Everest Base Camp Trek

Our trek will be in a very beautiful part of the Everest region. Expect to trek about 5-7 hours daily or about 08-12 KMS per day. Since the beginners can also join the trip, but it is recommended that you prepare for the trek by some suitable general training such as climbing hills or stairs, jogging, and spending some time in the gym to improve your stamina for a few months prior to the trek. If you are quite fit and do sufficient training prior to arriving in Nepal the trek will be enjoyable, and it is suitable for fit people into their early 70's. This trek is the most popular trek for those wishing to get wonderful views of the Himalayan peaks. The highest altitude we reach is 5545 meters at Kalapatthar which offers a breathtaking view of many of the World's greatest peaks. It is stunning! Any trekking equipment such as walking poles, water bottles, and the rucksack is very easily available in Kathmandu near our hotel.

To be honest you don't have to be a runner to enjoy the trek. But the preparation will probably save you a lot of pain and suffering on the trail and help you to enjoy your experience there. The suggestions we have for physically preparing is to take good, long, brisk walks, preferably wearing a pack with a similar load that you'll be carrying. Cycling and swimming are also great alternatives too, as is just about anything that gets your cardio working. Do some breathing exercise to get more oxygen into your lungs? Watch for signs of altitude sickness: symptoms include headaches, dizziness, sleeplessness, loss of appetite and breathlessness. Bring a supply of the medication Diamox for treatment; if symptoms persist, descend. Trekking to Everest Base Camp may not be the trip for everyone as it is quite a physically demanding experience, and when you combine high altitude with plenty of climbs, you may get a recipe for suffering. But normal, average, travelers can do Everest Base Camp trek.

Travel insurance & rescue when travelling to a remote destination like Nepal is strongly advised. It should provide adequate protection for the full duration of the tour. Your insurance policy must cover all the activities that you will be undertaking during your stay in Nepal such as helicopter rescue, cancellation, air ambulance, injury, death, lost baggage, theft, liability, medical treatment, and cover repatriation and personal expenses. If a client becomes ill, all hospital expenses, doctors’ fees, and repatriation costs are the client’s responsibility. For the reliable travel insurance, we have the suggestion of some of the best insurance companies: Cover more or Europe assistance  or Travel Direct- TID. We have an agreement with Helicopter Company to do the payment of Helicopter evacuation after we collect the payment with you once you have been rescued. And the reimbursement responsibility from your insurance company will go up to you. Be sure your policy specifically covers helicopter evacuation and does not exclude mountaineering or alpinism.

Most of the tea houses do have western-style flushing toilets. But in higher elevation, you may also find the traditional type of toilet made of either a ceramic basin on the ground or few planks precariously positioned over a hole in the ground and it is situated outside the room.

You will get the facilities of hot/cold water running with attached bathroom up-to Namche without any extra charges. But above Namche, you will be charged about USD $5 per shower (depending upon guesthouse) for a hot water shower.

There will be a laundry facility in Kathmandu and Namche.

The maximum weight limit for the Lukla flight is 15kgs, which is equivalent to 33 pounds including your hand-carry (daypack). If your baggage exceeds the weight limits, additional costs of USD 1$ -2$ per kg will be applicable and the payment should be made at the airport counter itself.

Depending on when you plan to travel it's important to have the proper clothes and be prepared for unexpected weather. Fairly well-worn hiking boots/shoes are a must! For tours between November and the first two weeks of March bring a jacket suitable for -10 degrees Celsius. For tours at other times please bring a jacket suitable for -3 to 5 degrees Celsius, Otherwise, the daytime weather will tend to be warm or pleasant.

For trekking days, we will provide a duffle bag to keep your things if you do not have your own backpack and it will be carried by our porters.

A sleeping bag is necessary during the trekking days and if you have your own sleeping bag, you can bring it. Otherwise, HSJ will provide you the sleeping bag during the trek (-10 to­­­­ -15 degree).

The cost of our trip is based on a twin-sharing basis so there will be two people accommodated in each room for the duration of the tour. If you prefer private accommodation or you are a solo traveler, you'll find the option for a "single supplement". An additional USD 250 for the Standard package and USD 350 for the Luxurious package will be applicable as a Single Supplementary Charge for the single room during the trip.

In Kathmandu, we will be staying at the three star standard hotels like Himalayan Suite Hotel or a similar quality hotel. These places come highly recommended but please don't expect a European standard of hotel. These hotels are good, clean tourist hotels and are the good quality by Nepali standards. On the trek, we'll be staying at simple lodges run by Nepali families. During the trek, the bathrooms are outside the rooms and hot water is dependent on solar panels so don't count on many warm showers.

If you wish for the better accommodation during the trek you can upgrade the accommodation in the Mountains. The upgrade will be at Yeti Mountain Home; Namche, Phakding, Lukla.

Most teahouses (lodges) in Everest region trails cook a delicious range of mostly vegetarian fare. Pasta, tuna bakes, noodles, potatoes, eggs, daal Bhat (rice and lentils), bread, soup, fresh vegetables (variety depends on the season) and even some desserts like apple pies, pancakes, and some interesting attempts at custard. You will find a lot of garlic on the menu because it assists with acclimatization – eat some every day. In many villages, you may find some meat items on the menu. You can always get hot chocolate, tea, and hot lemon drinks, as well as soft drinks, and treats like chocolate and crisps.

The best months of trekking are Spring March, April, and May, as the weather is bright and calm in these months and you can see high mountains, with Manaslu full of snow. Spring and May are the best months. Rhododendron is ideal for the spring season; all the rhododendrons turn into a wonderful garden and you can see them.

Autumn is another strong season for the Everest tour. The perfect months for trekking after the monsoon in Nepal are September, October, and November. During these months you have a beautiful view of the Himalayas and their people because you can be part of Nepal 's biggest festivals in the fall.

There are two different permits you need to trek to Everest Base Camp. The first is a Trekkers Information Management System (TIMS) permit. This costs $10 USD if you are part of a group or $20 USD if you are trekking independently. You also need 2 passport photos. HSJ will acquire those permits for you.

Our local Nepali team is one of the most experienced, hospitable and respected trekking outfits in Nepal. The team is fully licensed and affiliated with the Trekking Agency's Association of Nepal (TAAN), Nepal Mountaineering Association, Nepal Tourism Board, Govt. of Nepal, Sustainable Tourism Network, Himalayan Rescue Association and Kathmandu Environmental Educational Project. You will be provided with the professional and an experienced English speaking trekking guide with the good knowledge of the place and the trek. The trekking crew is skilled with the experience of over 10 years, well-trained, friendly guide and, courteous and helpful porters, assured of a wonderfully memorable experience.

There are telephones in some villages along the trekking routes from which you can make international calls. All our guides carry local sim cards both Nepal Telecom and N-cell in order to update the whereabouts and situation of our every client.

You may pass the number of our guide to your family for the callback or you can make a call from the guide’s mobile and pay him directly for the international call too.

Also, we have kept a satellite phone at Dingboche, which has a poor connection to the network of phones. Our guides use it during the case of emergency and also clients can use them by paying its rental fee.

These facilities will be available in most of the places in your hotel reception by paying some service charges (US$3-$5). Remember to bring TWO and THREE pin travel adapters! You can also buy the adapters in the supermarkets or electronic shops in the Kathmandu. Our guide can help you with it.

Yes, if you are solo traveler and to avoid single supplement surcharge of USD $250, you can share your room with same gender solo traveler. It however depends on availability of another solo traveler and their willingness to share the room with you. 

At 9,500 meters, Lukla is 2850 meters high. The higher the height, the less the rain. The aircraft must then land quickly. The weather in this area is continuously shifting and the cloud cover can be severe and contributes to large turbulences, which appear to be rough for travelers, but not dangerous. In fact, it is the busiest airport in the world and the most important port of entry and exit for walkers trying to climb Everest.

You can get a visa in Kathmandu airport upon your arrival at USD 30 (or equivalent in other major currencies) for a 15 days visa, USD 50 for a 30 days visa and USD 125 for a 90 days Multiple visas, and you can also extend it later on if you wish. They have newly installed technology (visa machine) which makes it no longer necessary to have a passport photo. Important! Please bring 3 photos for your trekking permit, TIMS and for others.

Besides trekking packages and tour operation, we arrange international air tickets to the major airports of all over the world. Himalayan social journey travel agency is the one-stop travel solution company; we offer all travel related product at the best possible rates with excellent services.

Please keep this thing in your mind that there are some airport touts and scam artists who take advantage of tourists. They might offer to carry your luggage and they want a large amount of money. Sometimes they intimidate our drivers and even take away their signs. Anyway...if you want someone to help you with your luggage you can give them NOT MORE THAN 1 - 2 DOLLARS. This is a small hassle that tourists sometimes face upon arrival at the airport. Do not stress about this but just be aware not to give more than a few dollars for their luggage handling if you choose to take someone's services. Nepalese in general are very kind and hospitable people.

Some major currencies (USD, AUD and EURO) are accepted for both visas and in general. There are plenty of ATM's in both Kathmandu and Namche and credit cards are accepted in limited shops and many restaurants. Please note that only Nepali rupees are accepted on the trek.

Generally, the orientation meeting is scheduled in the Kathmandu hotel at 4 or 5 pm and this will be informed by our representatives after your arrival. The tour starts with an orientation meeting and ends up after the scheduled trip after the breakfast.

If you plan to arrive early or depart late please make sure you make extra hotel arrangements by contacting [email protected] And if you'll be spending extra time in Nepal please let us know. We will book your extra night accommodation at same trip hotels

For each tour date, there will be several separate groups. Each group will have a maximum of 14 people with its own experienced English speaking guide. During the trek, there will be a suitable number of porters to carry your luggage.

The cost of our trip is based on a twin-sharing basis so there will be two people accommodated in each room for the duration of the tour. If you prefer private accommodation or you are a solo traveller, you'll find the option for "single supplement". Additional cost will be applicable as a Single Supplementary Charge for the single room during the trip.

No refund will be made for 20% deposit amount in case of cancellation of trip for any other else reason. Having paid the full amount of any trip, you will get your money back but still, cancellation charge (20%) is invoiced to you. And for the voucher holders, since you have purchased the voucher from the deal companies, we have to follow their cancellation policy. But for both the conditions, we are flexible to postpone your trip in any later days. Written notification of your cancellation should be made to cancel any trip.

Sometimes travellers are unable to finish the scheduled trek due to the various reasons or they ended up not completing the trek/tour for health or personal reasons. In this case please realize that we cannot offer you any refunds for unused days on the tour/tour. You have to understand that our costs are the same as we have an obligation to pay our guides and porters for the time they have committed.

All the breakfast during your trip is included but the lunches and dinners are not except welcome dinner in the first day at the local restaurant. Meals during Kathmandu stay and trekking days cost from $5 to $8 per item depending on what you choose to eat.

There will not be any problem for vegetarian, most of the lodges serve vegetarian meals. We always recommend our clients to eat vegetarian meals to avoid food poisoning, eating heavy meals and non- vegetarian meals at a high altitude is not really safe for the stomach.

You have to manage yourself for the drinking water. There are two good options for having proper drinking water during the trek. You can bring water purification tablets or fill your bottle for a nominal fee from the recognized and regulated "pure water" stations along the trek. As the alternative, you can also easily purchase bottled water at the lodges. The bottled water costs USD 2$ - 4$ per litre. It is very important that you drink at least 3 litres of pure water daily during the trek.

The width of Nepal is only about 200 km on an average, but within this short distance, the altitude of the land rises from 60 m up to 8,848 m. Hence the weather depends upon the altitude of the place in Nepal. However, in general, Nepal has four climatic seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter.

Spring starts from March to May. The temperature of this season fluctuates between 20C to 30C (68F to 86F). Summer starts from June last to August. These are also the monsoon months with occasional evening-thunderstorms and hot temperature. Autumn starts from late September and ends by November. During this period, the climate is generally dry and mild with temperature fluctuating between 20C to 30C (68F to 86F). Winter starts from December until February. The mornings and evenings are very cold while the afternoon is pretty sunny. The temperature during these months rises from 10C to 20C (59F to 68F). At higher altitudes, it is cold during the winter months.

The trip hotel in Kathmandu does provide free storage services. So you can store your luggage and clothing that are not required for the trekking and you can collect it after your Trek and Tour.

There are telephones in some villages along the trekking routes from which you can make international calls. All our guides carry local sim cards both Nepal Telecom and N-cell in order to update the whereabouts and situation of our every client. You may pass the number of our guide to your family for the callback or you can make a call from the guide’s mobile and pay him directly for the international call too. Also, we have kept a satellite phone at Dingboche, which has a poor connection to the network of phones. Our guides use it during the case of emergency and also clients can use them by paying its rental fee. During the tour there will be easy access for International cal through cyber and communication Center. You will get Wi-Fi connection too in some of the places in the mountains for the extra cost. 

Remember to bring TWO and THREE pin travel adapters! You can also buy the adapters in the supermarkets or electronic shops in the Kathmandu. Our guide can help you with it.

It’s difficult to give an exact amount of money that you should bring. Costs will vary according to how much you want to spend for shopping and where and what meals (lunch & dinner) you want to eat. Trekkers find that around $20 (for lunch & dinner) a day is reasonable for the trekking days. You may have to pay for Wi-Fi, electricity and hot showers too (up in the mountains during the trek). Hence allocating the allowance for each day accordingly would suffice. 

• Daypack (rucksack)
• Backpack (a porter will carry it) Recommended size: about 50-litre capacity (10-12 KGS per person) if you are travelling with a friend you can share one pack between the two of you.
• Well-worn hiking boots or shoes
• A pair of sandals
• Sleeping Bag (HSJ will provide if you do not have your own)
• A one-litre hard water bottle to be filled up along the trekking trail
• Warm jacket Light-weight cotton clothing
• Waterproof jacket (a fold -away windcheater is fine)
• Light sweater
• Bath towel
• Sun hat
• Sunglasses
• Sun cream
• Knee supports (optional for the downhill portions of the trek)
• Trekking pole
• Water purification (Himalayan Social Journey will provide
• water purification tablet)
• Small First-aid-kit (Himalayan Social Journey will also provide one)
• Headlamp (preferable) or Flashlight (torch)
• Camera
• Loose stomach and nausea medicine
• Toiletries for the trek (toilet paper, soap, Towel shampoo etc...)

If you have purchased a voucher from any deal company, please come in contact with us with the voucher code (redemption code) so that the voucher can be redeemed on time. Since we need time to purchase your domestic air ticket and make other arrangements, kindly confirm your spot with your suitable date at-least 2 months prior to the commencement of the tour. Your booking on a particular tour date is subject to availability of spots. You can redeem you voucher through this link too : https://hsj.com.np/voucher-redemption

If you plan to arrive early or depart late please make sure you make extra hotel arrangements by contacting [email protected] And if you'll be spending extra time in Nepal please let us know. We will book your extra night accommodation at same trip hotels, Hotel Holy Himalaya , Himalayan Suite Hotel, Hotel Mulberry, Aloft Hotel, and Gokarna Forest Resort for your convenience. 

If you would like to book extra activities such as Paragliding (100pp), Bungy jump (70pp), Mountain flight (USD 180pp), Heli Tour (USD 800pp –based on 5pax) Bhaktapur Sightseeing many more programs. You can book by contacting us at [email protected] For longer excursions such as Bhutan, Tibet, India, and any other treks also, we can help but please contact us immediately at [email protected]

For the trek, we'll have one porter for two people as per group size. The porter will carry 12-15 kg per person luggage during the trek. You need to carry your day pack to keep your personal belongings such as wallet, camera, water bottle, dry snack, headlight, gadgets, etc. The safety and concerns of our porters is our collective responsibility. We take our responsibilities towards them and their safety concerns strictly. On your part, please carry only things that are of absolute necessities.

A general rule of thumb for tipping is USD 50-60 for guide and porter if you are fully satisfied with their service. So we suggest you allocate a minimum of USD 50 for tipping. This is just a guideline and you may tip whatever /how much you think is appropriate for the services rendered which made your trek a memorable one.

If you are considering to donate, School supplies (pens, notebooks, coloured pencils, etc...). These gifts can be directly turned over to our company when you arrive in Kathmandu. And we will manage them to distribute through our proper channels.
As for your the need of much of your trekking clothes and tour supplies and gears, they can be easily purchased in Kathmandu near our hotel at good prices. Bring hiking boots/shoes from your country. The Nepali ones are not recommended. Your guide will assist you to get anything you may need here.

We are committed to providing the best services which will give you a once in a lifetime journey. We perform our duties honestly & seriously to make your journey very smooth & pleasant. However, the entire programs in Nepal are conducted strictly under the rules and regulation of their policies. So in this case, we will give options to choose a different itinerary for an enjoyable holiday. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact us.

The sleeping bags we provide are of good quality. They help you sustain the colder climate in Nepali mountains up to -25 degree Celsius of temperature. However if you need the one of your own, you can buy one here. Your guide shall assist you to get it here. Keep the track of the weather forecast of the area and pack your clothes accordingly. This would help you be prepared for the type of weather Nepali Mountains are accustomed to.

The size of the duffel bag that we provide is 60-70 liter.

Yes, you will have free access to the power in the city areas however with your ascends to the mountain and as you climb to higher altitudes, extra charge would be applicable for the use of power supply or wireless internet connections.