Useful Info

About Lukla Flight

There are regular flights every day departures to Lukla from Kathmandu. Lukla airport is a small airport with a short runway and slope pitch. Due to the bad weather, occasionally the flight might be delayed or cancelled. You need to take a helicopter flight to Surki (a few hours below Lukla) or take an alternative trekking route to other regions. Flying to Lukla make a bit scary to the people but the planes fly only with good weather.

There is a weight limit in the plane so make sure if you only have 15 kg including your hand luggage. You need to pay extra amount if you have more than 15 kg. But it is better not to take more weight. If you have overload, you may fly without your bag to Lukla and your bag will fly with the next flight. If the second plane could not make a flight, your bag remains in Kathmandu so you might be without equipment. What happens If your Lukla flight would be delayed or cancelled? Check this for the information.

Keeping The Things That You Don’t Use In Trekking

Yes, you might be thinking after knowing the weight limitation to Lukla and worried about the things that you are not using during the trek.

You can leave the things that you don’t need for the trek in your hotel in Kathmandu. Your stuff will be safe in their storeroom. You will get a tag from reception and you need to keep safe it until you won’t take back your stuff after the trek.

Walking Hours And Camps

Normally, camps are short with walking a few hours each day. You will walk most of the day 4-5 hours. But trek from Phakding to Namche Bazaar on the second day is a bit longer and the day you trek to the base camp. Walking hour on the way back after visiting the base camp and Kala Patthar is long. You will have 2 extra days on the way up for the altitude practice.

Religious Believes and Respects

The Everest region is a land of the Sherpa people. Sherpa people are practising Buddhism and they have some rule, regulation, cultural aspects, and customs. There are Mani wheel, Mani walls, rocks with mantras, prayer flags on the way. You should keep them right and walk clockwise to respect their culture.

While entering the monasteries, you should follow some instructions that you will see outside on the wall. If there is praying to go on, you should not make noise and ask the people before taking a photograph of them.

Accommodation, Food And Drink

The Everest base camp trekking route is a well-managed trekking trail. It is managed by the Sagarmatha national park, Sagarmatha pollution control committee and the local Sherpa community. There are well organized with pollution control and other management.

You will easily find the accommodation at each stop and there are lots of restaurants along the way for a lunch break. The lodges have private rooms for clients with indoor toilets. You even will have luxury lodges in some places with the luxury facilities. But some places have limited lodges that you need to book in advance otherwise they might be full.

Every lodge has a food menu and food items are the same. The cocks are basically trained so the taste of the same foods might be a bit different. You may try the local food also during the trek if you would like. Meet might not be fresh up in the mountain so try to be vegetarian in the trek.

You can buy bottled water in every lodge and on the way but as you go higher, the price also goes high. Alternatively, you can drink normal tap water filling into your bottle using purification tablets or sterilizer. Check about facilities of accommodation in the Everest base camp trekking trail here.

Internet, Connection And Battery Charging

There is a cell phone signal everywhere during the Everest base camp trek. Mainly, 2 different phone companies are running their service in this region as NTC and NCELL. You can buy a SIM card upon your arrival at Kathmandu airport with internet data packages.

You will have a top-up internet card from the Everest link that can buy in your lodge. You need to be near the coverage of the router for this so using the internet of the phone is better.

They use solar energy for the light and charging the batteries in the lodges. You can charge your stuff paying them but it cost expensive. If you bring a power bank and use in the higher areas will be worth.

Trekking Equipment

Trekking to the Himalaya is cold so you need to have warm trekking gears. It is a regular trekking trail so you don’t need to have any technical gears. Some warm and good quality body wears with daily usages things are recommended for the trek. Check our equipment list for the Everest base camp trek.

Best Time To Trek

The months from autumn and spring are the best to trek to the Everest base camp. Though, until mid-September and the last week of May are not very good. Beginning of September and the end of May might have some rainy days. Winter brings cold months but the visibility in the morning is not that bad. If you are looking to trek with fewer people and dare to trek with cold temperatures having warm equipment, you can trek in winter too. But summer is not a good time to trek to the Everest base camp. Check the section “When is the best time to trek to the Everest base camp?” now.

Safety And Security

People use Yak, Jopke (a hybrid of yak and cow), and Mules as the transport of food and materials supply. You need to be careful when they pass you so stay in the safe zone where no cliffs are. Some people don’t care when they take photographs so check behind if there enough space and no cliff.

A lot of trekkers and porters with loads are on the way during the high season. If you meet them on the narrow surface and bridge, please be sure if you stand on the safe side and you won’t be pushed to the cliff.

Altitude Sickness

Altitude sickness is a serious problem during the trek. You will fly from Kathmandu (1350m) to Luka (2840m) so it is already high enough. You will trek to Namche Bazaar the next day which is 3440m of elevation. Here, you might feel some effects of the altitude.

After taking an extra acclimatization rest day in Namche Bazaar, you will trek further higher elevation to Tengboche, Dingboche, Lobuche and Gorakshep before visiting the base camp. You need to be safe from an altitude problem for the successful Everest base camp journey. What is altitude sickness? What are the symptoms? How to prevent altitude problem? For the information, visit this section.