What are Everest Base Camp Trek difficulties?
Who doesn’t want to reach the closest place of the world’s highest peak? However, it is not possible for everyone due to different factors. Everest Base Camp trek is the best opportunity to reach the vicinity of the Great Himalayas. Everest base camp trek difficulty is major challenge to reaching the world highest peak.
You will have the closest view of Mt. Everest (8,848m), Mt. Lhotse (8,516m) and Mt. Cho Oyu (8,188m) during this trek. Other peaks you see are Mt. Pumori (7,161m), Mt. Nuptse (7,861m) , Mt. Ama Dablam (6,812m) and many more.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site, the highest placed hotel, Tibetan Buddhist lifestyle, customs and costumes are also worthy of visiting. Sagarmatha National Park, Everest View Hotel, Tenboche Monastery and Pangboche Monastery can be visited in this trek.
“How difficult is Everest Base Camp trek?” comes to your mind while planning to do Everest Base Camp trek. This trek is not much hard as you travel along the well-maintained tracks passing through the valleys. It is a moderate type of trekking to the base camp of Mount Everest (8,848m) by coping with various factors.
There are some factors responsible for determining the difficulty level of a trek. Talking about Everest Base Camp trek difficulty, you should know about such factors. The most responsible factors for making this trek a little challenging are listed as follows:
- Topographical Variation
- Everest Base Camp Altitude Sickness
- Trekking Hours per Day
- Distance to Cover Everyday
- Weather
- Guides and Porters
The core intention of this blog is to give you the detailed information about Everest Base Camp trek difficulty. Hence, we are discussing each of the factors individually in the best possible way:
Topographical Variation:
Topographical variation is a contributing factor for Everest Base Camp trek difficulty. You have a couple of options to begin this classic trek. The one is from Lukla after a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla (Tenzing Hillary Airport). Within half an hour, you reach the height of 2,860m (Lukla) from 1,350m (Kathmandu).
The other starting place is Jiri, Dolakha where you can reach by the roadway transportation. On one side, you don’t have to take a domestic flight and on the other side, you can minimize Everest Base Camp trek cost. The opportunity for following the footprints of Hillary and Tenzing in the 1953 Everest expedition.
If you begin the trek from Jiri, you begin the trek from 1,955m or Bhandara (2,190m). Then, you gradually move on up and down along the trekking trails every day. Finally, you reach Phakding (2,610m) after 7 days of the starting of the trek.
In these days, you go along Sete (2,570m), Junbesi (2,670m), Nunthala (2,220m), Buspa (2,360m), Surke (2,290m) to reach Everest region. After that, the trail leads you through Namche Bazar (3,4410m), Tengboche (3,860m), Dingboche (4,410m) and Lobuche (4,910m), Gorakshep (5,140m).
Gorakshep is one of the highest altitude villages in the world having permanent settlement. Before the 1953 Everest expedition, Gorakshep used to be the original base camp of Mount Everest. From here, you hike to Everest Base Camp (5,364m) on the first day. On the second day, you will hike to Kalapatthar (5,550m), which is the best vantage point of Everest region.
Despite the increasing elevation of the topography, there is not any high or difficult pass in the route. The absence of such pass has made this trek less challenging.
Everest Base Camp Altitude Sickness
As soon as you reach a place higher than 2,500m, you may suffer from altitude sickness. The common types of Everest Base Camp altitude sickness are Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS), High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE) and High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE).
Altitude sickness has been a factor to make this trek difficult. The common symptoms of altitude sickness you feel while in trekking in Nepal are:
- Dizziness, nausea or vomiting
- Less appetite
- Headache
- Fatigue
- Rapid pulse rate and heartbeat
- Shortness of breathing
- Dehydration
- Insomnia
To cope with the altitude sickness, you can take many preventive measures. Try out the following safety measures:
- Follow the principle “Trek higher; sleep lower.”
- Walk slowly by taking enough rest in the middle of the trek.
- Have enough food, sleep and water.
- Avoid alcohol and cigarette consumption during the trek.
- Eat extra carbohydrates.
- Keep First aid box.
- Book Everest Base Camp trek package that has enough acclimatization day.
- Consult with the trekking guide as soon as you feel any of the symptoms.
- Develop a habit of regular walking and exercises.
You know, if you don’t take right initiative at the right time, altitude sickness may be dangerous. Sometimes, it may also result into death of the trekkers as well. Therefore, we highly recommend that you do health checkup before doing the trek to assure that you are physically and mentally capable of trekking in Nepal.
Everest Trekking Hours per Day
Trekking hours per day is another factor that makes trekking in Nepal more or less difficult. Actually, you spend 11 days altogether in the popular Mount Everest region. Among the 11 days, you have to walk for certain duration to cover around 10 kilometers per day. However, you will cover longer distance during the retreat trip from Kalapatthar to Lukla.
On the 1st day of Everest Base Camp trek, you have to walk for 3 hours. It is shortest duration of the entire itinerary. On the 2nd, you walk for 6 hours to reach Namche Bazar. Similarly, on the 3rd, 4th and 5th days, you should walk for 5 hours per day.
The 6th day is the longest duration you have to keep walking because you hike to Gorakshep form Lobuche. By keeping the backpack at the hotel, you hike to the base camp of Mount Everest and return to Gorakshep. It takes around 8 hours to have a lifelong experience of Everest Base Camp trek.
After enjoying the 360-degree panoramic view of Everest summit from Kalapatthar, you trek back to Periche. To reach Kalapatthar from Gorakshep and then descend to Periche, you walk for about 7 hours.
Next day, you trek down to Namche Bazar, the Sherpa capital within 6 hours. Then, finally you trek to Lukla all the way by crossing many small Sherpa villages nearby Sagarmatha National Park. On the last day of this trek, you walk for about 7 hours.
For the beginners, it may be quite challenging to walk along the rugged trails for about the given duration. However, for the ones having previous experience of trekking, it is not much difficult. The beginners can do some training like aerobic, regular walking and exercise to do this trek easily.
Distance to Cover Everyday for Everest Base Camp Trek Difficulty
The total distance of Everest Base Camp trek beginning from ending at Lukla is 130 kilometers. You have to ascend 65 kilometers uphill and another 65 kilometers downhill.
You need to walk for 6 and half days to reach to the base camp of Mt. Everest and Kalapatthar. It means you have to cover the distance of more than 10 kilometers per day.
Nevertheless, you can cover the given 65 kilometers distance within 2 and half days. Comparatively, you require a shorter time to climb down as you find it easier to walk along the downhill tracks.
While making Everest Base Camp trek in winter, the tracks in the higher elevation may be difficult. It is so because of the snowfalls that frequently recur in this season. And the trails in from Gorakshep to Everest Base Camp and Kalapatthar is more challenging because you have to walk along the trails consisting loose rocks.
You must be quite careful to cover the distance in the higher elevation. As the slippery trails may create some disturbance, we recommend you to take the required precautions. You want to accomplish Everest Base Camp trek without any mishaps, don’t you?
Weather
Weather and temperature of a particular region plays a vital role in determining the difficulty level of trekking. The Everest region also experiences four seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter in a year. You find a considerable variation in the weather and temperature according to the season.
The best time for Everest Base Camp trek is spring and autumn seasons. This is the peak season for trekking in Nepal that you might have difficulty in finding the hotels and lodges on arrival. Therefore, you should book the hotels and lodges in advance to ensure food and accommodation services. You know the availability of food and accommodation facilities also add up to the trekking difficulty level. Nevertheless, you needn’t bother about this if you book this trek via a local tour operator.
Spring (March, April and May) and Autumn (September, October and November) are the most favourable time for this trek. The temperature is moderate with low rainfall and snowfall. The days are fine with strong visibility that you can have the enchanting view of the Himalayas and wonderful landscapes.
Summer (June, July and August) experiences rainfall, unpredictable weather, poor visibility and slippery trails. In addition, winter (December, January and February) faces extreme coldness, heavy snowfall, thick fogs and mists resulting into poor visibility. The temperature of Gorakshep and the higher places goes as below as -25ºC. Therefore, some sections of the trail might be closed as a result.
Guides and Porters for Everest Base Camp Trek Difficulty
Everest Base Camp trek difficulty level rises or falls on whether you hire guides and porters or not. The guides and porters help you in finding the right trails and other difficulties. If you have the guide and the porter with you, you can win over Everest Base Camp trek difficulty very easily.
It is really hard to carry the backpack while travelling up and down along the steep rugged trails. If you don’t find the right trails, you might face some difficulties like tricky section. The guide and the porter are well known about such tricky trails, so they guide you through the easy trail.
They save you from accidental slips while ascending and descending along the rocky tracks. At the time of altitude sickness as well, the guide and the porter will be helpful to cope with this. Last but not the least, they give you the detailed information about the important natural and cultural landmarks of Everest Base Camp trek.
Conclusion of Everest Base Camp Trek Difficulty
Everest Base Camp trek difficulty is measured on the bases of the responsible factors discussed above. This blog helps you plan this trek in the perfect season by minimizing the difficulty level. By taking the right initiatives, both the beginners and the experienced trekkers can do this trek. Finally, where there is a will, there is a way!
