Trekking to Everest base camp will be the adventure of your life. It is one crazy hell adventure, that you will never forget. You also need to be ready for it. That is why we put together our 12 tips to know before trekking to Everest Base camp trek.
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1) Don´t trust Lonely Planet guidebook when trekking to Everest base camp
Even though we love the Lonely Planet guidebooks and we buy one for every trip, this one just disappointed us. Generally, the guidebook is not bad. What is bad is the timing given in the guidebook. Especially timing of trekking to Everest base camp. What do we mean?
The guidebook states that it takes 4 hours to get from Phakding to Namche Bazaar. No chance! Just no chance. No one finishes the trek in that time. Not even the trekkers that didn´t carry backpacks. Thanks to an unrealistic timing in the guidebook it is hard to plan a day. You plan to finish in 4 or 5 hours, but in reality, it takes more than 7 hours to complete. So, buy a Lonely Planet guidebook to read about the trail, but do not follow the time suggestions. Always add at least two hours.
2) Book your accomodation in advance
Above Phakding it can be quite difficult to find accommodation, especially during the main season. It is also almost impossible, to book lodges in some villages in advance. Above Dingboche, there is no phone reception and most of the lodges don´t even have websites or emails. So how do you do it?
Ask locals. In every village we asked locals if they know someone in the next village. Someone knew someone every time. In Namche Bazaar the lodge owner had another lodge in Pheriche. In Pheriche, the owner had a sister with a lodge in Thukla. This sister had a cousin in Lobuche and so on. All those people were more than happy to help us with bookings.
3) Don´t ask locals about the time when trekking to Everest base camp
Nepalese people are one of the friendliest people we have ever met, but their time just flies differently. If you trek and ask a local how far is the final destination, they give you an answer that is usually very far from the truth. And even though it doesn’t seem like a big deal, it can get frustrating. Imagine trekking for four hours, according to a Lonely Planet guidebook you should almost be at the destination.
You are tired and you ask a local porter how far is it? The most common answer you will get is: „2 hours or 2 kilometres“.
It doesn´t matter how far you actually are, this will most likely be your answer. Trust me, after a while it gets frustrating. When we asked for the first time, we got the usual answer for 2 hours. After an hour we asked again. We logically expected that the answer will be an hour, right? But hey, we got the same answer. It is two hours away. After another hour we asked again. The answer? Three hours away! The reality? We reached the destination in 20 minutes.
Tell me that it is not frustrating. After a while, we just stopped asking.
4) Garlic, ginger, lemon
According to locals, garlic, ginger and lemon help you with the altitude sickness. Even though it is not medically proven, locals recommend it. When we travel we stick to one rule – if it is good enough for locals, it is good enough for us. So try it. Here are another things we wish to know before trekking to Everest base camp.
5) Up and down and up again while trekking to Everest base camp
We expected to trek upwards to the Everest base camp. However, as it turns out, the trail is more up and down, up and down. As you need to pass through valleys, you are actually going up, then down to cross the river and again all the way up. So don´t be surprised, that once you reach the top, you go down again.
6) Don´t even consider trekking without poles
We never understood why people use trekking poles until we trekked in the Himalayas. Now we get it. Trekking poles are our new best friend while trekking. Trust us, you will love them, especially on the way down.
7) Get your permits in Kathmandu to avoid queues
If we went to Nepal again, we would definitely obtain all the permits before the trek. You can buy them on the trek, but be prepared. There are queues. And we mean queues. It took us 2,5 hours to get it.
8) Be flexible with the dates if you fly to Lukla
Lukla airport is the story on its own. Disruption in plans is almost guaranteed. Flights get cancelled all the time, so sometimes it can get really difficult to plan. Lukla airport can really mess up with your plans. It is often closed due to bad weather, and it can take several days until it opens again. More about Lukla airport – The truth about Lukla airport that no know is talking about!
9) Weather is changing
The climate around the world is changing. Nepalese people are stunned by all the weather changes that have happened during the last few years. Twenty years ago October used to be the best month for trekking. It used to be sunny, crystal clear sky, no clouds and definitely no rain. Today, it is almost a rainy season. Even locals say that weather and climate are changing that even they don’t know how to plan trips. Even though you can not do anything about it, it is good to be prepared. Trekking in rain is not fun without waterproof clothes.
10) Let´s go to the movie
There is a great movie about sherpas every day at 3 PM in Namche Bazar in Cafe 8848. The movie is called Sherpas, the true heroes of Everest. Not only that the movie is great, but you will also learn a lot about those heroes of Nepal. Just sit and relax, have a piece of delicious cake and enjoy your rest day.
11) Don´t cross passes without a guide
Even though we are great supporters of trekking the Everest base camp without a guide, trying to cross passes without one can be deadly. Trekking through passes is difficult. Especially if you don’t have the equipment and previous climbing experience. We have met trekkers who crossed passes without a guide and experience on their own. However, almost everyone also told us you that it didn’t felt safe at all. Passes are definitely not easy. Rocks are falling and the path is not clearly visible. We have even met guides that got lost on the path thanks to always moving icebergs.
If you plan to trek to Everest base camp always pay attention to the travel insurance. Do you need help choosing the right one? Read our post about How to choose the right travel insurance for trekking in Nepal.
12) Apps for trekking to Everest base camp
Before every trip, we try to look for apps we could use. We have found two good apps for trekking in Nepal:
Those two are really good apps that help you not only with planning but also with navigation.
