Everest Base Camp Trek- 15 Days

The flight from Kathmandu to Phakding, to the Lukla airport, is considered one of the most dangerous flights in the world. But with recent technological advancements, it is now safer than ever. We guarantee that this will be a fun ride, to say the least, and a scenic one as well. You will get to see the nearby and distant peaks as you travel over the hills and valleys.

After we land at the Lukla airport, we will take our luggage and go straight to have our lunch. You should only prefer vegetarian dishes during your trekking days in Nepal, we strongly advise every traveler to stick to a vegetarian diet as meats in this region can make you sick and even quit the trek. In addition to that, do not drink any kind of alcoholic beverages or drinks.

You must remember that you are in the remote highlands of Nepal and taking unnecessary risks is the last thing you want to do.

Your trek guide and porters will tell you all the fascinating things they know about Lukla. What was once a simple village that sustained itself on farming is not a major hub and gateway to the Everest and Khumbu region. The simple village is now a town that accommodates thousands of travelers every year.

You will find cafes, mini marts, and most importantly trekking gear suppliers, so, in case you forgot to pack something, chances are you will get them here. After we get off the place, we will compose ourselves, take in the surrounding views, snap a couple of photos, and get ready for our trek to Phakding.

We will need to pay NRs. 3000 in Lukla for our permit to enter the Khumbu Pasang Rural Municipality. There is a discount for citizens of SAARC nations, as you just need to pay Rs. 2000. This permit must be kept with you at all times since you will need to turn it in at several checkpoints along the hike.

We will pass a lot of tea houses along the well-maintained trail as we go to Phakding. We won’t have any issues for around 1.5 hours because the walk was mostly downhill. There will be some challenging sections in between, and we will have to ascend some stairs, but it is not a big deal.

The hike becomes quite hilly after an hour and a half, but it is tolerable. And it will undoubtedly be an amazing experience to walk the first suspension bridge of the trek.

At high elevations, the air’s oxygen content decreases. For instance, at sea level, the air’s oxygen content is around 21%, while in Lukla and Phakding, it is only about 14.5% and 15%, respectively. That undoubtedly reduces some walking pace. But since you’ll have prepared a little, it won’t be a huge problem.

Furthermore, we will come across yaks and mules hauling loads of cargo along the route. In this area, they provide the primary means of transportation. You will also get to see a lot of Chortens and monasteries with Buddhist prayer wheels, as per the religious teachings you must only spin them clockwise. While traveling to these remote regions, please respect the traditions and culture of the locals.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

It will be chilly when we get up, at approximately seven in the morning. We’re going to pack up soon and then head to the communal dining space for breakfast before we leave. We’re going to Namche Bazaar today. We will be walking for around six hours and will walk over five hanging bridges.

In the Khumbu Region, potatoes are a major source of carbohydrates for both residents and trekkers. If you’re not a big fan of rice, go for potatoes instead. They will give you energy for several hours. Walking down the Dhud Khosi River, often known as the “milk river,” will be our first leg of the walk.

Before arriving at the Jorsalle, the entrance of Sagarmatha National Park, we will go across a very leveled, plain trail for around three hours. Your permits will be verified in at this exact entry to the Sagarmatha National Park. We are going to take a 20-minute walk farther down the path to the settlement of Jorsalle, where we are going to stop for lunch.

After the meal, the flat terrain stretches for an additional hour until we arrive at our fifth suspension bridge. This bridge is the highest of the day and, given the strong wind, may also be the most terrifying bridge crossing. Donkeys occasionally cross the bridge, which makes it quite unsteady and unpleasant for some people.

It will seem like an eternity when you cross the final bridge. On a typical day, the bridge will remain robust and stable, but occasionally a strong wind may cause it to sway sideways as you cross it. It’s possible for the bridge to become unstable and for the entire experience to become rather daring.

For the next two hours, there would be a nearly sixty-degree climb uphill through the Deodar trees. Despite your physical exhaustion, if you have never been in a deodar jungle, this will be an amazing experience. The Western Himalayas, starting at the Gandaki River, are home to deodar woods, which are mostly dominated by Cedrus deodara.

Since you have reached a higher altitude here, the wind grows stronger, so you might want to have your jacket ready. Maintaining a steady walking speed will also help you produce enough heat from your body to stay warm. Generally speaking, you will feel colder when you take a seat than when you are trekking. We’re going to arrive at Namche Bazaar at about 4 p.m. Namche Town alone is a sight to behold.

Tibetan and Nepalese traders exchange textiles, dried meat, and other goods at the ancient trading station known as Namche. In addition to being a fantastic destination for buying handcrafted goods, Namche continues to be the hub of trade in the Khumbu, drawing traders from both the lowlands and the Himalayas.

Namche, which is equipped with all you want, is situated on several levels of a terraced hill. Among many other establishments, there are cafés, bookstores, grocery stores, computer cafes, trekking outlets, and bars. This will be a great shot to contact home if that’s what you want to do. You may use this location to initiate an international call to virtually any location in the world for a little charge.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

We begin our day at 8 a.m. and eat breakfast around 8.30 a.m., which is a little later than normal. Since we plan to spend one more night at the very same teahouse, we don’t need to pack our bags. This is the first day of our journey where we will get acclimatized. We will go to a higher altitude site and then return to Namche Bazaar where we will spend the night.

Hike high and rest low is the plan. This is done to avoid the potentially fatal condition known as altitude sickness, which arises from climbing too quickly. We are going to go to the Everest View Resort, which is approximately 3,800 meters above sea level, and then descend again.

We will leave Namche Bazaar at 9.30 am, heading for Everest View Resort. There are extremely steep stairs on the route from Namche to the Everest View Hotel, therefore we suggest taking as much rest as possible because the journey may be rather taxing. The Sherpa Culture Museum, our first destination before the Everest View Hotel, is located 40 minutes from our accommodation.

The Sherpa Culture Museum is a magnificent structure located in an open space that holds the Sherpa people’s historical legacy. A real photo of Tenzing Norgay and Sir Hillary Edmund from their Everest climb is among the museum’s best displays. From there, you can also see a number of peaks, such as Kusum Kangaru, Ama Dablam, Everest, and Nuptse.

It will take around ninety minutes to go up the steep trail to Everest View Resort. We will pass Syangboche before arriving at the resort, a closed airport that was formerly the highest on the planet at 3748 meters above sea level.

The airport was eventually shut down and replaced with Lukla’s airport, which is in an ideal spot because of the high winds and the narrow slopes of Syangboche. Nonetheless, supply helicopters continue to regularly land in Syangboche as part of their every day delivery.

We will be gazing down at the Everest View Resort after passing the Syangboche Panorama Hotel, a tea house constructed close to the Syangboche airport. Now that we are at a height suitable for acclimatization—roughly 3850 meters—we will head back because the cost of meals and drinks at Everest View Resort is not very attractive.

We will return to Namche Bazaar in around ninety minutes and have our lunch there. In Namche, the remainder of the day is largely free. You may spend the day shopping in Namche as there won’t be as many stores as you go higher up the trail.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

The first three hours of today’s hike will be over gently sloping, narrow plains. We shall stop for lunch at Phorche Thanga, where the level and easy path descends further into the Dudh Kosi Valley and offers a vista of Mt. Everest.

One of the hardest days of the Everest Base Camp journey is right around the corner. There is a lengthy, hard ascent. We are going to ascend on a dry, sandy route at about 70 degrees for the next three hours.

Magnificent peaks extend out in all directions in front of us. On the right, Ama Dablam stands magnificently, its pointed double summit soaring far into the sky. The Tenzing memorial Chorten can be seen a short distance down the route, and Tengboche, the day’s goal, is apparent in the medium distance, situated on a mountain with its monastery easily identifiable.

The panorama of Mount Everest, which peeks out of the Nuptse/Lhotse slope and shows Lhotse to the right, is what captures our attention the most. You will be stunned by the scenes and compelled to stay for a while in order to fully appreciate it.

We go to the big Chorten that comments on Sherpa Tenzing Norgay after shooting a ton of photos. We will take a break for lunch in the settlement of Lawishawa, where the trail circles the valley further. We cross the river of Dudh Khosi once more after lunch, this time on an incredibly long suspension bridge.

The actual hike of the day begins here, with a 2,000-foot ascent through the forests to Tengboche. The ascent through the woods, which offers much-needed sun protection, is pleasant and steady once we get the hang of it.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

We will initially spend approximately an hour walking downhill through the lovely forest before climbing back up to the 3,985-meter-high village of Pangboche, where we will eat lunch. Based on average data, the trip to Dingboche will take around 5 hours, with the majority of the route being on level terrain.

After our last hiking day, it will be a true delight to get to Dingboche. It will be rather simple to walk across the level terrain overall. Over the course of the walk, the complete vista of Mount Ama Dablam becomes visible. The big trees begin to fade as we continue on the trip, leaving only bits of tiny bushes.

It will be almost 4 p.m. when we arrive at the settlement of Dingboche. We’re going to have a great day of hiking, and as we go, our bodies may feel stronger. Some of the lodges in this village have attached bathrooms while most of the other lodges have a communal one. If you are lucky enough, you might get to stay in a room with an indoor bathroom but they are usually pre-booked and packed.

Dawa Choling Gompa, also called Tengboche Monastery, is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery belonging to the Sherpa people. At 3,867 meters above sea level, the monastery is the biggest gompa in the Khumbu area. Founded by Lama Gulu in 1916, it has close ties to its parent monastery, the Rongbuk Monastery in Tibet.

It was reconstructed after an earthquake in 1934 totally demolished it. It was reconstructed with the aid of volunteers and foreign aid after being devastated by fire once more in 1989. Lamas travel from all over Nepal to this monastery once a year to offer their yearly prayers.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

We’ll be acclimating on the hike for the second time today. The itinerary calls for hiking up to 5100 meters above sea level to Nagerjun, and then hiking back down to Dingboche. As usual, we’ll get up, eat breakfast in the communal dining hall, and then start our adventure.

The climb today is tough and will take around 4 hours.

There is absolutely no need to rush, we will take it slow. Our strategy is to reach as high as we can before descending. Although the route leading to Nagerjun is quite steep, panoramas of the Khumbu area become increasingly visible as you ascend.

We may be able to view several of the peaks that surround our path even if the day of our ascent may be foggy. These summits include Ama Dablam (6856 m), Thamserku (6608 m), Taboche Peak (6367 m), Lobuche East (6119 m), and Lobuche West (6145 m).

We will be able to see Periche Valley, which we will be passing on our return trip from Everest Base Camp, once we reach enough altitude. We will hike for two hours until we reach a place where the sky may grow too hazy to see the peak, at which time we will turn around.

We will arrive in Dingboche about lunchtime and eat before heading to explore the village as we will have some daylight remaining. It’s pleasant to take a little break from hiking for a few hours to spend with having a little chat. You can have a chat with the locals or other travelers going to the same destination. Even though Day 6 will be brief, knowing that you are just two days from reaching Everest Base Camp will motivate you greatly for the following two days.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

We have been hiking nonstop for six days, and we will reach our target in about 48 hours. In Dingboche, we may wake up to find a layer of snow covering the front porch of our accommodation. It can be chilly outside, and getting out of bed will be difficult. To be honest, getting to sleep in becomes such a pleasure, but you have to finish the journey and get to your goal.

The trek’s initial section will mostly take place on level ground as it heads into Lobuche. It takes around an hour or two of trekking to feel out of breath due to the uneven and hilly terrain.

In about two hours you will arrive at Thukla, a little settlement before the hard ascent into Lobuche. After making a brief stop in Thukla for a drink or two, we will move on to Lobuche for lunch because it will still be too early.

After Thukla, you are going to hike up a steep incline that will take almost an hour to reach Lobuche Memorials, a site honoring the brave men who lost their lives trying to ascend Mount Everest. The monument is surrounded by peaks, which the community picked as a site of affection for the mountains and the people who lost their lives there.

The trek to Lobuche from Lobuche Memorial Park takes around two hours, and part of the route crosses an extremely rough terrain. Be cautious where you step to avoid getting an ankle injury. There won’t be much height increase all the way to Lobuche.

We’ll arrive at Lobuche sometime around noon. The higher you go, the less food there is. So be considerate of the meals you will be served in these regions. Following lunch, as it is still quite early, you will trek for 20 minutes to see the Khumbu Glacier with the guide.

You can view a portion of the Khumbu Glacier, which originates directly from Mount Everest. Khumbu Glacier, at 4,900 meters above sea level, is the highest glacier on Earth.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

We will spend one night in Lobuche and then go out early the following day to hike to Gorak Shep, the northernmost settlement on the traditional EBC trip. Originally, we would be going to Gorak Shep, making our way to the Everest Base Camp, and then heading back to Gorak Shep for the night.

We will go through broad, barren, and rocky plains along the way, with some incredible landscapes of the Himalayas covered in snow. We’ll go up, down, and around the debris that’s gathered from the surrounding mountains and glaciers on a well-maintained dirt route.

The entire EBC trip is a unique experience since you progressively make your way up to environments where plants are unable to flourish, beginning in a more lush area with vegetation that includes rhododendron trees. Gorak Shep means “Dead Ravens” since there isn’t much vegetation in the region.

Generally, the route will include plenty of level paths making traveling through the thin air simpler. But because this climb is further up than any of the previous days, there are certain slopes that make it difficult. Although we spent extra time for many breaks and photo stops, this hike can be completed in less than three hours. We should not be in the mood to rush because the area is so gorgeous.

Once we reach Gorakshep, we will book our rooms at a tea house. This is the nearest settlement to Everest Base Camp and the highest point on the Everest Base Camp path where we will spend the night.

You will witness some of the most wonderful views and landscapes of your life as you travel to Everest Base Camp from Gorakshep. We will go over more sloping rock and gravel terrain while taking in the spectacular scenery of the snow-capped mountains that appear to be directly overhead.

This route today has a moderate inclination with little elevation increase. In this manner, we won’t get tired while taking in the scenery. It will be enjoyable to view the sporadic frozen puddles of water scattered over the region along with the rugged landscape and peaks. The sight of the Khumbu Glacier, which is located at the foot of Mount Everest, will also be open to us.

After trekking from Gorakshep for less than two hours, with many picture stops along the way, we will arrive at the Everest Base Camp. This will be a significant accomplishment as it will take us eight days to travel more than 70 kilometers to reach Everest Base Camp.

We will start our two-hour journey back to Gorakshep after spending some time at the base camp. The hike back will cover a little more than 4.3 kilometers and take around two hours with breaks.

Even while the day hike from Gorak Shep to EBC and back can be completed in less than four hours, we will definitely take our time exploring this amazing place and shooting a ton of photos.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

Kala Patthar is a large black hill that lies close to the settlement of Gorakshep. It is believed that the panorama from Kala Patthar’s peak is even more captivating than the one from Everest Base Camp. For the most awesome vistas, hiking Kala Patthar is best done around daybreak. Because of this, we have to wake up at 4:00 am while it’s still very cold and dark outside.

With our headlights on, we will venture into the blackness and start our hard ascent of the snow-covered slope. Although the trail will be well-paved, this trek will undoubtedly be challenging. It’s no small feat that we have to climb 1,500 feet to reach the top of the Kala Patthar at 18,514 feet; the trek will take us around 3 to 4 hours in total.

It will be time to travel back down to Gorakshep for breakfast after taking some time to take in the landscapes and celebrate the success.

The trek starts with a steep drop over rocky terrain as we leave Gorak Shep. Trekkers will be able to enjoy the vistas of Mount Everest and the neighboring peaks while they descend. Numerous tiny ponds are going to greet us along the route, providing a lovely place to stop and enjoy the view. As you descend, the sun caresses us on our faces and the clean, pure air surrounds us.

We shall return from Kala Patthar and depart Gorak Shep at around ten in the morning. We will pass by a couple of our previous stops on the way to Pheriche, such as the memorial monuments. Our trek to Pheriche will last about 5 hours in total.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

Today, the route lowers rather significantly, but as we get closer to the Namche, where the trees and vegetation return, there are a few hills to climb.

En route, we will pass through a variety of stunning scenery, including lush forests and rugged high-altitude landscapes. Although the terrain is steep and occasionally difficult, it is clearly signposted and kept up.

We will hike through an impressively lengthy stretch of rhododendron woods as we progress. The path also passes over a number of suspension bridges that span raging rivers, providing views of the breathtaking rapids and waterfalls below. Eventually, the route brings us to Namche Bazaar, where we spent a night earlier in the trek.

The tough trekking the day before has made today’s long hiking day much more difficult. But you must keep going as a satisfying supper and a steaming shower are waiting for you. This is your chance to get excited about reaching Everest Base Camp safely.

Now that the internet is accessible, use it to connect with family and friends back home and maybe share a few photos from your vacation.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Lodge

Today marks the end of our hiking adventure in the Khumbu area. Before heading off in the direction of Lukla, we shall take some time getting ready. Before turning the corner and leaving Namche Bazaar behind, we will snap a few more pictures before departing.

After walking the two bridges that span the valley, we will stroll along the rugged valley bottom. Afterward, we will climb to the other side of the valley and walk by lodges, teahouses, big mani rocks, and settlements.

We will arrive at Phakding in just three hours, where we stayed our first night on the trip from Lukla. Following a few more, beautifully layered rock climbs, we’ll ascend our final stairway to reach Lukla.

Meals

Breakfast

Accommodation

Hotel

After spending the night in Lukla, we will get back to Kathmandu via an adventurous flight. After everything you have been through on this journey, it will be a bittersweet experience as you fly out of the Lukla airport.

Meals

Breakfast

Accommodation

Hotel

Day 14 of the trip will be full of visiting different sites within the Kathmandu Valley. Along with our tour guide and driver, you will travel around Kathmandu Valley visiting sites like Bouddhanath, Pashupatinath, Swaymbhunath, Royal Durbar Square, and more. You will be traveling in a private vehicle throughout the day.

Meals

Breakfast

Accommodation

Hotel

This is the last day of your Everest Base Camp Trek, unfortunately, we will have to part ways for the time being. We genuinely hope that your time with us has been exemplary and that your overall trekking experience was worth every bit.

Meals

Breakfast

Accommodation

Local Teahouse