Everest Base Camp: A journey to the base of the highest mountain of the world! #TravelAdventure2019

The journey starts with a mesmerizing flight from Delhi to Kathmandu! Your journey to the Everest base camp starts right here when you begin to see the mighty Himalayas from your flight itself as you fly parallel to them! There will not be a single moment where you'll be able to take your eyes off the mesmerizing views.

(Pro tip: If flying from the North-West direction, make sure to get a window seat on the left side of the plane!)

Seeing those lofty giants, you will feel a rush of excitement, and nervousness at the same time! This is when you realize that you will be standing right there, surrounded by those very mountains in just a matter of few days!

(Pro tip: Plan to arrive in Kathmandu in the first half of the day so you get enough time in the evening to shop for last minute essentials!)

Here comes the most awaited day! The 35 minute world famous flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, where you land on an airport with a 500m airstrip, deemed to be the world's most dangerous airport!

On this flight on a 15 seater aircraft, you will feel the adrenaline and fear rushing through your veins as your tiny aircraft navigates through the valleys of gigantic mountains all around you!

(Pro tip: Sit on the window seat on the left side of the plane to enjoy stunning views of the lofty giants up close!)

Lukla is a small village in the Solukumbhu region and the EBC trek officially begins here! It is at an elevation of 2800 m. You start your trek from Lukla and reach another village called Phakding, which is your destination for the night. Phakding is at the elevation of 2600 m. The descent helps your body acclimatize to the rapidly changing environment.

The trek will not take more than 3-4 hours and passes through lush green Rhododendron forests.

An interesting and one of the most appealing things about the trek is that one doesn't have to camp in the night (I personally don't enjoy camping as much). There are tea houses in which one spends the night. Tea houses are wooden lodges which have a restaurant and basic rooms. Depending on how deep one's pockets are, one can choose a very basic tea house or a very fancy tea house which comes with benefits such as personal toilet, shower area etc. They provide pillows and thick quilts. (Still strongly advice to carry sleeping bags, as it can get very cold in the higher altitudes, and the quilt might not be sufficient!)

Today is the day when you start the ascent to reach Namche Bazaar which is the most popular stop (well, one of them) on the whole of EBC trek! Namche Bazaar is a village and is the biggest settlement on the EBC route. You will find many trekking gear shops, bars, pubs, local shopping places here. Also, this is the last point on the route where you will find an ATM or buy some emergency trekking gear which you might have forgotten to buy earlier.

Namche is at the elevation of 3440 m, you will ascend 800 m in a single day ! (From Phakding to Namche). This is where you actually feel that you have gained significant altitude and start feeling the effects of it (slight breathlessness etc).

This part of the trek is also very special, as this day is the day when you cross one of the manyyy suspension bridges on the route, and not just any suspension bridge, but the most famous Hillary Bridge! Its named after Sir Edmund Hillary who was the first to scale Mt. Everest, and It is also the first suspension bridge to be made on the EBC route!

(Pro Tip: From this day onwards, the altitude will keep increasing, so one has to be very cautious and keep these important tips in mind - Walk Slow, its not a race. You have to give your body time to acclimatize, else next thing you know, you are being brought down in an unconscious state ; Drink lots of water (helps you acclimatize) ; Breathe from your nose (prevents throat from drying and being more thirsty). These tips have to be kept in mind throughout the remaining route)

The trek is easy in the first half, and becomes moderately difficult in the 2nd half as the route becomes steeper. It will roughly take around 5-6 hours to reach Namche. (Or, if you are a slow walker like me, it might take you around 7 hours or so) Needless to say, the views are stunning! The lush greenery and the Dudh Kosi river flowing parallel to the route will steal your breath! (Il let the photos do the talking!)

One important thing to remember is to start your day by 7 am and try to reach the day's destination by 2 PM maximum as the weather changes after that drastically! One minute, its sunny and the other minute, it starts pouring ! Trust me, you dont want to be stuck there in the rain :) This should be the rule for each day.

This day is your acclimatization day as by now, you have scaled significant altitude. This night will be spent in Namche Bazaar again, and the day will include an acclimatization hike, where you will start from Namche Bazaar (3440m), trek till an altitude of 3800m, and come back to Namche to spend the night.

The acclimatization hike is undertaken to make your body more comfortable with the increasing altitude. The idea behind this is to trek to a higher elevation, and come back and sleep at a lower elevation. Your body adapts much quicker to the changing altitude this way.

The last point of this hike is usually the Everest View Hotel from where (if the weather gods are pleased ) you can see the first glance of Mt. Everest! In my case, the weather gods were clearly not pleased, and it was really cloudy, so the first glimpse of Everest had to wait :)

Here comes the day to walk on the entire trek's most scenic route! The visuals are bound to make you speechless, and you will want the time to stop so you can stare at the marvels of nature endlessly !! (Refer to photos)

From Namche Bazaar we start our journey to reach Tengboche, nestled at an altitude of 3860m. The first half of the route is very easy as its mostly flat surface you will be walking on, the 2nd half starts to feel a little difficult because, A. The ascent starts and B. The altitude is increasing, air is becoming thinner and you will start feeling breathless easily. (Remember to stay hydrated and walk super slow! )

All along this route, you will clearly be able to see Mt. Ama Dablam, which is popular to have the most peculiar shape among all its peers around it. (To me, Ama Dablam is the most visually appealing mountain in the Sagarmatha zone a.k.a The Everest Zone).

The trekking time from Namche to Tengboche is about 5-6 hours. (7 hours or so if you are a slow walker like me)

Tengboche monestery is a beautiful monestery given its surroundings. Unluckily i was not able to enjoy it as the weather had become pretty bad by the time i reached, and the thundering of the clouds in a distance was making me run to reach the tea house at Dobuche - That night's halt.

Dobuche is another village which is about a 30 minute downhill walk from the monestery.

P.S: As you gain altitude, you cross the tree line, and the topography starts changing from lush green forests to stunted, bushes.

Next destination - Dingboche is a village at an altitude of 4360 m. Dingboche is a place where you start smelling success and feel ab manzil door nahi! (The destination is nearing now). It is also one of days with the longest trekking time (about 7-8 hours).

It is during this particular day, you will finally be able to have a very clear view of the tip of the Mount Everest! Though you will only be able to see the tip, you can make out from the formation of the clouds on the t0p, that the wind is blowing at a speed of 150kms upwards! (Just like how they show in the movie - Everest)

By now, the weather will become really cold and temperatures are likely to drop to sub zero levels at night. The wind will also become very dry by now, and you'll have to trek with maximal clothing. This is the day, you are very likely to realize how powerful and merciless nature is, and will be in awe about everything around you! (photos!)

(Pro tip: Always carry lozenges with you to keep your throat from going dry and itchy. The buff is also an absolute essential in order to keep the wind from entering your mouth and drying it and giving rise to the infamous "Kumbhu Cough") (Solokumbhu is the district which houses Sagarmatha national park, hence the name, Kumbhu cough)

This day is also where the effects of altitude mostly begin to kick in. You are more likely to experience altitude related sickness such as headaches, blurry visions, nausea, extreme breathlessness, elevated heart rate etc. To counter the altitude sickness, remember to walk very slowly and drink lots of water.

Even though this day was supposed to be an acclimatization day at Dingboche (as it is in most standard EBC itineraries) , our guide decided to ascend a little further to a place called Thukla/Dughla. (A very smart chap who made a very intelligent decision)

The trek from Dingboche to Thukla is short (3 hrs) and easy in the sense that its mostly flat, but by this time even covering a distance of 100m becomes a herculean task because of the altitude!

Thukla is at the altitude of about 4800m. By now the even the shrubs vanish, and the land around becomes barren against the white backdrop of the mountains! This is also one of the first days, when you will get an unobstructed panoramic view of the snow white mountain range, which you can almost touch if you extend your arm long enough ! ;)

Lobuche is the 2nd last stop before we finally reach the Everest Base Camp! The trek from Thukla to Lobuche is all about walking on a frozen river, offering prayers at the mountaineers' memorial, navigating through stony pathways and throwing snow balls at each other as you encounter patches of snow scattered here and there ! Not to forget the spectacular views of Mt Lobuche standing tall at 6119m !

Lobuche is at the altitude of 4940 m. The trek time is about 5 hours.

Finally ! The glorious day you have been all waiting for is here ! The day you ascend to the Everest Base Camp! The day starts with much enthusiasm and is full of hope! You start from Lobuche towards Gorakshep nestled at 5170m which acts as a pit stop before the EBC, and also where you will spend the night. As much as you will be in a hurry to reach Gorakshep, you will find yourself halting several times to just stop and take a look at the 360 Degree view of the snow clad, snow white mountains around you ! From a distance you will be able to see something which looks like a huge mass of snow with tiny yellow spots dotting the white. When you realise its actually the EBC you are looking at, your excitement will be doubled and you will feel like making a dash for it !

Walking time from Lobuche to Gorakshep is about 4 hours.

After making a pit stop at Gorakshep for lunch, you start towards your final destination - The EBC. The last leg is full of huge rocks and boulders, which you will have to carefully navigate through. By this time it will be hard to contain the excitement, hence you will try to rush, but hold the horses, go super slow, else the altitude sickness can hit you pretty hard, especially at this point as the oxygen level has dropped to 50% of what it is at sea level.

Finally, as you near your destination, you will realize the what looked liked a frozen mass of a river from a distance is actually the Kumbhu glacier, and the yellow dots are the yellow camps of the mountaineers who will ascend the Mt. Everest in that season!

This is where you make a dash for it! a downhill walk to the base camp of the highest mountain of the world at 5400m! This is it. Standing right where all the greatest mountaineers have set foot. Enduring and overcoming some of the most challenging conditions and emerging victorious ! The sense of pride will be unreal.

Standing there one realises that the mental and physical challenges of summiting a mountain will teach you more than you can ever learn about accomplishment, determination, perseverance and patience, and most importantly that its the mental strength over the physical strength which will help you reach the destination, not the other way around.

P.S: As much as i hate to say this, one must not spend more than 20-30 minutes at the EBC due to sub zero temperatures (even at mid day), very high speed winds (can go upto 40-50kms per hr), low oxygen levels and continued exposure to over all extreme conditions.

This day gives you an opportunity to go a level further and climb Kala Pathar (Literally Black Stone) and get a much better and an upclose look of Mt. Everest. One has to start the trek at 4 am in the morning and reach the top to see the sunrise on Mt. Everest!

However, due to a bad cold and cough, i decided to ditch this segment of the trek. After a fulfilling breakfast at Gorakshep, you finally start your descent. The descent is much faster than the ascent and you almost cover the distance of 3 days' worth ascent in just one day of descent !

The standard stop for the night is a place called Pheriche (Just after Dingboche), however our guide decided its best to descend for 2 more hours and spend the night at a village called Pangboche. (A very intelligent decision by a very experienced guide - A storm was chasing us, had we stayed in Pheriche, we would have been stuck with knee deep snow the next day which would have made our descend impossible, leaving us stranded)

This day we descend further and the night's stop is Namche Bazaar. This is also the night to party and celebrate the success at one of the many really cozy pubs in Namche!

Also, the higher temperatures and the need to wear less woollens feels really good! Oh! not to forget the shower, which we can finally take without having a brain freeze! :)))

The trek officially ends as you reach Lukla feeling like Kings and Queens of the world!!

That is 120 kms of trekking for you ladies and gentlemen !

Its also a custom to throw a party for your guides and porters on this night and thank them for all their relentless support and services!

(Pro tip: Do not forget to tip them generously as these tips form a major source of their income!)

You take the same 15 seater aircraft back to Kathmandu enjoying the marvelous views of the Himalayas. However, this time, the feeling of nervousness and adrenaline will be replaced by a feeling of deep satisfaction and pride!

Spend the remaining day in Kathmandu and don't forget to return the rented gear!

(Pro tips for the whole trip :

-All your gear should be waterproof. It s a must!

- Do not, i repeat, do not under estimate altitude sickness. As soon as you (if you do) you start feeling unwell, tell the guide. Also, drink loads of water and walk slow!

- Those of you who are hygiene freaks and cannot go without bathing everyday even in peak winter (like me), do not attempt bathing on this trek every day. As you ascend to colder altitudes, it is best to refrain from bathing as you dont want to come down with a extremely horrible bout of cold and cough (Like i did!).

-On all days, you will stop for lunch in one of the villages along the route. Instead of hoarding on all the yummy momos and pizzas, try sticking to the traditional "dal bhaat" (Dal and rice) to keep it easy on the stomach and to consume "good" carbs as you really need them while trekking! (Atleast while ascending!)

-Garlic soup is really good to naturally tackle altitude sickness! Dont forget to include that in your meals if you start feeling sick.

-Avoid alcohol on the trip to avoid dehydration! )