It was in April that I finally made it to Everest Base Camp Trek. I actually planned it in year 2014 as well but it did not work out. In fact, you make it to the base only when it is meant to be. The entire experience of this trek is just beyond words. To be at Kala Pathar and look at all those snowcapped peaks including the mighty Sagarmatha (or Everest) is simply magical.

I reached Kathmandu on an Air India flight and then straight to Thamel. At Thamel, my room was already booked and frankly, a decent room at a price of 1500/-. Thamel is where you will generally find all the trekkers staying so it is a great location to socialize as well. I went to eat at one of the café’s (Rosemary Kitchen and Coffee shop) in the busy streets of Thamel and beyond doubt, it was a great place. I made friends with Lester and Danny from NZ over drinks and we had a long night chatting. Both were trekkers from NZ and were staying Thamel for over a week. It was late night and went back to my hotel and crashed.

The following day, I managed to get my TIMS card. It is a must to enter the Sagarmatha national park. I suggest you keep a weekday for this work. I used the rest of the day to procure the rest of the supplies that I needed for the trek. By the way, you can also rent stuff from Thamel (right from shoes to just about anything). I went out and explore other cafes like Roadhouse Café and called it an early night.

The next morning, I had a flight to catch to Lukla. So I got up early and took the flight to Lulkla. Lukla is a small town but it was great to be in Lukla with the rest of the trekkers. We had to trek about 3 hours from here to Benkar. It did not take too long and in fact, it was an easy hike to Benkar, where after reaching we checked into our Teahouse and relaxed.

Next morning, we had to trek to Namche Bazar. Now, Namche Bazaar I was really looking forward to be at and explore. Through all the documentaries and movies I got to know so much about Namche Bazaar. And Namche was really a treat. We reached there and checked in. Namche also has the famous Irish Bar so that is where the evening was to be spent. With so many other fellow trekkers and adventure enthusiasts, it was an evening I will never forget.

Next morning, it was our rest day at Namche. While we relaxed and took a stroll around in the market, one can do the shopping here at local shops. In fact, at Namche one can get internet services. You can also go to the local spa centers and pamper your body as well.

Namche Bazaar to Tengboche is a walk of about 11 Kms. Tengboche is a small village and the white tea house of ours stood out. We were tired but made it in time so the evening was well spent talking about the mountains and the previous treks that everybody in group did. I knew this conversation will go on for next few days as well anyway We started early from Tengboche and started following our guides heading towards Dingboche.

Dingboche was about 11-12 kms as well so it was quite a long walk but surrounded with mighty peaks, it was definitely a day to remember. We reached Dingboche and checked into a small tea house which also had a sit-out area with wooden stools. We were offered tea (made by Kalyan) which definitely made us feel incredible. On a side note, whatever you get on such treks is just about awesome purely because you feel that to get “anything” in such remote villages is a blessing. Our night at Dinboche was an early one.

The following day at Dingboche was a rest day. Believe me, reaching Dingboche exhausts you enough and so this day was a must.


From Dingboche we started our trek to Lobuche. By now, the air is thin and you will start to feel the effort. It makes every step a challenge. Lobuche from Dingboche is at a distance for over 12 kms. It is because we started early and had a rest day at Dingboche, (though we felt the stress) that we made it to Lobuche in time. We had the evening to ourselves. Believe me, at such locations to get some “me time” is just amazing. I remember sitting outside alone for a while because it was just so beautiful. The stress is all gone within no time. The night here was really cold so I made sure I am covered before stepping out.

From Lobuche, it was going to be a long day. Our guides made us get up really early. From Lobuche to Gorakshep and from Gorakshep to Everest Base Camp and back to Gorakshep is about 17 Kms or more. The trek was definitely a steep one with a few ascents and descents and it took a long time for me to trek our way up to Gorakshep. I think the energy bars and water really helped me today. Once one spots the mighty Sagarmatha (or Everest) everything else is forgotten. We were also told that the view of Everest is actually so much better from Kala Pathar so we were looking forward to that as well. We reached back to Gorakshep. You can imagine what we all spoke about that night  Don’t think it can be any different for anyone. But for me, to see and experience the Everest Base Camp was something I will always remember. The orange yellow domes simply stand out at the base location. It is simply incredible.

From Gorakshep also we started early. We were really excited to be at Kala Pathar. We knew we are going to get a closer and better view of Everest from Kalapathar. The group was all camera ready and we all spent more than 45 minutes at the Kalapathar before starting our trek for Pheriche. We reached Periche and we all had only one thing in our heads and hearts, Everest (Sagarmatha).

From Periche to Namche Bazaar is about 15 kms and takes about 8 hours so we started early from Periche Reaching back Namche Bazaar felt like home. We were looking forward to a hot water bath and some catching up.

Well, to summarize it all, there is no other trek or place like the Everest Base Camp and I suggest an attempt by every enthusiast.

CHOOSING OUR TREK LEAD

In Nov 2017, the idea of scaling Everest Base Camp (EBC) came in our best friends (school mates) group, then we reached out to various sources to identify the best leader in the space. My good friends, Dr. Archana Thombre and Dr. Surrendra Patil suggested the name of Saranbir. Saranbir & his few friends run Wanderers (www.wanderers.in). Saranbir was approachable and immediately suggested us that we need to do 3 treks before thinking about EBC. As first trek he suggested us to do either Kedarkantha or Chandrasaila. We opted for Kedarkantha and fixed the timeline as end of March. We are team who have been in our professions (IT, Shipping, Telecom) for more than 2 decades, and the comfort we are used, need not be said. We have to admit Saranbir & his team was highly professional and ensured we had a smooth memorable trip.

PREPARATION TO THE TREK

Saranbir sent us a detailed itinerary and list of things to carry for the trek. Apart from these he had shared with us the fitness regime we need to adopt. With our busy professional schedule, most of us managed to shop in last few weeks at the famous sport shop Decathlon. Though few of our friends were religiously following the fitness regime, few others could not cope up to it, due to professional schedules & travels. However as a team, we are an energetic group and ensured we are always into some activity — we have a runner and few others frequent the gym.

23rd MARCH TO 30th MARCH

23rd March we all started from our destination — Raj from Hyderabad, Suri, Ajitha & Shylaja from Chennai and I(Priya) from Pune. We met at Delhi international airport for our onward flight to Dehradun. We stayed at Ramada Inn.

24th March we travelled from Dehradun to Sankri, a small village that is the starting point of our trek. Beautiful scenic journey, following the flowing river of Yamuna. We were put up in a homestay. For all of us this was the first time, we had stayed this way. Initial discomfort was there, as the wash room was in ground floor and our rooms were in first floor. However, the cozy wooden shelter for the winter was the best we can ask for in this small village. After a small break, Saranbir gave us demo on the Ranger Rolls packing method the cloths and briefed us how to layer our clothes for next day. Night end with lovely food cooked by the homestay host.

25th March we started our 1st day trek from Sankri to Juda ka talab (JKT). It was a beautiful climb up the hill through forest covered with pine trees, Deodar tress and passing through stone bridge. We removed our fleece and half sleeve T-shirt on the way, as we were feeling warm, in spite of cold weather. It was 5 hours walk including our lunch break and our photo sessions. We reached our camp site at JKT, which had our orange bright tents covered in beauty of pine trees, patches of snow and JKT Lake. We did our warm up and had a good break. Toilet tent and how to use it was briefed. It was very hygienic every one of us felt comfortable. Oxy-meter reading was taken by Saranbir for all of us, to check our fitness level and thankfully we were all confirmed fit to proceed. Night ended with nice dinner, sweet and bournvita. Sleeping in a tent & inside a sleeping bag is an experience by itself, and for all of us it was the first time.!

26th March we were woken up by ginger tea and started from JKT to Kedarkantha (KK) Base. As usual, in the morning Saranbir gave us direction on layering our clothes. He confirmed it will be an easy trek compared to the previous day and this piece of news made us relax. This time we came across lots of patches of snow while trekking. We reached KK base in 3 hours. Saranbir, whose compliments are rare, told us we were doing good — 4 in scale of 5. We reached well before lunch and the whole of evening was for us, we played lot of games, took loads of pictures. Oxy meter reading was taken again and brief on how to wear micro spikes was taught to us. Camp site again was very beautiful with KK summit with its snow capped mountain forming the backdrop. In front of us we saw whole range of mountains. The entire place was for us, and we enjoyed the atmosphere of this campsite the most.

27th March we started early in the morning 6am from KK base to KK Summit. As usual, Saranbir guided us on layering of our clothes. We wore Base Layer, a Tee & a Pant, Rain Jacket and Gloves. Fleece was worn for just sometime. This time we trekked for few distance in bit of snow and land. After that we had to wear micro spikes and the entire journey was on snow. Saranbir taught us how to climb up (using our toe) in the snow. We slowly and steadily reached the KK Summit, under the supervision of Nari (our local guide) and Saranbir. It was a delight for eyes to see the ranges of Himalayan Mountains, different shapes one overlapping another, shades of black to bright white. Mountains covered with snow ever where. Journey worth it! We spent more than an hour clicking photos in this place. Amazing place — words can’t express the splendor of the view from this place — mountains in all directions. One has to experience it by themselves. If you are a nature lover, you must try this once at least. Saranbir taught us how to descend in snow and how to slide/stop in the snow. Descend was mostly slides (long ones). It was fun sliding on the snow, screaming and teasing each other. We were back in KK base by lunch. After lunch, we started again to descend to Hargoan. Reached Hargoan by 5pm. The place was again a beauty by itself. Peaceful location, anyone would like to spend the time gazing at the mountains, pine trees, starry sky, and that too particularly after successfully completing the KK Summit. Harmony was everywhere in this location.

28th March we started from Hargoan to Sankri. This was descend in the forest with loads of pine trees, red rhododendrons, dream huts facing the mountain ranges, the farms with mustard yellow flowers and apple orchids. It was more a causal walk than a trek. We reached home stay by lunch. The host were kind enough to provide us hot bathing water. We went for shopping in the small village, got to understand the village better, as we spoke to many village people there. We had Certification ceremony for our successful completion of trek. We decided to cook dinner for the entire family including us, it was again a first time experience to cook using wood. This gave the experience of how the cook was cooking and serving us through the trek.

29th March we started from Sankri back to Dehradun. Entire family came to wishes us bye. It was heart felt and touching moments. Our journey through forest on Bolero began. We were eagerly waiting for network signal which we forgot for past few days. We connected with our family and friends, midway at Purola, once we got the network. We reached Dehradun by evening and bid farewell to Saranbir. We freshened up and went for shopping followed dinner.

30th March we started back from Dehradun to our respective cities. We had common flight from Dehradun to Delhi, post which each one of us had our way home.

FUN TIME:

Suitcase locked without lashing both the zip together. Raj’s confidence that he does not have mountain sickness, however couldn’t stop throwing up. Shylaja’s dialogues — Why Decathlon can’t do something for teeth — is there teeth cover? It is shattering?. Ajitha and Shylaja buying same colour clothes and searching for each others clothes — blaming decathlon for not providing many colors.

Shylaja, saying “I am not coming, because I did not sleep last night” on the day of KK Summit. Rolling in snow when caught hip deep in snow, and telling that is the way to come out by Raj. Sliding down in Snow by Shylaja, who said if not stopped by Raj & Saranbir, would have been in KK Base. “Which way to go?” in the whole white snow area by me(Priya) to Saranbir. While sliding in the snow unable to stop using foot/heel, however creating a scene by Raj. Singing birthday songs for Shylaja many times throughout the trip from Sankri to Dehradun.

Birthday celebration for Shylaja on 29th March at Ramada. Raj’s next bucket list as signer & we as instrument players — booking an auditorium (of course empty). Ajitha’s cake for Shylaja and Shylaja laugh about the cake and dosa which Aji is famous for making (like Sun or Moon). “What to wear?” once we reached Sankri by all to Saranbir.

TENT EXPERIENCE:

Most us stayed for the first time in a tent, and all us were using sleeping bag for the first time. The tent was placed in a clean location, on looking scenic beauty at every location. It was fun to unpack & pack stuff in the small area. Dressing up is another experience by itself. Using toilet tent was again a new experience. Particularly to go out in the night in the darkness and cold weather to the toilet tent was a big tasks by itself. Every experience was unique and we enjoyed it as a team.

FOOD EXPERIENCE:

Every day we were woken by hot ginger tea with honey. Breakfast had Pooha, Pan cakes, Parathas, Puris, every day was different along with coffee/tea. Lunch was rice, dal, subzi, rotis. Evening 3pm, we were served with snacks like pakodas, corns, biscuits, eggs along with tea/coffee. 5pm hot soup was given to all of us. Night dinner was at 7.30 to 8pm, with rice, dal, rotis, subzi and dessert. 8.30pm we were given bournvita or milk. Apart from this, hot water in all our bottles were filled twice or thrice a day as required. Food was made in front of us in the kitchen tent, and all freshly made & served. Saranbir roti making skill — need to call it out. His team Appu and Mahendran did a great job of cooking and cleaning the vessels. Hats off to the team, as we initial thought we will be eating only Maggie (that is what we read in many blogs), here we had lavish freshly cooked food.

CONCLUSION:

Memory to cherish forever. Thanks to Saranbir and team who has made this trek so smooth, that we felt like a trip rather than a trek. Saranbir was exceptionally good in organizing the trek. He has necessary skills, which gave us the comfort of being in safe hands, when he briefed his profile on the 1 st day and it reflected in every thing that was done. Action speaks louder than words. He is a true example of this saying. During our trek, we saw few groups who had more than 60 people, and had come with the lead who himself was visiting Kedarkantha for the first time and was asking for tips from us..!! Many of those people we saw wore cotton clothes, improper shoes, no proper guidance, some were not up to climbing the last 200 m of the summit due to sheer motivational issue. When we saw all these, we know how well we were guided and taught everything right the first time. Our next trek trip will again be with Saranbir and Wanderers, with a larger group of our friends.

It is not really a difficult trek : Someone who has attempted a few high altitude treks in Indian Himalayas can attempt the Everest Base Camp trek. Goes without saying that you need to be fit to scale the ascends and descends but it does not necessarily require an extremely hard training schedule. Scaling a height 18500 ft (5640 Meters) is obviously not going to be easy but it is a gradual ascend through multiple villages offering comfortable stays.

Home Stays instead of Camping : Almost all the treks in Nepal offer an organized and comfortable stay option. Overnight stays at Phakding, Namche, Tengboche, Dengboche, Lobuche and Gorakshep have home stays with beds, common (but clean) washrooms, multi cuisine restaurants and hot shower facility. Charging electronics comes with an additional cost but the good part is that it is available.

Phone coverage while on the trek : Buying two SIM Cards from Kathmandu (Thamel) provides you a complete coverage (well, almost) in the entire Khumbu region. Service providers NCell and Namaste Telecom (NTC) are the two preferred service providers and absolutely strong signals throughout the trek. You can also buy an Internet pack with it and Whatsapp and other social media tools are sorted.

Meeting trekkers from around the world : Meeting travellers from around the world just adds to the fun. Sharing experiences over dinner adds to your learning and helps you understand the challenges and thrill of other slopes around the world.

Thin air challenge : Trekkers who have trekked in Ladakh, India will understand the challenge of thin air. Although, it is important to acclimatize well before (and during) the trek but the trek is not as challenging as treks in Ladakh.

Witnessing eight thousanders : It is difficult to explain in words how it feels to witness the mighty Mt. Everest (8848 Mtr/29028 ft). Having said that, there are other mighty peaks that one witnesses on this trek. Mt Lhotse (8516 Mtr/27939 ft), Mt Makalu (8470 Mtr/27788 ft) and Mt Cho Oyu (8201 Mtr/26906 ft) are other 8000 Meters+ peaks that one experiences on the Everest base camp trek.

Chopper Services : Almost all the treks in Nepal have a very well organized rescue as well as chartered chopper services available. In case of any emergency, the chopper is available to lift you up even from Gorakshep. It is a cashless process (using the insurance) and you are in Kathmandu within 45–60 minutes.

Celebrating successful attempt : Thamel offers a great variety of muti cuisine restaurants, pubs and clubs. From wood fired pizzas to live rock shows everything is a just a few steps away. Travellers from around the world make it a great town to be in.

Season for the trek : Although the Everest Base Camp trek can practically be done throughout the year, the best time to attempt is March, April, May and September, October, November and December.

Attempting EBC via Gokyo Ri : Attempting Everest Base Camp trek via Gokyo Ri is an alternate, extremely beautiful and slightly more challenging option. Taking a different route from Namche Bazar via Dole through Gokyo village/Lakes, Chola Pass and connecting back to the EBC trail at Lobuche.

I have been a trekker for 10 long years. I have done treks like Rupin Pass, Valley of flowers trek, Chadar trek, Sangla Valley, Stok Kangri to name a few. I have been in Himalayas for a very long time now. I ready about the Markha Valley trek on Internet and then explored some more on the valley in ladakh. I really found it extremely beautiful.

I contacted Wanderers as one of my friends trekked with them in ladakh and so I got through to them. They had a batch going for Markha in late January so I decided to tag along and booked myself for Markha Valley trek.

We all met at Leh in hotel Zen. Extremely beautiful property I must say. Wanderers keep 2 days of acclimatization for any trek in ladakh. We were asked to relax completely on day 1 and continue to sip water. The meals and rooms were great at the hotel. The next day we were taken out for shopping some of the gear we needed and if someone needed anything else. We explored the leh maket and had another easy day. We had a briefing session in the evening and were explained how the terrain would be, how to pack the bags, what to carry and we met the extended team in the hotel.

Next morning, we drove in a scorpio to Chilling. Stopping for a few minutes at Nimmo confluence (Zanskar and Indus). Definitely a great sight. The roads were all white and snow covered. We reached chilling and a short trek got us to out our homestay. It was a warm cozy dormitory with a local heater in the center (bukhari). We had our dinner and called it a night. Our next stop was going to be Skiu (Skew) via Kaya.

The next morning, we had breakfast at ease and started our trek. We were to go across the river through a manual trolley to continue. The trolley could only take 2 people at one time. It was scary for sure but at the same time a lot of fun.

We continued our way through a small pass to the village called Skiu (also spelled as Skew) at some places. After having tea at Kaya, we continued. Kaya is a small village right near Skiu. May be about 30–40 minutes of walk to cover from Kaya to Skiu (Skew). Once there we had 2 large rooms and soup was served in the evening. Nights as usual are simply rice and veggies or lentils. After a story telling session, we called it a day.

Following day, we started around 9. We were to cover quite a bit of distance to reach our next destination called Sara. We had lunch on the way as we made our way up. The village (like every other village in ladakh region) welcomes you with prayer flags at quite a distance. That is a sign that we are almost there as the territory is marked. In Sara, there were about 6–7 houses in total. And the village had only one serving tea house managed by an old lady. The old lady supported by a couple of more ladies manages the house, which has about 2–3 rooms for trekkers to stay. The village (to say the least) is absolutely magical. Covered with snow, it was a view to remember. In the evening, the lady came in to socialize and sang local ladakhi song to which one of our trek leads started dancing with her. We had dinner and got into our sleeping bags. It takes time in -20/- 25 degrees to warm up your sleeping bags as well.

Following day, after a little briefing session, we started to trek towards Markha village. While the rest of the trek was fairly flat, one has to negotiate a steep ascend to enter Markha village. Once done, we were in Markha. It did not take long from Sara to Markha. We were there in Markha home stay around lunch time. It was again a big dormitory and we all had a great time in the evening. We went to explore the Markha monastery as well in the morning. Which was really old and amazingly beautiful. Lest I forget, the homestay in Markha also has a phone facility to make calls.

The following morning, we started retracing our steps but with continues snow fall every night, the view is completely different than our way up. Markha Valley trek in winters is definitely a must do. There is no doubt that it will give a feel of “heaven on earth” and is also a great trek to experience local ladakhi culture.