Ultimate Guide to Everest Base Camp
By Pete – Nov 2023
Mount Everest sits at the end of the Khumbu valley in Nepal and it is 8849 m, the highest mountain in the world. Summiting the highest point on earth may be a dream for many but with the hefty price tag Everest base camp trek maybe the closest thing most people can get to that. Here is my Guide to Everest BaseCamp Trek
Everest Base Camp Details
Overall Distance of trek: 120 km trek from Lukla to Base Camp and back to Lukla (fly to Lukla from Kathmandu)
Days required: 12 -14 days recommended (more the merrier)
Total Incline: 6015 m
Total Decline: 5821 m
The highest altitude of the trek: With base camp being 5364m/17,598 the highest point of the trek is 5640 m/18 500 ft if you hike up Kala Patthar. This is where you get the best views of Mount Everest. However i didn’t do this due to altitude sickness (next time)
Difficulty: The hardest part is 100% altitude, It’s hard for an average hiker but most levels of fitness will complete with several rest days and acclimatization days.
Permits: If you book with a tour operator they will take care of these but in case you do the trek independently it’s good to know that you will pay a Local Government fee and Sagarmatha National Park permit, which totaled together cost about $50
Cost per day: This will totally depend on how you choose to do this trek, whether you take a group, a porter, a guide, or independently, But somewhere around $40 – $60 per person per day with all meals, transport, and guides included. If you fly to lukla this will be extra
Guide: A guide is not needed on this trek however lots of people recommend you take one. You can choose how to do the trek from a few options, take an organised tour with 15-20 people, hire a guide/porter to plan your trek and carry your gear or go the solo route.
Accommodation: There are lots of Tea Houses along the trek which supply more than comfortable beds/rooms (considering you’re in the mountains), nearly all tea houses have eating facilities/ restuarants (some say you have to eat there if you stay) generally showers cost $5 above Namche bazaar,
When is the best time of year for The Everest base camp trek?
This is one of the most important decisions that can affect the outcome of your experience and what kind of weather you want to walk in, Do you want snow or sunshine, more steady weather, to see the camp set up at base camp or to beat the crowds?
We decided to do the trek in the first week of October and apart from the evening we arrived in Namche where it rained very briefly we were very lucky to escape the rain whilst hiking.
Related Posts | Ultimate Everest Base Camp Pack List
Do you need guide? How hard is this trek?
I recommend that this is checked before you book your trip as of April 1, 2023 Nepal banned all solo trekking in high altitude national parks. All foreigners must hire guides or porters before arriving in the mountains! However after a recent update, it now seems that this doesn’t apply to the Everest region.
Trekking to Everest base camp is possible for everyone, i saw every type of person and fitness level on this trek however in my opinion if you try and get in the best shape that you can you will only enjoy it more. You can trek at your own pace and most days the trekking is not that long (3-6hrs) so unless you want to race and then sit and rest for long periods in tea houses i recommended you take it slow and acclimatize better as you go. You do not see the pros running through these parts, The hardest part of this is the altitude, and unfortunately you will not know if this is going to be an issue until you start to have the symptoms.
How much does it cost to trek to Everest base camp?
The total cost really does depend on what kind of experience you want from it. When i was deciding, prices where looking around $1500 -$2000 depending on routes that you choose? If you want to go solo like i did without a guide or porter the cost as mentioned briefly above costs around $30 dollars a day, again this depends on where you stay, what kind of room you want ( private bathroom), if you want to shower daily.. how much you eat and drink. bare in mind showers cost around $5 or more the higher you go. Also things like mars bars and a bottle of cola will cost around $5 the higher you are. I started to get quite bad altitude sickness at namche bazar and had to pay for an emergency doctor which was around $100 dollars.
included in package deals:
- Taxis to and from Kathmandu Airport
- Return flights to Lukla Airport ($320)
- Meals and drinks at the guesthouses that you stay.
- Your guide throughout the whole trip
Mistakes that i made
I think the first mistake that i made was that i went with someone else that maybe our outlooks/objectives were not the same which took some of the joy from my experience. Also he only had a set window of 18 days including flying in/out, which for me was not long enough so i felt the pressure. I had an idea that i would get altitude sickness and on this time frame did not allow me enough time to fully recover before i had to make the hard choice of carrying on or going home disappointed.
My second mistake was not getting the adequate Insurance. looking back on this is incredibly stupid and i would not make this mistake again, i only had regular insurance that did not cover high altitude trekking. With the thought in mind that i would be the one that got altitude sickness i should have gone with my gut feeling and purchased insurance.
The third mistake is linked to the above (altitude sickness) i didn’t have the required time to recover from the sickness so it made it a lot harder than it needed to be. Without the required sleep i was struggling with navigating the path and keeping concentration at times due to lack of sleep and the inability to eat enough to keep up energy levels.
My top tips would be :
Book as long as you can..
Take it as slow as you can, it is not a race but a marathon
Eat enough to maintain energy levels/ take snack bars and extras like nuts etc
BOOK INSURANCE just incase anything happens. the biggest reason people do not complete is altitude sickness.
Take altitude sickness tablets with you (you can get these in kathmandu).
EVEREST BASE CAMP ITINERARY
Your itinerary will vary depending on your speed and your guide and prefered walking route. However, most people follow a somewhat similar trail and timeline. This was my timeline. Note that I spent one extra day in Namche due to sickness. Most people spend one extra day in Namche but i waited back the second.
Day 1. Kathmandu flight to Lukla
Lukla to Phak Ding (3-4 hrs)
Day 2. Phak Ding to Namche (5 hrs)
Day 3. Acclimatisation day & hike
Day 4. Namche Bazaar (altitude sickness)
Day 5. Namche to Debouche (4 hrs)
Day 6. Debouche to Periche (3 hrs)
Day 7. Periche to Lobuche (3 hrs)
Day 8. Lobuche to Gorak Shep (2 hrs)
Gorak Shep to Everest Base Camp (1.5 hrs)
Everest Base Camp to Lobouche (3.5 hrs)
Day 9. Lobouche – Namche (12hrs) 37km
Day 10. Namche to Lukla (8 hrs) 20km
Day One, Two & Three: Kathmandu to Lukla to Phakding to Namche
We arrived in Kathmandu and had a couple of days to get over jet lag and explore what the city had to offer. So we hit up the local sights and ate our weight in delicious food and tested out some cafes for coffee. We booked our flights to Lukla which in October do not leave from Kathmandu so wet had to organise a taxi to Ramechhap airport which is around 4/5 hours away. As the weather was pretty cloudy and rainy we couldn’t catch our booked flight and had to wait 24hrs + until we could get out of there, this was a little stressful as there isn’t much form or structure or info. Just be aware that if you are not in a group or have a guide you could be waiting a long time. I consider the 24hrs we waited not so bad as we had met people there for 3-4-5 days. My advice would be to make friends with people that work there… The flight you are catching is to Lukla, classed as the world’s most dangerous airport, so if they are not prepared to fly in certain weather conditions i can only see that as a good thing, better to be safe than sorry…
After a long wait and some amazing views on route, We finally arrived safely in Lukla and couldn’t be more excited to get going, but first we had a coffee and a quick bite to eat, it was around 11am before we set off but the first day is only a short hike so we took it nice and easy. Our first plan was to try and make it to Namche on day one however we stopped at Phakding for the night. A good decision!
After a good night’s rest, which seemed to be the last full sleep that i would get on this trip we had an omelette and a good coffee and set off for the hike to Namche, Day 2 of the hike for me was probably the most physical, with over 800m elevation gain in total and around 10km it put my fitness and mental strength to its first test on this trip, but however hard it was we could see how the landscape was slowly changing from forrest to mountains which helped get me motivated.
As we arrived in Namche Bazaar we couldn’t see the surrounding mountains as the whole town was covered in fog, so we grabbed some late lunch and a coffee and decided to have a little look around before heading back to our next guest house Panorama Lodge. Unknowingly to me this would be one of the most important decisions of the trek. without the guys here i dont know if i would have made it.
So, from here on out i started to have altitude sickness and it set in pretty quick. I didn’t sleep much the first night and headaches made it nearly impossible to switch off. The next day we popped for breakfast and planned what we would do, we decided to have a slow morning in the hope i would feel better then towards the afternoon do the recommended acclimatization hike.. however during the hike up to Thame i started to feel really bad, slow like i’d never walked before, nauseous and a really bad headache. We did make it back down to the lodge where my blood oxygen was tested in the low 60’s so the ever so kind Mingma made me an appointment at the local mountain hospital where i was told i had i had quite bad altitude sickness and a small amount of water on my left lung that i had to be careful of.
I was advised to stay 2 days after the sickness had passed however we didn’t have that time left available for this so we stayed one extra day.
Day five: Namche to Debouche – 12km
We got up around 7am with minimal sleep, had some breakfast and said our long goodbyes before we set off for the day. I was sad to say goodbye as we were made to feel so welcome and looked after. Mingma even helped re route my plans as i was not feeling well and put me in guest houses that he could check in with that were close to Hospital and helipads. The attention to detail and safety here was something i felt very lucky to have, also throughout my trip i kept getting messages asking how i was doing and telling me i could do it, this gave me that extra kick up the butt i needed sometimes.
So today was meant to be the first day that we would see the big mountains on the trail ahead however as we came out of Namche we were welcomed with more fog, maybe this wasn’t such a bad thing as it remained nice and cool.
The hike was around 12km today and i was still feeling pretty bad so i didn’t take as many photos as id have liked. When we finally made it Debouche and we checked in to rivendell lodge, i can highly recommend this place, so far we were pretty luckily where we stayed. Warm welcomes, comfy enough beds and delicious food. What more could a hiker need right?
Day Six : Debouche to Pheriche
For us, this is the day when you could really tell we were getting high into the mountains, from the moment we set off to our arrival in Periche 9km away we felt tiny in the vast landscapes. Again i didn’t take lots of photos on this day as i wasn’t feeling great and the thought of keep getting my camera out of my bag was not appealing at all. Since this trip i Purchased the Peak design camera mount for your back pack, something i wish i bought on this trip. I highly recommend it – you can purchase that here Peak Design clip.
After passing through Pangboche where we stopped for a quick bite to eat and a short rest before the short hike up to Pheriche. We could feel the temperature change as we arrived, it was starting to get a lot colder and we were finally glad we decided to bring our own sleeping bags from this point forward.
As we approached we got a little lost due to the conditions and maybe me leading the way with sickness, however some kind trekkers shouted to us from across the river to inform us we were headed slightly off course. So we made a quick backtrack down a hill and cross the river to our next stop The Himalayan Lodge.
This little mountain village for me was when i really started to appreciate how small we are. We arrived early afternoon and took a little walk around to see the amazing backdrops – you can see in the images below. Eventually the afternoon turned into evening and although feeling slightly exhausted we met in the common room to have some dal baht and a chat and sit by the stove to keep warm, i notice that time passes so slowly up here, and felt completely at peace with it. Full up and content i notice my eyes closing and had to call it a night, knowing that we have the biggest and probably the hardest leg of the Everest BaseCamp Trek tomorrow we decided to get an early night. Fully clothed and tucked into my sleeping bag i slowly drift off with anticipation of what the next day would hold.
Day Seven: Pheriche to Lobuche
Pheriche is a small village with a few hotels/lodges and some facilities for camping. Many take an day extra here to acclimatise but we didn’t have the time to make the most of the bakery and great coffee on offer ( i was off the coffee any way). Pheriche is notable for having the last medical station/heli rescue pad on the trek, one of the main reasons why we switched our route this way. Luckily we didn’t need either this time..
So after about 2 hours of sleep and an omelette for breakfast we made our way slowly out of Pheriche to Lobuche. Every step was getting harder due to the lack of oxygen and energy i had left, with a 600m altitude gain and roughly 6 hours hiking in store it was a trick your mind kind of day where i kept telling myself the finish line was just round that corner. It wasn’t! Lobuche is a small village with only a handful of lodges available so cross your fingers if you haven’t pre booked, as i heard in peak seasons you may have to share with strangers or sleep in the common room. on our arrival there were lots to choose from. It is also the last inhabited area before base camp itself. With not much to do here once you arrive it is the perfect place to rest up drink a lemon and ginger tea and catch a sunset of the surrounding mountains shown in the photos below.
Day Eight: Lobuche to Gorak Shep to Everest Base Camp & Back
Waking up tired and cold is becoming the new norm here, my body not liking the altitude again and im noticing i’m starting to walk like an 80 year old. Slow and steady calculated footsteps. I probably should have started this way back. We decided not to sleep at Gorak Shep so this meant it was going to be a very long day if we were to make it to base camp and back to Lobuche again! This also meant we wouldn’t have time for Kala Phattar today so it would have to be done on the next trip. ( i always love a good excuse to come back to places )
We set off around 630 am to beat the crowds and get a head start. The weather as was really cold at this time but the sun was getting brighter, time to put on some sunglasses and don’t forget your sunscreen here. The walk to Gorak Shep was pretty nice and gradual. We stopped had a sandwich grabbed a couple of chocolate bars and a bottle of coke to keep me going for the last push to base camp. As we left, something that happened a couple of times when i led the way, we took a little detour from the recommended path… and took the more scenic route across the glacier. The Glacier is a little more tricky to walk on due to the number of small stones and boulders you have to navigate across. In my opinion completely safe due to walking on this type of thing in the previous weeks training. My walking buddy disagreed and wanted to go back, i didn’t have the energy and definitely didn’t feel like i would make it to the final destination. So i carried on trying to optimistically persuade him to follow me or meet me further on when the paths crossed. A choice i regret as we should have discussed it better, if he felt unsafe we should have cleared that up together. We didn’t, I pushed on as there was only around 20-30m left before we dropped down to re join the path to carry on our now silent hike to Base camp. With a slightly sombre mood and some regret on my bad choice i was determined not to let it ruin our magnificent achievement. WE MADE IT TO EVEREST BASE CAMP!! We didn’t get the team photo at the finish line but i did make the most of the surrounding beauty for half hour before eating a mars bar and heading back to where we started the morning.
Day Nine & Ten : Lobuche to Namche to Lukla
The final leg of the trip. As we didn’t have much time left to get our butts back down to Lukla we had to do the whole trek in 1.5 days. I would not recommend this, if you have extra time you will enjoy it alot more. However strangely for me i loved every minute of this part of the challenge. It was one of the hardest walks i’ve done however every step i took down i felt so much better as the sickness left my body. i could feel my cheeks bursting with oxygen/energy and was feeling more like myself again. We stayed back in Panorama Lodge at Namche to say thank you and goodbye until the next time and Mingma seemed shocked or pleasantly surprised to see that i had completed the trek. The team served up a delicious 3 course meal before i went to bed. the first time id slept more than an hour or two in days… bliss
The final day of the trek was back down to Lukla. i remember thinking to myself this was one of the hardest things that i have ever done, but i was going to miss the physical and mental test.
I was already planning my return before i left!
