EBC - making the most of it in a month

OP,
I agree with your thinking - hiring a guide/porter in Lukla and doing a 14 day trek. This is considering your budget that is really slim.
The Jiri version doesn't seem viable. Only saving on flights and extending the duration by one week wouldn't make it cheaper. Per day yes, but not totally.

into-thin-air,
I believe the nature does what's needed. Peeled or unpeeled potato must be better when grown naturally fertilised, not in ammonium and superphosphate. As kids we used to bake potato in hot ashes, never washed them, even if sometimes the skin was gritty. In those times they were also grown in earth fertilised with cow dung. The nature takes care of the process and it doesn't make you sick. Today I'd call it ecological, by my own definition. In Nepal they still do it.

The Jiri version doesn't seem viable. Only saving on flights and extending the duration by one week wouldn't make it cheaper. Per day yes, but not totally.

Yes, it will make it totally cheaper also. People tend to forget that when calculating the total cost of a trek they have to consider how much more it costs to live in Kathmandu, not Khumbu, during the "saved" time.

Consider this: total cost for 4 weeks spent trekking, or trekking and KTM: trekking 2 weeks at $25/day flights + 14 nights in a cheap hotel + city food: $350+$240+$280+$350= $1220. 4 weeks in Khumbu at $25/day costs $720$24 for two bus tickets to/from Jiri for a total of $744. Park permit & TIMS costs are the same on both.

So it is definitely much cheaper to trek for a long time than fly, trek, fly and lead a city life for the same amount of time.

Agree with petrus – But I usually do.

I will add that food and accommodation on the route from Jiri to below Lukla where the paths meet is a fraction of the cost of food and accommodation higher up towards EBC, so that will help you achieve your budget – Even if it really isn’t your budget ;-)

Possibly the middle option would be fly one way and walk the other, still above your pretend budget but a lot closer to it – If you do that then, if it were me, because of the recent flight delays that are getting a lot more common, then I would fly in and walk out.

You already know my views on hire to hire out trekking “Staff” so no need to repeat myself there, you also now my views on drinking water – What you probably don’t know is that I will also be trekking EBC at the same time as you, but from Tumlingtar, so I might well see you on the trail and ask you how you got on ;-)

Good Luck and Happy Trekking
Rob

If you are only doing Lukla - EBC - Lukla, then for route finding etc you do not really need a guide or a porter/guide (especially if money is tight). Also if you only get a p/g, the p/g's English, education and experience with westerners will almost certainly be a lot less than that of a full guide, and so the "cultural" etc aspect will most likely be significantly less than would be provided by a good guide, let alone an excellent guide (and not all guides are good, let alone excellent...).

March is in the second "peak season" for trekking (the main peak season is roughly Oct - mid Nov), so there will be relatively fewer guides or p/gs than in quieter periods, but you should still get quite a few hanging round at Lukla airport. If you hire someone at Lukla, and especially if this is not through a good agency (and agencies vary as much as guides and p/gs), then I would urge you to carefully read Rob's (into thin air) tips re hiring guides, porters etc. A bad guide, p/g or porter would at best be a disappointment, at worst an expensive nightmare, a good one would make a huge difference to your trek, and if you are very lucky you could get a real friend, a huge benefit if you were to visit Nepal again (and Nepal can easily become a bit addictive).

New year - should be good, but there seem to be so many NYs in Nepal (as there are so many different groups), even I (having been to Nepal 5 times now) am not sure which is the official, national NY - I think it is in April, but I stand to be corrected.

Hello

Boosids has made her views clear on drinking untreated groundwater but, out of interest, this thread discusses some of the issues.

FWIW, I don't drink untreated groundwater because I think there will always be someone or something higher than me.

scoodly

Given your budget and desire to hire a guide I'd recommend walking in from Jiri, where as Rob says the daily costs are a fraction of higher up. If you do not absolutely have to go as far as Gorak Shep, you can adjust your schedule/budget as you go. You may get views of Everest from Namche. Just a thought.

scoodly
Thanks for posting the link (@14)to the thread where another Very Experienced trekker posted his views on the perils of drinking untreated water on trek – I had missed that one so didn’t contribute.

Anyway, I just hope the OP is till monitoring the thread in the hope of limiting any potential damage done be the suggestion that Is Safe to drink untreated water in Nepal.

Best Regards
Rob

Hi all,

Yes still here Rob, and monitoring with great interest! Cannot express how helpful it is to watch you guys battle this out.

On the subject of drinking untreated water. I don't think this is something that we will make a point of doing. Scoodly is right and this conversation has flagged up some dangers that we would have been previously unaware of. I think we will certainly think twice before doing it. Thanks for your input.

Rob, this "third option you have presented is really interesting and not something we had considered. What's is the walk-out like? Enjoyable? If we are extending our trip by a few days anyway perhaps this would be viable. We're working on the understanding that Nepali New Year is April 14th. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I understand what Petrus is saying and that spending weeks is Kathmandu would bump up our cost of living quite significantly. However we weren't really intending to spend 2 weeks bumming around in the city. We were hoping to be in smaller towns or villages that could facilitate some activity-based fun...rafting, paragliding, biking... Can you recommend how this might fit into our itinerary? Could we walk out directly to somewhere that will cater for this rather than returning to the city? From what I understand Kathmandu isn't really all that in comparison to all the other exciting more localised things that Nepal has to offer.

Boosids

Pleased to see / hear that you are still monitoring your thread and now able to heed the warnings or drinking untreated water !!

I take it by the “3rd Option” you are referring to the Tumlingtar route – As you know, I haven’t trekked this route yet but have had it in mind for several years so am looking forwards to experiencing it.

From your point of view I can see Pro’s as well as Con’s when considering it

Pro’s
It is meant to be a superb trek, This website seams to be a particularly good one for some general info and superb photos
Ending your trek at Tumlingtar you would be within a days bus ride from places like Chitwan and Lumbini

Con’s
We are allowing about 14 days for the trek in, The above site does it in 12, but I like to take my time and experience where I am trekking through – So if you really do consider this route then you would have to extend your timeframe quite dramatically as a ballpark figure of a timescale to Trek Jiri – EBC – Tumlingtar would be about 5 weeks give or take a couple of days – No doubt some people will say that it can be done faster and that is no doubt the case – But whether it could be don Faster and Enjoyably might be a slightly different matter

Also you would still have to go back to Kathmandu to retrieve any surplus gear you left at your hotel there.

Anyway – As you say, Another option ;-)

Good Luck and Happy Healthy Trekking
Rob

Boosids, #17
I'd still add a few comments on drinking (untreated or boiled) water, even at the risk that it makes me feel like I was flogging a dead horse.
1. Since you'll be on a very slim budget I'd thought that using water from the lodges could be a good option for you. It wouldn't cost you a penny
2. Bottled water and all liquids are expensive along the trek as there's no other means of transportation but porters carrying having loads on their backs
3. Water that you can get at the lodges for free will be equally safe as black tea that you'll be drinking (presumably) with your every meal. In case of doubt ask the guides for their opinion.

Which water to drink is the one single point where I don't agree with the regulars here, who otherwise provide exellent advice, that I also thankfully used before my trip to Nepal.
By this post I'm not trying to say that you or anyone should change their mind. This forum is a place for exchange of opinions and experiences between fellow travellers, that in the end allow us to make our own choices.
Enjoy your trek and stay healthy :)