"Why am I doing this?",
"I'm so tired, I wanna stop",
"Who's idea was this?",
"Are we there yet?"
These are thoughts that have crossed my mind in the last 12 days. Trekking to Everest Base Camp is an amazing, breathtaking, once-in-a-lifetime experience that not everyone will encounter, but it's quite a tough one!
Before arriving, I'd read blogs and talked to tour companies and friends to try to get an idea about what to take, how to get there, how long to plan for, what to budget etc. So I'm going to list and describe my experience, which is by no means 'the definitive answer'.
I will say now that we did it with no guide, and no porter (we carried our own bags). I wanted to 'accept the EBC challenge' and just kinda felt that if someone else carried my bags for me, I would feel like I'd cheated. But that's just my gut feeling. I'll briefly describe the packing list, itinerary and budget. Also, we started on 1st Oct 2014 which is the very beginning of peak season and may have affected prices.
The packing list:
In my 50L backpack I packed the following:
* Good hiking boots (ok, not in my bag, but on my feet)
* a sleeping bag (4 season)
* hiking poles (save your knees!)
* a down jacket (thin one) that folds up
* a rain/wind-proof jacket
* waterproof pants to go over hiking pants
* a travel towel (quick drying)
* a fleece jumper/sweater
* pair of track pants/joggers
* pair of hiking pants (the ones that zip off and make shorts)
* a short sleeve nylon shirt
* a long sleeve nylon shirt
* a thermal long sleeve top
* thermal pants/long johns
* 3 pairs of socks
* 3 pairs of boxers
* flip flops (for the night time in lodges)
* baby wipes
* toilet paper (x2)
* toothbrush & toothpaste
* head torch (with batteries)
* waterproof cover for backpack
* neck scarf/face scarf
* sunglasses
* wooly hat
* gloves (wind resistant, not fleece)
* pack of tea bags
* selection of chocolates/granola bars
* medical pack
* 1L water bottle
* water purification tablets
* Diamox tablets (for AMS)
* sun cream
* money
* phone/charger
* deck of playing cards
What I wish I'd have packed:
Cup-a-soup style sachets
Sachets of hot chocolate
Some packets of noodles/soups.
A book (rest days can be boring)
Paying for 'a cup of boiling water' is cheaper than buying drinks and soups, usually between 30-50 rupees. Also, a good idea is to bring plastic bags to keep things separate within your bag (night clothes and trekking clothes etc.) and they also act as waterproof insulation should your bag get wet!
Our Itinerary:
Day 1-
We flew to Lukla from Kathmandu. We flew with Tara Air at 8:30am and landed around 45 minutes later. We trekked to Monju which took us around 5-6 hours. Many itineraries suggest staying in Phakding but we carried on to Monju and the next day were really glad we had, as we had a head start on our trek to Namche Bazar.
We stayed at Monju Guest House which I'd recommend.
Day 2-
Hiked to Namche Bazar which took around 4 hours. We were glad to have around a 2 hour head-start on the 'Phakding itineraries' as the climb to Namche isn't easy! Our knees were glad to arrive!!
Stayed in Khumbu Lodge, and again would really recommend it.
Day 3-
Acclimatisationim day in Namche. These are sometimes called 'rest days', but you shouldn't rest. We hiked to the Everest View Hotel for a view of Everest and a nice club sandwich. Then hiked back down and slept again in Namche. Would recommend Danphe's Bar for a beer and a game of pool :)
Stayed at Khumbu Lodge again.
Day 4-
Hiked to Deboche (around 6.5 hours). Deboche is a smaller village around 15-20 mins past Tengboche. We were tipped off to stay here as it's at a slightly lower alitude than Tengboche helping us acclimatise. The hike wasn't too bad, apart from hiking down to the river in Phunki Tenga (Yep, that's it's actual name) then having to hike allllll the way back up again towards Tengboche. Demoralising!
We stayed in Rivendell Lodge which was decent.
Day 5-
Hiked to Dingboche, taking around 4.5 hours. The hike was ok, but there was a bit that was uphill for about 40 mins which depressed us, as you're told 'after Tengboche, it's all gradual' :/
Stayed at Snow Lion Lodge, the first place on your left. It's great and the owner is a wonderful woman. There's also a wifi cafe about 5 mins up into the village and attached to it is a small grocery store that kept giving us discounts!! Wifi was 400rupee ($4) for 30 mins and it's not fast. I decided I didn't need it THAT much.
Day 6-
Acclimitisation day in Dingboche. Again, don't rest. There are a few walks you can do from here. We failed to find 'the bridge' to see the glacier lakes, so we diverted and hiked up to 'the White flag' (seen from the village) which helped us get used to the altitude. It's not a long hike.
Day 7-
Hiked to Lobuche, taking around 4.5 hours. Apart from a 30 minute hill of death near Dughla, the hike is really pleasant and beautiful! Be careful of accending too fast, Luboche is around 500m higher than Dingboche. Stay in Dughla for a night if you have a headache.
Stayed at Alpine Home Inn which was ok. There are slim pickings in Lobuche but their food was good! :)
Day 8-
Departed Luboche at 7:30am to hike to Gorakshep (2.25 hours), then finally on to EBC! We checked into a lodge in Gorakshep and left our heavy bags there. Then made our final approach to EBC!! Round trip, it took us 4 hours, so we were really pleased, but at this altitude, even small steps and hills were killers. Definitely rested our feet that night, after a celebratory dinner!! :)
Stayed at Gorakshea Himalaya lodge which was nice in the evening and comfortable, but the toilets were in poor hygiene (more than usual)
Day 9-
We woke up at 5:30 to start the Kala Pathar hike at 6am. However, we got around 1/3 of the way up and decided to turn around. 2 of us weren't feeling great and the peak looked to be covered in cloud. So we decided to abandon it.
It's funny that once you've done EBC and completed it, all you can think about is getting off the mountain. stat!
We departed Gorakshep around 8:15 and made our way down, passing Luboche after 90 minutes and then down and down eventually hitting Denboche around 5pm. Most people will tell you to stop at Periche or Dingboche, but we'd got there at 12pm so we decided to carry on.
Stayed again at Rivendell Lodge again and the lady recognised us from before and was really warm to us.
Day 10
Continuing in the 'get me off this mountain' theme, we woke to a nice breakfast and set off to Namche. The walk down to Phunki Tenga was gruelling but the walk back up wasn't as bad as I'd anticipated. Arrived at Namche around 5 hours after departing. Back and feet started to ache.
What was very noticeable was the amount of people now trekking. When we started on 1st October, a lot of the time there'd just be us 4, with the occasional porter or trekker to greet 'Namaste'. This day when we arrived around Phunki Tenga, the place was swarming with people. It made all four of us thankful of having set off when we had as the crowds kinda took the 'adventure' and authenticity out of it.
Stayed at Khumbu Lodge again!
Day 11
Departed Namche and made our way to Lukla. The hike wasn't easy and was uphill and downhill and looong. This may have been the hardest day, mainly because our bodies were tired but our minds were pushing us to go, go, go! We arrived in Lukla around 7 hours after we departed (having stopped for lunch).
Day 12
Woke up to some dogs barking at 5:30am (the usual for Nepal), went to the airport, watched the England vs San Marino highlights, then flew to Kathmandu. What an amazing experience that was!!! WE DID IT!!!
We decided to treat ourselves for our last night in Kathmandu and spent the next day here...
Budget:
This is probably the most important factor of people's trip, but also the most flexible based on personal circumstances. This is what we paid/budgeted:
* Flights to/from Lukla - $330 ($165 each way)
* TIMS pass (Tourist Information Management System) - $20
* Park Entry (you get this in Monjo) - $30
* our daily budget $25 (approx) ($300)
Total $680
Most Lodges (dunno why people refer to them as Tea Rooms?) charge $2 per room for the night but you must eat there for dinner and breakfast or they charge extra. Food/drink gets more expensive as you get higher, but typically (in Luboche for example), a cup of coffee is 100 rupee ($1), chicken and vegetables 990 rupee ($9.90), toilet roll 300, hot shower 400, 1 hour charging phone/camera 300. You'll know your own budget.
NB - I didn't come equipped with all the things I needed. I got most of them from a wonderful shop called Shona's. I won't keep going on about how great they were (they were though), but Google them! I spent about $100 on equipment purchase and hire!
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