Everest Base Camp. Worth it?

hi Fraser

A trip is can judge by interest of somebody, so it is mainly depends on your interest, 9days/8nights Tibet overland tour to Kathmandu via EBC is mixture of adventure and culture tour where you will visit different regions of Tibet with different culture like, Lhasa, Gyantse, Shigatse and then driving over the unpaved road to EBC is quite adventure and you will enjoy peculiar geographical formation in the region. Best season for this tour is June, July and Sept, as end of July and Aug is monsoon season here in Tibet and foggy weather make you hard to view the Everest peak, if you lucky you can see also.

Fraser....

I've been to EBC on both sides numerous times. I think visiting EBC on the Tibet side will likely be the highlight of your trip. It is an amazing place and well worth the visit.

However I strongly recommend against traveling to Tibet EBC from Nepal up the Friendship hwy. The acclimitisation rates that some Nepali agencies are including in their itineraries range from uncomfortable to downright dangerous. If you drive from Kathmandu to Zangmu to Nyalem to Tingri to EBC the odds of getting alititude sickness are very high.

Some Nepali agents will tell you this is OK - but it is NOT!! Many of these itineraries include a very short time at EBC and you'll likely be out of breath and sorting a nasty headache (at the least!)

A tourist on a group tour died last week at EBC after ascending to quickly from Nepal.

It is MUCH better to fly into Lhasa and then drive the overland trip out to EBC and then down to Nepal. Doing the route this way round gives you much more time for acclimitisation before you arrive at 5000m at EBC.

Hello,

I suggest that since you've been in Tibet for traveling. There is no reason for you miss the E.B.C. I haven't been there before, but my guests who had been there told me it's quite an amazing experience for them. So maybe you can think about it.

Taking the road conditions into consideration, I would highly suggest you take the land-cruiser instead of bus.

Everest Base Camp tours - Can be done from March to November, best time to see Everest is Early May and early October.

Another way is to fly to Lhasa, and start your E.B.C trip there for this is a more relaxing way. Besides, if you enter Tibet from Nepal, you can not visit other places of interests in China. You have to leave China once you finish your tour.

whether the price you got is a reasonable one depends on which season you're going, and the number of people who are going.

Hope this helps.
Leslie from Windhorse Tour

As a New Zealander who grew up in the town where Sir Edmund Hillary came from, for me, seeing Mt Everest for the first time and actually being there was kind of magical.

We just got back from our Tibet trip - and I have to say that EBC was a real highlight. I certainly suggest including it. Also - as others have noted, the altitude is a real issue. We came form Lhasa (after 4 full days there, and another night on the way) and we still found EBC difficult to sleep at. I can't imagine coming up that high any quicker.

Absolutely....the Tibet side view of Everest is definitely worth it! Everest is best viewed from late October until the first week of May. The other months of the year, Everest can have a lot of clouds limiting visibility of the summit.

I have been to the Tibet side base camp of Everest over 10 times, most recently about 2 weeks ago. The day I arrived, all of the Tibetans running the tent hotels were talking about the foreigner who had died the day before. This foreigner had come to Everest Base Camp from Nepal too quickly without taking proper time to acclimatize. I am not for certain, but his itinerary most likely went from Kathmandu (1337m) to Dram 2200m and then to Old Tingri 4300m the next day. From there, he probably went to base camp, which sits at 5200m. This route, which many of the Nepal based travel agencies promote, is extremely dangerous and can result in death. I highly recommend starting your trip in Lhasa. Spend a few days there to acclimatize before setting out for Everest.

I plan to post a story on my blog in the near future about the dangers of going from Nepal to Everest Base Camp too quickly.

Here is a post about the recent death at Everest Base Camp:

Death at Tibet side Everest Base Camp