Why Makalu is famous
Only Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga and Lhotse are higher. Makalu's height is usually given as 8,485 m; Nepal's Department of Tourism uses 8,463 m in its permit tables, and some sources give 8,481 m. What sets the mountain apart is its shape: an isolated pyramid with four ridges and four faces, standing clear of the main Everest group, so that from the Barun valley it rises about 3,600 m above base camp in one piece. Two subsidiary peaks belong to it: Kangchungtse or Makalu II (7,678 m), about 3 km north-north-west, and Chomo Lonzo (about 7,800 m), 5 km north-north-east across a broad plateau. A lower south-east summit rises on the south-east ridge; sources disagree on its height.
Climbers rank Makalu among the most technical eight-thousanders: the normal route has steep, exposed pitches and knife-edge ridges, and the final summit pyramid involves rock climbing. The mountain also has a special place in the history of Himalayan climbing. In 1955 the whole French team of nine reached the top over three days, at a time when usually only one or two members of an expedition got there; its leader's book was titled "Makalu: the highest peak yet conquered by an entire team". By 2015 seventeen different routes had been climbed to the summit.
Where it is and how to get there
Makalu stands on the main Himalayan crest in the Mahalangur Himal, in the Sankhuwasabha district of Nepal's Koshi Province, about 170 km east of Kathmandu. The north side lies in Tibet, in the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve; all climbs and treks start in Nepal.
The gateway is Tumlingtar, a town on a broad river terrace between the Arun and Sabha rivers at about 410 m. Flights from Kathmandu take about 40 minutes (Buddha Air and Yeti Airlines fly there), and there are also flights from Biratnagar and a road from the plains. From Tumlingtar a jeep takes four to five hours to the ridge village of Num (about 1,560 m), where the trek begins. The district headquarters, Khandbari, is on the same road. Book the earliest flight: the return jeep from Num often means a night near the airstrip.
The Makalu Base Camp trek
The classic trek is an out-and-back route of about 15 days from Kathmandu, graded "challenging" by the Great Himalaya Trail organisation, with rough paths, steep sections and limited signs. A typical itinerary:
- Num – Seduwa (4.5 h): down to the Arun river (760 m) and a suspension bridge, then a three-hour climb to the trading village of Seduwa (1,500 m), where trekkers register with the national park.
- Seduwa – Tashigaon (3.5 h): through Murmidanda and Narbugaon to Tashigaon (2,100 m), the last village; guides restock food and fuel here.
- Tashigaon – Khongma Danda (about 7 h): a steep climb of 1,400 m through cloud forest hung with orchids, past the seasonal teashop at Unshisa (3,110 m), to the teahouse on the Khongma Danda ridge (3,500 m). Take a rest day here for acclimatisation.
- Khongma Danda – Mumbuk (7.5 h, the hardest day): along the ridge past Kauma La (3,603 m), up to Shipton's Pass (Tutu La, 4,125 m), down to the lake Kalo Pokhari, over Keke La (4,170 m) and steeply down to the stone huts of Mumbuk (3,540 m).
- Mumbuk – Yangle Kharka (6.5 h): into the Barun valley on a trail often damaged by landslides, past the meadow of Nehe Kharka (3,700 m) to Yangle Kharka (about 3,557 m).
- Yangle Kharka – Langmale Kharka (6.5 h): up a U-shaped valley under sheer cliffs and glaciers, past a waterfall that falls inside a huge cave, to Langmale Kharka (4,410 m), with a couple of teahouses.
- Langmale Kharka – Makalu Base Camp (4.5 h): along moraine past the yak pastures of Shersong (4,630 m) to the stone huts of base camp (about 4,870 m).
A spare day at base camp allows a walk farther up the valley for views of Makalu's south face, Baruntse and Chamlang. The return follows the same route. Experienced mountaineers can continue to the Everest region over three glaciated passes above 5,800 m, the Sherpani Col (6,180 m), West Col (6,190 m) and Amphu Labtsa (5,845 m), which need ropes, crampons and a guide.
Climbing routes
The normal route is the French line of 1955. From the lower base camp at about 4,870 m expeditions move up the moraine to an advanced base camp at about 5,700 m, then climb the Chago glacier to the Makalu La (about 7,400 m), the saddle between Makalu and Kangchungtse, and finish up the north side of the summit pyramid. Teams usually place four camps above base camp and fix ropes on most of the route. Commercial itineraries allow about nine days for the trek in and roughly three weeks for acclimatisation rotations and the summit push.
The other main routes are among the hardest climbs in the Himalaya: the south-east ridge (first climbed by Japanese climbers in 1970), the very technical west pillar (Bernard Mellet and Yannick Seigneur, 1971), the south face (a Yugoslav expedition in 1975, when Marjan Manfreda made the first ascent without supplementary oxygen), the south pillar (Czechoslovakia, 1976) and the west face, which defeated seven expeditions before a Russian team climbed it in 1997.
Makalu Barun National Park
The park was created in 1992 as an eastern extension of Sagarmatha National Park and covers 1,500 km², surrounded by a buffer zone of 830 km². From the Arun valley at about 344 m to the summit of Makalu it spans more than 8,000 m of altitude, from sal forest to rock and ice. Botanists have recorded 3,128 species of flowering plants, including 25 of Nepal's 30 rhododendrons and 47 orchids, as well as 440 bird species and 88 mammals, among them snow leopard, red panda, clouded leopard and Himalayan tahr. The upper Barun valley was made Nepal's first strict nature reserve. The park owes its existence partly to the yeti: in the 1980s The Mountain Institute surveyed the Barun valley looking for an explanation of the legend and found such biological richness that a protected area was proposed in 1985.
Permits, costs and rules
According to Nepal's Department of Tourism (Facts and Figures 2026), foreign climbers pay a royalty of US$3,000 in spring (March–May), US$1,500 in autumn and US$750 in winter or summer. Each expedition deposits US$3,000 for garbage management and takes a government liaison officer; outside the Khumbu teams must carry their rubbish down, hand recyclables to the local authorities and take used oxygen cylinders and batteries home. Satellite phones need official permission. In spring 2025, 79 climbers in 8 teams held Makalu permits, and the Department counted 917 summiteers by December 2025.
Trekkers pay the Makalu Barun National Park entry fee (NPR 3,000 for foreigners, NPR 1,500 for SAARC nationals, as of 2026). The Nepal Tourism Board lists the Makalu Base Camp trek among the routes where a licensed guide and a TIMS card have been required since 31 March 2023. Parts of Sankhuwasabha district near the Tibetan border are restricted areas; the official rate is US$20 per person per week for the first four weeks, but the Great Himalaya Trail organisation quoted US$40 per week in autumn for the Makalu region in August 2025, so confirm the current permit and fee with your agency.
When to go and weather
The best months are April–May and October–November. In spring the rhododendron and orchid forests on the Khongma Danda flower; after the monsoon the air is clearest, which is the best time for views and for the high passes. From December to March and during the monsoon (June to mid-October) the Arun and Barun valleys funnel wet weather towards Makalu and heavy snow can close Khongma Danda and Shipton's Pass. The park receives about 4,000 mm of precipitation a year, around 70 per cent of it in the monsoon from June to late September. Climbing expeditions go in spring and autumn.
Water
Below Tashigaon there are villages and streams on most days. The long climb from Tashigaon to Khongma Danda has no convenient lunch spot with running water, so start with two to three litres and snacks. Higher up, teahouses and seasonal huts at Khongma Danda, Mumbuk, Yangle Kharka and Langmale Kharka can boil water, and during the main seasons basic supplies are sold, at rising prices, all the way to base camp, where expeditions have left everything from kerosene to dehydrated meals. Streams in the Barun valley are glacier-fed and pass yak pastures: treat all water with a filter, tablets or by boiling. Climbers above base camp melt snow.
Mobile coverage and internet
Expect a usable signal mainly in the road towns such as Tumlingtar and Khandbari. Beyond the roadhead coverage is likely to be patchy, and you should plan for long stretches without any in the Barun valley and at base camp. Download maps and weather before leaving Num, carry a power bank, and consider a satellite messenger for emergencies; expeditions need government permission for satellite phones. Some teahouses may offer charging for a fee. Nepal's emergency numbers are 100 (Police), 102 (Ambulance) and 1144 (Tourist Police); evacuation from the Barun valley is by helicopter, so carry insurance that covers it.
Altitude, dangers and safety
The trek gains height fast: the day from Tashigaon to Khongma Danda climbs about 1,400 m, and the crossing of Shipton's Pass the next stage takes you over 4,100 m, so the rest day at Khongma Danda matters, and anyone with headache, nausea or loss of coordination should descend. Between Mumbuk and Yangle Kharka the trail crosses unstable landslide ground with rockfall from above. Snow can bury the passes outside the main seasons.
On the mountain the dangers are avalanches, steep icy ground and the technical summit pyramid. By the end of 2009, 323 climbers had reached the summit and 29 had died. In January 2006 the French climber Jean-Christophe Lafaille disappeared on Makalu while attempting the first winter ascent alone. In spring 2026 two climbers died: an American was hit by an avalanche at about 7,000 m while descending after her summit, and a Czech climber fell ill and died on Makalu II.
History and name
The name may come from the Sanskrit Maha Kala, "Great Black", a deity associated with Shiva; locally the mountain is sometimes called Kumba Karna, "the giant", and in the Limbu language Makalungma. Members of the British Everest reconnaissance of 1921 first explored it from Tibet, and in 1952 Eric Shipton, Charles Evans, Edmund Hillary and George Lowe crossed from the Khumbu to the Barun glacier and reached the site of today's base camp.
In spring 1954 an American Sierra Club expedition tried the south-east ridge and was stopped by storms at about 7,100 m, while a New Zealand team with Hillary was set back by injury and illness. That autumn a French reconnaissance under Jean Franco found the key, the saddle on the north side, and made the first ascents of Kangchungtse and Chomo Lonzo. The next spring the French returned: on 15 May 1955 Jean Couzy and Lionel Terray reached the summit, on 16 May Franco, Guido Magnone and Sirdar Gyalzen Norbu, and on 17 May Jean Bouvier, Serge Coupé, Pierre Leroux and André Vialatte. Ang Chepal Sherpa became the first Nepali on top on 1 May 1978. In 1981 Jerzy Kukuczka soloed a new route on the north-west side, alpine style and without oxygen. The first winter ascent came on 9 February 2009, by Simone Moro and Denis Urubko.
Interesting facts
- Jean Couzy did not long survive his triumph: he was killed by falling rock in the Dévoluy mountains of France in 1958.
- In 1994 Anatoli Boukreev and a client came down believing they had summited, then realised they had mistaken a neighbouring hump for the top. Boukreev returned and reached the true summit with Neal Beidleman on 15 May, the anniversary of the first ascent.
- The 1997 Russian ascent of the west face won the Piolet d'Or, but two of the team, Salavat Khabibullin and Igor Bugachevsky, died on the climb.
- In 2010 three climbers from the Ukrainian city of Sumy made the first ascent of the south-west ridge.
- In 2022 the Ecuadorian Karl Egloff climbed from advanced base camp to the summit in 17 hours 18 minutes without supplementary oxygen.
FAQ
How high is Makalu? 8,485 m, the fifth-highest mountain in the world; Nepal's permit tables use 8,463 m.
How long does the Makalu Base Camp trek take? About 15 days from Kathmandu: a flight to Tumlingtar, a jeep to Num and about eight days of walking to base camp (about 4,870 m), with a rest day, plus four to five days back.
How difficult is the trek? Hard. Days of six to seven and a half hours on rough, steep and poorly signed paths, a 1,400 m climb in one day and two passes above 4,100 m. Accommodation is in basic teahouses or tents.
How difficult is it to climb Makalu? One of the most technical eight-thousanders, with steep exposed sections and rock climbing on the summit pyramid. Expect about a month on the mountain and the need for solid experience at 7,000–8,000 m.
What permits do I need? For the trek: the Makalu Barun National Park fee (NPR 3,000), a TIMS card with a licensed guide and, according to trekking organisers, a restricted-area permit for Sankhuwasabha. For the climb: a royalty of US$3,000 in spring or US$1,500 in autumn (2026), plus a US$3,000 garbage deposit.
Is there water on the way? Yes, from streams and teahouses, but the climb from Tashigaon to Khongma Danda has no reliable water. Treat everything you drink.
Is there mobile coverage? Mainly in the road towns around Tumlingtar; in the Barun valley and at base camp, expect little or none. Carry a satellite messenger; the emergency numbers are 100 and 1144.
When is the best time to go? April–May and October–November. Winter and the monsoon bring snow that can close the passes.