If like me, you’ve spent years dreaming of completing Everest Base Camp (EBC), I can honestly say it’s one of the toughest yet most exhilarating things I’ve ever done; and you definitely won’t be disappointed!

Add in the additional challenge of the Cho La Pass, the piercing blue Gokyo Lakes and the amazing views from the Renjo La Pass and it’ll likely be the trip of a lifetime! 15 days… Over 150km… Total Ascent of 10000M+ and some of the best memories you’ll ever make.

Picture yourself at EBC on Day 8… overlooking the Khumbu Glacier as it glistens in the sun…

To help you prepare for one of the most breath-taking hikes you’ll ever do, this quick guide will provide you with all the basics from advice on meals to lodges and give you a true taste of what it is all about with a the very 15 day itinerary I completed with Mountain Mart.

Firstly, when should you go?

The best time to trek EBC or anywhere else in the Himalayas is pre-monsoon (April-May) or post-monsoon October-November (Autumn) due to the reduced chances of rainfall. I actually trekked in late August and had some cloudy days but the rain was mostly in the evening and throughout the night, providing (with some luck) fascinating views of the Himalayas early morning! Monsoon season also brings milder temperatures, which may be preferable if you want to avoid the extreme winter chilliness. Trekking out of season also means that the trails are much quieter (which is priceless, depending on what kind of experience you’re after).

Fitness? Training?

One of the first questions that was on my mind, and most likely yours, is ‘how fit do I need to be’? ‘Can I actually do it’?

If you’re a regular hiker, a 6-10 hour day of hiking might be smooth sailing. The challenging aspect of EBC is that it’s a multi-day trek (although there are acclimatization days… itinerary later on)! Around 3 months before the trek I started hiking most weekends to build up my strength. The reality is, with the help of a professional guide and porters, most age groups and fitness levels can give EBC alone a try. For the high passes, you’ll need a good level of fitness as they are demanding long days.

Packing List

If you’ve opted for a guide & porter you’ll need the following:

• A Day Pack: 20-30 litre is best. One with chest and waist support is also recommend! This will contain all the things you should need easy access to, including water, snacks, warm layers etc.
  • Top Tips: your porter will walk ahead of you with your bigger rucksack to book the tea houses so make sure you have everything you require for the day!
• A rucksack / Duffel bag (the trekking company will provide this) that the porter will carry for you. Pack only what you know you will need and keep the porters happy (max around 10 kg).

As this is a quick guide, there isn’t a 10 page packing list… Instead here is an overview of what you might wish to pack for the trek and there is a more detailed packing list here.

• Hiking Clothes: Best advice is to pack plenty of layers so it’s easier to add/remove layers as the temperature changes throughout the days! Try to opt for breathable quick dry clothing that wicks away any dampness from your body. I.e.inner base layers and then multiple outer layers i.e. base layer top, breathable top, fleece, down jacket and a waterproof.
• Acclimatisation days / Tea house: Pack comfortable clothing for rest days and warm clothing for the tea houses; most of them do not have heating and are very cold at night.
• High ankle shoe for day trekking and low ankle shoes / flip flops for the evenings / rest days.
• Sleeping bag: The tea houses are really cold at night. A four season sleeping bag designed for -10 to -20 Degrees C should be suitable!
• First Aid bag for your day pack: Most trekking companies’ guides will bring one. But it’s best to bring plenty of padded waterproof plasters, bandages, savlon etc. More on medication below…
• Toiletries: Wet wipes will become your new shower and it is best to pack your own toilet paper! Also pack sun screen, lip balms and even skin moisturiser.
• Sunglasses: The white glaciers really do reflect the sun brightly!
• Head Torch: Handy for early morning starts / tea houses as power cuts are frequent.
• Get cash out in Kathmandu before your trek.

Top Tip: Either buy or rent some hiking poles. Not the best fashion accessory I must admit. But when you’re 10 days into the trek and your knees are giving way, trust me, you’ll want them! Hiking poles also give you more stability when going over rocky terrain.

What Medication to pack?

AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) isn’t a myth. It can happen. It can ruin your trek.

Top Tip: Take Diamox before you start your trek and throughout your trek (I took it on day 1 Lukla until Day 14 Namche Bazar). AMS can happen to anyone, regardless of age, fitness level, etc. Ultimately, if you get AMS your guide might request Helicopter Evacuation (which is very costly with excess premiums of $750 even with good insurance companies).

Other Medication to pack…

Aside from whatever your doctor usually recommends… you might want to pack the following:

• Diamox – Altitude Sickness
• Diarrhoea relief
• Paracetamol
• Ibuprofen
• Anti-Nauseousness
• Antibiotics (I didn’t pack this but you might want to).

Food and Drinks

Drinks: It’s best to buy plenty of water purification tablets (around 4 per day ill be sufficient). It helps minimise your impact on the environment by reducing plastic waste… just think…55000 visitors x 10 day EBC treks x 4 1L water bottles = approx 2.2 MILLION PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES every year that aren’t recycled. The plastic bottles are incinerated in Lukla! You’ll barely notice the taste difference. It’s recommended to drink at least 3-4 litres of water a day (especially if taking diamox).

Food: The local Nepali meal Dal Baht (rice/curry potato and lentil soup) is amazing and a safe bet! Most of the teahouses serve up a similar menu consisting of fried rice, noodles, pasta, potatoes etc. etc.. all the basic kinds of foods you might expect.

Top Tips: Avoid meat if you can to reduce the possibility of food poisoning and pack plenty of protein / chocolate snacks to keep your sugar levels up.

Accommodation

As you might expect, the tea houses in the main are quite basic. Expect private twin rooms with shared bathrooms. Although some do have private rooms with en suite bathrooms!

Top Tips: Pack some toilet roll! Take a metal flask to put hot water in and keep yourself warm by putting it in your sleeping bag overnight. Pack a good USB power bank to charge all of your devices; electricity is unreliable and expensive the higher you get. Finally, if you’re a budget or solo traveller, share rooms to reduce cost but also share your experiences with a fellow trekker!

Itinerary Overview: Now to the real reason you’re here…The Trek itself… day by day…

15 days Everest Base Camp Trek + Chola Pass + Gokyo Lakes + Renjo La Pass…

(Day 01): Fly Kathmandu – Lukla and trek to Phakding (2,562m/8,700ft) 35 min flight and 3-4 hrs trek to Phakding.

Now for those of you that don’t know, the 35 minute flight from Kathmandu to Lukla is truly one of the most amazing in the world for two reasons: 1) The views of the Himalayas are beautiful. 2) The flight is exhilarating with the technical landing into Lukla being one of the most dangerous in the world!

(Day 02): Phakding – Namche Bazaar (3,440 m/11,280 ft), 5-6 hrs trek

(Day 03): Acclimatization Day – Namche Bazaar

(Day 04): Namche Bazzar – Tengboche (3,870m/12,694ft), 5-6 hrs

(Day 05): Tengboche – Pheriche (4230m/13877ft) 2-3 hrs.

(Day 06): Acclimatization day in Pheriche.

(Day 07): Pheriche – Lobuche (4,940m/16,204ft), 9-10 hrs

(Day 08): Lobuche-Gorak Shep (5,160m/17,000ft) – Everest Base Camp (5,364m/17,594ft) – Gorak Shep: 8-9 hrs

The Trail weaves alongside the Khumbu Glacier to Gorakshep. After Lunch set out to visit world’s highest base camp… Everest Base Camp. Base Camp has no view of Mt. Everest but fantastic view of Khumbu Icefall and colorful camp site for Everest expeditions..

(Day 9): Gorak Shep – Kala Pathar (5,545m/18,192 ft) – Dzonglha (4,830m/15,850ft), 8-9 hrs

4AM start to give you time for the steep 2-3 hrs ascent up to Kala Patthar to watch the sunrise from top of the world (Mt. Everest). The reward is a panoramic view of Mt. Everest, Mt. Pumori, Mt. Lingtren, Khumbutse, Changtse, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Nupte, Mt. Ama Dablam and many more.

(Day 10): Dzonglha – Cho La Pass (5420m/17,778ft) – Thangnak (4,680m/15,350ft) – Gokyo (4,800m/15,580ft), 9-10 hrs

Today will be one of the toughest days of your trip! As you leave Dzonglha you’ll be greeted by the mesmerizing sight of Cholatse looming over you. As you gain height, the view back gets increasingly more captivating; the Cho La Lake begins to appear and the Ama Dablam in its pyramidal incarnation presides over a range of mountains on the south as Cholatse soars on the west. The ascent is not easy; it is steep, but made worse by boulders over some of which you will have to scramble but this is all part of the challenging experience! Upon reaching the top, you’ll be surrounded by majestic peaks in all directions. I’d recommend a late lunch at Thangnak before following the trail to the Ngozumpa glacier; which is longest glacier in Nepal. Reaching the other side of the glacier, you’ll get a view of the second of the Gokyo lakes on the series of six lakes. A short distance away is the third Gokyo Lake where the Gokyo Village is situated and no doubt you’ll be ready for a rest!

(Day 11): Rest and explore Gokyo Ri and Gokyo Lakes

For the best view, climb Gokyo Ri (5350 m) in around 2 hrs to gain a panoramic view of Cho Oyu, Gyanchung King, Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cholatse, Tawache and many more. Those with more time and energy can make a trip up the valley to Ngazumpa Lake, or even beyond to a fifth lake.

(Day 12): Gokyo – Renjo La (5345m/17532ft) – Marlung (4,210m/13,810ft}, 8-9 hrs

Time to conquer the Renjo La Pass (5345m). The path climbs gently up the flank of Gokyo Ri and then zigzags precariously above the north-west corner of the lake and after about 3 hours you’ll reach the Renjo La where Everest, Lhotse, Cholatse and Taboche can be seen shining in the sun.

(Day 13): Marlung – Namche Bazzar (3,440 m/11,280 ft), 8-9 hrs

The descent from Marulung to Thame follows a traditional route used for centuries by the Tibetan traders.

(Day 14): Namche Bazaar – Lukla (2,642m/8,668ft): 18km, 6-7 hrs

(Day 15): Lukla – Kathmandu by Air, 30 minutes airstrip

Which Trekking Company I chose… and would recommend…

If you’re anything like me, you’ll spend a considerable amount of time contacting a number of trekking companies to compare itineraries and prices, and quickly realise there are literally hundreds of trekking companies.

I shortlisted 7 companies and after numerous email exchanges it was clear there was one winner.

There are a number of reasons why Mountain Mart are #1 trekking company in Nepal on TripAdvisor.

1. PRICE: People usually focus on price first (rightly or wrongly): Mountain Mart were the best value for money because the price includes all accommodation, meals, flights, down jacket and sleeping bag (both of which were high quality). Additionally, Mountain Mart DO NOT CHARGE single person supplement fees unlike most companies. If you’re trekking out of season like I did, this can save you a huge amount of money!
2. QUALITY of service: From day 1 everything felt right… you know that feeling? The email responses were within the same day. The tour consultants pay full attention to detail and even went as far as asking about my fitness levels to provide the most suitable guide (not that that was ever going to be a problem)! From meeting the company owner upon arriving in Kathmandu to my 15 day trek with guide Bishal it was clear that customer was their highest priority. Bishal didn’t feel like a guide, but more like a long lost friend. His knowledge was amazing, I couldn’t resist pointing at every mountain and asking the name/height! We were constantly joking and laughing on the trek which is really important as it can be tough at times! Bishal was from a local Himalayan village called Bung and his willingness to share his cultural knowledge about Nepal was absolutely priceless.
3. SAFETY first they say: Can you do EBC without a guide? I’d probably say yes and many people do! Can you do EBC + 2 or 3 high passes without a guide? I wouldn’t recommend it! I do a lot of hiking in The UK but that doesn’t prepare you for the dangers of trekking over the Cho La Pass at 5420m. Without Bishal I would’ve made 1 fatal wrong decision that day when ascending up the snow covered Cho La Pass. Hearing stories afterwards about the dangers of crevasses and the number of lives lost across the Himalayas really gives you a wake up call. On a more positive note, every evening Bishal checked my oxygen and pulse levels to make sure I was acclimatising well. Mountain Mart’s itineraries are designed to ensure you acclimatise safely (be wary of companies with short itineraries that rush you up to EBC, they won’t seem value for money when your paying $750 insurance excess for a helicopter evacuation due to AMS).

I’m very cautious and wouldn’t recommend a company that I didn’t have 100% faith in.

Overall, from the first email, to reaching EBC and completing the Cho La Pass, Gokyo Lakes and the Renjo La Pass safety with Bishal, my experience with Mountain Mart was fantastic; there’s no better feeling than achieving a goal you’ve had for years is there?

To find out more and contact the great team at Mountain Marts, click here.

We hope you have the most amazing experience of your life! Why not try Mindful Walking whilst you’re trekking to enrich your experience. Mindfully walking throughout the trek made my experience and my memories of it even more vivid. I can still visualise now the body sensations as the mist flowed past my body at the bottom of the many beautiful waterfalls….find some tips here!