At the top of a steep climb above the tiny settlement of Thukla, the trail to Everest Base Camp levels out onto a wide, windswept ridge. Here, against a backdrop of Pumori, Lobuche and Ama Dablam, dozens of stone chortens stand draped in prayer flags and white khata scarves. This is the Thukla Pass Memorial (also called the Dughla Pass or Thok La memorials), a quiet place where trekkers stop to remember the climbers and Sherpas who have lost their lives on Everest and the surrounding peaks.

It is one of the most moving places on the entire Everest Base Camp Trek, and a reminder that the mountains deserve respect.

Thukla Pass at a glance

• Also known as: Dughla Pass, Thok La, Chukpo Lare
• Altitude: about 4,830 m (15,850 ft); Thukla village below is about 4,620 m
• Location: on the terminal moraine of the Khumbu Glacier, between Dingboche and Lobuche, Sagarmatha National Park
• What you see: stone chortens and memorials, many for Sherpa climbers
• Notable memorials: Scott Fischer and Babu Chiri Sherpa
• Climb from Thukla: about 45 minutes to 1 hour, steep
• On our trek: Day 8 (Dingboche to Lobuche), and again on the way down

Where is the Thukla Pass Memorial?

After the acclimatisation day in Dingboche, the trail climbs onto a high, open plateau with wide views of Taboche, Cholatse and Ama Dablam. It then drops to a stream crossing at Thukla (Dughla), a small cluster of teahouses at the snout of the Khumbu Glacier and a popular lunch stop. From there the hardest climb of the day begins: a steep zig-zag up the moraine to the ridge. At the top, where the path flattens, you reach the memorials. Lobuche, your overnight stop, is about another hour beyond.

The memorials

Each chorten is a stack of hand-placed stones, many with a carved stone tablet or a brass plaque bearing a name and date. Some are large and painted; many are simple and weathered, their names worn away by decades of wind and snow. The great majority honour Sherpa climbers, the guides, cooks and high-altitude workers whose skill and courage make Everest expeditions possible.

Two memorials draw many visitors. One honours Scott Fischer, the American mountaineer and expedition leader who died on Everest during the 1996 disaster later told in books and the film Everest. Another honours Babu Chiri Sherpa, one of the greatest Sherpa climbers, famous for his speed records and for spending more than 20 hours on the summit without supplementary oxygen, who died in a fall near Camp II in 2001. Alongside them are memorials to many others, from well-known climbers to men whose names only their families still know.

How to visit respectfully

• Walk around chortens clockwise, as you would any Buddhist monument.
• Don’t climb on, sit on or move any stones.
• Speak quietly. This is a place of grief for many Sherpa families.
• Take photos with care, and never pose in a joking way.
• If you wish, you can leave a khata (white scarf) or say a quiet word for the people remembered here.

Altitude: a good moment to check in with yourself

By the time you reach the memorials you are close to 4,800 metres, higher than any summit in the Alps. The climb from Thukla is short but hard, and many trekkers feel the altitude here for the first time. Go slowly, breathe steadily, drink water and tell your guide honestly if you have a headache, nausea or dizziness. The memorials are a fitting place to remember why our itinerary builds in two acclimatisation days and why turning back is always the right call when the body says so.

The view

Look back down the valley and Ama Dablam fills the horizon above the memorials, the scene in many of the best-known photos from this spot. Ahead, Pumori and the peaks around the Khumbu Glacier come into view, with Lobuche East rising on your left. It is a wild, beautiful and strangely peaceful place.

Thukla Pass on the 14-day Everest Base Camp Trek

You reach the memorials on Day 8, walking from Dingboche to Lobuche, and pass them again on the way down after Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar. See the full route on our Everest Base Camp trek map.