14 days of Everest Base Camp (EBC) Trekking, Nepal

(April 2022)

It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.

— Sir Edmund Hilary

How to get to Everest Base Camp (EBC)?

A destination on many people’s bucket list, a place where hundreds of thousands of people dream to go each year but only a fraction of them who are extremely lucky make it. Thankfully, my dream came to life at the Everest Base Camp (EBC).

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on earth at 8,848 meters (29,035 ft) above sea level and can be accessed from 2 countries, Nepal and Tibet. For novice trekkers like me, getting the closest to the highest peak at Everest Base Camp was my goal. Everest Base Camp — the South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of 5,364 meters (17,598 ft) while the North Base Camp is in Tibet, China.

The trek to EBC starts from Lukla and there are 2 ways to get to Lukla.
Option 1 — Drive from Kathmandu (capital of Nepal) to Jiri and 3 day trek to Lukla
Option 2 — Fly either by plane or helicopter. It is normal for flights to be delayed, and even cancelled for days at a time. Our flight (Summit Air) was delayed by over 2 hours.

It is recommended to have a guide just to make things easier, but if you are more adventurous, you can plan the entire trek on your own, and since the sign boards are clear, trek paths are well trodden, chances of you getting lost is low.We had Himalayan Wonders help us plan our trek, and they were exceptional. They were flexible with our travel and trek dates (our international flight from Bangkok to Kathmandu was rescheduled 3 times!). For 5 trekkers, we had our guide Bhimsen and 3 porters including Ram. They took care of all our accommodation at every tea house, 3 meals/ day and Bhimsen made sure that our safety and security were always the top priority.

The start of the trek, the gang, and the guide!

Our Daily Routine (for 14 days)

• Wake up at 6am or so, roll up our sleeping bag, pack duffel bag, brush teeth, freshen up and be at the dining area for breakfast at 7am.
• Start walking at about 8am, Stop for tea break after 2 hours (or not), lunch at about noon at another tea house. Be on our feet for 6 to 8 hours a day until we reach the destination tea house.
• Unpack, clean up and hang out in the dining area where the heating is turned on.

Accommodation

The rooms at the tea houses are clean and basic as promised. Twin beds with sheets, pillow and a duvet of sorts. There is no heating in the rooms, and no plug points either, often times no mirror too — just some hooks to hang dirty clothes.

Challenges

The trail itself is not so difficult but the trek is difficult. the trail is pretty straightforward, well laid out and fairly easy. For those with decent fitness levels, you be fine, technical wise. Altitude wise, it’s a whole different story.

One of the most dangerous things about hiking in high altitude is the risk of getting Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) — caused by rapid exposure to the low amount of oxygen from being in high altitude environment. AMS does not pick its victims, even the fittest of us all can fall prey to AMS. The key is to go slow because that helps with gradual exposure to lower oxygen levels and allow the body time to acclimatize. We took Diamox tablets as back up as well to help with preventing high altitude sickness.

We had planned our trip from Lukla to EBC to Gokyo (via Chola Pass) and then a circuit back to Lukla. On our EBC day, we started from Labouche (4,940 meters) to Gorakshep (5,164 meters) to EBC (5,364 meters). Early in the day, I started to feel out of breath, low on energy and very sleepy with a blasting headache. The goal, the excitement, the happiness of making it to EBC kept me going. The 3 hour walk from Gorakshep to EBC became even more difficult. Our guide, Bhimsen was very kind to hold my hand as my support and back up for the last hour to EBC.

After a night’s sleep in Gorakshep, I thought I might feel better, but the combination of cold weather (snow storm), the altitude in fact, made things worse. I had to make a difficult decision of skipping the gorgeous Gokyo and missing out on the notorious Chola Pass. Said bye bye to my friends and made my way down with our porter Ram.

Itinerary

At first I thought I would write the breakdown of the itinerary, but somehow, the story feels incomplete, or rather, it’s difficult to share the entirety of the experience without the daily log. So, here we go.

Day 1: Kathmandu to Lukla (2,800 m) to Phakding (2,652m)
A relatively easy day, more like a warm up, to get comfortable into our environment, our gear, clothing and our shoes.

Day 2: Phakding (2,652 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Crossed 5 suspension bridges which are super bumpy, swingy and windy. The longest one is called Hilary Bridge. We also walk along the Dudhkoshi river (Milk river). We went to through checkpoints to enter the Sagarmatha National Park that houses the entire Everest region on Nepal side. The only other thing is — we walk up up and up all day!!

Day 3: Rest Day at Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Rest days are for acclimatizing where we allow our bodies to get used to the high altitudes. Not knowing that the small hike or walk around that our guide had in store for us was actually a 5 hour hike to Khumjung, and the Everest View Hotel. Too bad, the weathe was not clear, and we only had a chance to see fog and clouds.

Day 4: Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Milingo (3,937 m)
It started to get cold as we went up. We visited the Tenchboche Monestary, the popular area where people tend to spend the night at. However, we walked an extra hour to the next village, Milingo so we could save an hour of walk the next day.

Day 5: Milingo (3,937 m) to Dingboche (4,400 m)
After our lunch stop at Phortse (4,400 meters), we started losing vegetation. The trees were gone, and we were left with shrubs. The sun felt stronger, and the wind was definitely getting stronger because there were no trees for shade, or windbreaker. I wore the base layer for the first time today. The room temperature water was too cold to drink, so this was another turning point where I started to drink warm water or mix some warm water in my camelback.
Since we had gained significant altitude, and the environment was different, our guide started checking our oxygen levels at dinner just to make sure that we were all coping ok with being high on the mountains.

Day 6: Rest Day at Dingboche (4,400 m)
Almost a wohoo to the rest, but once again, we had a not so small hike to the Nagarajan Hill. The view from the top was mind blowing where you could see all the high peaks of the Himalayan range lined up in 360 degree view.
We also got our first full — non cloudy view of the sexy Ama Dablam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ama_Dablam

Day 7: Dingboche (4,400 m) to Labouche (4,900 m)
The first few hours of the trek in the morning had the most gorgeous 360 degree view, breathing it all in, gulping it in, trying to capture the beuty in the camera but an impossible feat to grasp the true beauty.

After lunch at Thukla, the shrubs become muds and dust which also very quickly become larger rocks. Right after Thukla Pass is the memorial for all those that lost their lives on the mighty Everest which includes Scott Fischer (from the book Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer) and Dr. Eve from Thailand.
Thinning of air makes it tough to keep going on, but legs were ok. By the end of the day, I was so tired, so cold that wet wipes were frozen, and I didn’t want to wash my hands (only option is cold water).

Day 8: Labouche (4,900 m) to Gorakshep (5,180 m) to Everest Base Camp (5,364 m)
This was a super long walk, looked like it was a flat walk, but it reality of course it wasn’t. A much required lunch break at Gorakshep where we could sit, and actually breathe for a while and eat (as much as possible). We also quickly changed into warmer clothes that we would need for the final push to the EBC.

The last stretch of walk from Gorakshep to EBC — witnessing the Khumbu icefall and parts of glaciers was out of the world! Even though it was hard to breathe, and walk on the rocky rocks, the feeling of just being there was very rewarding.

Upon arrival at EBC, I forgot how thin the air was, how tired I was, how hard the trek was, and how Bhimsen held my hand for the past hour. Haha! As soon as we were done taking photos to mark the milestone of our accomplishment, it started to snow. The truth is, we could definitely take more photos, but we had to leave.

This was by far the coldest day and night on the mountains for me. There was a snowstorm later in the evening, To give you an idea of how brutally cold it was — despite the heater in the dining area, my feet were very cold. I wore all the clothes that I had (4 layers of warm clothes), my toothpaste froze, and there was no washbasin at our tea house so either you wash your hands and brush your teeth in the toilet sink, or simply skip the ritual. And, it was so cold that with all the clothes, and the sleeping bag, I couldn’t sleep at night.

Sure, it’s one of the toughest days, but it’s also a super rewarding day. Knowing that you’ve made it to the (bottom of the) top of the world is such an elating feeling.

Day 9: Gorakshep (5,364 m) to Labouche (4,900 m) to Pheriche (4,371 m)
Nothing went as per plan for me on this day.
Because of the snowstorm, it would have been fruitless to go to Kalapathar (as per plan) so we all decided to skip it. The original plan was to head to Dzongla so we could head to Chola Pass and Gokyo, but since I wasn’t feeling well at all, we decided to split paths. After our lunch stop at Labouche, we walked together for about 45 minutes, we went our different ways, my friends and the guide towards Dzongla and our porter Ram and me towards Pheriche. As we lost altitude, I started to feel better, much better. I could drink more water, and eat better too. By the end of the day, I had one side effect of high altitude >> diarrhea.

Day 10: Pheriche (4,371 m) to Kyangjoma (3,600 m)
Shrubs became trees and then trees had flowers. What a wonderful feeling to be in beautiful nature with lots of oxygen once again.
Other than the diarrhea that kept me on the look out for toilets along the way, it was a very peaceful walk all day. Lots of uphill and downhill, and the time spent alone in the midst of mountains by myself was very refreshing.

Day 11: Kyangjoma (3,600 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Yay! The closest thing to civilization in this region is at Namche Bazaar (more about it below). It was good to be have a hot shower, a good cuppucino, and be in warm’ish weather.

Day 12: Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
I decided to wait for my friends here, so we could head to Lukla and end the trek together. While I had the free day, I decided to go back to Everest View Hotel in Khumjung to see the view we had missed the last time, and so I did the short trek up to the view point (again) to see these beautiful peaks.

I was so happy and my heart was jumping with joy to re-unite with my friends at the end of the day!

Day 13: Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Lukla (2,800 m)
Quick lunch stop at Phakding, and the last 2 hours it rained and poured down upon us. Finally we made full use of our Gortex jackets!

Day 14: Lukla to Kathmandu
The weather in the mountains and valleys change very quickly. There are very high chances that flights get delayed and cancelled, we were lucky on both sides to make it to our flights on the day as per our plan.

Namche Bazaar

A not so small town at 3,440 metres at its low point. All trekkers have to pass Namche Bazaar before heading towards Everest Base Camp or any other passes in the region. There are several stores that you can buy things that you didn’t bring from Kathmandu including the real North Face Store, Sherpa store and the copies of several brands too. There is also the World’s Highest Irish Pub here.

One of the highlights of Namche Bazaar is Sherpa Barista — this little café that has the yummiest food, and has free wifi and free gadget charging!!
Note — Wifi and gadget charging is possible in other places as well but with a fee, so anything free is a highlight!

It is said that people of Namche Bazaar are very wealthy even though their main business and income is during peak season. There are shop owners that own several branches of their shops, and other shop owners that own multiple helicopters too!

In short, Namche Bazaar is the London of the Everest Base Camp Trek. It is a busy and bustling village with lots of shops to buy handicrafts, other necessities and restaurants, even a salon with massage services.

Fun Facts

1. Everest Base Camp is not on Mount Everest. It is in between 2 mountains that go towards the mighty Everest.
2. Sherpa is one of the Tibetan ethnic group — generally very strong people who are accustomed to high altitude.
3. The airport at Lukla is called Tenzing Hilary Airport — named in honor of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary, the first people confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. It is 527 meter long runway, with a gradient of 11.27%. It is also known (by I don’t know who) “World’s Most Dangerous Airport.”
4. Until Everest Base Camp, you don’t sleep in tents, you sleep in tea houses which are quite comfortable.
5. Sunglasses are a must to protect from dust, wind and glare.
6. The rest of the weather appropriate recommended things to carry with you can be found at Himalayan Wonders website. If you have a porter, the porter can carry up to 10kgs in a duffle bag for you and the rest goes in your day pack — the lighter it is, the easier it is on you.
7. You can spot several helicopters a day on the Himalayan Range. They are also known as Khumbu / Mountain taxi that are used for rescue, sight seeing, and dropping of supplies.
8. The ‘go to’ beverage for me was hot ginger lemon honey tea.
9. Daal Bhaat Power, 24 hour. The local food is rice, daal (lentils) and vegetables. Daal and potatoes is slow release of energy.
10. It is recommended to drink 3 liters of water or more per day — helps with managing the dry weather and acclimatize to the altitude as well.
11. We share the trail with animals. Horse, Ox and Donkeys first and then graduate to the super strong Yaks.
12. Yaks are found at high altitude, in colder weather. Yak’s fur are used to make jackets and other warm clothing, there’s also Yak steak for consumption and their poop is used as coal for the heaters.
13. There are lots of Prayer Bells along the mountain, and we recite ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ which means ‘May there be good luck and happiness’.
14. At the Everest Base Camp, and along the stupas, there are these colorful flags that brighten the bare mountains — the Tibetan prayer flag — a colorful rectangular cloth, often found strung along trails and peaks high in the Himalayas. We got some for our backpacks too, see in photo below.
15. Food, water and chocolate get progressively more expensive as we gain altitude. Notes comparison for a 1 liter of water bottle in Nepali Rupees (1 USD = 120 NPR at the time)

• Kathmandu — 25
• Lukla — 100
• Milingo — 150
• Dingboche — 200
• Labouche — 300
• Gorakshep — 400

Personal Take

I would have definitely loved to do this trek with my sister, but she was busy creating her own kind of magic. I thought of her everyday, every moment and hope that I get to go back to the mighty Everest with her some day soon.

Everest Base Camp is a lifetime trek. It has so much to offer from the most kind and hospitable people to the beauty of the majestic Himalayan Range. The Himalayas or any other range of mountains have a knack for changing people — stripping us of our thoughts, revealing our vulnerability, who we really are, and force us to accept the conditions by adapting and continuing on.

The mountains remain there, welcoming everyone with open arms without any judgment of who you are, no prejudice and no artificial pressures (societal). It reminds us of what we are capable of as humans, both physically and mentally, and reminds us to not under estimate our own strength and will power. At the same time, it shows us the power of nature where we little humans cannot predict anything and we can plan for the best, but we definitely need to be prepared for the worst.

Being reconnected to Mother Nature is the only way to remind ourselves to take that break, look back, realize and be grateful that there is so much more life that what is ingrained in our society, and how we live it. In our world of comfort, we forget to value small things — clean water, hot shower, hot meals, access to toilets.

The trek in the Himalayas definitely gave me an experience that will remain with me forever — a feeling of high on the highest mountain in the world.