They call it the “steps to heaven” for a good reason. To go to the base camp of the highest mountain in the world is on every mountain lover’s bucket list. You will look at the scenery that’s so breathtakingly stunning and unlike any mountainous terrain that you have ever seen before – changing from lush green farmland, dense forest, and glistening blue fast-flowing rivers to the barren land and glacial pools the higher you climb – that you realize it was a good decision. Here you are, conquering Everest like a warrior.
When you’ll reach the top of the final climb, stumbling over loose rocks and onto a canvas of white, all you will do is sit and admire what had become one of your greatest achievements.
In March 2023 the Nepalese Tourism Board made an important change that concerns all foreign trekkers in Nepal. From the 1st of April 2023, all independent trekkers have to hire a guide for hiking most routes in the mountains including the Everest Base Camp Trek. This decision was announced just a couple of weeks before the start of the season which in our opinion will lead to a lot of confusion among trekkers.
If you’re still planning to do the Everest Base Camp Trek, you can try to find a guide once in Nepal but it might be very stressful as there will be many other trekkers looking for guides and we are not sure they have enough licensed guides to cover the new demand. Booking the trek through a company might be a less stressful option.
We’ve done the Everest Base Camp Trek independently twice & every time it was an incredible experience. We’ve done quite a lot of hiking & trekking in Nepal including some of the famous routes such as the Annapurna Circuit Trek, Landruk – Ghandruk Circuit Trek and Annapurna Base Camp Trek and the Everest Base Camp Trek is still one of our favorite routes in the Himalayas.
But this Everest Base Camp Trek is far different from the others as it not only reaches above 18,000 ft but also take a test on one’s physical & mental abilities.
So, we recommend all trekkers to contact Himalayan Memories instead of falling in trap with some misleading, false advertisements.
The Everest Base Camp Trek is a high-altitude trek through remote areas of Nepal. If you have serious altitude sickness or other serious medical problems in difficult-to-access like EBC or the Annapurna Circuit Trek, it’s highly recommended to have Travel Insurance that will cover you for the whole period of your trek, evacuation by helicopter might be necessary.
World Nomads travel insurance has been designed by travelers for travelers, with coverage for more than 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.
Choosing the right time of the year to trek to EBC (Everest Base Camp) is an important decision. How cold and wet it plays a very important role in comfort, route, itinerary and what you pack for your EBC trek. At high altitude temperature differences between seasons are extreme.
There are two distinct seasons for trekking to EBC. The best months to trek to Everest base camp are in the pre-monsoon season through March, April, and May, or in the post-monsoon season from late September, October, November.
If you decide to trek on the border of the monsoon season, keep in mind that sometimes the season starts earlier or finishes later and unexpected rainfalls might influence your Everest Base Camp trek itinerary.
Pre monsoon (Feb-May) the weather should be largely stable and dry, great for trekking. We have done a lot of trekking in Nepal between February and April. We loved the landscapes on the EBC trek in this period. Late February and early March is our favorite time for trekking in Nepal. We loved the clear skies, crisp air and spectacular views late February/early March. Trekking on EBC this time of the year was however freezing cold, so be prepared. Rain can start early, some years you can get a lot of rain on the trail late in April and in May. Comparing the photo above and below you can see there is a lot more snow and colder conditions in February than in April in Namche Bazaar.
If you want to hike to Gokyo Lakes just be aware that in years with a lot of snow Cho La Pass at 5420m on the way to Gokyo Ri is often closed in February and you might not be able to cross.
Post monsoon (late Sept-Nov) with less haze and clouds in this period it will normally provide better views of these spectacular mountains. This time is colder but a great time to hike to Gokyo Lakes. This is a good season for trekking, but from October it can be crazy busy with packed teahouses, combine this with frozen water pipes can make for some frustrations.
Winter (Dec-Feb) Hiking still possible but very cold, up to -30C at night! Some times a lot of snow falls on the trail, passes might be closed. Avoid the crowds but bring proper equipment!
Monsoon (June-September) – warm weather (22C), but very wet. Trails get very muddy, not good trekking conditions.
February – it is still very cold on the trail, -20C not uncommon. Sunburn can happen with clear skies, high UV index and reflection from the snow. The trails and teahouses are still fairly quiet, traffic starts picking up from end of February. Be prepared for very cold weather (frost bite is possible on very cold days if you are not prepared) and sun protection (sunscreen, buff, sunglasses). Pack micro spikes to hike on icy sections. Sun sets early, so if you walk from your teahouse at Gorakshep to EBC do not attempt this too late. The sun sets early and temperatures drop rapidly!
March – spring is here, temperatures start rising, snow melts (so bit muddy on the trail sometimes). Day length starts increasing. Skies are still clear with amazing views. From middle March the trail starts to get busy with group tours starting to arrive.
April – most popular month in pre-monsoon, trail can get very crowded. Full teahouses, loads of people on Kalapatar. Very nice warm weather, can hike in shirt and rain jacket a lot of the time. Some rain storms, we got very wet around Lukla in April, still mostly nice sunny days with clear skies, but prepare for rain, snow, and UV.
May – temperatures now really pick up, not much rain yet, but definitely more wet than in April. Days usually start out nice and clear with rain and snow in the afternoon. Trail becomes a bit less crowded again.
This time of the year is great trekking conditions, but it can be very busy with many hikers. Trekking here in February/March we had dry, but cold conditions. I was wearing an hiking shirt, down jacket and trekking pants. On very cold days I wore a rain jacket as outer shell over the down jacket, so not really special cold weather clothes. Hiking to EBC in April I was warm wearing only a shirt and rain jacket most of the time.
September – The autumn trekking season for EBC starts with monsoon rain starting to decrease. Temperatures are moderate and nice for trekking. Early in September is usually still quite wet, weather becomes dryer towards the end of the month. Beginning of September flights to Lukla are often canceled, risk decreases as the weather improves during the month. There is often lots of snow on the high passes and Three Passes sometimes closed, especially earlier in the month. The trail gets busy towards end of the month.
October – The most popular month to trek to Everest Base Camp. Monsoon rains ended, usually quite a dry month with nice moderate temperatures. The best month to plan hiking the Three Passes for. Flights to Lukla has a very small chance of getting cancelled in October with good weather.
November – Fantastic weather for trekking, clear skies, moderate temperatures and very little snow or rain. Days getting shorter and getting colder in the evenings.
If you are travelling from India or any other country, book your flight tickets for Day Minus One, which is two days before Day 1 on the itinerary. If your trek start day is 15 September, book your air tickets for 13 September to either Kathmandu on 14 September to Lukla.
This is the quickest way to reach Lukla. Take a flight to Kathmandu and then another flight to Lukla.
Lukla is a small town with an airstrip that drops off to the valley. There are daily flights in the morning from Kathmandu to Lukla. Flights into Lukla are highly weather-dependent. A cloud covering a mountain ridge can shut down the entire airport! This is why you must book the first flight out of Kathmandu and factor in buffer days in the itinerary.
Tip: If you are reaching Kathmandu early on Day Minus One, you can think of taking a flight on the same day as well. We have seen the notorious airport of Lukla where trekkers have missed flights for two straight days because of weather conditions. This will give you two buffer days in case there is any delay.
Reaching Lukla early will give time for your body to acclimatize better as well.
In case a flight from Kathmandu to Luka isn’t working out, your other option to Lukla will be to take a flight from Manthali airport, which is close to Ramechhap.
Take a regular shared cab or bus from Kathmandu to Ramechhap. The duration of the drive is between 5-7 hours. And these modes of transport are almost always available in trekking season.
Tip: The best way is to take a shared Cab from New Bus Park Kathmandu, which cost NPR 500, is much more comfortable than a bus and moves after every one hour.
Take this option if you are reaching out more than a week in advance to Kathmandu.
The trek starts from a small village called Jiri which is 7-8 hrs of bus journey from Kathmandu. It is an astounding distance of 56 km and can take anywhere between 4 days to 7 days to reach Lukla.
Again, do this only if you have a lot of time in hand and the required experience and fitness to be able to trek for 16 days after this.
The trek ends at Lukla including a buffer day. For your return journey, you can again fly back from Lukla to Kathmandu. Or you could fly via Ramechhap.
Taking into account the buffer day: Booking your return tickets requires some thought. First, always book your return ticket keeping in mind the buffer day. The buffer day must be included in your itinerary. If your trek ends on Day 16 do not book your flight/bus tickets for Day 16. Instead, book for Day 17. Day 17 is your buffer day.
Trekking to Everest Base Camp is not dangerous, provided you prepare well for it. We classify this route as a ‘Trek Expedition’ leveled-trek. It requires exceptionally high fitness levels and prior Himalayan trek experience is a must as well.
There are quite a few factors contributing to the difficulty of the trek — the distance covered every day, the duration of the trek, the terrain, the time spent at very high altitude (7 days above 14,000 ft) and a difficult exit from the trail in case of an emergency.
One of the greatest risks on this high altitude trek is complication arising from AMS, HAPE and HACE. All three of them can be prevented with adequate hydration, well planned itinerary and proper acclimatization. Himalayan Memories trek team, led by an experienced trek leader & licensed trek guide, is equipped to take care of all medical emergencies on the trail.
All participants need to download the below mentioned ‘Forms’ & submit hard copies with their signature in it.
Do you know that Mt. Everest is not visible from the Everest Base Camp?
Many people don’t know this. Yes, it’s not visible due to other mountains obscuring it from view. You can spot other mountains like Khumbutse, Changtse, Lingtren, Lobuche, Kala Patthar and Pumori from EBC. However, Mt. Everest can be spotted multiple times from the trail itself during the initial part of the trek.
There is a point on the Gorakshep – Everest Base Camp trail, where you get a bird’s eye view of the base camp, sitting at the edge of the Khumbu icefall. You see the Khumbu glacier, the Western shoulder of Everest and Nuptse. It is a sight that fills you with amazement, and sense of where you are. Walking to expedition tents on the Everest Base Camp is an excitement of its own. There is a maze of expedition tents among the unbelievably dangerous Khumbu icefall seracs. Sometimes, you find an Indian expedition tents whose climbers will welcome you to their tents and regale you with stories!
Any visit to Nepal or India, whether it’s a high altitude trek or an overland cultural tour should always be regarded as ADVENTURE TRAVEL and it is impossible to be able to predict whether any itinerary will operate according to plan.
This unpredictability also means that the itineraries that we put forward for your holidays should be seen as statements of intent, rather than as contractual obligations. We cannot be held responsible for the results of changes or delays and any additional costs that arise as a result, irrespective of how they are caused.
Whether you’re undertaking a challenging high altitude trek in the Himalayas to a (seemingly) straight forward cultural tour, things can and do happen that will have undesirable consequences.
Your itinerary might look OK “on paper”, but have you thought about “what if?”
Contingency is a way of managing and anticipating the “what if” factor. No one has the gift of hindsight, but a little foresight can make all the difference.
Keep a Contingency day for yourself before your book your return flight/train tickets.
