Mera Peak located to the south of Mt. Everest and to the north-east of the airstrip at Lukla, standing prominently between the wilderness valleys of Hinku and Hongu. Mera peak is second only to Island peak in popularity with nearly 7,000 people climbing it between 2008 and 2012. Its popularity comes from the fact that five of the world’s 14,8,000 m mountains are visible in the near distance from the summit and getting to the summit from base camp is considered not much more than a mountain walk across a crevassed glacier.

Its high altitude must be respected, however, and acclimatization must be done at the recommended pace ideally reaching the summit 12 days after leaving Lukla. Many people fail to reach the summit because of this-there is no quick way to climb a mountain of this height.

Sen Tenzing and Jimmy Roberts made the first successful ascent of Mera peak on 20 May 1953. The route they used is still standard route. Mera has two summits. The easier one attempted by most groups, is accessed by taking a higher line to the eastern summit with its steep last 20 m or so. The true summit can either be reached by a drop and traverse, beyond many people by this stage, or by initially taking a more westerly lower line out of the high camp for a steep haul to the true summit.

There are many options for perfecting acclimatization. If flying to Lukla, perhaps first trek to Everest Base Camp, then cross the Amphu Labtsa (5780m), or simply make a short detour to bustling Namche Bazaar first.