Overview
Cho Oyu is 8,188 metres, the sixth-highest mountain on earth, and it is routinely described as the most attainable of the fourteen. That description belongs to the Tibetan north-west ridge — a road to 4,900 m, yaks to 5,700 m, one short ice cliff, and a summit day up a broad snow plateau.
Which side you are actually climbing
This matters more here than on any other peak in this section. The summit is on the border, but the trade route is entirely in Tibet, and it needs a Chinese climbing permit and a Tibet travel permit rather than a Nepali royalty — even though expeditions still assemble in Kathmandu and drive out through Kerung.
The Nepali south side is a steep, serious, rarely climbed face. Nepal has promoted a southern line in recent years and it has seen very little traffic. If an operator offers "Cho Oyu from Nepal", establish exactly which route is meant before you pay anything.
The real risk
Not the mountain — the border. Tibet has closed to foreign expeditions repeatedly, sometimes at a few weeks' notice, and permits are issued at Chinese discretion. Teams have reached Kathmandu and got no further. Build that into the plan and into the insurance.
What it costs
USD 20,000 to 45,000, and both April–May and September–October work. Autumn is the traditional Cho Oyu season and quieter, because the spring crowd is on Everest.
Day by day
The 40 days itinerary
Distances, walking times, altitudes and accommodation for every stage — stored as structured data, not written into the prose.
- Day 1
Kathmandu — briefing, permits and Chinese visa
Expedition briefing, Tibet permit and group visa processing
- Altitude
- 1,400 m → 1,400 m
- Sleep
- Hotel, Kathmandu
- Meals
- Breakfast, dinner
The paperwork is the first obstacle. A Chinese group visa and Tibet travel permit are arranged as a team, and the border has closed to expeditions more than once in the last decade at short notice.
- Day 2
Kathmandu to Kerung and across the border
Kathmandu (1,400 m) → Rasuwagadhi → Kerung (2,700 m)
- Walking
- 8 hours by road
- Altitude
- 1,400 m → 2,700 m
- Elevation
- +1300 m
- Sleep
- Guesthouse, Kerung
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 3
Kerung to Tingri
Kerung (2,700 m) → Tingri (4,300 m)
- Walking
- 2 days with an acclimatisation stop
- Altitude
- 2,700 m → 4,300 m
- Elevation
- +1600 m
- Sleep
- Guesthouse, Tingri
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- The Tibetan plateau
- Cho Oyu and Everest from the north
- Day 4
Tingri to Chinese base camp
Tingri (4,300 m) → Chinese base camp (4,900 m)
- Walking
- 3 hours by jeep
- Altitude
- 4,300 m → 4,900 m
- Elevation
- +600 m
- Sleep
- Tented base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 5
Base camp to advanced base camp
Chinese base camp (4,900 m) → ABC (5,700 m), with yak support
- Walking
- 2 days
- Altitude
- 4,900 m → 5,700 m
- Elevation
- +800 m
- Sleep
- Tented advanced base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Yaks carry to advanced base camp, which is one reason Cho Oyu is logistically simpler than its neighbours — there is a road to 4,900 m and animals to 5,700 m.
- Day 6
Rotation — camp one
ABC (5,700 m) → camp one (6,400 m) → ABC
- Altitude
- 5,700 m → 5,700 m
- Elevation
- +700 m / −700 m
- Sleep
- Tented advanced base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 7
Rotation — camp two
ABC → camp one → camp two (7,100 m) → ABC
- Walking
- 4 days
- Altitude
- 5,700 m → 5,700 m
- Elevation
- +1400 m / −1400 m
- Sleep
- Tented camps
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- The ice cliff below camp two
- Day 8
Rest at base camp and weather window
Chinese base camp (4,900 m)
- Altitude
- 4,900 m → 4,900 m
- Sleep
- Tented base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 9
Summit push to camp three
ABC (5,700 m) → camp two → camp three (7,450 m)
- Walking
- 3 days
- Altitude
- 5,700 m → 7,450 m
- Elevation
- +1750 m
- Sleep
- Tented camp three
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 10
Summit day
Camp three (7,450 m) → Cho Oyu (8,188 m) → camp two
- Walking
- 12–15 hours
- Altitude
- 7,450 m → 7,100 m
- Elevation
- +738 m / −1088 m
- Sleep
- Tented camp two
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
A rock band, then a long, gently angled snow plateau — so broad and flat that finding the true high point in cloud is a genuine navigational problem. Technically the easiest summit day of the eight-thousanders.
- The summit plateau
- Everest across the border
- Day 11
Descent and clear-up
Camp two (7,100 m) → ABC → base camp (4,900 m)
- Walking
- 2 days
- Altitude
- 7,100 m → 4,900 m
- Elevation
- −2200 m
- Sleep
- Tented base camp
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
- Day 12
Base camp to Kathmandu, and reserve days
Chinese base camp (4,900 m) → Tingri → Kerung → Kathmandu (1,400 m)
- Walking
- 2–3 days by road
- Altitude
- 4,900 m → 1,400 m
- Meals
- Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Route map
Where the trail goes
Route line, start and end points, and every overnight stop. Locations are shared entities — the same record powers the destination and itinerary pages.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cho Oyu in Nepal or Tibet?
Can you climb it from Nepal?
Why is it called the easiest eight-thousander?
What is the catch?
When should you go?
About the author
Tom Eriksen
Gear editor & photographer
Tom tests trekking equipment the only way that produces honest answers: by carrying it for weeks at a time above 4,000 metres. He shoots most of the photography on this site and writes the gear reviews, comparison tables and packing lists.
Writes about: Trekking gear · Photography · Packing and weight
