Everest Base camp trek can be described as beautiful, challenging and frustrating all in one. We have never been so close to such enormous mountains, as we probably have never been so frustrated with the trail. But all the tiredness from carrying your own backpack and frustration from never-ending ascent and descent is nothing compared to the spectacular views that you get when you reach the top.
When we planned our trek, there was really not much information we could use, so we decided to write down our own Everest Base Camp Trek Guide. Hopefully it will help you to plan your own amazing experience in the mountains.
Our story from Everest base camp trek was not only about spectacular views, as it was more about challenging ourselves. We had never done a multiple-day hike before, let alone trek in high altitude. For us, Everest base camp trek was just a crazy dream that turned into reality. It was about challenging ourselves to walk that high, without any guides or porters and with our 12 kilos backpacks on our backs.
Would you like to know more about travel planning? Try to check our Reverse Travel Planning Strategy.
Let´s get ready to go further with Everest Base Camp Trek Guide.
Why was Everest base camp trek frustrating? The trail is steadily declining and rising. The trail is never flat for more than a couple of minutes. We were kind of expecting that the trail on the way up will go up, and on the way down, it will go down. Simple as that. But because the trail is constantly crossing valleys, you ascent and descent all the time. So it gets frustrating because when you walk all the way up, you realize that you need to descent again, just to realize that in a few minutes you will ascent again. That was probably the biggest surprise for us. Even more when you realize, that you have to complete the same trail on the way back.
Here is our little video from Everest base camp trek:
Days before Everest base camp trek
Our story from Everest base camp trek actually started a month prior coming to Nepal. For whatever reason, we were not able to purchase air tickets to Lukla online before we came to Nepal. When we started to get frustrated that all flights will be gone by the time we will be able to buy the tickets, we discovered a Nepali travel agent that helped us. He bought the tickets for us for an early morning which was supposed to be the best time for flying to Lukla.
We had our tickets for early Monday morning and so we went to the airport just to find out that Lukla airport is closed due to a bad weather. As we learnt at the airport, this is not an unusual situation, but very often the weather clears out after few hours and the flights are good to go.
Unfortunately, we were not that lucky. The weather was so bad for the whole day, that none of the planes was able to leave the airport. Disappointed we went to see our agent, through who we booked the tickets, just to find out that all flights are booked out until Thursday. That meant we had to postpone all our plans and schedules and wait in Kathmandu for another three days. Bad weather can really mess with your plans in Nepal.
Read more about Lukla airport! The honest truth that no one talks about!
Kathmandu airport, people waiting for the flight to Lukla:
Day 1: Kathmandu to Lukla
On Thursday, happy to finally fly, we got to the airport. The first two flights safely took off and our flight was supposed to be the next one. But….suddenly the airport staff announced that the weather in Lukla changed and that the airport is closed again. Like really?
It was not until lunch that we found out that actually all flights between Monday and Thursday were cancelled, due to bad weather. So not only, there were no flights in all four days, but all those travellers were fighting for tickets for next days. When we wanted to reschedule our tickets again, the next available flight was on Monday, which meant waiting for another four days. That is when we decided to take a risk and go by helicopter, which not only was super expensive but was complicated too.
There was no possibility to fly from Kathmandu to Lukla directly by helicopter, but we had to take a detour. First, we had to fly by a plane from Kathmandu to Rumjatar, which was supposed to be an airport. Understand, it was just a piece of asphalt strip in the middle of a rice plant. There, we had to wait for a helicopter, to take us to Lukla. But… Because the weather worsens in Lukla, the airport closed for helicopters too. So our only option was to fly to a teeny-tiny village named Surke and walk to Lukla.
On my question how far Surke is from Lukla, the helicopter seller looked at the sky, paused for a second and then told me: „Hmm probably 40 minutes on foot?“
I should have known better by then and don´t trust him. It took us just around three and a half hours 🙂
For the first day, the walk was not easy. It was very far away from being easy 😀 When we landed in Surke, it was raining, foggy and very humid. Because we were not prepared to walk that day, our backpacks were lamely packed and we did not even have the right trekking clothes on. But hey, it is just 40-minute walk right? Easy 🙂 Except it wasn´t.
In the first three hours of walking up to Lukla, we learnt two very important lessons for trekking in Nepal. First, don´t ask locals how far anything is. They always have a generic answer like: „It is just a 30 minutes walk.“ Or „It is just around the corner.“ BUT IT NEVER IS 🙂
The second thing we learnt was, that you don´t really need a guide to guide you. The path is well recognizable. But we didn´t know that YET. So the minute we landed in Surke a guide approached us with a story that the trail to Lukla is very hard to find, it is confusing and all that jazz. Naive us trusted him and agreed to pay him $10 for safety and guidance to Lukla. Well…. great deal right? Except until you realize that there is just one trail around Surke and that the trail leads directly to Lukla. No sidewalks, no confusion, no nothing. Even the lost kid could find the way 😀 But hey, at least we helped to a local businessman.
The walk from Surke to Lukla was a perfect sneak peek what we got ourselves into. It was a long, draining and steep walk. Stairs were followed by more stairs and when we thought we are getting closer to your final destination we realized that we are not J Probably a perfect description of how we felt during the whole Everest Base camp trek.
But back to the trek. Probably after the two hours, we finally got at the top of the hill and the trail levels. I can not describe the happiness I felt when I first saw Lukla village in a distance through the never-ending rain. It felt so close.
So, we are at the top of the hill we were ascending for the last two hours and we saw Lukla in the distance, and then we realized that the trail was heading steeply down. What the hell? We just got up.
So finally we ascended to Lukla village. Wet, tired, sweating, but glad that we were there. We did not put much thought of which lodge we want to stay in. We just chose one.
Overall Lukla is a nice village in between the mountains, where you have no problem to find any supplies that you might forget to bring. There are enough lodges, so you have no trouble finding an accommodation. Lukla has enough restaurants and places to eat, and it is one of two villages that actually has ATM machines.
Distance: 2,3 km
How long did it take: 3,5 hours
Where did we stay: Everest Plaza Lodge
How much did it cost: 500 NPR
Day 2: Lukla to Phakding
I am not going to lie to you, carrying your own 12 kilos backpacks is a challenge. And it´s definitely not for everyone. Lukla is an official start of the trek, so we were pretty excited to finally start after waiting for 5 days in Kathmandu.
At the end of the Lukla village, you have to buy a TIMS card if you had not already bought it in Kathmandu. It is better to buy your TIMS card with rupees because the exchange rate for dollars is not good. If you don´t want to stuck in a queue, start your walk as soon as possible. We started at 8 AM and there was already a queue.
Leaving Lukla, the trail is quite an easy walk. Maybe because most of the time you go down. I remember being optimistic and very confident about how easy the trail is. So naive 🙂
I also remember to realize that we will have to walk the same trail back to Lukla. Which meant going all the way up in a few days on the way back.
After an hour we arrived into village Cheplung. So far so good. After Cheplung the trail harder. For another two hours, the trail was going up and down, up and down, until we reach Phakding.
Overall, looking back, comparing it to other days on the trek, this day was super easy.
Distance: 7,8 km
How long did it take: 3 hours
Where did we stay: Green Village
How much did it cost: 200 NPR
Day 3: Phakding to Namche Bazar
The third day was one of the toughest days on the trek for us. The trail from Phakding to Monjo was quite enjoyable, going through forests, crossing the suspension bridges and just enjoying the first views of the mountains. But the trek from Monjo to Namche Bazar almost took the best out of us. I have never ever in my life walked so long up to the hill.
At the end of Monjo village, first, we had to buy our permit to enter Sagarmatha national park. However, we would recommend you to buy it in Kathmandu prior, because here you will wait in a huge queue. We were stuck there for an hour and a half, just waiting for officers to issue the permits. While when you have a permit already, you just present it and pass through in a minute.
All the guidebook we had read agreed in one thing and that is that the walk up the hill is strenuous, never-ending zigzagging trail. But we were not prepared for that. The uphill walk was hard, it took us almost 4 hours to be able to reach the top of the hill. It was a never-ending zigzagging walk up and up with rocks and stairs.
Going up to Namche was the first time when we questioned our decision to carry our own backpacks. We are not ashamed to say that we struggled a lot. For us, this day was a real challenge and a good test of our will-power.
You know you are up when you reach the police office checkpoint, where you need to present your permits. After police check, the trail continues for few minutes before you finally enter the village, Namche Bazar. We have never seen a village that glads in our lives.
After 7 hours on the trail, we were so hungry and tired that we did not put much thought into what lodge we will stay in. We just wanted to put the backpacks down. So we found a nice lodge called Ama Dablam and checked in. Without a doubt the best lodge on our trek!
Distance: 10,5 km
How long did it take: 8 hours
Where did we stay: Ama Dablam
How much did it cost: 200 NPR
Day 4: Acclimatization day in Namche Bazar
As required we stayed in Namche Bazar for our acclimatization day. We spend our day wandering around the village, taking photos, eating and preparing for another day on the trail.
Things to do in Namche Bazar:
- Visit Sherpa museum – a great museum at the top of Namche Bazar village about the history and life of sherpas. There is also a great shop with beautiful postcards and photographs that you can buy as a souvenir.
- Watch the movie in Cafe 8848 – Sherpas, the true heroes of Mount Everest. There is a free movie every day at 3 PM in Cafe 8848 about the life of sherpas who help westerners to climb Mount Everest. The movie is great, eye-opening in some way because until then we did not know much about sherpas in general. The coffee and cakes in the cafe are really good and affordable. So remember to stop there to enjoy your acclimatization day.
- Walk to Everest view hotel
- Visit nearby villages Thame or Khumjung
Day 5: Namche Bazar to Tengboche
The day started by the easy walk along the trail around beautiful gompas. If you are lucky and have a nice weather, you will get the first real glimpse of mountains in front of you. After passing through a few villages we started descending quite a lot. It is never a good sign of going down on a trail because it means that sooner than you think you will ascend again. The real ascending started after crossing the suspension bridge in a village Phunki Thenga.
I am not exaggerating to compare this ascend to the one to Namche Bazar. These two hills were really hard for us. Both ascends were long, strenuous, zig-zagging and a real challenge with your backpacks. But hey, when you reach a top, the feeling combine with the views are priceless.
You know what is really frustrating going up? Sherpas and porters! I mean, some of them carry more than 50 kilos on their backs and they are quicker than you! Sometimes ee really felt ashamed. We were really struggling with 12 kilos backpacks, pausing every few hundreds of metres and those guys are almost running up in their flip-flops with such a load on their backs. Big hive five to them!
At the end of the day, we arrived into a small village of Tengboche which is well-known for its Buddhist monastery. The Tengboche monastery is the highest monastery in the world. Furthermore, if you arrive early enough you can visit the monk prayers at 3 PM.
The only problem with Tengboche is that it is a really small village. It contains 4 lodges and a monastery. So in the high season, it can be quite difficult to find accommodation. If you arrive late into Tengboche and find out that all the rooms are taken, there is another village down the road called Debuche.
Buddhist monastery in Tengboche:
We stayed in the Gompa lodge, which is a lodge attached to the local bakery. It is probably the only accommodation we stayed in that we would not recommend. When we came to Tengboche, all the other lodges were already full, so this one was the only one with the free rooms. And we took the last one. The rooms were small, dirty, some of the rooms had even broken windows, so it got really cold in the night.
Anyway if you end up there, you will probably be wondering why there are big rocks in the corners in the room. That is fine, we were wondering also. Until the night came. The rocks are at the corners of the rooms to protect you from the rats!!! I am not kidding! The rats tried to get into the room through the corners so hard, that we could not even sleep.
Distance: 8,5 km
How long did it take: 6 hours
Where did we stay: Gompa lodge
How much did it cost: 200 NPR
Day 6: Tengboche to Pheriche
We decided not to go to Dingboche like everyone else, instead, we chose to walk to Pheriche. Our decision was based on three reasons. The first reason is that every tour goes to Dingboche so again, it is quite hard to find an accommodation there and it is overpacked. The second reason is that Pheriche is in lower altitude than Dingboche, so Pheriche is much better for your acclimatization. And the third reason is that in Pheriche there is a hospital base with international doctors giving lectures about high altitude sickness every day at 3 PM. The lecture is free and very interesting.
The trek to Pheriche was not as hard as it was long. It took us 7 hours to finish the daily trek. Along the trail, we recommend stopping in Pangboche for a nice lunch or coffee break. The bakeries there are excellent.
Notice: After Tengboche, you will notice locals preselling rooms in upfront villages. They usually sit along the trail and offer you to buy tickets for rooms in places like Pangboche, Lobuche, saying that you pay to them, they give you a ticket and this ticket ensures that you will get a room. They usually sell one room for 500 rupees. The problem with this scheme is that for one reason it is not necessary to do it, and the second reason is that the lodge’s owners actually get just a small percentage from that price. It is kind of like a local mafia.
The lodge’s owners have to accept you if you present them the ticket. They can´t charge you more money on accommodation. But from 500 rupees that you paid, they got less than 150 rupees. So they actually lose money L Lodges owners don‘t like this practice, but there is not much they can do about it. So it is much better if you just ignore those scammers and buy proper accommodation in the village where owners get the full pay. Don´t support those scammers!
Distance: 10,5 km
How long did it take: 7 hours
Where did we stay: Himalaya Hotel
How much did it cost: 500 NPR
Day 7: Acclimatization day in Pheriche
We decided to include another acclimatization day in Pheriche. There is not much to do around the village, because it consists of just a few lodges and houses. But there is one event that is really good not to miss. Every day, at 3 PM there is a lecture about high altitude sickness given by international doctors. It was really interesting to debate with other travellers and doctors about the effects of altitude, how to recognize the early signs of the sickness and what to do if it comes. Otherwise, we spend the day by wandering around the village and taking photos.
Day 8: Pheriche to Thukla
Previously we did not plan to stay in Thukla for a night, but we decided to take it slowly because we were entering the high altitudes now. And also we wanted to have one nice day when we did not have to walk for 7 hours. So we decided to break the trek in half and stay in Thukla instead of going straight to Lobuche. I recommend you do the same, it helped us with better acclimatization.
I still don’t know if it is right to call Thukla a village, because the place consists of just two lodges. And that is it. On the bright side, because Thukla is for most people just a lunch stop and the majority of people continue straight to Lobuche, it is very easy to find an accommodation there.
Looking back we think we made a good decision to stay in Thukla for a day. At least we rested and regained strength for the walk that was laying in front of us. From Thukla the strenuous ascend starts. You can literarily sit in Thukla, sip on hot coffee and watch people struggling to walk up.
If you decide to stay and you have nothing to do, visit Cho lakes.
Distance: 3,9 km
How long did it take: 3 hours
Where did we stay: Kalapatthar lodge
How much did it cost: 500 NPR
Day 9: Thukla to Lobuche
Walk from Thukla to Lobuche started by going straight uphill. It was a demanding hill but we probably got used to it. After ascending the walk eventually levels. At the top of the hill, there are memorials of those who lost their lives in an attempt to conquer the summit of the Month Everest. Among those memorials is the most famous one of Scott Fischer.
After scrolling among memorials the trail levels and it is just an easy and nice walk to Lobuche.
When entering the Lobuche village we were stopped at the checkpoint station where we were required to pay an accommodation fee. The fee was 700 rupees and after paying, we received a ticket. In Lobuche, you don´t pay for your accommodation directly in lodges but at that checkpoint. After choosing the lodge, you just present the ticket and they give you a room and will not charge you for your accommodation as you already had paid at the checkpoint.
We stayed in the biggest hotel in Lobuche – Mother Earth as it was supposed to be the warmest building in Lobuche. I would not want to see the other lodges, because if Mother earth was supposed to be the warmest, we would have to freeze to death in the other ones. It was soooo cold. We were not able to sleep even with sleeping bags and blankets above us.
Next, to the Mother Earth hotel, you can visit the highest sherpa´s bakery in the world. They offer tasty cakes and nice coffee. Expect to pay around 400 – 600 rupees per cake.
Distance: 3,5 km
How long did it take: 4 hours
Where did we stay: Mother Earth Hotel
How much did it cost: 700 NPR
Day 10: Lobuche to Gorak Shep to Kala Patthar
We started this day very early, at 6:30 AM. The reason was simple, we did not want to spend more than one night in Gorak Shep. So we wanted to have enough time to arrive at Gorak Shep and explore surroundings.
From Lobuche, the trail levels through a valley until the Lobuche pass. After ascending Lobuche pass it is just two hours to Gorak Shep. The trail continues probably for another two hours through the valley where we had to cross the icefalls. After two hours of walking, we arrived at Gorak Shep.
There, we met another checkpoint, where we had to pay for our accommodation. We were charged 700 rupees per room per night. But the next day some people told us that they paid just 500 rupees. So it is hard to tell which price is correct. So expect to pay between 500 – 700 rupees.
Gorak Shep is a small village surrounded by the most spectacular mountains that you could possibly see. From there you have a nice view of Kala Patthar.
We arrived at Gorak Shep around lunch time.
Great tip – All the tours have the exact same schedule, arrive at Gorak Shep, have a lunch and go to the Everest Base camp. Next morning they wake up at 4 AM and walk up the Kala Patthar to see the sunrise above Moun Everest. As we don’t like to do things according to others we decided to do it completely opposite. Rather than going with huge masses to Everest base camp we decided to climb to Kala Patthar. There was no one. The sun was up, the wind was not that strong and the views were spectacular.
The problem with going to Kala Patthar early in the morning is that the temperature in the morning is really low, freezing, the wind is strong, you have to start ascending during the dark, and the trail is rocky. So it is not pretty safe to walk up early in the morning. And every tour does it. So expect to share the nice views with dozens and dozens of people whose only interest is to take photos for Instagram. And, you never know if you see the Everest in the morning. It is possible to climb up for 3 hours just to realize that that morning Everest will be covered in clouds.
Distance: 4,3 km
How long did it take: 3 hours
Where did we stay: Yeti lodge
How much did it cost: 700 NPR
Day 11: Gorak Shep to Everest Base camp to Pheriche
This morning, when everyone else was ascending the Kala Patthar, we headed to Everest Base camp. And guess what? We were there alone, again. The sun was rising behind the mountains so we just sit there and watch the nice sunrise above us.
After visiting Everest base camp we slowly started to descend again. We did not have an exact plan how far we wanted to go, but we agreed to descend as much as we will be possible. Quite honestly, after 11 days in cold weather, we were kind of over it. Even though we grow up in Europe, and we experience quite tough winters, spending 11 days in cold was hard even for us. One of the hardest parts about the trek is that there is no real possibility to warm. Hot tea is the closest way to get warm 😉
At the end of the day, we were able to descend as far as Pheriche. It was a long day, regarding that we visited Everest base camp in the morning.
Distance: 17 km
How long did it take: 8 hours
Where did we stay: Hotel Himalayan
How much did it cost: 500 NPR
Day 12: Pheriche to Namche Bazar
The hardest day while descending. We started the day by 8 AM and finished at Namche Bazar at 6 PM, we arrived in Namche with the darkness. We would not recommend it, because it was a really hard day. But we were sure, that we don´t want to spend another night in Tengboche. That was our only condition.
Our previous plan was to walk to Debuche and spend a night there, but from Pheriche to Debuche we descended much quicker than we had thought, so we arrived in Debuche before lunch. Therefore we did not want to just sit the whole afternoon in Debuche. So we decided to continue. The hardest part of the walk was to descend the hill from Tengboche, because of my knees. After that, it is a strenuous uphill walk and then it eventually levels to Namche Bazaar.
Distance: 19 km
How long did it take: 10 hours
Where did we stay: Ama Dablam Lodge
How much did it cost: 200 NPR
Day 13: Rest day in Namche Bazar
After two hard days of walking from Gorak Shep to Namche Bazar, we decided that we would like to rest. We enjoyed a nice day in Namche, eating, buying souvenirs for friends and drinking coffee.
Day 14: Namche Bazar to Lukla
At the beginning we planned to divide this last trail into two days, Namche to Phakding a Phakding to Lukla. But we were so eager to finally finish the trek that we pushed ourselves to complete the trek in one day. It was a long and hard day, 19 kilometres in 7 hours, but we were glad we did it.
Also, we enjoyed the first hot shower in Lukla. In 14 days! Stepping under the hot water after 14 days of never-ending cold and freezing water, we felt like a newborn person. We literally spend in a shower like half an hour each. For us, a hot shower was the best reward after completing the trek.
It is those moments when you realize how lucky you are for what we have in our life. In my home, am I cold? Just turn on the heater. I shower twice a day in a hot shower. It is those travel experiences when we realize how lucky we are even though we always feel that our life could be better. It could, it always can, but we are very grateful for what we have. That is the feeling why I love to travel.
Distance: 18,2 km
How long did it take: 9 hours
Where did we stay: Everest Plaza Lodge
How much did it cost: 500 NPR
Day 15: Lukla
Last day, a day before our flight from Lukla, we spend walking around Lukla, taking photos and trying to take a perfect shot of landing planes at the Lukla airport. The next day we safely took off from the most dangerous airport in the world and safely landed in Kathmandu 🙂
Have you been to Nepal? Did you do the Everest base camp trek? Do you agree with our Everest Base Camp Guide? Do you have your own story from the trek? Let us know in the comment section down below, we would love to hear fom you.
