Everest Base Camp Short Trek-14 Days

Elevation and distance

The 14-day Everest Base Camp Trek begins at an altitude of 1400 meters in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu. The next day, you will board a flight to Tenzing Hiliary Airport in Lukla, which is at an elevation of 2860 meters. Following that, with the proper preparation, you will hike to Phakding, which is at an elevation of 2652 meters.

In this journey, you will be trekking over 3500 meters, so stay hydrated at all times while trekking to avoid acute mountain sickness. There will be 3 major destinations in your itinerary that you will trek over 5000 meters, which are Gorakshep, Everest Base Camp, and Kala Patthar. The highest point of this excursion is Kala Patthar, having an elevation of 5545 meters, or 18,188 feet.

In the same way, Everest Base Camp lies in the second position in terms of highest point with an altitude of 5364 meters or 17,594 feet, whereas Gorakshep is the third highest point with a height of 5181 meters or 16,994 feet. The lowest point in the Everest or Khumbu region is at Phakding, with an altitude of 2652 meters or 8699 feet.

Apart from this, you will travel around 138 kilometers from Kathmandu city to Lukla by flight. After landing in the airport of Lukla, you will begin your trek to Phakding, covering a distance of 6.2 kilometers as your first day of hiking. In the following day, you will walk about 7.4 kilometers to reach the gateway to the Everest region known as Namche Bazaar.

You will be walking a total distance of 57.5 kilometers from Phakding to reach the highlight of this trekking journey, Everest Base Camp. Similarly, your overall distance from beginning to ending of your trek will be approximately 99.4 kilometers. So, you need to stay fit to complete each day’s trek successfully.

Difficulty and altitude sickness

The Everest Base Camp Trek is a somewhat difficult climb in the Khumbu Himalayas. The hiking paths include some steep uphill and downhill sections, making this 14-day excursion slightly more demanding than the other treks. Your trekking will be very difficult on the eighth and ninth consecutive days, as you have to walk steep uphill and down hills in rough terrain for around 7 to 8 hours in a single day.

The long hours of walking can be extremely hard for the average person who doesn’t walk too often and doesn’t exercise regularly. You normally have to walk around 6 hours in a day on this trekking journey, so train your body before embarking on this adventurous trip. Another major factor that makes this trek challenging is altitude sickness.

Altitude sickness can commonly occur when you walk above 500 meters above sea level. The next crucial point to note in this journey is that there are no acclimatization days in this trek, which can slightly increase the risks of suffering from altitude sickness due to less time to adjust your body.

However, we certainly design our Everest Base Camp Trek itinerary in such a way that your body can cope well by including overnight stays in different places with an increasing height of different levels, which will not need for the acclimatization day or extra day. Since you are trekking above 5000 meters, you need to stay calm and hydrated and know about symptoms of altitude sickness.

Common symptoms of altitude sickness involve dizziness, headaches, difficulty breathing, an increase in heart rate, feeling like throwing up, etc. If you see anyone in your group or yourself experiencing any of these symptoms, you should call for help without any second thoughts, and our medics will aid you to overcome this sickness easily.

Maximum and minimum walk per day

Considering the Everest Base Camp Trek is a medium-level physically tough trek, you will need to walk at least five to six hours per day from the beginning to the finish of your 11-day itinerary. Your trek will officially begin and end in Lukla. The shortest hike is 3 hours on the second day, from Lukla to the settlement of Phakding.

Similarly, your longest or maximum walk will be on the tenth day when you start your trek from Lobuche to Gorak Shep and followed by the second way on the same very day to amazing Everest Base Camp. Due to this longest trek, it could be a very strenuous and physically testing trek.

Likewise, you can also consider the second longest walk on day 11 when you trek from Everest Base Camp to Kala Patthar and then to Pheriche, and day 12 when you hike from Pheriche to Namche Bazaar. So, you need to train and exercise properly at least 2 months ahead to make your hiking journey less difficult and more enjoyable.

Accommodation, Food and Drink

We manage all your accommodations and foods that are included in our Everest Base Camp Trek package, considering the best options for your comfort and preference. You will have two-night accommodations with breakfast at a 3-star category hotel in Kathmandu City, which offers all the basic facilities without any extra charges.

Similarly, you will get twin-sharing lodge or teahouse accommodations while you are trekking in the Khumbu region. We also provide attached bathrooms with hot shower amenities at Lukla, Phakding, and Namche Bazaar. In the rest of the places, there might be showers or might not be depending upon the increasing altitude.

But you need to give extra money at the available showers in the teahouse if you desire to utilize the showers in other places. You will find a well-managed and cleanly furnished room with mattresses, beds, and pillows. You may have to share your space with other hikers in the peak season only if there are a lot of visitors in the teahouse for an overnight stay.

On the other hand, you get full board three times meals with coffee or tea during hiking. Additionally, we will serve you seasonal fruits after every dinner snack to make you healthy and energized for the trekking. Food items served in teahouses include typical Nepalese daily meal Dal Bhat with pickles, potatoes, thukpa, momos, soups, breads, etc., and so on.

You can also ask for boiled water for your bottles in the teahouse for the trekking. Cold drinks, including Coke, Fanta, and Dew, and hard drinks such as beers, whiskey, wines, local chyang, etc., are not covered in your Everest Base Camp Trek package. It is better you stay very far away from such drinks until this trek ends for your own sake of health.

Preparation and fitness

To embark on the adventurous Everest Base Camp Trek journey, you must have compulsory, necessary training and exercises ahead of at least 2 to 3 months to get yourself ready for the challenging trip. If you don’t have any training or exercises, then it would be very tough to finish this journey on the planned itineraries.

You will be exhausted quickly, and your body will be in pain when you start walking again if you are not in good shape. Being a beginner is no problem on this trek, but being unfit can be a huge problem on this hiking journey. So, you can build your cardio and strengths by doing pull-ups, skipping, jogging, running, push-ups, weighting some lifts, and so on to be prepared.

Gadgets charging and Internet

You need to pay extra money from your pockets to use some additional facilities in the higher altitudes. There is very limited internet access in the mountain areas, so some teahouses will charge you around NPR 500 to 1000. In the same manner, you need to pay an additional fee if you want your electronic device recharged.

We suggest you carry a power bank and buy NTC SIMs after arriving in Nepal in case there is no availability of electricity and Wi-Fi services. These will help you a lot while traveling in Nepal if you have an emergency. Therefore, you need to bring additional money with you, although we cover all the expenses that are included in the package except for these scenarios.

Permits Required for the Everest Base Camp Trek

There are three main permits required for the 14-day adventurous trek to Everest Base Camp Trek and they include; Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Permit, the Trekking Information Management System (TIMS) Card, Sagarmatha National Park entry Ticket. You cannot enter the Everest region unless you secure these three vital permits with you.

Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Permit will cost around NPR 2000 for both international tourists and SAARC nation citizens, which can be obtained in Lukla. The TIMS card will cost around NPR 2000 for international visitors and NPR 600 for SAARC tourists, which can be obtained in Kathmandu.

Finally, the Sagarmatha National Park Permit will cost you around NPR 3000 and NPR 1500 for SAARC countries, which can be bought in Kathmandu or at the Monjo Park Entrance, which is the gateway to Sagarmatha National Park. You need to generate all crucial documents to obtain these permits.

Transportation

All your transportation expenditures from land to sky are included in our Everest Base Camp Trek package with a drop-off and pick-up service in the airport. You will get a round-trip flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, conversely, including departure taxes. In case the weather is very bad, we might have to take a flight from Manthali.

In this journey, there is very little use of transportation. If you have additional days in Nepal, you can customize your plan with an extra cost for the activities like sightseeing in Kathmandu Valley, rafting, bungee jumping, and many others.

Travel Insurance

When the time comes for one to be traveling anywhere in the world, it is very crucial to have travel insurance, specifically for the Everest Base Camp Trek. You want to avoid any serious issues and ensure you’re not responsible for evacuation costs or other extra costs.

In the event of being mandatory, travel coverage will cater for the evacuation costs and the unforeseen expenses. Emergency and repatriation coverage should be part of your insurance, and helicopter evacuation should be included for you in case of emergencies, and that includes mountain rescues.

Insurance becomes crucial for practices such as the leg pain or acute mountain sickness that one could endure while trekking. No one enjoys getting hurt while trekking, no matter what. However, through having insurance, you will have peace of mind, and therefore, you are allowed to focus on your venture.

What to expect from this trip

On the Everest Base Camp Trek, expect stunning views of the world’s tallest mountains, including Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. The trek takes you through scenic trails, forests, and traditional Sherpa villages, where you’ll experience rich Buddhist culture.

Highlights include walking over suspension bridges with prayer flags, visiting monasteries, and possibly joining local festivals. The journey begins with a thrilling flight to Lukla and offers breathtaking landscapes throughout. While this trek is an adventure of a lifetime, it’s physically demanding, so some prior preparation is recommended.