The journey to Mount Everest Base Camp is one of the greatest outdoor experiences in the world, but there are quite a few practicalities to be aware of.

Altitude sickness is a challenge most of you are probably aware of and if you are planning on going here you have most likely searched for a packing list or ten already. Still, when we went there were many surprises so we went ahead and gathered a list of the lesser known things you should know before embarking on the epic trek to Mount Everest Base Camp.

#1: Lukla is a very unstable airport

Being named the most dangerous airport in the world is almost used as an advertisement for the airport in Lukla. On the other hand, what fewer people talk about is what this really means. Luckily the likelihood of an accident is minor, although greater than in most other airports. But unless there is a clear line of sight no airplanes can take off or land. And where is Lukla located? Inside the foggy clouds…

When we flew in to Lukla the airport had been closed for five days in a row and the two following days after our arrival it closed as well. What luck we had! On the return flight we were not that lucky and they shut the airport down for the entire day. We therefore had to rent a helicopter to get down, noticeably bumping up the price of our trip. Also, the Himalayas tend to run out of helicopters quickly when 700 people need to be moved in a day down to Kathmandu without airplanes. While we managed to get a helicopter the rest of our travel group had to run down the hillside for an hour with all their luggage to reach an alternative airport (read: A small field of grass where a farmer had painted an «H» in the middle) and on the way one of them tripped and dislocated his finger. His trip back therefore turned into a medical evacuation and he had to ride from Kathmandu Airport to the hospital on the back of a motorcycle (which can be compared to a roller coaster ride without a seat belt) before being patched together again. The latter is definitively an unlikely scenario, but be aware that closed airports and the chaos is causes is fairly common.

So what do you do if the airport is closed? The airplane ticket is refunded (usually around 150 USD) and you have to pay the difference for the helicopter. Practically this means 200-500 USD per person per flight.

#2: The water is drinkable… ish…

The water along the EBC trail is coming from glaciers and is very clean. However, as yaks are found everywhere and they poop everywhere it may get contaminated. We bought purifying tablets to add to the water and it worked very well. As we went along we just refilled our water bottles and added the tablets. Wait 30 minutes and drink. This saved us a huge amount of money, not to mention the environmental impact. If you don’t want to do this or you have a sensitive stomach it is possible to buy bottled water as well. It costs about 1 USD per litre most places (but in Kathmandu the price is about 12 cents!).

At the final tea house before EBC (Gorak Shep) the water is not drinkable even with tablets. Here the price of bottled water is quadrupled, so if you don’t mind carrying a bit extra you can save some money by buying a few extra bottles at the last stop before Gorak Shep.

#3: You are not alone

You, nature and silence, isn’t that the essence of the trek to EBC? Nope. Although there are quiet places here and there 700 people arrive in Lukla every single day. On the last day to EBC the path is narrow and rocky, so prepare to walk in a long line.

#4: The food is good – and vegetarian

The cuisine in Himalaya is primarily vegetarian. They do sell meat products, but stay away from this! The meat is transported from lower altitudes, this is often done in less hygienic ways and the meat is often old. Diarrhoea is something you really want to avoid up here, so stay away from meat all together. The same goes for cakes. The most deliciously looking chocolate cakes are made up here (and they probably taste amazing too!), but many have been on display for a loooong time before being purchased. If you have a guide that can have an «honest» chat with the bakers it will be possible to check if the products are fresh and hygienic, but if you are in doubt: avoid eating it.

The positive aspect of eating in the Himalayas is that the food is very good. Despite a simple lifestyle and limited resources the people here are incredibly good at making tasteful and nutritious food. Well, as long as you don’t get tired of it, because absolutely all tea houses make the same food. After trekking to EBC, read this article again and see if this sounds familiar: Sherpa stew, Dal bhat, fried noodles, veg fried potatos og momos. Amazing how we guessed exactly what you have been eating for the last few weeks, right?

#5: Up and down and up again

We expected to trek upwards to EBC. However, it turns out that the first you do in Lukla is to walk down 300 metres of elevation. And then of course you have to walk up again. The trail is a lot more up and down than we had expected so don’t believe that once you reach the top all you have to do is walk down again. There is a fair amount of going up to get down…

#6: The cost along the trail varies a lot

Travel companies and online articles often say how much it costs to trek in the Himalayas, but be aware that your lifestyle highly impacts the actual cost. Food is cheap, you can get a full dinner for less than 5 USD and breakfast is even cheaper. However, soda and candy is almost as expensive as back home (and for us, home is Norway, one of the most expensive countries in the world), and many services that usually comes for free is a paid service up here, such as a hot shower, electricity and Internet. If you frequently use these services it may become an expensive trip, but stick to the things you actually need and it can be rather cheap. We actually spent less money as a couple some days than others in our group spent as individuals, so the cost of the trip is very much up to your lifestyle. Although Nepal is a cheap country it not easy to transport goods up the Himalayan mountains – and that is heavily reflected in the prices as well.

#7: Internet all the way

Want to «disconnect» and enjoy nature? To our surprise there was Internet access through WiFi more or less all the way from Lukla to Mount Everest Base Camp. There is more or less one service provider all the way, so you can purchase a data package that can be used on multiple days in multiple tea houses. These packages are surprisingly cheap (considering the remoteness of the Himalayas!) and can be a good way to keep in touch with the world. Just keep in mind that it is satellite based, so speeds are incredibly slow.

#8: No signs with the correct altitude

Along the way to EBC there are signs stating your current elevation and how far you have left to go. This would have been great – if the signs were actually correct. Due to reasons we don’t quite understand the elevation on the signs are wrong, very often by more than 100 metres. We asked the guide and he replied that «the signes were made by people in Kathmandu that don’t really know what they are doing». We also suspect that these signs were made before accurate GPS-measurements were a thing. However, we have not found a proper explanation of why the signs are so far off reality.

To highlight how badly the measurements are: On a map we bought (that allegedly was made using GPS) the elevation of Mount Everest Base Camp was provided as two different values – on the same map! The map was very nice, although the integrity of the data was questionable…

#9: Are you covered by travel insurance?

Because more or less the entire trek is happening in the Himalayas at an elevation above 3000 metres many insurance companies define this as «extreme sports» and therefore require an additional policy for you to be covered. Check carefully that your travel insurance actually covers your trip to EBC, as a medical evacuation up here can be very expensive if you get altitude sickness or for some other reason have to be transported down by helicopter. Our travel insurance explicitly stated that treks in the Himalayas was not covered, but when we called them they actually said that as long as medical evacuation was possible it would be OK (make sure you get such statements in writing). So we were covered up to Everest Base Camp, but not any further. If you are not covered, most insurance companies offer an additional package for «extreme sports».

#10: Not just for athletes

As soon as «Mount Everest» is mentions people think you need to be superhuman to make the trek. That is far from the truth. Any regular person can make the trek and the key is to take it slooooow. As a matter of fact, some people in better shape tend to struggle more because they start off too fast and get altitude sickness. One of our travel companions turned 70 right after the trek and he made it all the way to EBC and back! We learned a quite useful phrase in Peru regarding high-altitude trekking: «Walk like a gentleman and arrive like an old man. Walk like an old man and arrive like a gentleman». Take it slow and you will be fine.

#11: It will be the trip of a lifetime

Last, but not least: The trek to Mount Everest Base Camp offers some incredible experiences. Plan your journey and be well prepared and this will probably be one of the best trips of your life.