This was my first solo trek. After covid waves, the travel was getting opened up so I decided to go for the EBC trek which I wanted to do for a long time. Based on some research on the internet, I zeroed down to “Himalayan Wonders” as a trek operator. After all the detailed preparation, I reached Kathmandu on 3rd October. In the evening, I met rest of the members of the trek team with whom I am going to spend the next 8-10 days.
The next day, I spent some time sightseeing Nepal. We saw Shri Pashupati Nath temple and Buddha Stupa. We were staying in Hotel Jampa in Thamel during our stay in Kathmandu. The Thamel area is very much a tourist place and all kinds of hiking & mountaineering gears are available at a reasonable cost. Most of the folks who are going on expeditions or coming from expeditions stay in this area. It is a nice hotel and I would definitely recommend it.
We had the following itinerary.
03 Oct: Early Arrival Day
04 Oct: Kathmandu: Arrival Day
05 Oct: Kathmandu to Lukla Flight ( 2860 Mtrs) and Trek to Phakding (Trek Start) ( Height: 2610 Mtrs)
06 Oct: Phakding To Namche Bazaar (3440 Mtrs)
07 Oct: Namche Bazaar: Rest And Acclimatization Day
08 Oct: Namche Bazaar To Tengboche ( 3860 mts)
09 Oct: Tengboche To Dingboche (4410 mts)
10 Oct: Dingboche: Rest And Acclimatization Day
11 Oct: Dingboche To Lobuche (5030 mts)
12 Oct: Lobuche To Gorakshep And Everest Base Camp, Ebc To Gorekshep (5116 mts – 5364 mts)
13 Oct: Gorekshep To Kalapathar And Pheriche Or Panboche
14 Oct: Pheriche Or Panboche To Namche
15 Oct: Namche To Phakding And Lukla (Trek End)
16 Oct: Lukla To Kathmandu Flight
17 Oct: Kathmandu
18 Oct: Depart Kathmandu
The first day from Kathmandu to Lukla & then to Phakding is very interesting. The plane from Kathmandu to Lukla is very small ( 20-25 passengers) and it takes off /lands depending on weather conditions in Lukla. We were waiting on tarmac for 3 hours before we could fly. Thankfully we reached in 30 minutes without any weather issues at Lukla. The flight after our flight took off but had to return back to Kathmandu due to bad weather at Lukla and thereafter any flight could not take off for 2 days due to weather in Lukla. From Lukla, we had to trek for 5-6 hours to reach Phakding. The trail is beautiful with lots of greenery and waterfalls. The trail is a roller coaster and net, we go 300 meters down to Phakding from Lukla. We stayed at “International Trekkers Guest House” in Phakding.
The second day of trekking from Phakding to Namche Bazar is very steep. It is about a 6-8 hours trek and also significant height gain in a day. The gradient is high but the trail is full of nature – lots of water falls, rivers, mountains around, greenery. We also need to cross 5-6 rope bridges, the longest and highest is Hillary Bridge. We took a one day break at Namche for acclimatization . Namche is a beautiful village with cafes, bars and shops. This is a popular acclimatization stop of all trekkers going for Mt. Everest expedition. In Namche, we did one acclimatization trek to a nearby peak. We were beginning to feel cold in the night in Namche. This was the last stop where we could take a bath.
The fourth day was from Dingboche to Tenboche. The initial part was a good trail apparently made by a person who is now 90+ years old. He was there and asking for some help to make the trail. The later portion was a big down road and then a huge gradient to climb to reach the destination. Tengboche has a Buddhist Monastery which was built a few centuries ago. It is a must see place in Tengboche. In Tengboche, it was getting very cold in the evening and in the night, we had to get into our -20 deg. centigrade sleeping bags.
Day 5 was from Tengboche to Dingboche. From here, the tree lines started to disappear and thin air was getting experienced. Slowly and steadily we reached Dingboche after a 5-6 hours of trek. Now the terrain is completely different – completely barren and covered by snow clad mountains from all sides. From here, one mountain peak is always with you – Ama Dablam. You can experience beautiful angles of Ama Dablam as you trek Tengboche to Dingboche and onwards. We took one more acclimatization halt at Dingboche and did one acclimatization trek to a nearby peak. Now the nights are very cold, absolutely freezing. Dingboche has many tea houses which are very big. Due to covid, there were not many passengers. All tea houses had common toilets. You have to leave with it but it is much better than staying in tents.
Day 7 was from Dingboche to Lobuche. Again, the trail is completely barren with hardly any tree. All surrounded by snow clad mountains. The sun was also harsh so we had to completely cover our faces and use sunglasses. On the way, a metrological observatory has been set up. Also, we saw memorial areas of all Everest Mountaineers who died in their expeditions to Mt. Everest. We could see the memorial of Scott Fischer , the famous mountaineer who climbed Mt. Everest several times but died in bad weather while waiting for his fellow team member to climb Mt. Everest.
The next day , the 8th day, is from Lobuche to Workshop to EBC. We started out early in the morning but due to bad weather, I went back to Lukla and back to Kathmandu. Others took 5 days to climb down but I went down by Helicopter. The road from Lobuche is full of sand and big rocks. we had to be watchful as there is a high possibility of injury. In the morning, our guide checked our SPO2 level and mine was highest !! The helicopter ride back was thrilling. We could see all the trails, mountains and rivers which we crossed while coming to EBC.
Given a chance, I will definitely go one more time !! It is a lifetime experience that makes you humble, and understand the power of nature.