Everest Base Camp

It will take eight days to climb, and only four to descend. Don’t be fooled by the short stages, and don’t get caught up in the rush. If you want to get to the top, you must give your body time to get used to the altitude by climbing slowly. Each day you will sleep 200 or 300 metres higher than the one before. Sometimes the route takes the hiker up and then down. One whole day (the sixth) is dedicated to acclimatization: you will climb a peak that touches 5,000 meters, then return to sleep at the bottom.

During this slow ascent, you will have time to enjoy your surroundings. Starting from Lukla, the landscape is agricultural, you will find cultivated fields and orchards, many farms, and luxury lodges to welcome tourists from all over the world. As you climb up the valley, the villages will become smaller, the lodges more bare. Namche Bazar is the lively capital of the Sherpa people, a cheerful and colorful village, where you can taste the famous momos and buy any kind of hiking or mountaineering equipment. On the way up you can visit some beautiful temples, just don’t forget to respect the local rituals and leave some offerings.

Lukla can only be reached by plane or helicopter. Its tiny airport is considered the most dangerous in the world! The flight from Kathmandu only leaves in good weather, so it is customary to have 2 or 3 days’ buffer before and after the trek, to avoid any unpleasantness by missing an international flight.

From Lukla onwards, there is no motorized transport (apart from helicopters). The trail is also the main road, and all day long hundreds of donkeys, horses, and yaks with their loads travel along it. Not only do the animals carry objects, but you will see people with huge, heavy luggage, the weight resting all on their foreheads. They easily pass the harried foreign tourists, always smiling and in flip-flops, with loudspeakers blasting Indian music.
If on the trail you will only find men (guides, porters, shepherds), the tourist reception is all in the hands of the women. They run the simple huts along the trail with passion.

Currently (February 2024) the Everest Valley is the only place in the whole of Nepal where trekking without a guide is allowed. This may change soon, so check before you go if only hiking is allowed. However, having a guide gives you many advantages: he knows the route, and he will be able to guide you along alternative and less crowded paths. It will secure your sleeping place for the evening (no, booking is not enough, first come first served!). It will save you long queues at the points where you have to pay the park entrance fee (because the guides have priority, and the others wait). A guide knows how best to divide the stages to help you acclimatize. You can find a guide in Kathmandu, or you can rely on an agency that will manage everything: guide, accommodation, meals.

Permits for the Everest Base Camp Trek

• A Nepalese visa (15 days $30) can be obtained on arrival at the airport. Bring 2 passport photos.
• Permit for Sagarmatha National Conservation Area (36$ approx). Also in Kathmandu or at the park entrance.
• Pasang Lhamu Rural Village Development Permit (2000IDR, 24$ approx). At Lukla.

The best time of the year to hike the Everest Base Camp trek is from March to May, although it is known for less stable weather and more chance of thunderstorms in the afternoons. And the second season from October to December when there is more stable weather, but it can be a bit more crowded on the trails. In the other months, it’s not recommended to hike the Everest Base Camp Trek.

There are two alternating seasons in Nepal: the dry season and the monsoon season. The monsoon or wet season runs from June to September when the warmth attracts the moist air from the Indian Ocean and the dry season from October to June as it is a bit colder and therefore also drier.

If you want to be successful on this trip, prioritize acclimatization. Prepare yourself before departure with a good workout to get to the fitness level of climbing at elevations over 3,000 meters. Obtain the necessary fragments to help you cope with high altitude (e.g. diuretics), study the symptoms of altitude sickness, how to recognize it, and how to deal with it.

Since you will spend the nights in the lodges, you will not need much equipment: a few changes of clothes, a raincoat, and a jacket. Remember that it will be very hot during the first stages (25-30 degrees), while at the end it may be very cold (even below zero). A good sleeping bag is always valuable, as the rooms are not heated.

Invest in a good pair of shoes and don’t forget trekking poles. Depending on the season and conditions, you may need crampons on the last stage.

If you go with an agency you will also have a carrier. You might think it is over-exploitation and hard work, but consider that for them it is not. On the contrary, those who bring their equipment and have neither guide nor porters are often treated a bit badly, because they do not give work back to the community. Having a porter will also greatly increase the chances of success of your trip.