Everest Base Camp Trek
Everest Base Camp trek is a wonderful trekking journey that takes you to the base of the highest peak in the world, Mt. Everest. The trek has so many attractions. For instance, Kala Patthar, a mini mountain that offers the ecstatic 360 degree views of peaks in the Everest region, Tengboche, which is known for its century old religious heritage, Tengboche Monastery, and Namche Bazaar, a hustling and bustling town in the Khumbu region that serves the most delicious chocolate carrot cake that you have ever had. And finally, there Everest Base Camp trek, the reason why most people come to Nepal for a trek.
On the hike to Everest Base Camp trek, the number of core trekking days are 11. Two days are assigned for acclimatization, so that trekkers are able to adapt to the high altitude, and its challenges, quite comfortably. During the trek, the trekkers cover the distance of 130 km, and pass through villages such as Phakding, Dingboche, Pheriche, Gorak Shep, and so on.
Everest Base Camp trek difficulty level is quite moderate, so anyone with an average health stature can go for this trek, and complete it with relative ease. Altitude sickness, however, is one thing that can make the trek challenging, as it causes the trekkers to suffer from problems such as nausea, headache, and so on. It can be prevented by taking pills of Diamox, taking food that is light on the stomach, having enough sleep, and avoiding alcohol and cigarettes.
Everest base camp trek best time of year is autumn and early winter that is between the months of September and December, and spring and early summer, which is between the months of March and June. One can go for hike to Everest Base Camp trek on other months as well, but one thing that should be kept in mind is to avoid extreme weather, i.e. rainfall and snowfall. This doesn’t just make the trek more challenging, but also increases the chance of accidents and sickness.
Trek Extension Possibilities Around Everest Base Camp Trek
Everest Region offers numerous trekking routes as options to trekkers who’re looking to hike Everest Base Camp trek, or simply trek in the Everest Region altogether. One can treat these trekking routes as extensions, and walk on them along with the Everest Base camp trek route, or they could treat these trekking routes as individual paths, and go for them as separate treks.
Gokyo Lake Trek
Gokyo Lake trek can prove to be a great side trip to the hike to Everest Base Camp trek. In terms of returning to Lukla, after you’ve finished your Everest Base Camp trek, go west from Lobuche towards Dughla, instead of heading down south to Dingboche. From Dughla, you’ll need to cross Thagnak, a beautiful village, and Cho La, a high altitude pass, to reach the village of Gokyo.
There are three main attractions in the Gokyo Lake trek. The first among them is undoubtedly Gokyo Lake, which is a high altitude mountain lake complex. The second one is Gokyo village, which is one of the most beautiful villages in the region, located against the backdrop of white mountains. The third one is Gokyo Ri, a mini mountain that invites the trekkers to ascend on its peak. You will be able to enjoy amazing views of Everest region from the top of Gokyo Ri. So, ascending the peak is fun filled activity.
Everest Panorama Trek
Everest Panorama Trek is a shortened version of the hike to Everest Base Camp trek. It is a mere 5 days long journey, and during this time, you trek from Lukla to Khumjung. The trek is best for first time trekkers, kids and elderly people, and individuals with serious health issues, as it doesn’t take you to extreme altitude, and there’re very less chance for the trekkers to suffer from altitude sickness.
Despite the ease in difficulty level, the trek offers quite a few attractions. Lukla, which is the home to the most dangerous airport in the world is a great place to visit. In the same way, Namche Bazaar is another attraction on the route, as it is the busiest marketplace in the region. Throughout the way, you’ll come across viewpoints that would offer you the most amazing views of peaks in the Everest region, like Thamserku, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, Everest, and so on.
Everest Three Passes Trek
Everest Three Passes Trek is possibly the lengthiest trek in the region. It amalgamates Gokyo Lake Trek, and hike to Everest Base Camp trek. Along with the attractions that you come across in two of these treks, what makes Everest Three Passes Trek so special is that trekkers cross three high altitude mountain passes, namely Kongma La, Cho La and Renjo La. The altitude of these passes are 5535 m, 5357 m and 5360 m respectively.
The trek includes 15 days of core trekking, and in this time, the trekkers cover a distance of around 170 km. The increased length of the trek, and the high altitude passes make the trek quite challenging. Apart from the passes, the trekkers also get to visit villages such as Chhukung and Lungden, and ascend the peak of Nangkartshang, which is a mini mountain with a height of 5120 m. The top of the peak serves as an excellent viewpoint and offers great views of the entire region from here.
Pikey Peak Trek
Pikey Peak trek is a journey made on a route that hardly touches hike on the Everest Base Camp trek route. However, the route falls in the Everest region. The trek starts from Bhandar, which is a small village situated at a distance of 210 km east of Kathmandu. On the trek, the trekkers stop at numerous settlement areas like Nagur, Junbesi, Phaplu, and so on. There are two main attractions on the route.
The first attraction is Pikey Peak, or Pikey Danda. It is a hill whose height is 4070 m, and trekkers generally tend to ascend to its top. It also serves as a great viewpoint offering you amazing views of surrounding hills and a couple of mountains towards the east. The second attraction on the route is Thuptenchholing Monastery, a significant Buddhist religious heritage in the region. The trek ends at Phaplu, another small village which is situated at a distance of 270 km east of Kathmandu.
Arun Valley Trek
Arun Valley trek is a journey made from Makalu Region to Everest Region. In other words, it combines the two treks – hike to Everest Base Camp trek and Makalu Base Camp Trek. On this journey, the trekkers walk for approximately 18 days, starting the trek at Tumlingtar, and ending it at Lukla. In the process, they cover both the base camps, Everest Base Camp and Makalu Base Camp.
On the trek, the trekkers cross the villages of Kothe, Sanam, Bung, and so on, which fall in the Makalu region. The trekkers then reach Puiyan. It is the path that joins Puiyan and Phakding that also connects the two trekking routes, and the two national parks – Makalu Barun National Park and Sagarmatha National Park. From Phakding, the trekkers follow the classic Everest Base Camp trek route to the EBC and back. Apart from the attractions on EBC trek, the main attraction on the trek is Makalu Base Camp that offers panoramic views of peaks like Barun Tse, Makalu, and so on.
If you want to explore the beauty of the Himalayas, the hike to Everest Base Camp trek is the best thing to go for. Everest Base Camp trek is quite a splendid trek on its own, but with the addition of these extensions, they become truly marvelous. With so many things to do, see and experience, you’d never be bored. You’d want to stay here forever, or return time and again to re-experience everything.
Breeze Adventures is a perfect travel partner for anyone who seeks to explore Nepal at its best. They offer all kind of packages, from trekking to luxury travel to one day city tours, and so on. With years of experience in the field, Breeze Adventure’s efforts are focused towards helping the clients have the most amazing experience during the journey. The company also offers tour packages, including the major tourist destinations, to the countries like Tibet and Bhutan. Look out for Breeze Adventures if you’re planning to go for trekking in Nepal, or travel in any part of Nepal, Tibet or Bhutan.
