Everest Base Camp Trek

Day 1 is reserved to make your way to the bustling capital city of Kathmandu. Its colourful, crowded streets packed with shops stacking trekking and climbing gear to their very top in addition to the many tourist hotels and cafes with high mountains in the backdrop is enough to suggest that trekking in Nepal is going to be a different experience. With crowds from across the globe sifting through the city in search of climbing gear suited for the highest mountains, this place is your best bet if you need to buy some top-class equipment, at the best rates, for your future climbs or if you are missing something for the one you are on now! The shops and cafes in Kathmandu accept Indian currency but you might want to take this day to exchange your money to Nepal currency since cash is the only medium of payment on the higher reaches of the trek and the only money accepted in tea houses above is local currency.

Duration: 35 min (flight to Lukla) + 3 hour (trek to Phakding)

Distance: 7 km trek

Today is the first day of the trek but not before we take a short flight up to the trail head. After breakfast we proceed to Tribhuvan Domestic Airport, Kathmandu for our flight out to Lukla. The flight over mountains in the Khumbu Region is all of 35 minutes but presents you with some of the most exquisite views of Nepal and can easily be one of the highlights of this trek. If you get a seat on the left side of these tiny planes, the view out the window is one you’ll never forget. Lukla is a small village with no road, only reachable by flight or foot. We walk straight out of the airport, across the cobbled stone footpath of the village and off into the forest trail, officially starting our first day of trekking. Just before exiting the village, we are required to present the first of our two permits at the check post – so remember to keep these handy. Today is easy - it is a simple trek for 3 hours which starts with descending 300M and then slowly climbs up 100M to meet the rest point for the night - Phakding. Along the way, we pass countless mani walls painted on the rocks lining the trail and boulders carved with Tibetan Buddhist prayer inscriptions. We also find numerous prayer wheels all along the trail. We spend our first night in a tea house at Phakding.

* During peak season to & fro flights for Lukla are only available from Ramechhap airport which is 3-4 hours drive from Kathmandu. In this case we start the drive from Kathmandu hotel early in the monrning (1-2 AM) to make sure we catch an early morning flight from Ramechhap to Lukla.

Duration: 6-7 hours

Distance: 11 km

Its serious business from today onwards – today marking day 1 of our brush with difficult terrain on this trek. We start by walking along the banks of the Dudh Kosi, crossing it twice on the high suspension bridges Nepal treks are famous for. The trail is a series of small, repeated ascents and descents, following along the river and again crossing the engraved Buddhist stones characteristic of the area. We stop for lunch at the village of Monjo, which is also the gateway to Sagarmatha National Park. Here is where we present the second of our two permits. After entering the park, we descend along an enormous wall painted sky-high with prayers written in Tibetan to the Bhote Kosi River arriving at Jorsalle village. This is where all the fun begins. After one final stroll along the beach-like riverbank, the trail gets steeper passing through dense forests. After a while we cross the last suspension bridge for today – the bridge dangling spectacularly high above a sharply-descending gorge. From here, we ascend 600M through a thickly forested patch all the way to Namche Bazaar, the administrative and trade capital of the Khumbu region. If the weather is clear we might get our first view of Everest at the rest point along the way. Overnight stay in tea house in Namche Bazaar.

Duration: 6-7 hours

Distance: 10-11 km

Tengboche is a small valley at an altitude of 3,860M. This beautiful route between the two villages starts with us passing through Namche on a stone-paved path by the stream. Thamserku, a beautiful peak of 6,608M, dominates the view, with Ama Dablam – one of the most peculiarly shaped mountains – farther up the valley. Everest is visible above the joining ridge of the south face of Lhotse and Nuptse that close the valley far ahead. Close to an hour into the trek, we come across a huge chorten dedicated to Tenzin Norgay – the man who needs no introduction. The trail is small sections of ascents with patches of descents that are enough to recover your breath for the next section of ascent. We should reach our stop-hold for today by lunch-time.

Duration: 5-6 hours

Today we start our trek early and head out of Tengboche over to the other side of the ridge and straight into a birch and rhododendron forest. From here, Lower Pangboche is close to 4 km – with a height gain of close to 260M, we should get there in less than 2 hours. The village of Pangboche is spread out right below the impressive Ama Dablam and hence offers some of the most spectacular views of the mountain making it a perfect spot to take a break. Depending on what time we get here, we either stop for tea or head straight for lunch. Everest now disappears from the view until we reach the upper parts of the Khumbu Valley. We see a lot of revered peaks all through our trek today, don’t forget to question your local guide about these each time you see a new peak peering out from behind at the turn of the view.

To our left is the Lobuche River. Dingboche comes into view after a series of moraines. This large settlement has some spectacular sights to offer with the south face of Lhotse (8,516M) dominating the view. Do not miss the sunset from this beautiful location.

We have climbed over 2000M in the last few days. This marks for a good milestone to take a day off so as to rest the body and give it time to acclimatize to this newly gained elevation. This makes it easier for it to handle the elevation it has to face in the coming days. Acclimatization is done best and done right when you expose yourself to the mountain air at this elevation – so remember to take yourself out and walk around. There is much to see and admire in this region. A small hike from here brings you face to face with three of the world’s highest mountain peaks - Mount Lhotse, Mount Makalu and Mount Cho Oyu.

Duration: 3 hours

Distance: 5 km

Today is the shortest of all days on the trek which seems easier still after resting it out at Dingboche yesterday. The flat trail till Dughla offers some of the best views on this route along with a spectacular view of the wall of Khumbu Glacier. On our right, we see the magnificent Mount Pumori (7,138m) and a brightly colored glacial lake. There are no tea houses between these two locations, and no sources of water either – remember to carry sufficient supplies of refreshment as well as water for today.

Duration: 3.5 hours

Today we start our trekking towards Lobuche which is situated beside the Khumbu glacier. Initial part of the trek is tough as we undertake the strenuous climb up to Dughla Pass/ Thukla Pass to go onwards to Lobuche. The climb is short but extremely steep – if it’s any consolation, it offers some of the most memorable views of the entire trek. The pass is filled with memorials of mountaineers who got the ball rolling for all of us to be here today. We spend some time at the pass before we carry on to Lobuche – the trail after the pass is mostly flat.

Duration: 7 – 8 hours

Today's trail has a lot of ups and downs till Gorakshep – most of these are humps on the moraines of the infamous Khumbu Glacier. Once we reach Gorakshep, we have something to eat and leave straight after to get to Everest Base Camp - situated at the beginning of the massive Khumbu Glacier. The trail walks along the glacier with extraordinary views of Mt. Pumori to our right and Mt. Nuptse to our left. We get a clear as day view of the Khumbu icefall from the base camp – a view that’s inspiring enough to up your trekking game. This portion of the trek also brings us face to face with some of the biggest mountains in Nepal and in the world – the feeling of being surrounded by giants is almost surreal. We need to hike on the Khumbu glacier for a short bit in order to get to Everest Base Camp – giving us a tiny feel for what it must be like to climb up this beast of a mountain. We spend some time at the base camp soaking in the views before we head back down to Gorakshep on the same trail.

Duration: 7 – 8 hours

Today is the most exciting day of the trek, if you ask us! With views to die for, it is everything we have been secretly waiting for throughout the trek. We start early to make our way to Kala Patthar – a place kind enough to give us the clearest views of Everest on this entire trail – it will however, take some effort. The trek to the summit of Kala Patthar is one of the most difficult but also highly rewarding. After the trek to Kala Patthar, it is easy to imagine why Everest is the most sought after mountain on the planet and why it’s captured the fancy of some of the most accomplished climbers across eras. In fact, Kala Patthar is the only place from where you can get views of almost the entire high peak mountains of the Khumbu Range – which is what makes it such an inspiring journey to make. It takes about 3 hours to reach Kala Patthar from Gorakshep. We can’t spend much time on the top as it’s an extremely windy place with nothing to obstruct the ferocious winds.

From Kala Patthar, it’s only descent all the way to Pheriche. This almost 1,300M of descent should take about 4 hours. Pheriche lies on a flat valley on the bank of Dhudhkoshi River.

Today’s trek is moderate but is made easy in the memory of the awe-inspiring landscape we witnessed yesterday. There are small patches of ascent before Tengboche and after Phungi Thanga.

The last day of our trek in the gorgeous Khumbu region, it is one which must be savored. Walking on this familiar trail gives you the opportunity to better enjoy its beauty without having to worry about familiarizing yourself to it like we did the first time around. With no rush to get anywhere, this is literally a walk in the park.

Airborne, we once again witness the beauty of Nepal from a bird’s eye view which is the perfect way to end this breathtaking journey, if you ask us!

It is time to bid adieu to the Everest Base Camp Trek here. The check-out time is 12 noon. Please note that we can arrange for a drop-off at the airport on request.