Everest Base Camp Trek – A Day by Day Account

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I have been dreaming of completing the Everest Base Camp Trek for the last 13 years, and was finally able to tick it off my bucket list last week! The trek is no easy feat! It is a multi-day hike comprising of many long days of elevation gain and hard terrain. When I was planning for the trip, I often wondered what each day would be like – what would I see and experience each day?, which days would be the hardest? How long would I have to trek for each day – were all questions that were top of mind for me. This post is a day by day account of my Everest Base Camp Trek that will attempt to answer these questions.

Day 0 – Kathmandu

There are many ways you can trek to Everest Base Camp. Some people opt to trek solo while others join a tour. I usually travel solo to most places but when it came to a multi-day trek, I opted to join a tour as I liked the idea of everything being planned for me. I met our tour leader and the rest of the group I was trekking with in Kathmandu. Our little group of 9 (with me) were from the UK, Australia, Ireland, Canada and New Zealand. We did introductions and the tour leader briefed us on the trek. He also gave us duffle bags for our things that would be carried by our porters during our trek. Like most companies that operate this trek, ours allowed us 10 kilograms in our duffle bag. I spent the next couple of hour trying to get my packing to 10 kilograms.

Day 1 – Lukla to Phakding

• Starting Elevation – 2860 m / 9383 ft
• Ending Elevation – 2610 m / 8563 ft
• Ascent – 350 m / 1148 ft
• Descent – 560 m / 1837 ft
• Distance – 8.5 km / 5.3 miles

The Everest Base Camp Trek starts in Lukla at 2,860 meters (9,383 ft). To get to Lukla, you need to either fly from Kathmandu or from Ramechhap. Flying from Kathmandu is the easier route but during peak season, all flights to Lukla are diverted via Ramechhap airport. We had to leave our hotel at 2 a.m. for a 4.5 hour drive to Ramechhap. Although the distance between Kathmandu and Ramechhap is only 130 km, it still takes 4.5 hours as the road conditions are terrible. There were so many times on the way there when I thought, surely this cannot be a real road.

Upon getting to Ramechhap our bags were weighed and then we had to wait another 3 hours to finally board our very tiny plane. The Ramechhap airport is probably the tiniest airport I have ever seen in my life. Much smaller than the airport in Bocas del Toro that I visited last year. Our plane ride was only 20 minutes and we saw some amazing views of the mountains and the valleys below (a first glimpse of what’s to come) from the left hand side of the plane. I think everyone was a little anxiety given the size of the plane and given that we were flying into one of the most dangerous airports in the world!

After safely landing in Lukla, we stopped at Khumbu Resort for a quick bite and to meet our support crew. Here, we met our 5 amazing porters and our 2 awesome Assistant Guides, Prem and Pancha.

We were now ready to start our 12 day trek to Everest Base Camp. From Lukla we actually descended almost 200 meters down towards Phakding. It took us about 4.5 hours with a lunch break and a few other stops along the way .We followed the Dudh Kosi River for the most part and crossed our very first suspension bridge. We also stopped to turn a few Nepali Prayer Wheels and learned about their significance.

Although it was a relatively easy day, we were all so tired from the 1 a.m. wake up call and the bumpy van ride. In addition to this I had traveled the longest to get to Nepal and was really jet lagged so I skipped dinner and went straight to bed. Food along the trail is nothing to write home about (neither was I expecting it to be!). Perhaps my favorite thing on the menu was a hot lemon and honey drink.

Accommodation along the trail is also very basic. The room (if twin sharing), consists of 2 single beds and a common nightstand in between them. We always had a window just above the nightstand. At the other end by the door were hooks to hang your things and just enough room for the duffle bag. The porters always arrived before us and brought our duffle bags to the floor our rooms were in. All we had to do was identify our bag and move it to our room.

Day 2 – Phakding to Namche Baazar

• Starting Elevation – 2610 m / 8563 ft
• Ending Elevation – 3440 m / 11286 ft
• Ascent – 1090 m / 3576 ft
• Descent – 335 m / 1099 ft
• Distance – 10 km / 6.2 miles

I woke up very refreshed on day 2 of our trek to Everest Base Camp. Which was great because day 2 was going to be a long and grueling day. Each day, our oxygen saturation was checked during breakfast and dinner and I scored a near perfect 99% this morning! (it went all downhill from there!). I had read previously that this day was going to be difficult so I felt mentally prepared. The start of the trek was relatively easy but it was very crowded.

Just before lunch ,we had to stop at a check point where they went through our bags to see if we had any drones. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful tea house. We sat outside in the garden surrounded by lush vegetation and the stunning view of a waterfall. This was the first time since starting the trek that I had seen a Nepali toilet or a squatting toilet that you see frequently in Asia.

After crossing two more suspension bridges right after lunch, we were now at the bottom of the grueling uphill to Namche Baazar. But, first we had to cross the highest and longest suspension bridge on the Everest Base Camp trek, the Hillary Bridge. It took me a few crossings to get used to suspension bridges. Some are more stable than others and don’t sway as much. The Hillary Bridge is perhaps the most stable, which is great given how long it is!

The uphill took us 2 hours but we did stop a good amount of times. There was a lot of traffic on this section, both human and animal, which added a bit to the time. We stopped at one place that was supposed to be our first glimpse of Everest but the clouds had rolled in and Everest was not visible. Our guides assured us that we would have plenty of chances to see her in the upcoming days. We finally stumbled up to Namche Baazar and were immediately captivated by this beautiful village!

Namche was colorful and full of life! And luckily we had some time to explore the village the next day.

Day 3 – Namche Baazar – Acclimatization Day

• Ascent – 465 m / 1525 ft
• Descent – 465 m / 1525 ft
• Distance – 5 km / 3.1 miles

Acclimatization days are super important to the success of the Everest Base Camp trek. The whole premise behind an acclimatization day is to trek higher and sleep lower, allowing your body to adjust to the altitude. We had the opportunity to sleep in a little today, which was great! Overall, our teahouse at Namche was very beautiful and I really enjoyed my time there. After breakfast, we headed off to do our acclimatization hike.

Our first stop for the day was the Tenzing Norgay memorial and Sherpa Museum. The Memorial was another place to clearly see Everest but unfortunately, she was once again covered with a long white cloud. The Sherpa Museum was well done and very interesting! I actually learned a lot about the Sherpa people and their culture as well as about all the attempted summits to Everest prior to the successful one done my Sir Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

From here, we climbed higher up to 3775 meters. At the end of the hike, was a place called Sargarmatha Next, an institution that uses art to tackle waste management challenges in the Everest Region.

After climbing down, we were advised not to nap as that would not help us acclimatize, so we all took the chance to explore Namche Baazar. I got chocolate cake and a thick hot chocolate from an organic café and it made my day! We were also able to do laundry through our teahouse which was a HUGE relief and the cost was very reasonable. I had read that there is a salon at Namche that washed and blow dried your hair and I was really looking forward to getting my hair washed but upon seeing the place, we decided against it.

Day 4 – Namche Baazar to Phortse

• Starting Elevation – 3440 m / 11286 ft
• Ending Elevation – 3810 m /12500 ft
• Ascent – 970 m / 3182 ft
• Descent – 550 m / 1804 ft
• Distance – 10 km / 6.2 miles

Day 4 of the Everest Base Camp Trek turned out to be one of the hardest days for me. The day started off relatively easy on “Nepali Flat” ground. We finally saw Everest for the first time and it was magical! The views from Namche to our first tea break were breathtaking! Stunning snow capped mountains peaked through the tree line with prayer flag clad white stupas also making an occasional appearance. We walked along this mountain edge for sometime.

The hard part came after the tea break to lunch. It was uphill with a lot of steps. While I expected my lugs to be on fire climbing up, I never expected my legs to also be on fire. My quads were burning and I had to use my hips to get up the steeper steps. We descended downhill after lunch, almost undoing our hard elevation gain in the morning. I was deliberately slow on the downhills as I did not want to risk falling. All the while during our downhill, we saw our destination at our eyelevel on the other side of the valley. Which meant that after our downhill, we would have to climb up again.

After descending and crossing a river, we had to climb up again. I thought it was never going to end. But we had some dogs accompanying us which was fun! We also saw musk deer and pheasants. Finally, after what seemed like the longest day of my life, we finally arrived in Phortse.

Our accommodation in Phortse was at the end of the village which meant although we were at the village, we had to keep walking and climbing. However, we had an awesome reward awaiting us. We were staying at the teahouse of Karma Rita Sherpa who had summitted Everest 12 times! It was such a pleasure to have met a legend and to have stayed at his establishment! He told us his story and we all listened fascinated and with no much respect.

Day 5 – Phortse to Dingboche

• Starting Elevation – 3810 m /12500 ft
• Ending Elevation – 4410 m /14469 ft
• Ascent – 920 m / 3018 ft
• Descent – 410 m / 1345 ft
• Distance – 14 km / 8.7 miles

We had the other assistant guide lead us today and the pace was a little slower than the last few days. I definitely appreciated this change. We steadily climbed above the tree-line today and spent most of the hike along the edge of a cliff. We saw some stunning mountain and valley views. The views were literally breathtaking! We also saw a lot of yaks and baby yaks. Perhaps the most notable sight or the one that will be forever etched in my mind was the sight of two men carrying massive planks of plywood on their backs. Here I was struggling with my little 5 kilo but well supported backpack when these men were literally carrying building material on their backs. It was truly something I will never forget

We finally arrived in Dingboche and of course our teahouse was once again right at the back of the village! It was such a tease! By now we had started playing UNO every night. But, we played a new game this night and it was SO MUCH FUN!! After laughing so much, we finally retrieved for the night.

Day 6 – Dingboche – Acclimatization Day

• Ascent – 425 m / 1395 ft
• Descent – 425 m / 1395 ft
• Distance – 4 km / 2.5 miles

Today was our second and last acclimatization day on our Everest Base Camp trek. We hiked up to 4700 meters and hiked back down again. We had to climb a rather steep hill this morning and it was not easy by any means but somehow I managed to survive yet another day! The views from the top of our hike were once again amazing!! We saw Everest along with some of the tallest mountains in the world! Then suddenly, our guides started singing and our group and everyone around us started dancing. It was so much fun despite the hard climb.

Once back down, we found ourselves a lovely bakery in the village and spent the rest of the afternoon, eating cake and playing UNO.

I unfortunately caught the runs this night and barely slept. Luckily my roommate and I had a bathroom to ourselves or it could have been a lot worse for me.

Day 7 – Dingboche to Lobuche

• Starting Elevation – 4410 m /14469 ft
• Ending Elevation – 4910 m /16109 ft
• Ascent – 660 m / 2165 ft
• Descent – 85 m / 279 ft
• Distance – 8 km / 5 miles

The runs had eased somewhat by morning but I did not feel great. I skipped breakfast because I was afraid to eat and that set me back further from a strength standpoint. Luckily, the day started relatively flat until we reached our lunch spot. Then came the Thukla pass. A grueling 200 meter uphill ascend that brought us up to 4800 meters. At the top of the pass was a memorial dedicated to Sherpas and climbers who had died in their pursuit of climbing the highest mountain on earth. It was a poignant memorial but also a reminder of the dangers of climbing. The trail seem to be more on the “Nepali Flat” side after the pass but at almost 5000 meters, even walking on flat ground is exhausting. I stumbled my way to Louche that afternoon with very little in my system other than sheer willpower.

This teahouse was even more packed. The higher you go, the fewer accommodation options you have so places tend to get crowded. After dropping off our bags, we had an optional acclimatization climb over a steep hill that promised great views of the Khumbu Glacier and first views of the Khumbu Icefall. Despite the exhaustion, I just couldn’t say no to seeing these views, so I somehow made it up the hill and back down again (once even on my bum) to the teahouse. Our bathrooms and rooms were not the greatest in this teahouse , but everyone retired early this night.

Day 8 – Lobuche – Gorakshep – EBC – Gorakshep

• Starting Elevation – 4910 m /16109 ft
• Ending Elevation – 5140 m /16864 ft
• Base Camp Elevation – 5364 m / 17598
• Ascent – 500 m / 1640 ft
• Descent – 270 m / 886 ft
• Distance – 8 km / 5 miles

THE DAY HAD FINALLY COME!!! After a breakfast of toast (my 4th consecutive meal of toast), we set off for Gorakshep. The last village before Everest Base Camp. It was a very early morning for us (in fact, it was the earliest on the trek thus far) and the temperature was well below freezing! I took off my glove to take a picture using my phone and I thought my hand might fall out. It was that cold! Wearing my glove back again did not ease the pain at all! The start of the trek was relatively flat until we got to the Lobuche Pass and then it was all uphill from there.

We walked along side the Khumbu Glacier for almost until we got to Gorakshep and that was really awesome but the terrain was getting rough now. It was all covered in rocks and we had to watch where we placed our feet. Perhaps the most dangerous part was just before Gorakshep, where we had to pass an icy bit of trail. Honestly, it was the first time, I freaked out a little because not only was the stretch icy it was also very narrow. One miss-step could have been a bad outcome. Once we arrived at Gorakshep, we grabbed something to eat, lessened the load in our backpacks and set out to Base Camp.

The section from Gorakshep to Base Camp was one of the hardest things I have done physically! I was exhausted, had very little in the tank and was walking very slowly. We constantly saw the Nupse Ridge on our left and the Khumbu Icefall was getting closer and closer. The path was still very rocky so we had to be careful .

Finally after 2 hours, we finally made it to Everest Base Camp! I was beyond relieved to have made it!! I had been talking about doing the Everest Base Camp Trek for almost 13 years and finally, I was standing right there! It was such an amazing feeling, one that I cannot put into words. But, even more magical was seeing the start of the Khumbu Icefall so up close. I had watched countless hours of videos of people traversing the Khumbu Icefall (the most dangerous part of the Everest summit) and finally, here I was seeing it in person.

I still don’t know how I made it from Base Camp to Gorakshep. Any adrenaline that propelled me forward on the way there, that had all diminished now. I literally had nothing left to give, but knew I just had to put one foot in front of the other. Once back at Gorakshep, 5 out of the 9 in our team decided to do an optional climb to Kala Patthar to see the sunset over Everest. Even though I had every intention of doing this hike when I first set out to do this trek, I knew it would be a fruitless endeavor on my part, so I sat it in. It was disappointing, but sometimes you just have to listen to your body and do that is right by it. I am proud of listening to my body for once!

Day 9 – Gorakshep to Pheriche

• Starting Elevation – 5140 m /16864 ft
• Ending Elevation – 4240 m /13919 ft
• Ascent – 70 m / 230 ft
• Descent – 950 m / 3116 ft
• Distance – 12 km / 7.5 miles

My oxygen saturation was at the lowest it had ever been at a whooping 72% (still within range for above 5000 meters but how the mighty have fallen from 99% at the beginning). I was feeling a little nauseous this morning so I skipped breakfast once again. The nauseas continued until we got to the Lobuche Pass. By the time we climbed down to the Thukla Pass, I was feeling so much better! I even had ramen soup for lunch! Lo and behold! I ended up moving from the back to the line to the front of the line by the time we got to Pheriche, our rest stop for the night. It was such a nice change for once!

Our teahouse in Pheriche was beautiful! While most of the team decided to visit the local bakery, I decided to stay back and catch up on social media. I have never been that hungry in my life and was so glad to finally eat some solid dinner! We had an amazing evening in Pheriche playing UNO! Our guides also decided to join us this night and it was overall such a funny and amazing time!

Some of us had the Khumbu Cough by now. The Khumbu cough is a high altitude cough developed by trekkers and climbers.

Day 10 – Pheriche to Tengboche

• Starting Elevation – 4240 m /13919 ft
• Ending Elevation – 3860 m /12664 ft
• Ascent – 665 m / 2181 ft
• Descent – 1740 m / 5708 ft
• Distance – 10 km / 6.2 miles

Today was a short day! It was only 4 hours of trekking and a much needed break! Going back down is not always a descent. Sometimes, there are sneaky little uphills along the way. These are the hardest to tackle. Why you ask? Well the hard work is supposed to be over. We are supposed to be on our way down but here we are still lugging uphill sometimes.

Luckily for us the only uphill today was the last 20 minutes to Tengboche. It was very steep but hey! I’ll take 20 minutes over 2 hours! We had a lot of free time in Tengboche, so we visited the local monastery and bakery. We also had pizza for lunch! Even though we asked for pizza with no cheese, we got copious amounts of yak cheese on our pizza. The pizza was delicious and we ate the whole thing. Luckily, no one had any issues.

I did suffer from a bout of very bad acid reflux that night and spent most of the night in the bathroom. The health attacks felt never ending but at least I was still able to walk, which was a huge relief.

Day 11 – Tengboche to Chumao

• Starting Elevation – 3860 m /12664 ft
• Ending Elevation – 2800 m / 9186 ft.
• Distance – 20 km / 12.4 miles

Today was going to be our longest day yet! Almost 20 km of walking. I had to skip breakfast once again as I didn’t feel great from the night before. The day started with a very steep decent. We had to be extra careful as there was ice on the trail. By now I was learning mountain terrain. Steep descents were always accompanied by steep uphills and today was no exception! Once we descended and crossed a suspension bridge, it was time to climb uphill again.

The dust today was nothing like we had ever seen before! The yaks and mules who seem to frequent this route did not help with the dust at all. Once the uphill was over, we once again rejoined our path on day 4 to our first tea stop and eventually to Namche Baazar. The “Napali Flats” were a much welcomed break from all the descending and ascending. One of my group mates had given me a powerful acid reflux aid and I was feeling so much better.

Once we got to Namche Baazar, we had lunch and a few minutes to explore, before we had to descend again. Remember all those steps and climbing on day 2? Yeah, we had to go all the way back down again. What I did not remember were some small but steep uphills after passing the bottom of the Hillary Bridge. Those were not fun as my mind was only set on descending.

At Namche we also picked up a kilo of waste material that we took back to Lukla for recycling.

We finally reachout our teahouse after almost 10 hours of trekking. It was an exhausting day but we were not quite done with the Everest Base Camp Trek yet!

Day 12 – Chumoa to Lukla

• Starting Elevation – 2800 m / 9186 ft
• Ending Elevation – 2860 m / 9383 ft
• Duration – 12 km / 7.5 miles

The last day of the Everest Base Camp Trek! At least from a trekking standpoint! Everyone was in really good spirits! I found myself at the front on the pack. We retraced our steps back to Lukla the way we had first started at the beginning of day 2 and all of day 1. Since we mostly descended the first day, we had to ascend to reach back but given we were no longer in high altitude, it was relatively easy. I have never hiked faster than that last kilometer or so back to Lukla.

Once in Lukla we were able to celebrate with our awesome guides and crew. We had dinner together and then ended the night with a dance party.

Day 13 – Lukla to Kathmandu via Ramechhap

We had a relatively early morning today, to catch a flight out of Lukla to Ramechhap. After a fond farewell from our crew, we walked to the airport from our teahouse and after a bit of waiting, were ready to board of tiny aircraft back to Ramechhap. The Lukla runway is most dangerous for takeoffs as you have to take off on time or risk falling down the cliff or hitting the mountain in front. The flight was a little bumpy but nothing close to the almost 5 hour van ride we were about to take back to Kathmandu.

It was certainly bittersweet for me when we landed in Ramechhep. I was so happy I had completed my number 1 bucket list but also a little sad that it was all over. Would I do it all over again? I can’t even think about it right now! My body is still trying to recover from some of the harshest conditions I have ever subject it to.

Once at Ramechhap, we boarded the van and tried to get some sleep. My cough was back with a vengeance so it was a little hard to fall asleep completely. We stopped mid-way for lunch, at a resort called Kwality Beach Resort. We got Indian food and it was delicious! For many it was the first time, they had eaten meat in 2 weeks but for me, I opted to wait just a tad bit longer. Once back in Kathmandu, we showered and went to a place called Fire and Ice for a celebratory pizza dinner. I finally ate meat after 2 weeks and it was SO SO GOOD!!

Day 14 – Kathmandu

My cough was now unstoppable but that was not going to stop me from exploring a bit of Kathmandu. I had a chance to explore it the day I arrived but had a few more places I knew I wanted to see. The air quality in Kathmandu is not great. Even locals wear masks all the time.

A few of us got together for dinner at a Japanese restaurant. A sort of last hurrah! I left Nepal that night with a very tired body but a heart full of so much gratitude that I was able to complete something I had dreamed of doing for so long! I was also so grateful for all the encouragement I got along the way from friends and family and for newly made friendships with a group of amazing people! We will be bonded for life due to the crazy experience we shared together!

Day 20 – Home

As I write this post, my cough is a lot better and I overall feel almost back to normal. This post is just the first of many posts I will be writing about the Everest Base Camp Trek. In the next few posts, I will attempt to go in-depth on what teahouses were really like, provide a packing list and answer some of the most frequently asked questions I got about the trek….stay tuned!

See all my posts on Everest Base Camp HERE

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