EBC Trek via Gokyo Lakes and Cho La Pass Faqs

Comparatively Everest Base Camp trek via Gokyo Lakes and Cho La Pass is harder than the EBC classical route. One must read and acquire important information, consult and prepare better with a strong mind set to take up the challenge. This trek is more technically advanced than some of the other treks in the Everest region – thus it is more adventurous. With little technical skills and a good physical fitness and acclimatization, you’ll have nothing to worry about on the trek. Sometimes trekkers simply tend to get overwhelmed by hearing from others about the difficulties and various challenges of this trek. Our expert travel consultants will guide you for better counseling and preparation to take up this challenge.

Everest Base Camp trek via Gokyo lakes and Cho La Pass is best done in pre-monsoon season i.e. from March to May and post-monsoon season i.e. from late September to December. It is also possible to do this trek in February and early September but the trek is best preferred during the above months.

Absolutely yes! Under normal circumstances, our booked trips are guaranteed to run. You will still be doing your trek even if other trekkers cancel their trip. This is the reason why Himalayan Glacier is different from other agencies, who usually cancel their whole trip a month or even a week before the trip date. We are a tailor-made company and the number of participants does not stop our operation. If your trip has been canceled by your operator and you are in a last-minute stress, remember to find us to sort out your trip decisions. Please feel free to book your stress-free holidays with us. Unless there is a situation which is out of control such as a political riot, natural disaster, pandemic, epidemic or weather catastrophes, our trips are 100% guaranteed to run.

Himalayan Glacier offers a lifetime deposit policy which allows you the flexibility to transfer your deposit to anyone or any other trip. If you wish to cancel your booked trips, certain cancelation charges apply. Please visit our booking terms and conditions for detailed information.

Rest assured that you will be in good hands with our experienced trek leaders, who have multiple years of experience trekking in Nepal. All of our guides, known as Himalayan Glacier dedicated Guides, are locals with a deep understanding of the mountain, its people, culture, health, hygiene, and most importantly, your safety. They are fluent in English and will be able to communicate effectively with you throughout the trek. Our guides are passionate about their work and will ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable trekking experience.

After a long day’s hike, a relaxing night of comfortable sleep is very much crucial for the next day’s walk. Keeping your comfort into account, we make sure to book the best lodge with two beds in each room and western toilet facilities wherever available. Normally, the beds are clean and comfortable with an electric blanket (upon availability) and attached bathroom for most nights. The room’s temperature is usually maintained at 10-12°C / 50-54°F.

You will enjoy 3 hearty meals each day. Generally, you will have your breakfast and dinner at the same lodge you will be staying. Lunch will be provided at tea houses or small restaurants along the trail.  The meals contain fresh fruits and organic ingredients sourced from Kathmandu or local villages throughout the trek. The meals include a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats designed by the nutritionist. The chefs are trained in hygienic food preparation. If needed, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and kosher diets can be arranged with prior notice.

Sample Menu

Breakfast

• Beverage: black tea, milk tea, ginger lemon honey tea, lemon tea, hot lemon with honey, black coffee, milk coffee, hot chocolate
• Toast with jam or honey, toast omelet, pancake, Tibetan bread, porridge/ muesli
• Eggs on your choices
• American breakfast or Continental breakfast

Lunch

• Rice item: veg fried rice, egg fried rice, mixed fried rice, dal-bhaat
• Noodle item: vegetable fried noodle, mixed fried noodle
• Potato item: chips, fried potato, hash brown potato, veg fried potato, boiled potato
• Burger: veg burger, chicken burger, veg sandwich, chicken sandwich
• Pasta: spaghetti tomato sauce, macaroni cheese sauce
• Pizza: veg pizza, tomato cheese pizza, chicken pizza, mushroom pizza
• Momo (Nepali style dumplings): veg momo, chicken momo
• Meat item: chicken sizzler, chicken steak, yak steak
• Beverage: black tea, milk tea, ginger lemon honey tea, lemon tea, hot lemon with honey, black coffee, milk coffee, hot chocolate

 
Dinner

• Soups: vegetable soup, mushroom soup, chicken soup, chicken noodle soup, Rara noodle soup, French onion soup, pumpkin soup, potato soup

Main Meals

• Rice item: veg fried rice, egg fried rice, mixed fried rice, dal-bhaat
• Noodle item: vegetable fried noodle, mixed fried noodle
• Potato item: chips, fried potato, hash brown potato, veg fried potato, boiled potato
• Burger: veg burger, chicken burger, veg sandwich, chicken sandwich
• Pasta: spaghetti tomato sauce, macaroni cheese sauce
• Pizza: veg pizza, tomato cheese pizza, chicken pizza, mushroom pizza
• Momo (Nepali Dumplings): veg momo, chicken momo
• Meat item: chicken sizzler, chicken stake, yak stake
• Dessert: apple pie, chocolate cake, carrot cake, apple fritter, canned fruit
• Beverage: black tea, milk tea, ginger lemon honey tea, lemon tea, hot lemon with honey, black coffee, milk coffee, hot chocolate

Yes, the Cho La Pass is quite dangerous and the intensity of the challenges depends on the time of the year you are doing this trek. Trekkers must be very careful to do this trek during winter, post-winter and rainy seasons. To be precise, the rocky path from Gokyo to Dzongla is the most challenging segment on the entire trek. During the pre, mid or post winter months of January, February and early March, the trail is filled with snow and ice making it very difficult to navigate the track at times. We move ahead with plan A and plan B after gathering information about whether any other team ahead of us has crossed the challenging section or not. Plan A is making sure to cross the pass and plan B is just giving up and returning for safety measures. There is nothing to worry about as we have expert leaders with experience and proficient knowledge to make sure about your safety measures at difficult times.

14-Day Everest Base Camp Trek follows the classical route starting at Lukla in the south and heading north to Namche Bazaar thereafter forking to the north-east towards Dingboche. This route was used in 1953 by the British Everest expedition team led by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgey Sherpa during their first ascent to Mt. Everest. It is a short and efficient route and the most popular amongst trekkers. EBC via Gokyo and Cho La Pass follows the same route up to Namche Bazaar from where the trail forks northwards towards Dole, Machermo, Gokyo and Thaknak before crossing the Cho La Pass to rejoin the classic route of the Everest Base Camp Trek near Duglha. While the 14-day EBC trek route is less challenging and a scenic one, it gets crowded during the peak seasons. In comparison, the route via Gokyo and Cho La Pass is more challenging and on off-the-beaten-path.

The two most probable causes that you cannot continue via Cho La Pass are either due to your physical condition or because of the heavy snowfall and ice-trail or landslide with continuous rock falling. Adventure in the high mountains comes with limited access while health and weather challenges are always to be considered. The time of the year you would want to do this trek also matters when considering the weather conditions. This is why Himalayan Glacier is always available with an alternate plan – the plan B, for safety reasons as well as equally enjoyable climbing and trekking adventures. We do not anticipate any adverse conditions but, in case weather gets bad and disrupts the trail, we offer you to continue the trip via other side of the valley – the regular route from Tengboche onwards. In such cases, we request trekkers to be flexible enough to either completely give up the EBC trek or then increase your hiking duration by a few days if necessary and if your health conditions permit.

Yes, cell phone networks can be found on the trek. Most of the places get cell phone coverage either by NCell or NTC networks. However, at certain areas, there may be no coverage at all.

The weather in the Everest region varies differently in different seasons. The Himalayan region is never really hot, not even during summer. The maximum temperature during the day reaches up to 25°C / 77°F while during the night it reaches as low as -20°C / -4°F or even lower.

You will be traveling with like-minded travelers from all round the world. As such, there is no age limit for doing this trek, but we are highly concerned about your physical and mental fitness as well as your previous hiking experience. As far as possible, we try to include the same age-group persons in a group so that the hiking pace among trekkers match and it becomes easier to walk together.

There are few things to keep in mind if you plan on conquering Everest Base camp without any trouble relating to altitude sickness. Here are a few tips from our experienced guides and travel planners to avoid altitude sickness during Everest Base Camp trek.
• Slow ascend with proper rest and enough acclimatization
• Drink plenty of water and stay hydrated
• Eat enough and balanced food
• Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco during the entire trek
• Be head-strong and mentally prepared
• Train your body to cope with uphill hikes with enough cardio or gym workouts 3 months before the start of
the trek

No. Normally, oxygen is not required for the trek as our itinerary is designed in such a way so that it allows enough acclimatization. In addition, we provide Diamox, a medication that suppresses altitude sickness symptoms, from the beginning to prevent falling sick. However, in case of severe altitude sickness, we will descend to a lower altitude immediately.

Generally, the first symptoms begin to show 12-24 hours after arriving at high altitudes. Different levels of altitude sickness have different symptoms. Symptoms of mild, short-term altitude sickness are dizziness, fatigue, loss of appetite, sleep problems, loss of energy, and shortness of breath.

Yes, you absolutely need to take Diamox on this trek. Diamox is taken as prevention for altitude sickness but not to cure its symptoms. After the symptoms begin to show, the only option you will have is to descend to a lower altitude.

During your trek to Everest Base Camp, you will have access to electricity to recharge your electronic devices such as phones, laptops, and iPads. This is made possible through micro-hydropower and solar panels, which are available for a fee. However, it is important to note that Wi-Fi hotspots are scarce along the trekking trail after Namche. The only two places that offer free Wi-Fi are Starbucks Coffee in Lukla and Everest Bakery in Namche. At higher elevations, you will need to pay for internet services, and the cost increases as you climb higher.

For a more in-depth understanding of the internet situation during the Everest Base Camp Trek, we recommend reading the “Internet at Everest Base Camp Trek” article.

Himalayan Glacier has a competent team of trekking leaders and mountain crew who are highly skillful in combating the difficulties or any kind of emergencies that might come up during the trip. If you feel sick with the altitude, in the first place you must let your leader know about it so that he knows just what to do. With all the years of experience, he can sense the intensity of the seriousness and respond accordingly, either by bringing you down to a lower elevation or rescue you using a helicopter. If the helicopter is unable to fly due to any reasons, we will use our local staffs and contacts to coordinate an alternative rescue and treatment procedures, which could mean using horses or stretchers to carry the sick person off the mountain to the nearest health post or safe helicopter landing spot.

No, crampons are generally not required for Everest Base Camp trek via Gokyo Lakes and Cho La Pass unless you make up your mind to do the trek during mid-winter. It is the time when there is excess snow fall and you may need to walk on melting glaciers at times. The segment from Gokyo to Dzongla is considered to be very challenging and risky especially when you cross the Cho La Pass.

Caffeine might contribute to altitude sickness as it could lead to dehydration triggering altitude sickness. Caffeine, on the contrary, is known to stimulate your brain, kidneys, and breathing, all of which are helpful at high altitude. For people who are into caffeinated beverages for a long time period and abruptly stopping to consume them on the trek may trigger profound headaches in them.