Accommodations on Everest Base Camp Trek
Almost every tea house on the EBC Trek route offers modern amenities. Thus, you’ll never run out of comfortable accommodation on the trek.
For 12 days, you’ll get a twin-sharing room for overnight accommodation. At most places, you’ll get attached bathrooms. But at Lobuche and Gorak Shep, you’ll be accommodated in a twin-sharing room with a shared bathroom. If you wish for private rooms, you’ll get one. But you have to pay for personal preferences other than those mentioned.
You’ll get a tidy room with a clean bed, bedsheet, blankets, and pillow. However, we request you bring a sleeping bag for additional warmth.
Other amenities like hot water shower, internet, and battery recharge cost NRs 300-400 at all places.
You’ll get a complimentary one-night accommodation with breakfast in Kathmandu. However, we don’t cover your lunch, dinner, and other personal expenses for your Kathmandu stay.
Meals during the trek
During your 12-day trek, you’ll get 12 breakfasts, 12 lunches, and 12 dinners. The last-day dinner in Kathmandu will be complimentary from our side.
Expansive meal choices on the menu keep your belly happy throughout the trek.
You can order porridge, apple pies, muesli, oats, pancakes, mashed potatoes, Tibetan bread, toast, omelet, and more for breakfast. Milk, tea, coffee, ginger lemon with honey, and lukewarm water are standard hot drinks for breakfast.
Lunch and dinner meals are almost similar, but you’ll have the option to choose different items. The recommended meal, once a day, is Dal Bhat, a boiled rice, cooked vegetables, lentil soup, and pickles. You can also try this meal with meat soup, but we recommend you remain vegetarian throughout the trek. Other popular item includes noodles, spaghetti, pasta with cheese, tenduk, Tibetan bread, pizza, burgers and fries, and more.
Kathmandu Lukla Flight and ground transport
You’ll start EBC Trek with a flight from Kathmandu or Manthali airport to Lukla. If you fly from Kathmandu (in March and September), you’ll get a hotel-to-airport transfer. However, if you fly from Manthali Airport, we’ll offer you a private vehicle ride from Kathmandu to Manthali.
The flight time from Kathmandu to Lukla is 25 minutes, and from Manthali is just 20 minutes.
Everest Base Camp Trek The Cost you pay to us includes flight tickets to Lukla. Also, the trek cost comes with all ground transport on private vehicles.
Due to a change in the airline’s policy, the Kathmandu Lukla Flight ticket price has increased. Thus, you may expect some changes in overall trek cost.
Note: The Lukla weather changes on any given day. Thus, you may expect flight delays and possibly cancellations. Hence, we request you to plan this trek with one to two buffer days to cope with such a flight delay if it happens. Also, if the flight gets canceled, you can take a helicopter from Kathmandu to Lukla.
Helicopter from Kathmandu to Lukla
If the weather changes at Lukla and hinders the regular flight, you can still fly on a helicopter to Lukla. With a helicopter, you’ll have a higher probability of landing at Lukla airport during poor weather conditions.
You’ll have to pay for the helicopter flight if you want to fly by helicopter. However, we’ll refund you the airline flight ticket price that you can use to pay the Kathmandu to Lukla Helicopter Cost.
Note: If you take a helicopter from Kathmandu to Lukla, you must pay the helicopter fare for your trek guide.
Everest Base Camp Trek permits
You should have two trekking permits for Everest Base Camp Trek 12 days. One is for Sagarmatha National Park, and another is for the Khumbu rural municipality. Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Permit and Sagarmatha National Park permit are the two must-have permits for this trek.
We’ll prepare these permits for you upon planning this trek with us. Also, the Everest Base Camp Trek cost you pay to us includes all the permit costs.
Learn about these permits, types, and more on this blog.
Everest Base Camp Trek Difficulty
Is the Everest Base Camp Trek difficult? Not really!
Before deciding whether this trek is best for you, here are a few things you must know.
Altitude-wise, at 5,346 meters, the base camp of Mt. Everest is the highest base camp of any mountain. With ample physical fitness, trek preparations, and the best trek agency like us, reaching this altitude is possible.
Most sections on this trek are straightforward and moderate. You’ll start this trek from Lukla and trek to Namche, Tengboche, and Dingboche. These sections of this trek are manageable to moderate grade difficulty.
However, the section from Dingboche to Lobuche and Gorak Shep is demanding.
Your trek from Dingboche to Lobuche is moderately complex while climbing Thugla Pass. Further, as you trek past Lobuche to Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp, you’ll hike on the Khumbu Glacier moraine. To trek to the base camp, you’ll trek for three hours over the Khumbu glacier. Due to thin oxygen and arduous trail section, it’ll be challenging.
Moreover, you’ll get two days of rest, one at Namche Bazaar and another at Dingboche. These rests prevent you from getting altitude sickness and also ease fatigue.
Read our Everest Base Camp Trek Preparation blog for detailed trek preparation guide.
Altitude sickness, symptoms, and prevention
The highest elevation you’ll reach on Everest Base Camp Trek 12 days is 5,644 meters at Kala Patthar. Reaching this altitude without proper acclimatization causes altitude sickness. Some trekkers even experience altitude sickness at lower altitudes like Dingboche and Lobuche. And few even get altitude sickness at Namche Bazaar.
Symptoms of Altitude Sickness
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Lack of mood, discomfort
- Rapid exhaustion
- Dizziness, nausea, and vomiting
- Difficulty on sleeping
Prevention
- Acclimatization
- Frequent Rehydration of 100 ml water every 30 minutes
- Eat adequate meals each day
- Avoid alcohols, smoking, and caffeinated drinks
- Trek preparations and physical fitness
- Diamox (upon consultation with your doctor)
Travel Insurance
While trekking to Everest Base Camp, you must bring your travel insurance. If you fail to provide proof of your travel insurance, we may exclude you from the departure group.
The purpose of travel insurance on a trek is to get an on-time helicopter rescue during unforeseen situations. For example, you’ll need a helicopter for evacuation whenever you get altitude sickness. With travel insurance, you’ll get a helicopter on time, and your insurance covers the entire cost. However, you may not get the helicopter for evacuation on time without bearing travel insurance. Plus, you’ll have to pay $4000 for a helicopter rescue.
Moreover, having travel insurance on a trek gives you tons of advantages. Your medication bills lost or damaged trek gear and gadgets, and other minor issues get covered by your insurance.
Packing list for Everest Base Camp Trek
For treks like the Everest Base Camp, backpacking has to be on point. However, most trekkers miss bringing the most essential gear because they lack backpacking ideas.
Instead of writing the gears and stuff here, we have a complete blog that addresses the backpacking topic. Please read our Packing List for Everest Base Camp Trek Blog for in-depth information and ideas.
