Journey to Everest Base Camp

There are two Everest Base Camps (EBC).  One on the south side of Mount Everest, in Nepal, and one on the north side, in China.  The base camps are rudimentary camp sites at the base of Mount Everest.  It is used for preparing and acclimatizing to the altitude before climbing Mount Everest.

In October 2018, four friends and I hiked to EBC on the Nepal side.  Here is a link to the start of a series of posts that I wrote about our hike:  Hiking to Everest Base Camp in Nepal.  If you have time I encourage you to read it because it was one of my most memorable and toughest hikes.  

On this trip we are going to the north side of Mount Everest, in China.  According to our guide, the Chinese government is allowing fewer and fewer climbers to climb on the north side, for whatever reasons.  Nepal is allowing many climbers because it is one of their biggest sources of tourism dollars.  Apparently, China does not need the money and it wants to keep foreigners out of Tibet.

Going to EBC is the highlight of the Tibet trip but it takes 4 days - 2 days to get there and 2 days to return.  However, the scenery along the way is truly amazing, driving through mountain passes in the Himalayas.  We stopped at several places along the way there.

Our first night's destination is the town of Shigatse.  We stopped at Yamdrok Lake, like many tourists.

Our location relative to Lhasa

Yamdrok Lake

Our location on the map

Plaque explaining where we are

Many tourists also stopped here

We had lunch at a local restaurant and was welcomed by a Yak dance, instead of a Lion dance.

Getting our lunch ready

We stopped to see the Karola Glacier but it was covered by mist.

Mist covered the Karola Glacier

The scenery through the Himalayas is amazing.  It's sparsely populated.

Very few people live here

No vehicles on the highway

A Glacier lake

A roadside stop

A monastery on the hilltop

We finally arrived in the town of Shigatse, where we'll spend the night.

A group picture on the highway

Where we are

Hotel in Shigatse

Before leaving town the next morning we stopped at a store to rent oxygen equipment for some of the travelers.  Coming from sea-level and going up to 5,000m or 15,000ft can cause altitude sickness.  In some severe cases it may cause death.

Warning of altitude sickness

Our guide Norbu explaining how to use the oxygen tank

At a small town where we stopped to take a break we were welcome by locals dancing a traditional Tibetan dance.

The staple crop in Tibet is barley.  A special type of barley grows well at this altitude and temperate climate.  We saw a couple using yaks to plough the land.

We are finally entering into the National Park where EBC is located.  We still had to travel 2-3 hours through winding roads and mountain passes.  The scenery is just outstanding.  This is called the Oomolongma Scenic Area.  We have to pay an entrance fee to enter the area.  Below are some of the scenes.

Our location relative to Mount Everest

Entrance into the National Park

Winding Road down the Mountain

Nothing but mountains

One of the Himalaya Peaks

A tunnel through the mountain

A village in the mountains

At about 7pm that evening we finally arrived at EBC.  It is more modern than I expected.  I was expecting to see in canvas tents but they have temporary fixed structure buildings that house several rooms each.  These are dismantled in the winter time when there are no tourists.  There is even a heater and sink in each building.  Toilets are common toilets shared by the buildings.  Surprisingly, they are quite clean considering how remote we were.

My room - spacious and comfortable

Common Area

Outside one of the buildings

Guests lining up to buy food

We were lucky that the sun was still up this late.  Without wasting any time we walked to an area where we could see Mount Everest.  There was a big crowd milling around, chatting and taking pictures.  Unquestionably we are at the right place for the reason that we have traveled so far.

Mount Everest

We were lucky that it stayed light until about 9pm.  In the morning we had another opportunity to take pictures of Mount Everest in a different light.

Morning view of Mount Everest

Next to EBC is the Rongbu Temple.  We were allowed to go in and take pictures.  There were many yaks hanging out outside the temple.

Our drive back to Shigatse and Lhasa was straightforward.  We stopped at very few sites to view the scenery.  At one stop I was able to take a video of the area to give someone an appreciation for what the landscape looks like.

Luckily, there are no McDonald's or KFC in this part of China.  We had a family-style lunch at a local restaurant.  It was good, tasty and inexpensive.  Less than US$8 per person.

A family-style lunch

We had so much food that we skipped dinner when we checked into our hotel in Shigatse for the night.

We still had one more temple to visit before we returned to Lhasa.  It's the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, one of the most important monasteries in Tibet.

Praying and walking around the stupa

An entrance to part of the monastery

Monks getting ready for their prayers

An assembly of monks

As a farewell gift to us Asia Odyssey Travel put together a splendid Tibetan dinner and dance for us.

Farewell Dinner

Final Group Picture

I am so glad I finally had a chance to visit Tibet.  We squeezed so much into one week.  You always picture what a place looks like before you visit but when you are there, it looks totally different.  Except for the Potala Palace I could have never imagined what Tibet is like.  It is so different from the rest of China but yet it is part of China.  I hope the Tibetans get to preserve their culture and language.  While being part of China has modernized Tibet it has come at a cost.  I am not sure I will be back but my memories hopefully will last a long time.  That's why I am writing this blog.