It has many of the things that attracts trekkers. Waterfalls, suspension bridges, yaks, glaciers, endless walls of rock and ice and views of some of the highest mountains in the world, including the protagonist, the highest mountain in the world, the Everest. This, for some like you around the globe, is an adventure of a lifetime and will never stop to leave from your memory.
The views of Everest from the south side in Nepal are perhaps more dramatic. However, there is no road, so a person must trek-in on foot. The lowest/most accessible point from which to view Everest is at Namche Bazaar, at an altitude of 3,400 m. To get there, it’s normal to fly from Kathmandu to Lukla (altitude: 2,800m). The 45 minute flight costs 150 USD.
The two day trek to Namche is through forests along a winding river valley. There is a stiff pull up to Namche, but it’s quite doable. The Everest park entrance fee is less than 15 USD. Accommodation costs are less than 25 USD a night. If blessed with clear skies, the views up the valley to Everest are exceptional.
Inhabited by the mighty Sherpas, Solukhumbu is home to Mt. Everest and its famous trekking trails. The inhabitants of this region have lived in harmony with their surroundings for hundreds of years and kept alive their age-old practices. Along with Mt. Everest, Solukhumbu region also boasts of other gigantic peaks such as Lhotse, Nuptse, Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam, Pumori, Kantega, and Thamserku.
While trekking through the Everest zone (heights over 17000 feet), on some days you trek for 12 hours straight and with every passing hour you gain height and the limited oxygen increases the chance of acute mountain sickness. You feel the seriousness of the challenge when you encounter the many rescue missions in progress.
If you reach the highest point after 12:00 in the afternoon, you would be forced to trek in snowfall. Our group had trekked 3 days in a snowfall. After descending on rocky terrain, your knees hurt. You develop blisters which makes trekking more difficult. At night, winds don’t allow you to sleep as the tent flutters and uneven land makes you drift all night.
You don’t bathe for more than 10 days, getting down with cold which aggravates as you trek. All these small challenges coexist with the bigger challenge.
You can also couple your international trekking experience with the 3rd highest bungee jumping (525 feet), river rafting and other adventure activities as well in Nepal.
Day 1: Fly to Lukla and trek to Phakding
Early in the morning head to the domestic airport and fly for Lukla (2,850 m). The flight takes around 35 minutes. Upon reaching Lukla, you can take a short break for having tea. Begin your trek towards Phakding (2,660 m). From Lukla, you will descend through forests and trek along the Dudh Koshi River to reach Phakding village where you can stay overnight. In Phakding you can enjoy a nice view of Kusum Kanguru Peak.
Day 2: Namche Bazaar
Start your trek towards Monjo. From here, you can see the Sagarmatha National Park. This trail includes several ascends and descends through dense forests. You have to cross bridges along several streams and rivers. After reaching Jorsale you can take lunch here. After crossing the Namche bridge over the Dudh Koshi River you can reach Namche Bazar (3,235 m).
Namche Bazar is the main tourist hub of the Khumbu region. This is also the main and the biggest residence area of Sherpas. Similarly, in Namche Bazar, you will find most of the facilities like WiFi, nice cafes and restaurants, luxury lodges, etc.
Day 3: Acclimatization
Spend the day around Namche bazaar. You can reach the nearby places like Everest View Hotel to enjoy excellent views of Mt. Everest (8,848 m), Mt. Ama Dablam, Mt. Thamserku, Kongde Ri, and many more. After the short excursion, come back to Namche Bazar and visit the Everest Photo Gallery and Sherpa Culture Museum.
Day 4: Tengboche
Gradually move up through lush forests passing by Imja Khola. Trek through beautiful rhododendron forests to reach Tengboche village (3,890 m). This village will welcome you with astonishing views of Ama Dablam and Mt. Everest. Here, you can visit the largest and biggest monastery of the Khumbu region, the Tengboche monastery.
Tengboche monastery is located in the Tengboche village. This is the largest and the oldest monastery in the Khumbu region. In the monastery, you will get to see ancient sculptures, paintings, antique pieces, and manuscripts.
Day 5: Tengboche to Namche Bazaar
Start with Syangboche so that the climb is more progressive. Many people only go up to the viewpoint on the way to Khumjung. Other options are to go to Thame and back or until Tengobche and return to Namche.
Staying in tea houses is also an enriching experience as the Everest highway (as popularly known) is visited by trekkers from many countries - Americans, Israelis, Chinese, Japanese, etc. In our 17 days of trekking, we got various opportunities to interact with them, sitting around the dining area with much needed chimneys keeping all of us warm.
After a day long trek through snow, rain and difficult terrain, reaching the next tea house feels like a feat and when you rest near the chimney, you attain a trance-like state for an hour or two. Words fail to describe this feeling. At the base camp, you get to interact with summiteers, their past adventurous experiences and what drove them to trek the mighty Mount Everest.
Day 6: Lukla
After overcoming Phakding, at about 2600 meters, you have to recover altitude until Lukla.
Some of the other treks in Nepal in the Everest region are Pikey Peak Trek, Mera Peak Trek, Gokyo Chola Pass Everest Base Camp Trek, Everest Three Passes Trek etc.
Who can climb Mount Everest?
There is an age restriction, but otherwise the mountain is open to everyone. The minimum age to be issued a climbing permit for Mount Everest from Nepal is 16. The minimum age on the Tibetan/Chinese north side is 18. Occasionally the Chinese authorities allow a 17 year old to attempt a summit, as long as they have a doctor’s written approval in advance.
There’s also scope for bending the rules in Nepal under one condition. The authorities may allow an attempt by a Nepali child, so as to allow a Nepali citizen achieve the record for the youngest ascent of Everest. However, no under-16 has been granted a permit since 2014 on either side.
What are the eligibility criteria for climbing Mount Everest?
Each person wishing to go beyond Base Camp in Nepal must have a valid climbing permit issued by the Nepali authorities in Kathmandu. Each climber wishing to go into or beyond Base Camp in Tibet must have a valid climbing permit issued by the Chinese authorities. Both the Chinese and Nepali authorities insist that each climber is accompanied by a personal Sherpa to the summit and back, who must be paid for.
The Chinese authorities insist that any Chinese citizen attempting Everest from their side has evidence of at least one 8,000 m summit under their belt and a doctor’s certification of good health. There are no such obligations for foreign climbers. Each team must pay a garbage deposit. On the Nepali side, each team must make an additional payment for a Liaison Officer.
Please note that the relevant regulations change frequently e.g. in relation to climbers who are missing a limb, and proposed new rules often do not get passed into law. As of December 2019, the Nepali government has proposed that all permit applicants must have climbed at least one 6,500 m peak in Nepal, and must also furnish a certificate of good health.
Apart from verifying the climbing experience of Chinese citizens on the Chinese side, no experience quiz, climbing skills test or health examination must be passed. Some individual teams insist on a certain level of high-altitude climbing experience to join their team; others do not.
How much will it cost?
The average cost for a place on a commercial Everest team, on either the north or south side is US$40,000. On the lower end of the scale, a bare bones attempt could be made for about US$20,000, with prices rising up to US$115,000 for a much greater level of support and equipment.
An Everest climbing permit from Tibet costs US$15,800 in 2020. A permit to climb Everest from Nepal in spring costs US$11,000. However, a winter permit for an Everest attempt from Nepal costs just US$2,750. This is the cheapest option. Only 15 people have ever reached the summit of Everest during winter. The liaison officer’s fee costs $3,500 per team.
The agency booking fee for the permit costs $2,500 per team. But with a large team, the aforementioned two costs would be much smaller per person. Leaving zero rubbish behind on the mountain would ensure that the $4,000 team rubbish deposit is returned intact.
In theory, with recent regulations, each climber is supposed to be accompanied by a Sherpa, at a cost of about $5,000 per Sherpa.
Best Time to Climb Everest
Several climbers have recently made non-supported attempts in the autumn or winter Everest season. The top of Mount Everest is in the upper troposphere. The jet steam sits over the upper reaches of Everest for most of the year with constant winds in excess of 130 kph. The winds can reach 350 kph. This makes a summit bid impossible or highly risky.
Every year in mid-May, the monsoon moves north from the Bay of Bengal and pushes the jet stream ahead of it further north. This opens a climbing weather window of about 20 days. The light winds during this period make a summit bid possible. Then the monsoon itself arrives, closing down the season.
The reverse happens in October, opening another short window of about 20 days. Note that even in the safe weather window when the jet stream is absent, there will still be regular Himalayan storms. These can last from a few hours to a few days, and will most likely kill anyone above 8,500 m. Accurate weather forecasting, intricate interpretation of those forecasts, patience, and a little luck are all required for a bid at the summit of Everest.
How many days leave will it take from normal life?
Most expeditions take 6 weeks+ to reach the summit and return to Base Camp. On top of that would be added return flight times from one’s home country, a few days to settle in on arrival, and a few days to return from a remote Base Camp to the airport.
We recommend having a trip to Everest during spring season from March to May and in the Autumn from September to November. If you don't have time then you can even do this trek in the winter season.
