A Complete Guide to Everest Base Camp Trek

Everest base camp, sited in the heart of Himalayas, is considered as the trekker’s paradise. Every year thousands of enthusiastic tourist visit this place. This article is a complete guide to Everest base camp trek, which will help you to make a plan EBC trekking in Nepal. Everest base camp trek is the most coveted trekking destination around the world.

It is comprised of mesmerizing vistas, wonderful trekking facilities, and warm hospitality of the local people. The major attraction of the Everest base camp trek is you can be close to the tallest mountain of the world, Mount Everest. Alongside that, you can witness the wonderful peaks like Mt.Lhoste, Cho Oyu, and Makalu during your ultimate

Everest Base Camp Trek

EBC is a high altitude trekking which lasts for approximately two weeks. So, there are many things to be considered prior to your trek. This article will function as your ultimate guide for the Everest base camp trekking.

 Here is the list of major destinations that falls under different trekking packages of Everest base camp trek along with their elevation.

Cost of Everest Base Camp Trekking

The cost of Everest base camp trekking covers all the expenses of flight tickets, accommodation, food, appropriate trekking gears, essential permits, insurance, guides and porters, and other miscellaneous cost. First of all, the flight ticket to lukla from Kathmandu costs about 177 dollar. However if you choose the jiri to Everest base camp instead, you won’t need a flight, hence will reduce the cost of flight ticket. The price of flight ticket from lukla to Kathmandu is somehow identical.

Secondly, during your EBC trek you will have a great range of places for accommodation to choose from. While the teahouses along the trekking trails are quite cheaper, right next to them there are luxurious hotels that are expensive. Thus, the price of accommodation is totally dependent upon you and your comfort and preferred facilities.

For instance, if you choose the Everest base camp luxury trekking package, then your cost will be definitely higher. Also, note the fact that you might need to pay higher cost for accommodation in high altitudes. Moreover, you have to get several permits for the completion of Everest base camp trek. As the trek runs through Sagarmatha national park, it is mandatory for you to have the permit to Sagarmatha national park that costs 33$. In addition, you must have TIMS card, the price of which differs with regards to your nationality.

Apart from these, you must acquire permit to Gaurishankar Conservation Area only if you are planning to trek from jiri. Finally, the prices for hiring guides and porters vary from 20 to 40 $. Remember in order to have a comfortable trek you must hire guides and porters.The miscellaneous expenses includes costs of charging your electronic gadgets, tipping guides or porters and so on.

Hiring a Guide to Everest Base Camp

For an experienced trekkers trekking to Everest base camp without guide is not a big deal. However, hiring a guide to Everest base camp becomes significant, if you are amateur trekker and don’t have any knowledge about trekking. Guides are helpful from different perspective, apart from guiding you to Everest base camp. They can be excellent translator while you interact with locals.

This way, you get to know and enjoy the local culture and lifestyle. Alongside guide, you can also hire a porter who will carry your belongings throughout the trek giving your body much needed relief. This way, you will have a burden less trek and you can complete this memorable trek within time without any major complications. Alternatively, you can hire a porter cum guide who carries your backpacks, as well as guides you during the trek.

Guides and porter might help you to witness the memorable mountain vistas and landscapes as they are pretty much aware of ideal vantage points for mountain viewing. And, they might be helpful to experience the authentic local cuisine of the region. Finally, they can be a good companion of yours along the trek so that you will be provided with necessary physical and mental support. For hiring a guide and porters, there are number of agencies in Nepal. Otherwise, you can hire your licensed guides and porters via Dream Heaven Adventure.

Finding a Right Travel Agency for EBC trek

Finding a right travel agency for EBC trek might prove to be tedious work for you as there are thousands of trekking agencies in Nepal that offers the EBC trek packages. However, it is vital to consider various aspect that makes an agency perfect. Travel agencies plays a vital role when you are in need of accommodation and licensed guides and porters. A good travel agency must have good track records in terms of providing emergency services during the trek.

Likewise, they must be able to provide you with vital sets of instructions and customize your trekking itinerary as per your preferences. You need to take various things into considerations while choosing trekking agency for trekking in Nepal. First of all, check whether the agency is provided with authorized travel agency license. Likewise, another significant factor to consider while choosing right trekking agency is experience of the agency in the field of trekking.

Nonetheless, prior to selecting a trekking agency, you should make rough estimation of the number of days you will be trekking, your budget and the destinations you want to visit. This way, it will be easier for you to choose a trekking agency perfect for your desired trek. Moreover, go through the reviews of Nepal’s trekking agency online in popular sites such as lonely planet so that you will have clear idea about the standard of services provided by the respective trekking agency.

In the same way, you can interrogate the guide offered by the agency and decide whether he is perfect fit for you. Finally, make sure the agency provide you with standard emergency services at the time of trekking.

Everest Base Camp Training Program

Everest base camp training program is intended for trekkers for successful completion of their Everest base camp trek For a beginner who has significantly less experience in the field of trekking, a few hours of hiking one month prior to your actual trek is very beneficial. Alternatively, you can arrive in Nepal few days earlier to your trek and undertake a few shorts trek to adjust your body for long walks in changing altitudes.

Besides, get involved in cardio training such as running, cycling, and swimming for better endurance and stamina. Another important aspect to build endurance and stamina is diet. Make sure, you eat foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. You can also take the aid of elevation mask to prepare for your trek as it is believed to build endurance in body. However, preparing with elevation masks does not guarantee that you won’t suffer from altitude sickness later in the trek.

Anyway, it assists you in stimulating the environment that you are likely to witness during your trek. Please note the fact that you should not rush during your trek to EBC. Rather trek at gentle pace and acclimatize properly in the high altitude. If still you don’t feel well, please take a rest until you feel better. At different points of trek, you might feel the symptoms of altitude sickness. In such cases, you must descend to a lower elevation and take vital precautions.

Everest Base Camp Trek Route

Everest base camp trek route depends upon the destinations you want to witness along the trek. However, the classic route to Everest base camp looks like this:

The above itinerary can be customized as pre your preferences. For that, you need to contact your respective travel agency and put forward you desired itinerary.

Other trekking options in Everest Region

Enthusiastic trekkers are often unknown about the other trekking options in Everest region. Thus, this article will let you know about such trekking options in brief.

Everest View Trek

Everest base camp panorama trek is a perfect fit for those who are amateur trekker, and is looking forward to gather some trekking experience in Everest region. It is a comprehensive trek in the lower elevations of Everest. This trek takes you through the destinations such as Namche bazaar, Tengboche, and Phakding at altitude below 3500m.

Three High Pass Trek and Island Peak Climb/trek

In this Everest high passes and Island peak trek you will come across Everest base camp and kala pathar, as well as mountain passes such as Cho La Pass and Kongma La pass. In addition to that, you will also climb Island peak of 6187m tall. This three high pass trek in Everest is completed within the span of 25 days.

Gokyo Lake Trek

Gokyo valley trek is a wonderful trek that takes you through the mesmerizing valley of Gokyo provided with breathtaking mountains, monasteries, astonishing glaciers and lake. Like Everest region, Gokyo valley has a number of trekking options such as Gokyo valley and Renjo La Pass trek and Gokyo to Everest base camp trek. All these treks are customizable and are completed in different span of days.

Jiri to Everest Base Camp Trek

Jiri to Everest base camp trek is considered to be the longest trek of the Everest region that takes you through jiri situated at an altitude of 1900m. This trek helps you to acclimatize at the time of higher regions trekking in Everest.

Deaths in Everest base Camp

If you are planning to undertake Everest base camp trek, you might be wondering about the number of deaths of trekkers that occurred while trekking to Everest base camp. Deaths in Everest base camp occurs mainly at the time of expedition as they are full of difficulties and challenges. You need a significant amount of training and complex set of equipments for successful Everest expedition.

However, deaths are rare while trekking to the Everest base camp. This is because the trekking trails to Everest base camp are relatively safer and less sophisticated. Thousands of trekkers complete this trek every year with the aid of appropriate training and preparations. Recently, Everest region saw the death of a travel enthusiast from Australia, Melbourne. In 2014 also, there were some casualties in the Everest region.

This happened because these people were having problems coping with the altitude sickness. Thus, you need to prepare extremely to cope up with altitude sickness prior to your high altitude trek. Having friends in high altitude trek is very beneficial as they will provide you with necessary assistance if incase you suffer from such sickness during your trek. It is very vital for you to hire guide of EBC trekking for such support, if you are travelling alone.

Alternatives to Trekking to EBC

Although you might be desperate to visit the Everest region, you may not be ready for Everest base camp trek. In such case, you might seek for alternatives for trekking to Everest base camp which will take you to mesmerizing Everest region without taking the trouble of trekking. Guess what? There is a way. Everest base camp can be reached in a comfortable manner via EVEREST BASE CAMP HELICOPTER TOUR.

It takes you through the Everest base camp and kala pathar from Kathmandu. First of all, you will travel to lukla from Kathmandu and then stop at syangboche for a wonderful breakfast at Everest view hotel, a luxurious hotel from where you can enjoy the delightful vistas of the peaks in the Everest region such as Mt.Lhoste, Mt.Makalu, including Mt.Everest. Right after your breakfast, you will head towards Everest base camp and Kala pathar. Kala pathar offers the closest view of Everest.

After spending an hour and half there, you will return back to Kathmandu within the same day. Such helicopter tour is accessible throughout the year. Also, you can choose whether you would like to join the group in a helicopter tour to Everest base camp or choose a private tour.

Conclusion

Everest base camp is often considered to be a trek of a lifetime as it certainly provides you with tons of memories that will last for a lifetime. However, make sure you are fully prepared before you start your trek. This way, you are sure to have the most amazing trekking experience of your entire life. Hopefully, this article will guide you while preparing for your Everest base camp trek. If there are any further queries regarding this trek or any other Treks in Nepal, don’t hesitate to contact us.