Everest Base Camp Trek

Mount Everest, world's highest mountain stands at a staggering height of 8,848 m (29,029 ft). To the south in Nepal, sitting Everest Base Camp at an elevation of 5,364 m / 17,598 ft offering trekkers a chance to experience the awe of the world's highest peak up close. The trek route to Everest Base Camp starts in Lukla traversing through Sagarmatha National Park & Namche Bazar before reaching EBC & descending back to Lukla covering a cumulative distance of 130km(⇌) that takes around 14 days to complete.

Hiking EBC is a dream for every adventure-oriented person out there. My urge to scale it amplified way back when I completed a book titled "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer based on the 1997 Everest summit disaster that claimed 8 lives (the author was a part of that expedition). History of discovery & expeditions to scale the highest mountain of the world along with challenges created by extreme terrains, livelihoods of sherpas, thinning of air (especially oxygen), dramatic weather alterations, freezing snow, powerful wind gusts, deterioration of human cells with altitude and the fame of conquering highest mountain fascinated me so much that I wanted to experience the base version of that sensation. That answers why Base Camp.

As the blog became lengthy, splitting it into 2 parts so that you can continue later if you are short on time. 

☸ 🏔 Part One 🏔 ☸

 The Trail

On 26 Sept 2024, I landed at Tribhuvan International Airport (Kathmandu, Nepal) after a 2.5hrs long Indigo flight from Mumbai. I was escorted to the hotel by my travel agency Himalayan Social Journey (booked through Thrillophilia) & introduced to my fellow trekkers ie Priyabrat(Odisha/Kolkata), Srabjot(Delhi), guide Anil Nepali(Kathmandu) & porter Ubiden(Lukla). We were briefed about the itinerary & terms of the trek. After that, we strolled around Thamel market (tourist popular for vibrant nightlife) in Kathmandu for currency exchange, quick shopping & dinner.

Lukla  Arc

Midnight at 1:30 am, we were transported 85km away to Ramechap airport from Kathmandu on a van (because Kathmandu airport was closed for Lukla flight ops at that time). We were supposed to board a light aircraft but 2 days of heavy rain stranded us near the Ramechhap airport along with a pull of foreign nationals (later we came to know that the rain flooded many parts of Nepal including the capital Kathmandu). On 29 Sept 2024, we flew to the scariest Lukla airport, one of the shortest mountain-cliffed runway in the world (only 527m long) from Ramechap airstrip.

Phakding Arc

Lukla (2860 m / 9383 ft ) is the starting point of the trek and is uniquely bestowed with Tibetan-styled wooden structures with Buddhist flags, temples, flower gardens, shops, decorations, stickers of adventure trails and snaps of famed mountaineers. No motorable road connects Lukla, one has to fly in an aircraft or helicopter or a 40km hike just to reach Lukla. We started our trek to Phakding which is 9 km away & stayed there for a night. Pic: Lukla airstrip.

Namche Bazar Arc
The next morning, after a quick breakfast & warmup session at Phakding Lodge, we resumed our trek towards Namche Bazar with a tiny halt for lunch at Munjo nestled alongside Dudh Koshi river. Along the way, one has to register (in/out) through Sagarmatha National Park (a UNESCO world heritage site).
After a 12km long trek with some sections ascending exponentially, we stepped into beautiful Namche Bazar (3,440 m / 11,286 ft), a sherpa-inhabited tiny trading town of Khumbu region surrounded by massive snow-caped mountain peaks like Kongde Ri (6,187 m / 20,299 ft) and Thamserku (6,623 m / 21,729 ft), Khumbu yui Lha etc. Usually, trekkers en route to EBC & other mountain passes stay here for an additional day to acclimatize by climbing nearby Syangboche Viewpoint and coming back to Namche again. Sagarmatha National Museum of Namche offers a short history of mountaineering & panoramic views of surrounding peaks. Namche also holds a sacred Stupa, school, helipad, military outpost, cafes, pubs & vibrant market with all basic amenities. Pic: Namche Bazar. 

Deboche Arc
The next destination would be Debuche, a small hamlet created only for rest after a 9km long trek including a steep 4km climb. A beautiful monastery welcomes trekkers just before Deboche. No free charging sockets from this point onwards in the trek.

Dingboche Arc
From Debuche, we started around 7am marching on the bank of the Khumbu River which originates in Khumbu glacier. On our way, we crossed a small village called Pangboche. Going ahead, We had our lunch at Tengboche (3,867 m / 12,687 ft) which falls between Debuche & Dingboche. During this stretch, trees diminished into small bushes. This sort of geological change creates powerfully cold mountain wind gusts severely impeding human biology. So make sure you cover your entire body from top to bottom with winter gear. Dingboche, which happened to be our next station, stands at an altitude of 4280 m (14041 ft) with no trees around. It has a few cafes where mobile charging is free with food & also got 2 stupas located on a raised mountain edge magnifying the beauty of the area. Dingboche acts as 2nd acclimatization station (after Namche) where trekkers stay for an extra day hiking certain sections of nearby Nangkartshang Peak & come back. Few dare to climb to the top of snow-capped peak that stands at a height of 5080 m (16666 ft) slightly lower than EBC. I did & it offered a breathtaking panoramic view of the snow-laden mountain chain including Mount Ama Dablam (6,812 m / 22,349 ft).

Lobuche Arc
From Dingboche, if we keep walking along the mountainside, at one place we have to cross the Khumbu River reaching Thukla Pass, a steep ascent that exits at the Everest open memorial. Thukla acts as a lunch station and the open memorial is dedicated to all climbers/sherpas who died during Everest expeditions. During our trek, the ridge track between Memorial and Lobuche was covered with thick snow, enabling a narrow walkway. With snow all around and foggy weather, that place turned into a Winterland & also a bit scary if no one was around. On arrival, I strolled around snowy Lobuche & joined my friends for supper. So far everything went well? (~1).

Gorekshep Arc
The stretch between Lobuche & Gorekshep was snowy, rocky, and dangerously uneven and ran parallel to the infamous Khumbu glacier known for swallowing many hikers on Everest (summit) expeditions. Gorekshep was a tiny hamlet with few lodges to facilitate Everest/EBC aspirants. The place is located at an elevation 5,164 meters (16,942 ft) & has a critically low oxygen share in the air. Basically, hikers go directly to EBC from Laboche crossing Gorekshep & return back to Gorekshep for the night stay. It's got a tiny altitude hospital for emergencies. Pic: Gorekshep nestled amidst mountains.

Everest Base Camp (EBC) Arc
Everest base camp is located in the middle of the Khumbu glacier surrounded by high-rise mountain peaks including mighty Everest. Mt Everest rises a staggering 4516 m (14816 ft) from the base camp itself which is placed at an elevation of 5364 m (17,598 ft).  The spike of Mt Everest from EBC is mostly hidden in clouds during evening hours only allowing partial appearance to sunbeams. That sight was so breathtaking that we just stared with raw amazement. The actual Base camp is located deeper inside the Khumbu glacier closer to Mt Everest & accessible to only elites of Everest expeditions. Upon arrival at EBC, keeping our mobiles aside, we hugged all at once in a circle laughing, congratulating & celebrating our feat. That was indeed profound. We are the last band of people who returned to Gorekshep that night at 9 PM (~2). Due to low oxygen & exhaustion, we had distorted sleep & desperately wanted to descend from the extremities of Gorekshep. Pic: me at EBC.

Gorekshep - Lukla Descending Arc 
Unlike the up journey, the descends are doubly long but equally fast. While there were well-distanced stations & acclimatisation stops in ascents, we had to descend back two stations each day skipping alternate ones. In just three days we had brought ourselves back to Lukla, our trek starting point intermittently halting at Pheriche & Namche Bazar. That night at Lukla, Priyabrat threw a beer party, and a discussion followed unravelling the raw emotions of our adventure. We discussed what all went right/wrong and the sort of characters we concluded in these 14 days of our bonding. I was termed good-hearted who likely succeed in life, whereas Priyabrat was labelled punctual & effective at monetary management. Our porter is being referred as innocently strong and we elevated our guide to SUPER guide for his outstanding service during crises.

Lukla - Kathmandu Air Arc
While we were sleeping happily counting our achievements that night, rain poured again delaying our Lukla-Ramechap flight for another 2 days. Due to extremes that compounded over the past couple of weeks, we along with 3 Indian girls (group 2) opted for a shared Helicopter service directly to Kathmandu in exchange for a hefty price of course, absorbing a thrilling helicopter ride experience. The moment we landed in Kathmandu, everyone ran for their respective connecting flights to India away from the discomforts of these mountains. It was Dasein (Dussehra) in Nepal. Due to 4 days of delay at Ramechap~Lukla that ate my Kathmandu temple exploration time, I could only visit Pashupatinath temple, a grand sacred abode of lord Shiva nestled on the banks of the holy Bagmati river. Later that day, I flew to Mumbai on Indigo. Pic: Our Itinerary

Crises

📢 After a quick stroll around Lobuche, I lost appetite, felt nausea & developed severe headache(~1). Through the oximeter, my partners noticed a dramatic reduction in body oxygen that rang alarm bells of altitude sickness (Acute Mountain Sickness or AMS). My guide Anil & Miss Enji (receptionist & caretaker of Lobuche Lodge dining) stormed into my room & all of them force convinced me to descend back to Thukla as oxygen further drops at night. A horse is being booked fast & I rode back 3km down to Thukla that night at 10pm accompanied by guide. I forced some sherpa stew (soup) into my mouth & consumed a Dimox tablet. In the morning, while I was still feeling startlingly dizzy, my guide insisted to descend down on my own further to Pheriche to get even better at dealing with AMS. I refused to turn back, as I was just 9 km away from my dream of scaling EBC. My determination left two options: I’d either recover, or AMS would escalate into an emergency. I opted for a horse again to ascend back to the same Lobuche & continued my upward journey. Upon reaching EBC, the thrill of achieving success overpowered dwarfing dizziness completely. Possible causes of sickness: While the entire EBC trail slowly ascends to a height of 2679 meters from Lukla to EBC, my 900 m climb to the top of Nangkartshang Peak led to a dramatic increase in altitude in just 2hr time span (not advisable) triggered sickness. Among other factors, less liquid consumption in sips against day-long hikes, over-exposure to mountain winds out of confidence in my physique, food irregularities as one loses appetite with altitude and limited past exposure to extremities collectively gave in to Altitude Sickness. Fortunately, it's the same healthy & active lifestyle that helped me recover in a single night & induced courage to pursue my aspiration through the crisis.

📢 Srabhjot is relatively heavy in physique. Though subjected to little training & regularly administered Dimox during the trek, he stumbled while returning to Gorekshep from EBC (~2). On that snow-chilled night, he felt nausea & developed critical AMS. We admitted him to Gorekshep Altitude Hospital & gave him oxygen support to get things under control. The next morning he is being Heli lifted to Kathmandu which comes under his EBC Insurance coverage plan. To our relief, he got better.

☸ 🏔 Part Two 🏔 ☸

Expenditure

If you are hiking through an agency, they might charge you a minimum of 50k INR including a guide, transportation around Kathmandu till Lukla, accommodations & permit fees. This could go up with add-ons like porter, room preferences, food, comfort etc. An additional 30k should be reserved only for food as it gets expensive with altitude. A simple Dal-Bhat meal could cost you somewhere between 500 to 1000 INR. With height, you will end up paying for amenities like hot water/drink, hot shower, charging, Wifi, washing etc.

Apart from the above services, you might endure additional trip-related costs like 25k INR for mountain gear (Thermals, jacket, shoes, polls, trekking accessories etc), 10k for insurance (if opted & recommended), 10k supporting food (protein powders, energy bars, glucose, electrolytes, medicines, wet wipes, tissues,  personal toolkit & first aid kit), 5k as tip to porter & guide at the end of your trip. In total, there would be an estimated expense of 1 Lakh for the entire trek assuming everything turned out as planned. Any personal add-on will add up. In case of an unfortunate emergency, a rescue service could add an additional expense from 20k to 1Lakh (Insurance can compensate). 

Dollar is easily convertible to Nepali rupees (NPR) which can be issued at your bank. If you are taking cash in INR, please carry only 100 denominations for easy exchange in Kathmandu. Consider applying for an international card (Nepal support) for card transactions. Some Nepali QR codes support the Indian UPI framework (like Phonepe) but it has a transaction restriction of 25k INR. FYI, 1 INR(₹) equates to 1.6 Nepalese Rupee (NPR) & 1 dollar($) equates to 134 NPR in Oct 2024.

You can customize the expenses if you are planning to self-execute the trek, which is pretty much doable (recommended only if you are past exposed to high altitude dynamics many times). You just have to reach Lukla, there onwards the route is well-established & you can easily bump into countless hikers, restaurants & lodges along the track. If you are willing to save money by directly hiking with my guide Anil removing ticketing & travel agencies, details were mentioned towards the end. 

Takeaways

☸ You are a creation of nature. No matter how much you master nature (like sherpas masters mountaineering), it will always have an upper edge against you. Respect that.

☸ Everest may be a rock for you, but it's a god (Sagarmatha) to locals which protects & brings prosperity. Consent or not, your adventure is a pilgrimage with religious & spiritual significance. So pray at stupas & rotate prayer (mani) wheels along the way.

☸ we all (sea level dwellers) are being blessed with natural medicines of balanced pressure, temperature, oxygen, water, minerals, light etc. If any one of them gets disproportionate, our bodies will disarray.

☸ Hiking EBC is a Sadhana (like Ayyapa or Kawadia pilgrimage). It's the sheer difficulties that bring fundamental aspects of physical & psychological (including perspective) changes. Opting for a horse or helicopter should be the last resort one should exercise.

☸ EBC is not an ordinary trek. It's laborious & can challenge you on multiple fronts. So train rigorously beforehand. One can imagine the fact that my few hours of absence during the Nangkartshang hike worried my guide, partners & lodge staff so much that they were mentally prepared for a police investigation of my disappearance.

☸ Altitude sickness operates independent to that of physical fitness. Being fit cannot stop AMS, but a strong immunity can help you slow down the impact as well as assist in recovery. Taking Dimox tablets every day can help battle AMS. 

☸ The EBC trail is not dangerous but factors like altitude, wind, cold and bad food can be threatening. Always avoid the cliff edge of the trail as many horses, yaks & porters carry items that might hit & push you down the high-rise mountains. 

Legends

This section will highlight some of the incredible people I came across during our upward journey to EBC. Felt intrigued to share. Interestingly we met only 3 bands (groups) of Indian hikers among the large pool of foreign nationals from countries like the US, the UK, Japan, Korea, Singapore etc. 

🤹‍♂️ Phakding Lodge kitchen was managed by just a 15-year girl named Manisha who not only earns income but also supports her ageing mother. Her story touched us so much that we ended up giving tips on top of a pricy Dal Bhat meal.

🤹‍♂️ One Indian group has Miss Angmo, Vinod & 2 middle-aged indomitable women with a quirky appeal. Angmo, a visually impaired (zero sight) Himachali woman stunned all of us by trekking her own with a poll with little support during dramatic ridges. Mr Vinod, an amputee with a clamped iron leg support commanded our respect for showing up in the EBC trail. If these souls with limitations can hike, what stops you? Pic: Angmo & Vinod.

🤹‍♂️ Met Clair, a 7yr girl kid and youngest during our hiking, completed EBC with her mother. Among the oldest, is Ash (76Yr) from Australia. Snap: Ash & Clair with her mother.

🤹‍♂️ Sherpas, porters along with guides become the backbone of the Everest range adventure activities. Introducing Ubiden, our cute yet strong porter carrying 25kg of luggage throughout. Anil, a genuinely good person & our super guide extended complete support till the very end of the trek. Pic: Anil & Ubiden.

🤹‍♂️ Anu, Archana & Aashima, an all-girl Indian gang (group2) from the Delhi-NCR region travelled themselves to Lukla where they hired a porter & went on hiking EBC. Their courage to pursue a dangerously challenging trek like EBC earned my admiration. Pic: Aashima, Anu & Archana.

🤹‍♂️ Despite battling radical ideologies in their country, we crossed an Israeli couple finding solitude in these mountains. Also met a retired NRI named Ram, who decided to hike EBC only because he had nothing else to do creating a purpose to follow in his later life. Another Indian gang (group3) hiked independently without opting for any agency, guide or porter cutting on middleman expenses. On top of a Nangkartshang peak, I met William & Ngima Sherpa who planned to summit the Island peak (6,165 m / 20,226 ft). William's friends were scheduled to summit a technically challenging Mt. Ama Dablam peak (6,812m / 22,349 ft) on 7th Oct 2024.

🤹‍♂️ Lastly, introducing my super partners Srabhjot Singh Sandhu (Delhi) & Priyabrat Samal (Kolkata / Odisha). Srabhjot is smart, humorous and sociable. He had carried everything necessary for a challenging trek starting from first aid kit to protein powders to multi-layer clothes to insurance to even nutritious seeds (our emergency backup😂). A good person but sometimes, I sensed he behaved over-smart inviting troubles. Priyabrat is a routine person who didn't opt for porter service carrying his own baggage throughout the trek. He carried a mini stove, noodles & sattu powder that helped him (also a bit to us) save money on pricy meals & hot drinks during harsh cold nights. His backpacking was so optimally compact that we ended up taking instructions from him for our packing. And lastly myself, the most energetic, straightforward, persevering guy who happened to be less talkative among all. Somehow we all complimented each other carrying distinctive characteristics & adding necessary diversity to the team. I couldn't possibly imagine a better team-up than this. Most pics of this blog were captured by partners & should be given due credit. Pic: Priyabrat, Srabhjot & Sangram. The 3 of us. 

***

Basically, most ticketing platform companies have ties with Neapal-based adventure companies. If you want to save money by removing middlemen (like ticketing platforms & trek companies) and are willing to hike (EBC) directly with my guide Anil, below are the contact details (please don't spam him). Why: He hiked back 3 km at night from Lobuche & returned early morning to assist my partners to Gorekshep during my sickness. He also stayed the entire night with Srabhjot while he was hospitalised. He was there with us till the last moment of our trek supporting us in every possible way. You can count on him on this trail. He speaks fluent Nepali & decent English as well as Hindi. You can also reach out to my email for feedback as well as to have a conversation with Anil.

Anil's number: +977 9849861896 (Nepal Number)

My (Sangram) email: gsangram1704@yahoo.com

Gallery

Captured snaps along the trail. More visuals in the video towards the end.

         (Hanging Bridge & Rocky Trail)    

 

(Flora~fauna & Yak)

(Porter & Kid)

(Spiritual Symbols)

(Views from Nangkartshang Peak)

(En route to Lobuche)

(En route to Gorekshep)

(Lukla girls in traditional attire)

(Small temple inside Pashupatinath premises)

***

And that brings us to the end of this blog. Capturing two weeks of incredible experiences in a single post is no easy task. I hope you enjoyed reading our adventure as much as we loved living it. Thank you & If you found it interesting, feel free to explore my previous blogs!

👈 Know what drives me at Secrets of Active Lifestyle
👈 Know the way I travelled at The Way I Travelled

A quick video of our EBC trek timeline in chronological order.