Sarah Piper-Smith
GB
I have recently returned from the trip of a lifetime to Everest Base Camp with Evertrek (UK) and Amigo (Nepal) with my brother. Arrived in Kathmandu after a long trip from London via Delhi (Air India) to be met by our guide Kishor. He gave us a traditonal Nepali welcome and off we went to the hotel. The traffic in Kathmandu is crazy (polluted) and finally arrived at our hotel. We were booked to stay at the Apsara but this was not available but were booked into the Hotel Buddy instead. I would recommend this hotel over the Apsara as it is in my opinion in a better location in Thamel just round the corner from the Garden of dreams which is well worth a visit away from the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu! The welcome dinner was lovely and we met our fellow trekkers Greg and Kerry for a meal of Dhal Bhat. Plenty of that thoughout the trip in the mountains if you want it. Next day and we were taken on a city tour. This is a fairly long day which takes in Durbar Square and two Buddhist temples and a Hindu Burial Site. Possibly too much time is spent sat in traffic which is horrendous. We had a lovely lady guide whose name I cannot remember. Make sure you take money as you pay for entry to the temples and lunch. On return to our hotel we had to pack trekking kit (a trek bag) was given to us to pack and combined weight including our day sack of 15kgs to go onto the Lukla Flight. I would recommned just taking a couple of t shirts, leggings/walking trousers, down jacket, hat, trekking poles etc. I walked the whole way in Saloman trail trainers and did not suffer with any blisters at all. Dont forget water prufication tablets as the price of bottles water is about 400 rupess at Gorak Shep! Take a couple of toilet rolls as they are not supplied in lodges and wet wipes and showers are not readily avaiable and as you get higher its too cold anyway! :-) So trek day arrives and Kishor arrived to take us to the domestic terminal. Unfortunately there had been a mix up with the names on the booking. Not sure where the confusion occured between the UK office and Nepal but anyway Kishor managed to negotiate a name change of the flight manifest and we went through to departures with no problem. The flights to Lukla are dependant on the clouds and weather and we were delayed for several hours (we were lucky as sometimes its days!). So we arrived in Lukla late afternoon met up with our porters Krisnah and Mehuish and walked for three hours to our first stop for the night Pankding. the lodges on the trek are basic and bedrooms are not heated. Take a really good sleeping bag and down jacket (or hire in Thamel through Amigo). Over the next 15 days we travelled further into the Khumbu Valley expereincing fantastic views and meeting the nicest of Nepali people who would great us with a 'Namaste'. Namche Bazar was a favourite place for me which was also one of two acclimatisation stops during the trek. Kishor advised us to complete an acclimatisation walk (first glimspe of Everest too) which would prepare us for our next elevation on the trek. There is an ATM there and numerous bakeries which have free wifi. From there on the price of internet is about 600 rupees for 200mb of data so make the most of Namche. The hardest trekking days for me were the climb from Pankding to Namche was the hardest and the day you go to EBC is a long ten hour walking day. Expect headaches and not a lot of sleep up at Gorak Shep. Kishor was always making sure we were fed and watered as he takes all the orders for your food and drink. We listened to all his advice as we all suffered with headaches to a certain degree. Drink about 4-5 litres a day too to try and help and the air is really dry up there. Also take a good pair of sunglasses and buff for your ears (protection from the wind/sun) and a decnt sunblock as the sun is really powerful the higher you go! We took Diamox and I think this helped with the acclimatisation process. The guides also carry O2 Pulse Oximters so you can track your Oxygen saturation levels as you climb which is interesting! Anyway in summary I can say that this trip is absolutely amazing. Somedays are tough going but just go slow and enjoy the breathtaking scenary and following in the footsteps of Tenzig and Hillary. If this is on your bucketlist then sign up now! I am planning my next big adventure next year and I would recommend using Evertrek (Uk) and Amigo (Nepal) again. I would like to also recommend our guide Kishor. Knowledgable and friendly. When you are having a hard day Kishor smile just makes you feel so much better. The wellbeing of his clients is so important to him. His English is better than mine and I am English! so he is such an asset especially at Kathmandu/Lukla where his expertise came in really useful. Please request Kishor when you book your trek! Thank you Evertrek and Amigo, and particuarly to Kishor for making the trip so memorable, our porters Mehuish and Krishna who carried our bags for days! and finally the man who oversees operations in Kathmandu,the one and only Mr Tiker. Heres to the next trip! Bring it on!
