Upper Dzaka valley-Cho Dzom (3 hours)

In the hill behind Pasum is the tiny monastery of Dzabug with a small handful of monks. Twenty minutes further the valley completes a big bend to the south. On the road, a small concrete bridge spans a stream coming from a valley in the west. This valley leads towards Tingri via the Ding-la, two days of walking away.

In 45 minutes the road passes the mouth of a valley leading east. Up this side valley via the Doya-la is a three or four day route to Kharta. Thirty minutes past this conflu­ence you reach the village of Japon. Fifteen minutes further a recently built concrete bridge crosses to the east (left) side of the Dza Chu (also known in its upper reaches as the Rongphu Chu). The valley now arcs to the west and is carpeted in lush meadows. One hour from the bridge is the uppermost agricultural village in the Dzaka valley, Cho Dzom. It is still a long day's walk from Cho Dzom to Everest Base Camp.

Out of Cho Dzom the road ascends a small slope, and a trail diverges to the left. While the road remains in the valley bottom the trail crosses an inclined plain, reuniting with the road in 1 3/4 hours. The trail, a shorter walk, follows a south-west trajectory, turning south where it meets the road. Ninety minutes from Cho look right, up the mouth of the Zombuk valley - the pass at its head, the Lamna-la, leads to Tingri. Also on the west side of the Dzaka valley, 20 minutes onwards, is the remnants of the Cho-puk Hermitage nestled in an escarpment. Camping B,L,D