Everest Base Camp Adventure – Day 1
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The Everest Base Camp Trek is a tea house trek. Nowhere else on earth will you find trekking like this. Every hundred metres or so there is a hotel, restaurant or cluster of buildings making up a small village. You can stop for lunch, buy supplies and have some tea or spend the night.
View of Namche Bazzar on EBC Trek
The villages are adorable, reminding us of something we would see in the Swiss Alps. Well built lodges and brick homes line the trail with the magnificent setting of the Himalayas draped in back. Children play in the streets and not one person asks for money, pens or “bon-bons.”
It is a society that seems to be thriving. Dipendra (our guide) says that life is good here in the Everest Region. People do well and respect the tourists because the tourists are what keeps them going. Towns function well up here in the mountains. There is electricity from the water that they harnessed from the mountains, they have solar power, schools, water, televisions, bars…the list goes on.
Harnessing Solar Energy.
That is not to say that things are easy though. All supplies, food and equipment need to be carried in by foot. They live in harsh conditions. Porters carry heavy loads on their backs, children and women carry loads also. People heard Yak trains with loaded propane and kerosene. Just walking through the villages steep stairs is difficult for us.
Dip tells us that Sherpa’s can carry up to 100 kg which we believe when we see men carrying stacks of plywood with heavy white sacks loaded on top.
A Porter Carrying a Heavy Load at Everest
I cannot imagine how they do it.
The trail to Everest Base Camp is a highway, but instead of transport trucks carrying cargo, people and farm animals are carrying their wares.
In the midst of all this are the trekkers like Dave and I. People huffing and puffing their way up while being completely in awe of the strongest and heartiest people on the planet.
The Nepalese are a strong bunch. They smile and say Namaste (hello) and they talk on their cell phones and listen to music. All this while climbing uphill towards the tallest mountain in the world with giant over-sized loads on their backs.
We are thrilled when we reach our nights accommodation. A quaint little hotel that looks like a cottage. The wood burning stove smells delicious and the heaters warm the restaurant. After an early dinner we retire to our clean room where we sleep like rocks snuggled up in our thick down sleeping bags.
Our First day at Everest has come to and end and we spend the night at 2400 meters listening to the rain fall outside.
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Everest Base Camp Adventure – Day 1
I love this! What a beautiful little tea house. I was always under the assumption that Everest Base Camp was just for climbers – those who plan to go to the summit. I had no idea that one could hike up and stay at the Base Camp as a tourist – now I have something new to add to my “list”!
Trisha Miller´s last blog ..Exactly What IS an Ambidextrous Travel Writer?
Looks stunning! The way you wrote this post I can really imagine what it must be like to be there. Have fun! – Beth
Bethany´s last blog ..Somewhere in Time – Grand Canyon, Arizona
Wow! What great shots. Thank you so much for sharing. I think I could really get behind this trek — perhaps Kathryn and I should add to this to the ol’ bucket list! As always, thanks for sharing guys!
Daniel´s last blog ..What We’re Reading: April 2, 2010
waaaah… im envious
i wanna go there someday 
thanks for sharing
flip´s last blog ..How Cheap is Cheap Backpacking?
Looks like a fun trip, just wondering could someone hike up to base camp alone without a guide?
Shawn´s last blog ..New Kittens and Family Food.
Hi Shawn, yes you can easily go up to base camp without a guide or porter. Many people were going on their own. The trail is easy to follow and there are tea houses everywhere. We didn’t quite know what to expect and we didn’t want to carry huge loads at altitude. Besides, we like to put money into the local communities pockets (porters are only $10 -$15 per day to hire) so we decided to go with a guide and porter. Next time we would only hire a porter.
It looks amazing! I never expected there was so much civilization there but I guess with the amount of tourists visiting it makes sense.
Alison´s last blog ..Gone Photographin’
love this article and love your site…keep up the good work, I will be back again and again.
The sherpa carrying that massive load of wood is a wonderful picture.
Thank you Joshywashington. The Sherpas were very impressive with their strength.
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