of Mount Shishapangma, Pelku-tso or Peiku-tso is known for its crystal-clear waters. It is located at an elevation of about 4,591 metres. which sparkle like an emerald diamond. It is considered a holy site, with Mt Shishapangma towering above it, adding to its spiritual significance.
Mt. Shishapangma is the only mountain of 8000 meters in height that stands completely within Tibet Autonomous Region. Located in the middle part of the Himalayas, the southeast of Mt. Shishapangma is about 120 km away from the Mount Everest, consisted of three peaks of comparable height.
"Shisa" means flesh from a dead body while "bangma" refers to seeds from boiled barley till it became grainy. According to a local legend, the name Shishapangma refers to a time the protector of the mountain was angry resulted in many dead animals and farms became "bangma".
Qomolangma National Nature Reserve 珠穆朗玛峰国家级自然保护区
I have just found out that Everest, named after Sir George Everest is pronounced as 'eve-rest'. Anyway, Mt Everest's Tibetan name, Qomolangma is interpreted as 'Goddess Mother of the Universe' while the Nepali name, Sagarmatha means 'Goddess of the Sky'.
Qomolangma Base Camp or Everest Base Camp offered visitors a chance to gave on the north face of the world's tallest peak. The access to this involves travelling by road on an eco-bus and doesn't need trekking. Some 27,000 sq km of territory around Qomolangma's Tibetan face have been designated as Qomolangma Nature Reserve.
The road trip to Qomolangma Base Camp (North) involves transferring to an eco-bus. We stayed a night at a guesthouse near the base camp so we were informed by the guide to pack things we needed for an overnight stay. The rest of the luggage were left in the usual transport with the driver. We were the only 2 foreigners on the way up and had to fill up additional form at the checkpoint. This checkpoint on the way up needed us to get off the eco-bus and personally walk through the passport check.
We stayed at the guesthouse across the road from Rongbuk Monastery. The translation in the itinerary given to us was 'stay overnight in Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse' which resulted in us misunderstanding that we were going to spend a night at the monastery itself. The chinese name is 绒布旅馆 so I would translate it as Rongbuk Guesthouse and it is not related to the monastery across the road.
We chose to stay at the shared room of 4. There is no shared shower facilities during our stay. It was more like a shared toilet with a sink to use. Apparently they run buffet dinner and hotpot (priced per person) on alternate days and it was hotpot on the day we visited. We were not keen on the food offered and luckily we brought some bread and quick oats so that was dinner.
Rongbuk Monastery 绒布寺
Rongbuk Monastery lies near the base of the north side of Qomolangma at about 5,000 metres above sea level, making it one of the highest monastery in the world. There are monasteries at the Mt Kailash Kora route that are higher than Rongbuk Monastery. Rongbuk Monastery is a Nyingma sect monastery in Basum Township, Tingri County. The monastery was founded in 1902 but damaged significantly during Cultural Revolution. It is interesting to note that both monks and nuns live together at the monastery.
Qomolangma Base Camp 珠穆朗玛大本营
The base camp was first used by the 1924 British Everest expedition. There is limitation to how far one can go as there is a small military presence there to deal with any potential trouble such as attempts to camp or trek past Base Camp. I'm not sure if trekking permits are still being issued for any trek past Base Camp. We were told by the guide to as to not to go past a certain point, there were security cameras and that no flag-waving activities.
Most people have their photo taken at the 'Mt Qomolangma Base Camp' marker and there are a few of those. There were people standing around the marker to make sure that one single person didn't hog the marker for more than 5 photos each time. It was a little busy nearing to sunset time but once the sun set, the crowd left with all the buses. Sunrise was quiet and only a few who stayed at the same Rongbuk Guesthouse as us walked to the Base Camp.
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| On the way there |
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| Marker near Rongbuk Monastery |
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| Marker near Mt Qomolangma Base Camp |
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| Sunset |
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| Sunrise |
Gawu La Mountain Pass 加乌拉山口
Gawu La Mountain Pass is located in Tingri County between the Che and Tashizom villages. Gaura Pass is a pass to the Mount Everest base camp of around 5,210 meters above sea level after entering the Mount Qomolangma National Nature Reserve. In the planned itinerary, we were to visit the Base Camp on our way to Ngari Prefecture. The weather was not great on the day of planned visit, our driver and guide asked if we wanted to move the itinerary around and visit on the way back from Ngari Prefecture. Therefore this was the pass that we got to first before Gyatso-la Pass.
At this pass, one can see the spectacular view of Himalaya mountain ranges Mt. Makalu [8463m], Mt. Lotse [8516m], Mt. Everest [8844m], Mt. Cho Oyu [8201m] and Mt. Shishapama [8020m] from left to right.
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| Note the zig zag road |
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| L to R: Mt Makulu [8463m], Mt Lotse [8516m], Mt Everest [8844m], Mt Cho Oyu [8201m], Mt Shishapama [8020m] |
Gyatso-La Pass is the highest point of the Friendship Highway that connects Tibet to Nepal. For some unknown reason, the peddlers at this pass seemed to be more persistent. Most would offer their goods and walked away when declined. However, the ones at this pass followed us as we walked. Also, cars were speeding through the archway.
Side note: Need more snacks
