Everest Base Camp Trek Faqs

Everest Base Camp trek is a moderate/demanding trek that does not require any technical expertise of mountaineering. It is basically a long hike up to the altitude of 5,364 meters / 17,599 feet. The trek is only grueling because of its duration of 12 days hike up and down the hill across diverse terrains (14 days including arrival and departure).

The best time to trek Everest Base Camp is the months of spring (March-May) and fall (October- November) when the weather is favorable and perfect for high altitude climbing. These seasons offer a crystal-clear mountain view with a clear sky. 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.

Everest Base Camp trek is a lodge-to-lodge trek. Unlike the Kilimanjaro climb, you will not be sleeping in tents but at teahouses or lodges. Although it may not be as cold an experience as in Kilimanjaro but again, you need to be prepared with the right clothes. Please visit our comprehensive Clothing packing lists for Everest Base Camp trek.

After a long day’s hike, relaxing, unwinding and a night of comfortable sleep are essential for the next day’s challenge. For your comfortable stay, we always book the best lodge with two beds in each room and western toilet facilities. The beds will be clean and comfortable with an electric blanket (wherever available) and attached bathroom for most nights. Usually, the room’s temperature will be maintained at 10-12°C / 50-53.6°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 food on the Everest Base Camp trek 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 for Everest Base Camp Trek

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

Basically, there is no difference at all. You will walk on the same route through the same villages up to the base camp and back. The only difference is that you will have an additional 2 days acclimatization time on the trek. This is probably the longest version of the Everest Base Camp trek and we have created this trip for those travelers who want to relax and walk at a slower pace. The 16-day EBC trek is best suitable for first time hikers who actually get extra time to combat the possibilities of being struck by Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS).

There is no actual math for the cost to trek to Everest Base Camp. The journey to the base camp of the world’s tallest mountain depends on the reputation and the services offered by the company where you book your Everest base camp holidays. To find the details about the cost to climb Everest Base Camp.

You will be traveling with like-minded travelers from all around the world. There is no age limit for you to book from any of our trips but your fitness and previous experience is our topmost concern. Also, you will not be put into the same group of people with a higher age difference than yours. Our typical group size is between 1 to 12 hikers.

Basically, Everest Base Camp Trek is a grand journey that takes trekkers from the low-lying hills of Nepal to the foothills of the world’s tallest mountain Everest. From the backyard of Sherpas and their rich culture to the silhouette of the mighty Everest on the cerulean sky, the base camp trek of Everest is an escapade that you should not miss out on!

You cannot actually see Mount Everest from its base camp due to the structure of the mountain and the insane height it has risen up to. However, you can still grab great views of the tallest mountain of the world from other parts of the hike. You can witness the most fascinating panoramic views of Everest from Kala Patthar, a vantage viewpoint.

As far as the official statistics go, there aren’t any deaths recorded on Everest Base Camp trek till now. However, we estimate that there are 2-4 deaths at the most per year.

Everest Base Camp Trek topped with a hike to Kala Patthar is absolutely worth it. While the trek to Everest Base Camp is mere trekking, adding Kala Patthar to it allows you to garner spectacular views of the Everest alongside Lhotse and Nuptse. After you have acclimatized to 5,500 meters / 18,045 feet, the trek is very much do-able for any fit trekker.

Kilimanjaro stands at the altitude of 5,895 meters / 19,341 feet while Everest Base camp reaches up to the foothills of Everest at 5,364 meters / 17,599 feet. As per the statistics, Kilimanjaro’s overall summit success rate is around 40% while Everest Base Camp trek has a lofty 90%. Hence, determining which one is harder should be a no brainer question.

Everest Base Camp trek is one of the most famous treks in the world. There are floods of hikers every day during the peaks seasons that stretch from late September to November and March to early May. If you wish to avoid the crowd on the trail, it is recommended that you plan your trip after the peak months. The most favorable months with comparatively less hikers are early September, December, late February and end of May.

Himalayan Glacier has organized the Everest Base Camp trek for decades now and acquires adequate experience and expertise for this amazing journey. ‘Everest Base Camp Short Trek 14 Days’ is the most popular and one of the shortest treks to the Everest Base Camp. On this trek, you will be actually walking for 12 days in the Everest region while 2 nights will be spent in Kathmandu.

You can expect from cheap or budget to standard and luxury lodge Everest Base Camp Trek packages. Himalayan Glacier offers Everest Base Camp Luxury Trek 15 Days for those looking for luxury options in the mountains. Luxury Everest Base Camp trek means the provision of luxury accommodation with hot showers in most places except for some nights at mountains higher up.

The trip cost offered by Himalayan Glacier is almost an all-inclusive price. Once you buy our Everest Base Camp trek, you really do not need so much cash during the trek. On an average, US$ 500 should be enough for personal drinks, tips, and shopping. There are ATM facilities right from Lukla en route up to Namche Bazaar

Operating lodges at Everest Base Camp is strictly prohibited. However, Everest authorities allow sleeping at the base camp in tents during the Everest Expedition Spring Season with special permits. Himalayan Glacier is probably the first company to offer the option of sleeping at Everest Base Camp during the Everest Base Camp trek. But, we have just 4 departures of this trip in a year. For more information please visit our Sleeping at Everest Base Camp Trek.

It is indeed very difficult to make a decision in choosing the best company for your Everest Base Camp trek.  We suggest considering some parameters such as the company brand, local Everest Base Camp Trek Company with office in your home country. In case you are looking for a very cheap or budget package, we suggest you choosing a local company. To understand more about how to choose the best company, please visit Why Himalayan Glacier & How much does the Everest Base Camp Trek Cost?

Yes! The adventurous Everest Base Camp trek always relies on the weather conditions. Sometimes a flight gets postponed or even canceled due to unpredictable weather changes at frequent intervals. Kathmandu to Lukla is a 25-minute flight that lands at 2800m / 9,186 feet airstrip at Tenzing Hillary Airport. Please be prepared accordingly with a few contingency days in case of cancelation of the domestic flights to and from Lukla.

Yes, absolutely! You can do the Everest Base Camp trek with us, but you need to contact us on time, i.e. at least three months prior to the trek date. We need to know about your health history and your daily lifestyle as well. Once we get to know about these parameters, then we can advise whether you are eligible for the trek or not. We may also suggest you to undertake certain exercises and short day hikes accordingly.

On the Everest Base Camp trek, you will be eating healthy food whatever is easily available based on our scheduled itinerary. While it is a common phenomenon for trekkers to lose about 7-10% of their weight, some manage to eat and sleep well to compensate the loss. On our part, we do encourage all climbers to eat as much as possible for which we provide a perfectly balanced diet on the entire trip.

The temperature in Everest Base Camp is cold reaching below freezing point during the night and early mornings. The temperature ranges from a maximum of 4°C / 39.2°F during the day to a minimum -17°C / 1.4°F at night. Remember that you will not be sleeping at Everest base camp instead you will just be visiting during the day unless you book a Sleeping at Everest Base Camp Trek with only 4 dates open each year.

When compared with Everest climb, the Everest Base Camp trek is relatively safer. However, Everest Base Camp trek still possesses a variety of risks due to its location and high altitude. This means that the trekkers are still prone to altitude sickness without enough acclimatization.

Ordinarily, there are three demanding days on your 12-day itinerary. The first hardest day is a trek from Pheriche to Namche Bazaar consisting of a long steep walk from the Hillary suspension bridge all the way to Namche. The second hardest part is while trekking from Dingboche to Gorakshep while the third hardest part of the entire trek is the Kala Patthar climb at 5,545 meters / 18,192 feet and reaching to the base camp and back.

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

The Everest Base camp trek is 130 km / 18.6 mi long taking typically 12-14 days to complete. It takes around 8 days to reach the base camp with enough acclimatization and around 4 days to get back down. The overall walk is of around 9 days and 3 short trekking acclimatization days.

Generally, Everest Base Camp trek is referred to as the one located in Nepal, Asia. While Mount Everest has two base camps on its opposite sides, one is located in Nepal and the other one is in Tibet, China. The one in Nepal is known as the South Base Camp (South Face) at an altitude of 5,364 meters / 17,598 ft (28°0′26″N 86°51′34″E) popularly known to trekkers as an unbeaten trekking trail. As for the base camp in Tibet, China, it is known as the North Base Camp (North Face) at 5,150 meters / 16,896 ft (28°8′29″N 86°51′5″E) offering road access from Lhasa.

During your trek on Everest region electricity is available to recharge your phones, laptop, iPads from micro-hydropower and solar panels on a paying basis. As for Wi-Fi, there are no hotspots along the trekking trail after Namche. The only two places offering free Wi-Fi are Starbucks coffee in Lukla and Everest Bakery in Namche. At other places upwards, you need to pay for using internet services, which increases gradually with the altitude.

Generally, oxygen tanks are not required for Everest Base Camp trek as our trek itinerary is designed in such a way that it provides enough acclimatization. Adding to it, we also provide Diamox from the beginning to prevent altitude sickness. However, in case of severe altitude sickness, we will descend to a lower altitude immediately.

Yes, you absolutely need to take Diamox on your Everest Base Camp 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.

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.

Everest Base Camp on the southern side is not accessible by road; however, in case of an emergency, rescue by air ambulance is available as long as the weather permits to fly. Our operation team will be in contact 24×7 if any such emergency occurs.

The altitude of Everest Base Camp reaches up to 5,364 meters / 17,598 feet on the South Face. The ascent to Everest Base Camp via south begins with a trek from Lukla through Namche Bazaar. Trekkers usually fly to Lukla and then begin their trek.

The Everest Base Camp round trip is around 130 km / 80.8 mi starting from Lukla. The outward 65 km / 40.4 mi to Everest Base Camp takes a much longer time considering acclimatization along the way. Without proper acclimatization, it is not possible to trek to Everest Base Camp continuously. If you do so, you will be prone to high risk of altitude sickness.

No, you will not need crampons for Everest Base Camp trek. You will just need good quality hiking boots and hiking poles for extra support and stability. However, if you are to trek in early spring i.e. January or February, you might need crampons depending on the intensity of the snowfall.

Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing mountain in the world while Everest Base Camp lies in the foothills of the world’s highest mountain. The summit of Kilimanjaro is marked at the altitude of 5,895 meters / 19,341 feet and the Everest Base Camp is at 5,364 meters / 17,598 feet. In regards to the altitude, Kilimanjaro is 531 meters (1,742 feet) higher than Everest Base Camp.

Any adventures in the mountains are never entirely safe. When it comes to trekking to Everest Base Camp, the most known danger is altitude sickness. Other than that, the occurrence of earthquakes and landslides are incredibly rare and aren’t much threat to trekkers.

As you are close to the mountains, the temperature is cold and chilly even during summertime. The lower regions might have a harsh temperature due to the possibility of rainfall at the end of May. The temperature may range from 20-30°C / 68-86°F.

During October, the average daytime temperature reaches up to 14°C / 57.2°F. On sunny days, the temperature reaches about 20 °C / 68°F. The night and mornings are the coldest. At night it can reach up to -6°C / 21.2°F while on a cold morning it can drop to -10 °C / 14°F in regions above 4000 meters / 13,123 feet.

Eight days, in minimum, are needed for a safe and successful Everest Base Camp trek provided that a person is in good health, preferably with previous hiking experience at high altitudes. Everest Base Camp trek is a round trip of 130 km / 80.8 mi generally taking around 12 days to complete. It takes 8 days to reach the base camp including acclimatization days and takes around 4 days to reach back down.

Yes, there is road access up to Everest Base Camp from the north side i.e. through Tibet. As for the southern side, there is no road access but you can always take a helicopter ride for a short visit to Everest Base Camp.

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.

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, cell phone networks can be found on the trail of Everest Base Camp 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.