Everest Base Camp Trek

Life Changing Trek to the top of the World

The Everest Base Camp is an iconic high-altitude trek through the Khumbu region of Nepal and culminates at the foot of the world’s tallest mountain. The EBC trek begins with a legendary flight into the mountain airstrip at Lukla and is a 130 km round trek that takes you through a historic pilgrimage route that is located inside Sagarmatha National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with stunning glacial moraines, deep gorges and towering 8,000 m peaks such as Lhotse and Cho Oyu. The EBC trek will mainly be a physical challenge but will also be a rich cultural experience in the heart of the Sherpa culture with visits to vibrant market towns like Namche Bazaar, colourful prayer flag covered suspension bridges and ancient Buddhist monasteries such as Tengboche. Although the trek is considered with no specific technical trekking equipment required, it will be a physically demanding trek due to the rocky/uneven terrain and the need for a strong level of endurance. The biggest hurdle that you will face on the EBC trek will be the impact of thin air on your body physiologically; oxygen levels at Base Camp will be just under 50% of sea level oxygen levels. Thus, the EBC trek will require a slow and controlled pace along with an appropriate number of acclimatization days to allow for appropriate bodily conditioning. Most of the trek culminated in crossing the moving ice of Khumbu Glacier and finally arriving at the famous Base Camp, then watching the sun come up while trekking to the summit of Kala Patthar (5,545 m) and having an unobstructed, close-up view of the Summit of Mount Everest sparkling in the clear blue sky above Nepal.

Why is the Everest Base Camp Trek so special?

1. Proximity to Vertical Greatness

The EBC's primary specialty is to take you near to, or right at the base of some of the tallest peaks on earth by taking you into an altitude-rich Colosseum style area of the planet, where many mountain treks will allow you to view a peak only from some distance away from its actual base.

Khumbu Icefall: From Base Camp (5,364m) you will be so close you can hear the Khumbu Glacier groaning. You will be right up against a gigantic, 2,000-foot tall frozen river of calved ice—seracs (blocks of ice) and crevasses (huge cracks in the ice)—that are constantly shifting due to the weight of the ice and the moving glacier beneath it. This area is the most dangerous part of the entire summit route, and being able to witness it from such a close distance will give you the most raw sense of the power of the mountain itself.
Kala Patthar: This is the single highest point of your entire trek, and it is the only place that will provide you with the most visually accurate view of Mount Everest. When you are at Base Camp you cannot see the actual top of Everest because it is hidden by the West Ridge; therefore, to see the top of Everest in all its glory, you must go up Black Rock Hill, which is located adjacent to the base of Everest, and when you reach the top you will be able to see the true pyramidal shape of Everest, especially at sunrise or sunset, when it is illuminated.

2. Sherpa’s Cultural Backbone

The Khumbu (Everest) region is known for its Tibetan Buddhism and serves as a sanctuary for the Tibetan Buddhist faith at very high altitude. The hike itself is a spiritual journey as much as it is a physical journey.

Living Prayer: Along the hiking trail, you will find Mani walls (stones carved by hand with the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum and Lungta (prayer flags) on high tension suspension bridges of varying lengths. It is culturally required that you always walk around these sacred sites in a clockwise direction.
Tengboche Monastery: The highest Buddhist place of worship at 3867 m in the Khumbu region. One of the highlights of this trek is witnessing the morning Puja ceremony. The deep resonance of the long Tibetan horns and the smell of burning juniper with the backdrop of the Matterhorn of the Himalaya (Ama Dablam) creates a level of spiritual weight that you will not find anywhere else.

3. The Teahouse Infrastructure

One of the remarkable aspects of trekking in the Nepal Himalayas is the teahouse culture that provides a unique way to trek from village to village in an extremely difficult environment.

The Communal Stove: As opposed to the Andes or the Alps where you typically camp out in tents, while trekking in Nepal you will lodge at family-owned, stone-built structures. At night you will gather around a communal stove (fuelled by yak dung) with travelers from around the world sharing their own stories as well as their hardships.
Dal Bhat Power: Dal Bhat is the most common meal consumed by trekkers because it has a lot of calories and is culturally important. There is a saying among trekkers; Dal Bhat Power, 24 Hours Dal Bhat provides a source of carbohydrates that will keep you going at high altitude.

4. The Gateway: Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Lukla)

The experience can often be described as having one of the most exciting 35 minutes that you will ever travel in your whole life.

Wonder of engineering: Lukla airport (2,846 feet) has a runway length of only 527 meters and it drops off at the end into a mountain wall; also, it was constructed to have a 12% incline uphill in order for planes to rapidly slow down after landing.
The psychological shift: As you fly into Lukla, it's a different kind of initiation into the specialness of this experience. Once you land on that cliffside runway, you will leave behind everything from the real world to have a lifestyle that is entirely dependent on either people or animals as there are no streets once you leave there.

5. The Physiological Transition

The trek to Everest Base Camp (EBC) teaches people how to adapt to changing environments; the oxygen available at Base Camp is only half as much as what is available at sea level, and therefore, the trek will create a unique change in both your body and mind.

The Bistari Philosophy: Bistari means slow in Nepali; this trek requires a meditative pace, and you are required to synchronize your breath with every single step, so there is no way for you to go fast or hurry because you will throw off your synchronicity.
Mental clarity: By using thin air, the trek has allowed you to strip away the incessant noise or chatter from modern life; as you complete the physical tasks of taking air into your body, you are also able to achieve an outstanding state of mindfulness at the same time; therefore, most of the trekkers that have completed the trek describe the last few days of their journey as having taken place after they had major mental reset.

Trek Highlights

Unique Experiences

Three unique logistical and physical features define the Everest Base Camp trekking and make this trek a world-class adventure. The first feature is the adrenaline from the high altitude and the subsequent high-precision flight into Lukla's Tenzing-Hillary Airport, which has a short runway of 12% gradient and a landing point at an elevation of 2,845 meters. The second feature poses a technical problem for trekkers as they arrive at the end of the trek with a view of the Khumbu Icefall, one of the highest glaciers in the world, where there are a variety of various ice block formations (seracs) that are constantly changing position. Lastly, for trekkers to form an international community that is connected with each other through their own unique experiences and cultural background, the Teahouse Fellowship allows them to gather in community lodges powered by burning yak dung in the heaters and share stories regarding the trekking experience in the Khumbu at a high altitude.

Adventure and Difficulty Level

The EBC trek is considered a very strenuous high-altitude trek; although it is a teahouse trek that utilizes local mountain lodges for accommodations, the difficulty lies within the hypoxic environment (thin air) rather than technical trekking. Trekkers complete 5 - 7 hours of sustained trekking each day, covering poor quality trails over uneven, rocky moraine and /or steep grades. The level of success on this trek requires a high level of cardiovascular fitness and an established and rigid program of acclimatization in order for the body to accommodate the much lower barometric pressure at altitudes greater than 5,000 meters.

Flora & Fauna

The trek to Everest Base Camp is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is an ecosystem of rare Himalayan flora and fauna. Even in the lush, lower regions of the trek, which is covered by a thick canopy of trees, you may see the dazzling Nepalese national bird called the Himalayan Monal (an iridescent bird) as well as shy Musk Deer. As you ascend, you will encounter an environment that is becoming increasingly difficult to survive in, as the air thins out and you begin to enter a land of hardy alpine mosses and small shrubs. At this altitude, you can expect to see the impressive Himalayan Tahr (a wild goat), but if you are extremely lucky, you may encounter the very elusive Snow Leopard, which is referred to as the ghost of the mountains, as it stalks around the steep cliffs of the mountains.

Cultural & Village Life

This trekking will be both completions of spirit and body; you’ll trek through Namche Bazaar (the historic and vibrant Sherpa capital of Mt.) to the Tenboche Monastery (where Sherpas go when they want to find peace of mind in holy places), so you’ll have a very spiritual circuit trail comprising Mani walls (Hand-carved Buddhist prayer stones), ancient Stupas (Hindu burial mounds) and spinning Prayer Wheels (pedestals that rotate due to wind). The colourful fabric and shape of the prayer flags create windchimes that convey blessings from noble sages for all beings.

Best Season & Seasonal Beauty

Spring Awakening (March – May): This is the high season; upper trails become a blossoming path of Rhododendron, Orchid. At Base Camp you’ll find an all-time tent city, where International uphill elite pilgrims come to seek their ascent and create a global network of fellowship where trekking is tested and mutual trust is born out of failure and perseverance.
The Autumn Clarity (September – November): Post-Monsoon rains produce the clearest conditions for view and photography. The atmosphere is cold enough to create the sharpest visions and mountains; at the same time blue skies add a touch of brilliance to the white peaks.

Summit Experience

The final destination of the trek is Everest Base Camp; however, the highest peak of the Himalayas is visible only from Kala Patthar. Therefore, once you reach the summit of Kala Patthar, you are able to behold the world's highest mountain from the summit of a windswept rock during either sunrise or sunset. As you look over from the rocky summit of Kala Patthar, it’s impossible not to appreciate the massive might of the Himalayas. From this position high above the planet it is possible to actually view the jet stream which is just normal wind blasting away the white summit of Mount Everest. The white plumes against a blue sky serve as a fantastic reminder of how wild and powerful the tallest mountain on planet Earth continues to be.

Scenic Beauty & Landscapes

The geological transition experienced at the trekking is nothing short of stunning. It starts with the lower Solu-Khumbu's terraced farmlands and tropical temperate forests and rises into the alpine tundra and barren, lunar-like high Himalayas. One will be able to see themselves standing at the edge of the Khumbu Glacier (the world's highest glacier) within a true cathedral of giants. This cathedral of giants is the three monolithic mountains of Lhotse's south face, Nuptse's jagged ridge, and Ama Dablam (often cited as the world's most beautiful mountain) that sculpt the skyline.