For the fit trekker with the time by far the most interesting approach to Everest Base Camp is via the Renjo La a small pass that links the Bhote Kosi Valley with the Gokyo Valley. This pass was only discovered during an Everest training and reconnaissance expedition in the early 1950s by John Jackson and a group of British mountaineers and their sherpa staff who were following the tacks of a snow leopard that had attacked their yaks the previous evening. The tracks in the snow lead up the hill, passed a small lake and then through a small gap in the rocky peaks along the separating ridge. Originally known as the Pass of the Snow Leopard this was later changed by the Japanese to the Renjo La, until then it had been unknown to even the local Sherpa people.

The Bhote Kosi Valley otherwise known as the Thame Valley is the main trail leading to Tibet and at both the beginning and the end of the seasons many yak  trains with their brightly platted mains and tails and heavy loads can be seen going up and down the valley with their wild looking Tibetan herders heading either into Namche Bazaar or home via the Nangpa La.

A stay in Thame will provide the trekkers with an opportunity to visit to the home of the famous Tenzing Sherpa who was the first Nepalese to climb Everest during the first ascent. You will  also be able to visit the tiny monastery perched high on the hill side still very much as it was built and would probably be just as recognizable to Tenzing if he were alive today.