Kala Patthar

Gorak Shep · Koshi Province · Nepal

Kala Patthar, at 5,644 meters, is the highest and most accessible viewpoint on the Everest trek: unlike Base Camp, from here you can actually see the whole summit, usually at sunrise when the sky is clearest. The climb from Gorak Shep takes 2-3 hours of steep ascent at extreme altitude. It's the hardest excursion of the entire route, but the payoff — Everest up close, cloud-free — is why most trekkers do it, even though it means setting out before dawn in the bitter cold.