Everest Base Camp Trek Itinerary, Highlights And Accommodation
Everest base camp trek is a trendy adventure mountain trek in Nepal. There are thousands of Himalayan excursionists visiting Everest base camp every year during the high trekking season coming from all around the world.
Everest base camp trek begins with a short adventure scenic flight to Lukla from Kathmandu. The trail then goes ahead to Phakding passing Chaurikharka, Thadokosi and Ghat villages. It takes about 3 hours to Phakding after landing in Lukla.
Walking through the Sagarmatha national park (natural UNESCO world heritage site), you reach Namche Bazaar on the second day. Namche Bazaar is a very attractive Sherpa town in the Everest base camp trekking trail. You reach the base camp on the 8th day starting from Kathmandu with two spare days for acclimatization in Namche and Dingboche. Then, you trek back to Lukla by three long days trek and fly out in the following morning.
Autumn and spring are the best times for the Everest base camp trek. Although, September in the autumn and May in the spring should have some rainy days. After late September to December and March to mid-May are highly recommended times to trek to the Everest base camp. The Winter season is not bad, it is doable but you need to have some extra layers. We do not recommend to trek to the Everest base camp during Summer. The months from Summer will have most rainy days with poor visibility and also it may affect to flight to Lukla.
Everest Base Camp Trek Highlights
It is no point to visit anywhere if there are no attractions. Seeing the world’s highest mountain Everest and stepping at its base camp are the highlighted attractions of the Everest base camp trek. Besides tall snow-capped mountains, there are lots to see and explore on the base camp trip.
A landing experience at Lukla airport with a scenic flight
Attractive Sherpa villages with nicely carded buildings
Eye-captivating Himalayan ranges
Walking inside a natural UNESCO world heritage site
Stunning viewpoints with panoramic views
Ancient and historical Buddhist monasteries and other monuments
Lifestyle and daily activities of mountain legendary people Sherpa
Big high Himalayan glaciers
Wildlife, waterfalls, river valleys and more natural beauties
Accommodation On Everest Base Camp Trails
Everest base camp trekking trail is well organized by Sagarmatha national park, the Pollution control committee and the local community. There are plenty of tea houses to stay and they also serve food. You may choose breakfast, lunch and dinner from a food menu.
Lodges are in different categories like basic common twin beads rooms, attached bathrooms and luxurious. It depends on how much you would like to offer for a night's stay. You do not need to be worried to find a space for you in most of the places except in Tengboche, Lobuche and Gorakshep. These places have limited numbers of guest houses. If you are on an organized tour from a travel company, they will arrange everything for you.
Foods are hygienic but, it is better to stay with vegetarian food dishes. Most of the guesthouses hire trained cooks but from a lack of ingredients, the taste of food may be a bit different sometimes for even the same food dish. They sell boiled filtered water and bottled water on the trek. Buying mineral water in higher areas is recommended because some of you might not like the taste of boiled water and it may smell kerosene sometimes.
Everest Base Camp Trek Outline Itinerary
Everest base camp trekking tour is a 12 days round trip from Kathmandu to Kathmandu. It takes eight days to reach the base camp including 2 spare rest days for acclimatization and another 3 long days trek back to Lukla before taking a flight back to Kathmandu. This is the regular Everest base camp trek itinerary below:
Day 01: Fly to Lukla (2,40m) 30 minutes and trek to Phakding (2,610m) 3 hours
Day 02: Namche Bazaar (3,440m) 7 hrs
Day 03: Spare day and Hike to Everest view hotel (3,880m) 4 hrs
Day 04: Tengboche (3,860m) 5-6 hrs
Day 05: Dingboche (4,410m) 5 hrs
Day 06: Spare day and hike to Nangkar-Tsang hill (5,160m) 4 hrs
Day 07: Lobuche (4,910m) 5-6 hrs
Day 08: Gorakshep (5,180m) 3 hrs and hike to EBC (5,360m) 4-5 hrs both way
Day 09: Kalapatthar (5,550m) 2 hrs hike and trek to Pheriche (4,210m) 5 hrs
Day 10: Namche Bazaar (3,440m) 7 hrs
Day 11: Lukla (2,840m) 7 hrs
Day 12: Kathmandu fly out
The itinerary mentioned above is followed by most of the Everest base camp trekkers. It can be customized according to your time, and physical condition. You can make it a few days longer or shorter by adding and cutting rest days.
Also, you can do the Everest base camp helicopter return trek if you have a short holiday or do not want to return the same way to Lukla. You can finish the Everest base camp trek in 7 days to 9 days with a helicopter flight back directly to Kathmandu from the base camp.
There is another option for those people who have only a free day in Kathmandu but are interested to reach Everest base camp. Everest base camp helicopter tour takes you directly to the base camp to you. Don’t offer the cost for the Everest base camp helicopter tour but would like to explore the Everest Himalaya? Don’t worry! Everest scenic mountain flight takes you a close view of Mt. Everest with panoramic views of lots of other high mountain ranges.
