All about the holy grail—Everest Base Camp trek

A trek to Everest Base Camp is on every trekker’s dream list, a holy grail for the trekkers around the world. It takes around 14 days to complete the trip, starting from Kathmandu in Nepal, taking you across some of the most majestic Himalayan vistas in the world. This is a trek that has no parallel, the closest that you can go to Mt Everest unless planning for the big summit itself!

On Day 1 of the Everest Base Camp trek, you will be staying in Kathmandu. Nepal’s capital city has enough to keep you engaged for the evening before you call it an early day after a possible briefing session. Usually, the trek organisers make it an easy day, prepping the participants up for the exhilarating journey ahead.

Day 2 will see you getting to Lukla via a 30-minute flight, which would be followed by a 4-5 hours trek to Phakding. It’s a steady descent from Lukla, taking you down from 9350 ft to 8500 ft. Phakding is a fairly commercial place, and you can easily get water and other essentials from here.

Namche Bazaar is, perhaps, one of the most popular stops on your way to Everest Base Camp. Day 3 will see you on a 7-hour trek from Phakding to Namche Bazaar; en route, you will also have your first sighting of Mt Everest.

On day 4 of the Everest Base Camp trek, acclimatisation is of utmost importance and you will be staying over for the day in Namche Bazaar. This is where you can soak in the views of Mt Everest as well as Ama Dablam. You can also kit up for the route ahead, and revel in the colourful local market here.

Day 5 will see you moving towards Tengboche from Namche Bazaar; you will be trekking for around 6 hours and gain an elevation till 12650 ft at Tengboche. There is a monastery here, worth visiting for the rituals as well as the cultural experience.

On day 6 of the trek, you will leave for Dingboche, after a trek of around 7 hours. The trail here winds up through forests lined with birch and rhododendron, with Ama Dablam to your side. You will be resting at Dingboche for the day; you can also hit the short trail to pore over uninterrupted views of Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyo.

Day 8 will take you to Lobuche via Lobuche Pass; the terrain here is tougher and comprises of moraine as well. Here, you can pay respects to climbers including to Scott Fischer and other climbers; there is a memorial here for the same. Lobuche is also home to the highest cafe and bakery in the world, in case you are keen to raise a toast.

Day 9 is perhaps the most critical day of the trek, for you will be seeking to reach the base camp today. First, after a trek of around 4 hours, you will reach Gorakshep and then head to the base camp that lies around 3 km further. While the climb to the base camp is not very difficult, it is steep nonetheless. You will be coming back to Gorakshep for the night. The highest altitude for the day would be 17550 ft.

Day 10 will bring you back to an Kalapathar and then to Pheriche to an altitude of 14100 ft. Pheriche to Namche Bazaar and back. Next day, you will be going back via Namche Bazaar, bidding adieu to this trip of a lifetime.