Itinerary

Departures & Availability

All trip prices are per person based on double occupancy, are subject to change without notice and do not include airfare. All prices and fares are quoted in U.S. dollars.

Gears And Equipment

Guided EBC Tour Package Information

Arrival

If you have booked an EBC package with us, we will pick you up from the Tribhuvan International Airport on the day of your arrival and transfer you to your hotel in a private vehicle.

When you arrive at the airport, you will find our representative holding a pamphlet with your name and our company name.

They will present you with a Khada or a marigold garland and take you to your hotel. There are plenty of hotels in Kathmandu, and you can choose the hotel that suits your taste.

If you want, we can recommend hotels for you. You just need to share your flight details with us.

Trek start

We conduct an online trek briefing before you come to Nepal to provide important information about the trek. However, we will also conduct a brief in-person briefing in Kathmandu before starting the trip.

During this briefing, we will also check your luggage to ensure you have all the required clothing, gear, and equipment.

The adventure starts with an early morning flight to Lukla, which takes around forty minutes. The trail starts from Lukla and progresses to Phakding on the first day.

Accommodation

This trek package includes 13-night stays at the best available lodges and hotels in the trek regions. All rooms are twin-sharing rooms.

You will stay six nights in rooms with private attached bathrooms at Lukla, Phakding (2 nights), and Namche (3 nights) and seven nights in standard rooms at Tengboche (2 nights), Lobuche, Dingbuche (2 nights), Gorakshep, and Pheriche.

You can enjoy hot showers and Wi-Fi at the hotels/lodges you will be staying by paying a small fee.

You will also need at least two nights of hotel stays in Kathmandu, one before starting the trek and the other after.

However, accommodations and meals in Kathmandu are not included in this package. Kathmandu has a wide range of hotels to fit all tastes and budgets.

Meals

The EBC trek is a high-altitude trek that requires a lot of energy. Hence, we will provide you with enough nutritious food in the trek regions.

However, at higher elevations, your food choices will be limited. Our trek package includes standard breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We will provide you with 4 breakfasts, 13 lunches, and 14 dinners during the trek.

Mostly your food choices will include local, Nepali, and Western cuisine. We suggest you try dal, bhat, and tarkari (vegetables).

These food are rich in carbohydrates and provide enough energy for your trek. Due to hygienic concerns, we do not advise you to eat meat.

Please note that the respiration rate at higher altitudes is higher. Hence you will need to take more fluid. We advise you to take green tea, lemon tea, hot lemon, ginger tea, and garlic soup (must).

We highly encourage you to avoid dairy (including cheese). Experts also advise you not to consume alcoholic drinks, caffeinated items, and hot chocolates.

Luggage

We advise you to carry only the basic things to the trek. Please use the above packing list while packing. You will be sharing a porter with another trekker. The porter will not carry more than 18 kg of luggage. So, your luggage weight limit is 9-kg.

We advise you to pack your luggage and your trek partner’s luggage in a duffle bag (preferably waterproof) with a capacity of over sixty liters. You can store your excess luggage at your hotel or the Friendship World Trek store for free.

Typical day

Every trek day, you will enjoy the scenery, take photos, try new dishes, and explore the local villages.

Our qualified expert Sherpas will share your information about the places as you trek.  Porters will carry most of your luggage, but we expect you to carry a small regular bag for your valuables and important documents.

After breakfast, you will set off on that day’s walk around 7 to 8 am, depending on the duration and nature of the trek. After trekking for three to four hours, you will have lunch and then rest for an hour before continuing.

The afternoon walk will be shorter – about two to three hours. Once you reach the overnight lodge/tea house, you can enjoy the snacks, and afterward, you are free to explore nearby places.

We serve dinner around 6 to 7 pm. After dinner, you get time for friendly conversations. Your trek leader/guide will brief you about the next day’s plan.

After the briefing, you can play board games like Monopoly and Cards or watch available mountaineering documentaries. Most guests also learn common Nepali words from our crew members or read books before sleeping.

Electricity and water

You can recharge your camera and mobile at an extra cost in the lodges as electricity is readily available. Similarly, you can buy packed mineral water on your way. However, we suggest you carry a water bottle and buy boiled water instead.

This will ensure that you will not leave plastic bottles in trek regions. If you need, we can also provide water purification pills. We suggest you not drink water from rivers or taps, as the water might not be hygienic.

Communication

The tea houses/lodges in the trek region have internet, and you can use Wi-Fi at those places to remain in contact with your friends, family, and colleagues.

At higher trek regions, we use cell phones to communicate and Friendship World Trek’s head office remains in contact with their trek teams at least once a day. If you want, you can buy a local sim card in Kathmandu.

Tipping

In Nepali culture, a tip is an honored way to say thank you (Dhanyabad) for good service. We advise you to tip collectively as a group at the end of the trek (for the guide and the porters).

The tip amount is entirely a personal preference that may depend more or less on your perception of service quality, length of trip, budget, and appreciation of their work.

Trek End

With rare exceptions (mainly due to weather), we will fly you from Lukla back to Kathmandu early in the morning on the fourteenth day and take you to your hotel. You can choose to spend your remaining day as you wish. Later in the evening, we will organize a farewell dinner in Kathmandu.

Feedback

After completing the trip, we will organize a farewell dinner, during which we will present you with a printed certificate mentioning your trek achievement. We would highly appreciate it if you would give us feedback.

This will help us improve our services for future travelers/trekkers. If you are happy about your trip, we encourage you to leave us feedback on travel portals.

Useful Info

The flight from Kathmandu to Lukla and Lukla to Kathmandu may get delayed due to the weather.

In such cases, we reschedule these flights to the next available flight. So, we suggest our clients add at least 2 extra days as a cushion to the trip to avoid international flight delays back to their home country.

In case of flight delays, if you want, we can arrange a helicopter for an additional cost of approximately USD 500-1000. During busy trek seasons, the flights to and from Lukla can take place from Manthali, Ramechhap, instead of Kathmandu.

The itinerary listed above is a general guideline and may be modified in rare cases due to factors beyond our control – including but not limited to unstable weather, unavailability of lodging or campsites, unforeseen governmental decrees, trail, and ecological conditions.

Trip extension

After completing the trek, you may want to stay a couple of days extra in Nepal. There are many beautiful and adventurous places in Nepal.

You can spend your time in various ways, such as sightseeing in Kathmandu, Nagarkot View Trip, Chitwan Jungle safari, paragliding, rafting, and canoeing before flying back.

Departure

If you share your flight details on your departure date, we will pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to Tribhuvan International Airport.  We hope you enjoyed your trek and you will be back for more exciting treks.

Trek season

The best season for an EBC trek is spring (March, April, May) or autumn (September, October, November).

The temperature in the high trek regions is just right, the skies are clear, and the snow peaks look magnificent during these seasons. In the high trek regions, during spring, the temperature can reach 20°C during the day and fall back to -5°C at night.

Similarly, during autumn, the temperatures at high trek elevations can reach 25°C during the day and drop to -10°C at night. Most Nepali festivals fall during autumn. Hence, if you want to enjoy the festivities, trek in autumn.

Treks are also possible in summer (June, July, August)  and winter (December, January, February)  but the summer in Nepal coincides with monsoon, bringing in a lot of rain in lower trek regions.

The monsoon clouds can hide the mountains, and the flights to Lukla can be postponed. Moreover, the monsoon rain can make the trials wet and slippery. The summer temperatures at high altitudes can range from 27°C at daytime to 5°C at night.

In winter, the heavy snow in high trek regions can cover the trails, and the temperatures can drop quite low. At high altitudes, the temperatures at night can drop to -20°C, while the days are a bit warmer and can reach up to 15°C.

Please note that weather in high elevations can change abruptly.

Trek difficulty

Everest Base Camp is a challenging but equally rewarding trek. Hence, you will require a few weeks of mental and physical preparation. Exercising and jogging regularly for a few weeks before the trip helps build stamina.

Novice trekkers with normal fitness levels can complete this trek. However, the fitter you are, the more you will enjoy the trek. Past hiking experience would be an added advantage, but no technical experience and skills are necessary.

If you can hike 4 to 6 hours a day at a reasonable pace with a light day pack, you should be able to complete the trek.

Trekkers with pre-existing medical conditions, such as heart, lung, and blood diseases, must consult their physician before booking the trek.

Trek safety

Friendship World Trek guarantees client safety, security, and satisfaction. Your safety is of the utmost importance to us.

We carry necessary standard gear, equipment, and first aid kits for each trip to keep everyone safe. Our guides have taken extensive first aid training.

If a trekker falls sick, we will decide how to proceed with the trek by assessing the situation while keeping everyone’s safety in mind.

In an emergency, after consulting your insurance company, we will arrange helicopter rescue.  We will trek as a team for an added safety layer, and it avoids getting lost in hostile terrains.

Avoiding altitude sickness

Altitude Sickness, also called Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), cannot be prevented, but you can minimize the chances. Here are some tips to avoid altitude sickness:

• Ascend slowly at your own pace
• Take acclimatization days
• Stay well-hydrated
• Eat light and nutritious meals
• Avoid alcohol and tobacco

Listen to your body, and if you feel symptoms like headache, nausea, or dizziness, tell your guide. They will decide the best course of action, including descending rights away to arranging a helicopter rescue in coordination with your travel insurance.

FWT team

Our well-trained and experienced guides/Sherpas will accompany you throughout the trek to make your journey joyful and memorable.

All our guides are well-trained government-licensed and have spent years trekking/climbing peaks. They are trained in intensive wilderness first aid, conservation and biodiversity, and rock climbing.

Our crew members come from the high Himalayas. They have high endurance and are well-adapted to living at high altitudes.

All of our staff members are very valuable to us, they are well-paid, and we take care of their insurance, clothing, food, and lodging throughout the expedition/trek.

Porters will carry most of your luggage. Two people will be assigned one porter, and combined luggage should be at most 18 kg. If required, we can also arrange one porter per person.

All our guides and porters receive medical care when ill or injured. We provide them with basic accommodation, food, and warm drinks and ensure that all our staff members are happy as we believe that only a happy person can make others happy.

Everest Base Camp Trek Route Map

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