Everest Base Camp Trek
One of the classic treks in Nepal, Everest base camp is most commonly visited as a two week trek starting and finishing at Lukla, the airport just to the south of Everest National park.
During the trekking seasons there are numerous daily flights into and out of Lukla, weather permitting. The flight from Kathmandu, which takes around forty-five minutes, passes over the fertile middle hills, with their scattered villages and terraced fields, with an amazing panorama of the high Himalaya as a backdrop. Before long the mountains close in and you are sweeping down to land at the gateway to Everest-Lukla. Situated high above the banks of the Dudh Koshi river, which carries the melt water from Everest, Lukla provides a range of services, including accommodation but most trekkers will choose to start trekking as soon as they arrive and use Lukla as a final destination on their return.
From Lukla trekker must have a gentle, two days trek up the Dudh Koshi valley to reach Namche Bazar in order to avoid altitude problems. There are plenty of teahouses along the way for the first night stop, Phakding (three hours from Lukla) and Monzo (five hours from Lukla) are the most popular. Just beyond Monzo, trekkers enter the Everest National Park at the Jorsale check post. Here entry permits will be checked and the visitor's passport details recorded. The trail, which has been following the Dudh Koshi since Lukla, starts the ascent to Namche Bazaar about one hour past Jorsale.
Namche Bazaar, once a small village but since grown in size to accommodate the influx of trekkers, is the unofficial capital of the Sherpas. It was once an important trading centre on the route from Tibet to Nepal but has now been largely given over to catering for the needs of trekkers. There is a multitude of teahouse, equipment shops, curio sellers, restaurant and even cyber cafes that make just about anything the trekker could need, available, albeit at a higher price than in Kathmandu. For acclimatization reasons, trekkers must spend two nights in Namche, Which gives the opportunity to explore some of the less developed and more traditional villages in the area.
One of the nicest destination for the acclimation day is to walk to Thame, home of many famous mountaineering Sherpas, including Tenzing Norgay of Everest fame. Often Danfe (Impeyan Pheasant) and Himalaya Tahr can be seen along this trail. The round trip is quite a hard day's walk taking a minimum of eight hours. An option would be to stay the night at one of the teahouse at Thame and retrace your steps the next day. While at Thame, be sure to visit the Buddhist monastery, which is located on hillside about a thirty-minute walk above the village. The valley to the north of Thame leads to Tibet via the Nangpa la, the pass traditionally used by Sherpa and Tibetan traders. The valley to the west of Thame leads to the Trashi Labsta pass and the Rolwaling valley.
Easier option for passing the acclimatization day can be found by visiting the twin Sherpa villages of Khumjung and Khunde, which are about a two-hour walk above Namche. While in Khunde, visit the hospital, which was established and funded by sir Edmund Hillary's Himalayan trust. Khumjung monastery is interesting as being the store place of one of the alleged yeti scalp that is to be found in the region.
Moving on from Namche Bazar the trail follows the valley of the Imja khola with some spectacular views of the mountains including Thamserku, Kangtega and Ama Dablam and, dominating the skyline ahead, Everest and Lhotse. The most common night stop after Namche is at the top of a steep climb from the Imja khola, at Thyangboche. This is the site of one of the most significant Buddhist monasteries in Solukhumbu and a visit is well recommended. Tours of the monastery are conducted each afternoon. If the teahouse and campsites at Thyangboche are full, a common occurrence in the main season, then more lodging can be found a further thirty minutes along the trail at Deboche. The ramshackle nunnery, an extension of the Thyangboche monastery, at Deboche makes an interesting site trip.
Following the Imja khola from Thyangboche the trekking route climbs gradually through pangboche and emerges above the tree line. Eventually, after a long day's trek, you reach the next night's stop at either Pheriche or Dingboche. Here another rest/acclimatization day trip being to Chhukung, around three hours walk above Dingboche. The mountain panorama around Chhukung is nothing short of amazing with the massive south face of Lhotse rearing above it to the north and a ring of lesser peaks surrounding it.
From Dingboche or Pheriche it takes another six hours of trekking to reach the cluster of teahouse at Lobuche sited on the lateral moraine of the khumbu glacier. Above Lobuche it is another three hours walk to the last settlement on the trail at Gorak Shep. Here a few basic teahouses provide shelter for the night before undertaking the final leg of the trek up the glacier to Everest base camp. Above Gorak Shep rises the well-known landmark of Kala Pattar. A climb of two to three hours will reward the trekker with a marvelous vista. Barely eight kilometers to the east is the summit of Everest and just to the most beautiful mountains to be found anywhere.
The trek along the glacier to base camp can take up to five hours depending on the trail conditions. Care should be taken while traveling here, as route finding can be a problem and there are no facilities at base camp (expeditions are generally reluctant to entertain visiting trekkers) so it is important to make sure that you have food and drinks for the return trip. Descending from base camp, most trekkers will reach at least Lobuche, if not further, by nightfall.
The return trek to Lukla basically follows the upward route but rest days are obviously not necessary. The route can be varied, to make the return more interesting, by diverting through upper pangboche and returning to Namche via Phortse (looks for herds of tahr on the hillsides), Mong La and Khumjung. Pangboche, which has few teahouses and campsite, is an interesting place to spend a night. The monastery here is one of the oldest in Solukhumbu and also has yeti relics.
Khumjung would make an interesting alternative stopping place to Namche Bazar if trekkers wished to avoid the hustle and bustle of the bazaar.
If you haven't arranged for somebody to reconfirm your flight out of Lukla for you, be sure to reach there as early as possible on the day before departure in order to make sure that your seat doesn't disappear. Arriving in Lukla on the day of departure is inviting a lost seat.
TRIP ITINERARY:
Itinerary No 01
Glimpse of Everest base camp and Kalapattar trekking
Day 01 Arrival and transfer to hotel
Day 02 Sightseeing around Kathmandu valley
Day 03 Kathmandu flight to Lukla & trekking to Phakding (2640m)
Day 04 Phakding trekking to Namche Bazar (3440m)
Day 05 Acclimatization day/explore around
Day 06 Namche bazaar trekking to Tengbuche (3860m)
Day 07 Tengboche trekking to Dingbuche (4410m)
Day 08 Dingboche trekking to Lobuche (4910m)
Day 09 Lobuche trekking to Gorakshep climbs to Everest Base Camp(5310m)
Day 10 Gorakshep trekking Kala Pattar (5545m) and back to Gorakshep
Day 11 Gorakshep trekking to Pheriche (4240m)
Day 12 Pheriche trekking to Tengbuche (4410m)
Day 13 Tengbuche trekking to Namche (3440m)
Day 14 Namche bazaar trekking Trek to Lukla (2840m)
Day 15 Lukla Fly back to Kathmandu (1350m) transfer to Hotel
Day 16 Free day for shopping or relax
Day 17 Drive to Airport for return flight
Itinerary No 02
Glimpse of Everest base camp and Kalapattar trekking
Day 01 Arrival and transfer to hotel
Day 02 Sightseeing around Kathmandu valley
Day 03 Kathmandu flight to Lukla & trekking to Phakding (2640m)
Day 04 Phakding trekking to Namche Bazar (3440m)
Day 05 Acclimatization day/explore around
Day 06 Namche bazaar trekking to Tengbuche (3860m)
Day 07 Tengboche trekking to Dingbuche (4410m)
Day 08 Dingboche trekking to Lobuche (4910m)
Day 09 Lobuche trekking to Gorakshep climbs to Everest Base Camp(5310m)
Day 10 Gorakshep trekking Kala Pattar (5545m) and back to Dingbuche (4410m)
Day 11 Dingboche trek to Phortse village 3890m.
Day 12 Phortse village trek to Khumjung village (3860m.)
Day 13 Khumjung village via Everest view Hotel trek to Namche Bazaar
Day 14 Namche bazaar trekking Trek to Lukla (2840m)
Day 15 Lukla Fly back to Kathmandu (1350m) transfer to Hotel
Day 16 Free day for shopping or relax in Kathmandu
Day 17 Drive to Airport for return flight
