What to Expect While Trekking to the Everest Base Camp

A short aviation journey connects to the Everest Base Camp Trekking Trail. You can fly from Kathmandu to Lukla to enjoy the stunning Mountain views. It is an adventurous flight trip because Lukla Airport is known as one of the most dangerous airports in the world. But there won't be flights operating if the weather is unfavorable.

Your Trekking journey begins at the Base Camp right after you land at Lukla airport. You will reach the Base Camp in 8 trekking days. You might have many expectations from this Trek, inspiring you to choose it for your holiday. So, what are the main attractions of the hike that make your trip joyful? You can only Expect what you can get on the Trek, making your trip memorable. Then, What should we expect from Everest Base Camp?

Lukla Flight Expect 

Lukla airport

Lukla Flight is the startup Expectation of the Everest Base Camp Trip. Lukla Flight takes off from Kathmandu Airport or Manthali Airport, but mainly from Kathmandu. The Flights operate from Manthali if there is maintenance work at the Kathmandu Airport. A short, half-hour flight on a small airplane to Lukla joins the Everest Base Camp Trekking Trail.

The Flight operates only in clear weather because there are many hills before reaching Lukla. Flights could be delayed for a few hours or canceled due to bad weather. It is better to book the Flight Ticket in advance because an earlier Flight will have more chances to fly. There are no Flights during the day, and they mainly operate in the morning.

If the Lukla Flight is canceled due to the bad weather, you will have fewer chances to get an earlier Flight for the following day Because there will be advanced, fully booked passengers for the regularly scheduled Flights. So, you might take a Helicopter Flight in this case, but you need to pay an extra amount with the regular Flight Ticket.

You can take only 15 kg of weight on the Flight to Lukla. This weight limitation includes your hand luggage. You can pay for extra weight at the airport, but packing only the needed equipment for the Trek is suggested. If the plane you are on is overloaded, they might put your bag on the next flight. And there might be no flight after your Flight sometimes. If it is like this, you will have no Trekking Equipment.

Physical Level and Training

What to Expect During the Everest Base Camp Walk: Trekking to Everest Base Camp is a physical challenge. Expect walking about 4–7 hours daily through narrow mountain trails, steep hills, rocky or dusty paths, and crossing over high suspension bridges.

Before planning a Trek to Everest Base Camp, you must have some hiking experience on the mountain trails. If you have done mountain Treks above at least 3000m somewhere, it is easier to Trek to Everest Base Camp.

Everest Region Settlement Expectation

What to Expect from Locals: The Sherpa are the local ethnic people of the Everest Region who are known as mountain legends. There are several beautiful Sherpa towns on the Everest Base Camp Trekking trail. You will see Sherpa towns everywhere you stay and along the way.

Namche Bazaar is the most beautiful town, located on a hill. It is where you will spend two nights for your altitude practice before going to a higher elevation. Khumjung is the biggest Sherpa village, with a Hilary school and an old monastery where you can see the skull of the Yeti.

Dingboche is the highest proper Sherpa Village on the Everest Base Camp Trekking Trail. Besides these towns, there are many other small villages with traditional, well-carved buildings. You can see the legendary Sherpa people's lifestyle and daily activities in these villages.

Expect to Reach the World's Highest Mountain Base Camp

What to Expect from the Everest Base Camp: One of the main goals of the trekkers who Trek to the Everest Base Camp is to reach the Base Camp of the world's tallest mountain. The Base Camp is at 5364m above sea level.

You can reach the Base Camp of Mt.Everest in 8 days of trekking from Lukla. People may desire to sleep at the base camp, but no lodge exists. You must bring your tent or hire one in Gorakshep to sleep at the Base Camp. It is about a 2- to 2-and-a half-hour hike from Gorakshep. Gorakshep is the last place where lodges are available on this Trek. Many climbers' tents are at the base camp during the Everest expedition season. Spring is one of the main expedition seasons in Nepal.

You will not see Mt.Everest from the Base Camp because it is blocked by Lola and Nuptse. But from here, you can visit other high mountains like Changatse, Khumbutse, and Lingtren, including Lola and Nuptse. You will not see a permanent sign of the Base Camp here. It changes every few years because of melting ice. You can see a few Buddhist prayer flags and writing characters on a rock.

The Expectation of Stunning Mountain Views from Vantage Viewpoints

View from Everest view hotel

What to Expect about Views from Viewpoints?: The main attraction of this Trek is the stunning mountain view of the Everest Massif. You can see high snow-capped Mountains every moment and from each angle along the way to Everest. But, some Vantage Viewpoints on the Trek offer panoramic eye-catching Mountain Views.

You will start seeing beautiful Mountains with your landing at Lukla airport. You will see Number (Dudhkunda Peak) from here and Kusum Kangaroo from Thadokoshi. After that, Mt. Thamserku can be seen from Banker and Everest, and you will be climbing to Namche Bazaar if the weather is clear.

The first day with lots of mountain views is while climbing to Everest View Hotel during your hike on your altitude practice day from Namche. Everest View Hotel is the first hill station that offers Panoramic Mountain Views of Thamserku, Kusum Kangaroo, Khanteka, Amadablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, and other high peaks, including Everest.

Tengboche Hill is another hill station located in an open space. You can see a stunning view of the Everest Himalayas from here. Tengboche Hill is the best hill station with the best view of Mt.Amadablam. Amadablam is one of the most beautiful mountains in the Everest Region.

The next Viewpoint after Tengboche is Nangkar-Tshang Hill. You will climb this hill during Dingboche village's second altitude practice day. You can reach the top by hiking for around 3 hours from Dingboche and enjoying the View of the beautiful Everest Massif. You can also see Mt. Makalu from this hill, the 4th highest Mountain in Nepal and 5th in the world. It is only the hill station from where you can see this mountain; you will never see other places during this Trek.

The best Viewpoint on the Trek is Kala Patthar. Every trekker should have heard about this hill station before coming to the trek and thinking about climbing it. But once they reach Base Camp, they don't care about hiking to this hill because they're getting tired from the extended Base Camp hike. Kala Patthar offers a far better view than Base Camp. You can see a 360° Mountain View from the top of this hill and the Nearest View of Everest. It takes around 2 hours to hike from the lodge where you stay in Gorakshep. You can walk either in the morning for the sunrise or in the evening for the sunset. The View of the sunset is unreal from this hill.

Accommodation, Food, and Drink Expectations from EBC Trek

Accommodation in Gorakshep

What to Expect about the Lodge, Food, Drink, and Toilets: A well-managed Trekking trail to Everest Base Camp has many tea houses to stay in. This trekking trail is kept clean and facilitated by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), Sagarmatha National Park, and the local Sherpa community.

Finding accommodations should not be very difficult in most places. But it is not  easy to get spaces in places like Tengboche, Dingboche, and Gorakshep during the busy Trekking Seasons. You need to Book accommodations at least a day earlier in those places.

You will have a Food menu in every lodge where you stay. But there will be the same Food Items in most places, and seeing this, you may be bored sometimes. You can pick your choice from the different available food items and get the local dishes if you want to try them. Food is usually hygienic if you stay with Vegetarian Food. You can get food dishes with meat on the menu, but they might not always be fresh and available everywhere.

Some people don't like the taste of water purification medication and buy bottled water. But some people don't like the taste of the purification tablets but still use them to minimize their budget. You can drink normal drinking water after purification or sterilization. Also, you can buy bottled water in guest houses or grocery shops.

Living Cost Expectations in the Everest Region

What to Expect About the Budget: Except for some types of vegetables and limited crops, there is not much growing, which could not be enough even for the locals. Most of the daily usage came from Kathmandu to Lukla by plane cargo and was carried by people to the higher elevation. Because of the transport costs, everything is expensive in the region.

You will see the same food items in every place and lodge, but the only difference is the price. A food item that Costs 500 rupees in Lukla may cost 1500 rupees at the last camp of the Everest Base Camp trip. Likewise, for a bottle of water, you can get 100 rupees starting a few days of trekking, which will cost up to 500. These are only examples; every food, drink, and accommodation applies the same term. So, be prepared to spend around 4000 rupees or a bit more per day on the trek.

Health Expectations from an Everest Trip

What to Expect about Health: Every trekker Expects a cold temperature while Trekking in the Himalayas. Yes, there is a cold temperature at Everest Base Camp. And trekkers might have a standard cold, a runny nose, and some coughing on the trek. The cough on the Everest Base Camp Trek is known as Khumbu Cough. Keeping yourself warm, drinking warm water, and covering your nose and mouth with a buff to protect you from the dust can protect you from this problem.

People could have diarrhea while trekking in the Himalayas. It's known as Traveler Diarrhea, which can be caused even by climate. So, if it happens, you must take some Imodium and rehydration salt.

The Expectation of Traffic 

Trekkers on the trail

The Everest Base Camp Trek is a very popular Trekking trail. There are lots of trekkers that can be seen during the high Trekking Season. So, you can Expect that there will be a lot of traffic for Trekkers on the trail. The trekkers and the local porters carrying loads, Yaks, mules, and Jopke (a hybrid of cow and Yak), will be on the trekking trail. You need to stand for a few minutes somewhere and let them pass if you are on a narrow surface or suspension bridge.

It also comes down to your safety reasons. If you are in a hurry and keep walking without standing on the safe side, loads carried by the porters and animals may push you to the cliff. So, being in a safe zone is suggested if you meet someone crowded on a narrow surface. You can keep walking when there is no traffic and feel safe.

Expectation of Climate

What about the Weather and Temperature expectations? The Weather in the mountains is unpredictable and can change very fast. You may start the day with Clear Weather and blue skies, but it can quickly transform into rain, wind, and snow. The porter who carries your Trekking gear once leaves the starting point will meet you directly at the next stop. If the weather changes quickly, you might be in trouble, so take some rain cover and Windstopper in your daypack.

The Expectation of the Internet, Communication, and Electricity

An important thing that keeps you closer to your family, relatives, and friends is the Internet and Communication, even if you are far from home. You can use the internet and make phone calls daily during the Everest base camp journey. There is cell phone reception everywhere on the base camp trekking trail. Upon arrival, you must buy a Nepalese SIM card with Internet Data from the Kathmandu international airport.

You can also use Wi-Fi in the lodges where you stay. You need to buy a top-up card for this service provided by Everest Link. Using this service, you should be closer to the internet router, so the SIM card of the cell phone is far better and highly recommended.

You will have Electricity Services until Tengboche. But, they are using solar power after this place. You can charge your phone and camera batteries even with solar energy, but you must pay. It can be more expensive than bringing a power bank recommended for the Trek.

Altitude Sickness and Prevention

High mountain rescue

Altitude Sickness could be a complication for trekkers at the Everest Base Camp. You will feel Altitude Effects when walking above 3500m of elevation. Altitude Sickness can be a cause of death. So, be serious about this problem.

There will be early symptoms of Altitude Sickness like headache, vomiting, feeling like a drunk, tingling fingers, loss of appetite, fatigue, difficulty breathing while resting, and a few others. If you have these symptoms, you must be careful and take suggestions from your guide.

Strolling, drinking plenty of fluid, sleeping well, keeping warm, eating well, stopping thinking about altitude problems, and taking 250mg of altitude tablets may prevent the problem. If you have altitude symptoms, you need to rest an extra day at the same place or descend as soon as possible according to the condition. A good travel insurance policy covering any emergency evacuation above 6000m is highly recommended for the Everest base camp.

Cultural and Religious Expectations from Everest

The Everest Region is a land of Buddhist religious people. You will see numerous ancient Buddhist Monasteries and other monuments while Trekking to Everest Base Camp. There is a local culture and costumes that the people follow.

You can walk, keeping to your right, to those Buddhist Monuments on the Trekking trail. Entering the monasteries also has some terms and conditions on the board outside each monastery. Also, it is better to ask if you can take a picture of the local.

There are some wildlife and birds you see on the trail; some are considered holy. Never talk about killing them, even as a joke.

Need to Stay with Basic in Everest

Don't Expect luxury beds to be available in the lodges where you will stay as much as in cities. They might not be comfortable, but it is good enough to spend the night there. Foods should also be more essential than you would expect. But it could be more than you wish.

Food menus have almost the same food items, including Mo: Mo, noodles, pizza, pasta, soup, local food (Dal Bhat), and more. Food is cocked by fundamentally trained cocks in the guest houses. So, the taste should be a little bit different.

Everest Base Camp is rich in natural beauty. On this trek, you can see the massive Everest Himalayas, green hills, wildlife, waterfalls, beautiful valleys, glaciers, and many more attractions. There should be some challenges with these natural attractions on the Trek. People should expect more and sometimes get less. You are so right, Expecting less and getting more results to make people happier. The above things should not be Your expectations from the Base Camp Trek. But at least this post taught you what to Expect from the Base Camp Trek. If you have more questions about this trek, please get in touch with us. We are always happy to provide you with the correct information.

More trekking from the Everest region:

• Gokyo lake trek
• Everest view trek
• Everest high passes trek
• Cho La Pass trek
• Renjo La Pass trek
• Everest base camp luxury trek