Regina and Laura were serving as Peace Corps volunteers in Nepal. Then in March of 2020, the pandemic forced Peace Corps to evacuate all volunteers worldwide. Two years later, these friends decided to return to Nepal on their own. Besides visiting their host families, they wanted to do the 14-day Everest Base Camp trek. Along with their Apex Nepal Treks & Tours guide, Jayram, this is Regina’s story.
Day 1: Kathmandu to Phakding
We woke up at 4 am at the K-Hostel to catch our morning flight to Lukla. After arriving at the domestic airport at 5 am, but we sat at our gate for 6 hours due to bad weather at Lukla. The Tenzing-Hillary Airport in Lukla is one of the highest landing strips in the world and was considered one of the most dangerous (2010). So, you can understand the airlines caution when weather is bad. After many delays, our flight was finally canceled at 11. So, we made arrangements to take a helicopter to Lukla instead. Unfortunately, the weather was still too rough and we had to land early in Surke.
Picked up our gear and started trekking to Lukla. That added an extra hour or so to our hike for the day. We trekked in the rain to Phakding, where we spent our first night. The Nepali government has become increasingly cautious about flights. And there was a crash yesterday of a Tara Airlines flight between Pokhara and Jomsom. Not only did this have an impact on our flight today, but it may affect our return flight as well.
Our itinerary for the next two weeks will be:
- Day 01: Arrival in Kathmandu and trip preparation (1,300m)
- Day 02: Fly to Lukla, trek to Phakding (9km – 2651m), 3 – 4 hours trek
- Day 03: Phakding to Namche Bazaar (12km – 3438m), 5 – 6 hours
- Day 04: Namche Bazaar: Acclimatization
- Day 05: Namche Bazaar to Tengboche (10km – 3870m), 5 – 6 hours
- Day 06: Tengboche to Dingboche (12km – 4360 m), 5 – 6 hours
- Day 07: Dingboche: Acclimatization
- Day 08: Dingboche to Lobuche (12km – 4940 m), 5-6 hours
- Day 09: Lobuche to Gorak Shep (15km – 5170 m),
- visit Everest Base Camp (5,364 m), 6-7 hours
- Day 10: Gorak Shep to Kala Patthar (5545m)
- to Pherice (13km – 4288m), 7-8 hours
- Day 11: Pheriche to Namche Bazaar (14km – 3440m), 6 – 7 hours
- Day 12: Namche Bazaar to Lukla (15km – 2860m), 6 – 7 hours
- Day 13: Fly to Kathmandu
- Day 14: Final departure
Day 2: Phakding to Namche Bazaar
( distance 6.8 miles / 10.9 km – elevation gain 3,986 ft / 1,125 m )
Our lodging in Phakding was nice and after a filling breakfast we set out on a 7.5-mile trek to Namche Bazaar. The trek started off easy and was mostly “Nepali flat.” Or it was rolling hills as we would say back in Ohio. After lunch in a local village, we crossed the famous Hillary-Tenzing suspension bridge which is 459 feet long and 410 feet high. Then we began a steep ascent to Namche Bazaar, gaining roughly 1640 ft (500 m) in elevation. I was exhausted from the climb and was very thankful that I was going to get a good night’s sleep.
| Namche Bazaar is the largest town on the EBC route. It is in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Sagarmatha National Park. Amazing to find coffee shops, bakeries, and shops surrounded by mountains at 12,000 ft. Most trekkers spend at least two nights in Namche to acclimatize to the altitude. Before becoming a tourist hub, it was a historic trading post for Tibetan traders. If you are there on Saturday, be sure to check out the weekly market fair in the morning. The local people are mostly Sherpa who still keep their culture and traditions. |
Day 3: Namche Bazaar
( distance 3.4 miles / 5.4 km – elevation gain 1,444 f / 440 m )
Laura woke me up at 5 am and we got our first glimpse of the mountains. Before this, the weather had been cloudy and had impeded any view of the mountains. We ate a quick breakfast and started on a short hike to a viewpoint 1312 ft (400 m) above the village. As this was an acclimatization day, our goal was to take a day hike high and then sleep low back in Namche.
Despite our luck in the morning, the clouds rolled in by the time we reached the viewpoint. Some Canadian girls we had met earlier on the trek were also there and we spoke with them for a while. To our surprise, we saw a couple of peaks poke out when the clouds would thin, but a full view of the mountains still eluded us. Fortunately, a Polish woman said the views would get better the closer we got to Base Camp. That optimism bolstered our spirits for the rest of the evening.
We went back down to Namche, took hot showers, and did laundry. Then, we congregated in the kitchen to play cards before turning in for the night.
Day 4: Namche to Tengboche
( distance 6.0 miles / 9.6 km – elevation gain 2,881 ft / 878 m )
I woke up feeling a little unwell, more so due to food than altitude, as we were only at 3,800 meters. I ate little for breakfast and smothered my face in sunscreen. I had noticed a burn over the last few days and needed to protect my skin even more as we climbed higher.
The trek started well. We saw some more peaks poking through the clouds and enjoyed some Nepali ‘flat’ for the first portion of our trek. Then, we went down toward the river for a quick lunch. Afterward, we had a very steep climb to Tengboche. It took us nearly 3.5 hours to hike from the river to the village, as it is situated on the top of a hill.
It was chilly and windy when we arrived, but it gave way to one of the most breathtaking monasteries in the Khumbu region. We went to the monastery and sat for a prayer before returning to our guest house for the evening.
| Tengboche Monastery is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in the Khumbu valley. It is the largest and most important monasteries in the region. You can see Mt Ama Dablam behind it. The monastery was built in 1916 and has been rebuilt several times. It also has a nunnery. The monastery hosts the Mani Rimdu festival every October. The monastery sits at 3867m (12687 ft) and is also known as the Dawa Choling Gompa. |
Day 5: Tengboche to Dingboche
( distance 6.5 miles / 10.5 km – elevation gain 2,287 ft / 697 m )
The weather was immaculate this morning, and the trail was easy. We spent most of the day walking on Nepali ‘flat’ and taking pictures of Mount Ama Dablam. I was thrilled to see the mountains, and even the pictures do not do them justice. We also got our first view of Everest. Though it was far in the distance, I was overjoyed to see the mountain I’d heard so much about. After nearly two years in Nepal and 3 separate visits, this was a long-overdue sight.
Day 6: Dingboche
( distance 3.2 miles / 5.1 km – elevation gain 2,208 ft / 673 m )
Monsoon season boasts few views of the mountains, but 5 am wake-ups always pay off. I wandered outside my guesthouse today at sunrise to see a 360 view of the mountains. Thankfully the clouds moved in slowly so we were still able to enjoy the nice view for a while at breakfast. Shortly after, we started hiking to a viewpoint to gain altitude. The viewpoint was quickly taken over by fog, but we reunited with our Norwegian friend and his guide.
They invited us over to their guest house so, after lunch, we played cards with them for a few hours. It was so much fun teaching them Kemps, Egyptian Rat Screw, and Spoons (played with forks) card games. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while, so it was a good way to boost my mood as the harder days approach.
Day 7: Dingboche to Lobuche
( distance 4.9 miles / 7.9 km – elevation gain 2,008 ft / 612 m )
This was by far the hardest day yet. It was the first time I didn’t wake up before my alarm and the trek was much harder than I expected. The trail was fairly easy, but the altitude was challenging. Even after a long lunch, I still had a slight headache. Then, we ascended to the Memorial Pass (4800m/15748ft), which was somber and still. After another hour or so we reached Lobuche. We ate a partial dinner around a yak dung fire and went to bed soon after.
| Memorial Pass, also known as Thokla Pass, is a place where there are over a hundred simple stone memorials for the climbers and Sherpas who have died on the mountains. |
Day 8: Lobuche to EBC to Gorak Shep
( distance 7.3 miles / 11.7 km – elevation gain 1,647 ft / 502 m )
We woke up early today and started our trek to Gorak Shep. I was astounded by the endless piles of rocks we had to climb over on the way, but we walked slowly to adapt to the altitude. Once at Gorak Shep, we put our bags in our room and began the 2-mile hike to Everest Base Camp. The hike was easier than I expected and we celebrated our EBC arrival with snickers bars. Laura, played on the glaciers for a bit; then, we returned to Gorak Shep and rested for the evening. The night was sleepless. We both had mild cases of high altitude sickness and were very hungry due to loss of appetite on the way up. It also hailed throughout the night, making it even harder to sleep.
Day 9: Gorak Shep to Namche Bazaar
At 3 am we woke up to climb Kala Pattar (a nearby peak) to see the sunrise, but the weather took a turn. We decided not to hike in the rain because the clouds would no doubt block the view. We also decided not to continue with our initial plans to cross the Cho La Pass and go to Gokyo. We were both still feeling the altitude and knew the weather would not get better in the coming days, so we decided to walk back to Namche Bazaar.
We started this 21-mile trek at 6:30 am and after nearly 11 hours of continuous walking, we arrived. The trek was amazing, and it was incredible seeing all the landscape we had seen over the past week in a single day. I can’t believe we woke up in a village so high that there was no foliage, walked through low shrubbery, and ended up in a forested town in just one day. We also descended 1,600 meters, so we felt better with each step and breathing became easier.
The most arduous part of the trek was the steep ascent to Tengboche followed by another steep climb to Namche. These back-to-back ascents were right at the end of our journey, so we felt the mileage with each step.
Around 5:00 pm, we arrived at our guest house in Namche. We took hot showers, ate yak steak, and slept soundly through the night. It was an incredible day.
EVEREST BASE CAMP: PART III (Days 10-13)
Day 10: Namche Bazaar
( distance 0 miles / 0 km – elevation gain 0 ft / 0 m )
Laura and I spent a day recovering in Namche Bazaar. It was so nice being able to sleep in and have a slow start to the morning. We spent a lot of time on our phones (once again connected to wifi) and catching up with friends and family. Then, we took a little stroll around Namche. The village is huge compared to other trekking villages in the area. There are so many shops and restaurants and it was nice to explore.
After some walking around, we spent time with the guest house staff. They were hilarious and hanging out with them was one of this trip’s greatest highlights. We also made chatpate with them (a local snack) and they asked if we liked it spicy. We said we didn’t mind spicy and they decided to give us a “killer khursani” (‘killer chilis’). Needless to say, it was a bit too spicy for us. Despite the super hot snack, it was a good, and much-needed, relaxing day.
Day 11: Namche to Lukla
( distance: 11.9 miles / 19.1 km / elevation gain: 2,904 ft / 885 m )
We set out on a 12-mile hike to Lukla to hopefully catch a flight to KTM. We’ve been hearing from other trekkers that flights still aren’t happening, so we aren’t convinced we’ll fly tomorrow. But the trek was beautiful. We walked mostly through Nepali flat (a little up, a little down) until Phakding, where we stopped for lunch.
Shortly after lunch, it started raining, and we had to walk the rest of the way to Lukla in wet clothes. Once we arrived, we asked the guest house if they could make a fire so we could dry our clothes, but they had no dry wood. They also said we would not be getting a flight and that we’d likely have to walk another 15 miles in the morning. This news wasn’t surprising, so we made hung a line of rope in our bedroom and air-dried our clothes while we slept.
Day 12: Lukla to Karikhola
Today was not the most fun. We woke up to find our clothes and packs still soaked, which made them heavier to carry. We also walked uphill for most of the morning. There was honestly a period of 3 hours where we walked completely uphill (like climbing up stairs, not even a gradual slope) without a single step down. It continued to rain all day too, which made the trek even more challenging.
After 10 long hours of walking, we arrived at Karikhola. There is a jeep stand here and we arranged a ride for the following morning. It will be a long day of driving to get back to Kathmandu, but we are thrilled to get out of the rain and off our feet.
On a happier note, the guesthouse we stayed at was the absolute best. We had AMAZING dal bhaat, made by a Nepali man who summited Everest in ‘08. His small guest house was so cozy and the meal was the best we’ve had since arriving in Nepal. I was so thankful for this quaint lodging after a strenuous day.
Day 13: Karikhola to Kathmandu
Today was the ultimate Nepali road trip. We caught our first jeep at 7:30 am and drove on muddy, steep, unpaved roads for nearly 6 hours. We were so lucky that we only ran into small landslides—nothing too big to prevent crossing.
Then, we arrived in a village called Salleri and caught a second jeep. This one took 12 hours and brought us to Kathmandu. This ride was much smoother as it was on mostly paved roads. I was surprised by how close we got to Janakpur and enjoyed driving through Banepa (a town I had visited a few times during my Peace Corps service). I also enjoyed the Nepali countryside on the drive. There were so many picturesque villages along the way, and each one made me more and more excited to visit my Peace Corps village, which I will do in a few days.
All in all, this was a very unique trek. It was much different than my previous treks but it had its own unique highlights. I’m thankful for the chance to explore the Everest region and am beyond ready to visit (and revisit) some other parts of the country!
