everest base camp

The Everest Base Camp trek is proclaimed to be one of the most popular and a wonderful experience for trekkers and climbers alike. It is comprised of many different locations with the most spectacular view of the surroundings that one can only imagine being possible. However, it is beneficial that anyone taking the trip should be aware of what they are up against. The following content will shed some light on basic things like:

 

Nepal and Nepal tourism

 

A brief history of Everest Base Camp

 

A guide to Everest Base camp trek

 

Places to stay during Everest Base Camp trek

 

Quotation for Everest Base Camp trek

 

Best season to visit Everest Base Camp

 

 

Nepal and Nepal tourism

 

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is a landlocked country that borders China in the north and India in the south, east and west. Bangladesh is located in the southeastern point of Nepal. The widely used language here is ‘nepali’ and they are known for their bravery and honesty world-wide. Nepal is the home for eight of the ten tallest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest. It is also the home for many historic Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries, like the Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu.

 

 

Tourism is the largest industry in Nepal, and it proves to be the main source of revenue for the Nepalese people. With possession of the eight highest peaks in the world, Nepal is a hot spot destination for tourists, mountaineers, rock climbers, and adventure enthusiasts. Therefore, Mountaineering and other types of adventure tourism and ecotourism are important to the economy of Nepal.

 

 

A brief history of Everest Base Camp

 

Mount Everest (8848m), (also known as Sagarmatha in Nepali) is the highest point in the world and is the highest mountain peak of all the mountains in the world. As there were several different local names for the mountain, Everest was given the official name by the Royal Geographical Society in 1865, upon a recommendation by Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India. The Everest base camp is located in both Nepal and Tibet side. Many climbers attempted to scale the mountain before 1920 from the Tibet side since Nepal didn’t take kindly to foreigners at the time. After China invaded Tibet in 1950, the Tibet side of the base camp was closed off for visitors. So the historic climb of Mount Everest was taken by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa from the Southeast ridge route (Nepal’s side) in the year 1953. Since then, thousands of Mountaineers have attempted and some have scaled the Everest, while a few hundred have lost their lives during their climb of this majestic peak. The Everest base camp is the site where trekkers end their journey, and Mountaineers begin their ascent of the highest peak in the world.

 

 

A guide to Everest Base Camp trek

 

Taking a trip to Everest Base Camp is a much sought out and popular trekking destination for adventure lovers visiting Nepal. The trek has a combination of everything a wonderful trip amidst nature has to offer. Anyone who embarks on this voyage is blessed with a vision of majestic mountain ranges of the Himalayas and the surrounding lush green valleys which will enrich your trekking experience. The valley is rich in greenery and many mountain animals can be sighted as you go along. There is no climbing or scrambling involved in this trek and the trek is on good walkable trails with moraine stretches near the base camp. In order to successfully reach the camp without any injury or sickness, it is necessary to keep some days to acclimatize to the surroundings at that altitude. As you make your way on the trail, you will come across many villages inhabited by the most friendly and hospitable people on earth.

 

 

Places to stay during Everest Base Camp trek

 

The starting of this trek will include having to visit the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu. It has the largest population of Nepali folks in Nepa and is rich in diversity and culture. Kathmandu is also one of the top tourist destinations in Nepal. From Kathmandu Airport, you will need to go to Lukla Airport, which is in a hilly region. It has the world’s most dangerous sloping runway, but it promises to be a bumpy yet joyful landing strip for the aircraft that’s carrying you. This is the standard route that many opt for rather than taking an 8hours drive, before making their way to the Himalayas. Since it is a very popular route for a trek, you will come across many lodges and tea houses conveniently located along the trekking trail. Your first halt will be at Phakding, which is a village located on the banks of Dudh Koshi. There are a few suspension bridges you might need to cross to advance as well. Monjo is another village you come across where the Khumbu National Park is located. Later in the trek, you will visit Namche Bazaar, the capital of the Khumbu region, where we will acclimatize before continuing the trip. The next stop for the tired trekkers will be at Thyangboche, where you can visit the historic Monastery and Deboche another village on the trail where we make our stop for the night. We will have another acclimatization session in the farming village of Dingboche before continuing. Before we reach the Everest Base camp, we will have a night’s halt each in Dungla, Lobuche and Gorak Shep. While coming towards the end of the trek, we will visit Pangboche and Deboche before you head back to Kathmandu via Lukla airport.

 

 

Quotation for Everest Base Camp Trek

 

Your Everest Base Camp journey begins at Kathmandu from where you will be taken to Lukla airport via Kathmandu airport. After reaching Lukla, you will be transferred to Phakding for a night’s halt. Phakding is conveniently located on the trade route through the area and is the home for many clean and lodges to spend our nights in. After that, we head up on the banks of River Dudh Koshi, where we need to cross the river twice using suspension bridges. Then we reach the village of Monjo where we enter the Khumbu National Park. We then cross the confluence of Dudh Koshi and Bhote Koshi on a high suspension bridge and walk a steep route for about 2hours up Namche hill to reach Namche Bazaar (3440m). Namche Bazaar is the capital of the Khumbu Region and is a prosperous trading town inhabited by the Sherpas of the mountain. In Namche Bazaar, you have the chance to observe the Tibetan merchants crossing the border to trade their wares in the local market in Namche, which is a fascinating sight. If you are a fan of artifacts and would like to take a souvenir home, you can have a look at things the traders have brought to sell. As you cross the valley in the east at Namche, you can take in the spectacular view of Thamserku and Kangtega mountain peaks. For acclimatization, we will spend 2 days at Namche before continuing our journey and will be hiking to Khumjung as an acclimatizing process. You can also visit the famous bakery there.

 

 

From Namche, we venture on the Everest trail contours around valley side high above the Dudh Khosi. As we traverse along the path we get our first spectacular view of the Khumbu: Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam ranges. We go past smaller villages and numerous tea shops following the route, and we also cross the Dudh Koshi River and make a steep climb towards Thyangboche. Thyangboche is the home of the famous monastery and surely one of the world's best viewpoints, looking across from the three enormous Himalayan valleys. We then descend to the river and the village of Deboche (3700m) and spend our night at a comfy lodge that stands a little further along the same trail.

The next day will be a feast for your eyes as we trek past a path laden and strewn with Rhododendron trees and across an airy suspension bridge beyond Deboche. After an hour walk, we come across an excellent view of Ama Dablam in Pangboche. Contouring up the valley, we recross the river and climb uphill along the Imja Valley to reach the picturesque farming village of Dingboche (4410m). Dingboche is another location where we can acclimatize before our ascent up the Khumbu Valley. While in Dingboche, we can attend a seminar on high altitude acclimatization at a nearby hospital in Pheriche, that is run by the Himalayan Rescue Association. The trip to Pheriche and back to Dingboche also serves as a good acclimatizing training before we make our way closer to the base camp.

 

Next, we retrace our steps back to Pheriche before continuing along the trail up the broad valley towards Dugla. Ahead of us is the trekking peak of Lobuje East (6,119m), and on our left is the formidable north side of Taweche. After a three hour walk, we reach the small collection of lodges at Dugla (4,620m). We can also make our way to the Sherpa memorials, where you get an outstanding view of Ama Dablam, Cholatse and Taweche. From Dugla, the trail climbs steeply beside the glacial moraine. After a few hours, the track eventually leads to a small cluster of tea houses pleasantly situated at Lobuche (4,940m) where we spend our night.

 

After three hours past Lobuche, we reach Gorak Shep (5,160m), where the site of the 1953 expedition’s base camp rests. Contouring along the valley the trail leads to the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier which becomes quite vague, weaving between mounds of rubble. After another 3 hours, we will reach our destination near the foothills of the Khumbu Icefall. The Everest Base Camp is spread over a large area and we can spend some time wandering through it. One might even take a guess and ponder what it must be like to be camped here for two whole months, whilst attempting the mountain. To go any further up the base camp, you will need to be a mountaineer with proper mountaineering experience.

On the morning of the base camp advent, we ascend the Kala Pattar (5545m) for the blissful sight of the sunset. Viewers are advised to make the ascent during the afternoon as the view is more proficient then. The ascent takes 2 to 3 hours and is a hard and tiring walk uphill. Nevertheless, the tiring walk will be rewarded with the stunning view of Everest and the Khumbu icefall, and even Lhotse, Nuptse and Pumori immediately above the ranges. We then retrace our trail back via Lobuche and make our way down Khumbu Valley after a brief halt that Dungla. With views of the majestic Ama Dablam, we make our way back to Pheriche where we stall for the night. Thus as we follow the main trail taken earlier we descend through the beautiful valley as we pass through Pangboche and cross the Dudh Koshi once more to enter the hamlet of Deboche. From there we take our last walk towards Lukla airport after which your trek comes to an end once you reach Kathmandu.

 

The trip can be taken under different durations depending on the number of passes you want to see in your travel. At an average, the total duration of the trek is 17days.

 

Best season to visit Everest Base Camp

 

The Everest Base Camp trek is in a mountainous region and the climate there is chilly most of the year around. A trip to the Base camp can be taken at any time of the year, however, Monsoon might not be the time to take the venture. Due to the rain, the trekking trail might be an obstacle rather than a path to walk on. And the summits are also cloudy and vision might be blurry due to the mist. Winter is also not a good time for a trek. Due to the cold weather and the snowfall many of the lodges are closed, so you might not find a place to spend the night in. Therefore, Spring (between March to May) is the best time to visit the Everest base camp as it is the time when the mountain region is bustling with rich lush green surrounding with greenery all around. The views are more spectacular than with shrubs blooming at their fullest. September and November is also a great time to be in that location as the monsoon washes away all the dirt and clears the sky to provide a much desired and spectacular view of your surroundings.

 

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