Spend one night at Legendary Everest Base Camp, Sleep inside the tent under the stars, and feel the Everest base camp like climbers.
Everest Base Camp is the starting point to scale Everest. It is where mountaineers set up their camps before daring to ascend this highest peak in the world. But the Everest Base Camp is not simply for mountaineers and expeditionists alike. It is a joy of a place that thousands of trekkers traverse every year. But most of the trekkers visit the place, probably in the afternoon, and trudge back to Gorak Shep, a village that offers you the coziness of guesthouses. However,Sublime Trails has come up with an ingenious experience where youcan sleep at the Everest Base Camp.
Before you gasp at the thought of Sleeping at the Everest Base Camp and dismiss the whole idea, we would like you to take a look at the complete picture. And we’d like to put a gentle reminder too: it is not going to be the smoothest of rides. You need to prepare your body well, acclimatize as much as you can and probably spend a few or even more than a few days adjusting to the depleting oxygen levels in the trekking terrains of the Everest Region. And with a lot of hard luck and a bit of fortune (that you need because you never know beforehand if anyone’s body will properly adjust to the climate), you will be able to complete the Sleeping at Everest Base Camp Overnight Trek.
History of Sleeping at the Everest Base Camp
The Everest Base Camp located in Nepal is one of the two Everest Base Camps- the other one being located in Tibet. Reaching a towering 5545 meters, the Everest Base Camp located in Nepal which is also known as the Southern Base Camp was first summited by a group named “Icefall Party” in 12th April 1953. When people of this famed group that included Sir Edmund Hillary first reached this place, it was merely a glacial moraine- but a moraine that was bedded by dry ice at the bottom of Khumbu icefall.
Since the 70-odd years or so after it was first mounted, Everest Base Camp has changed drastically, and so have the places around it. There is habitation in nearby villages, medical emergencies can be easily attended to, and food supplies that were, during the times of Hillary, unavailable, can be easily accessed. Therefore, many people these days have a view that is opposite to what Hillary had about EBC. He thought that the Everest Base Camp was not a special place and that it wasn’t a decent place to relax too. But with the effort of companies like Sublime Trails, which transports many mountaineers and trekkers to the dreamland that is Everest, people now put reaching and sleeping overnight at the Everest Base Camp on their bucket list.
Not simply that Everest Base Camp is a wonder of a place to reach, it is also a place where the “highest party of the earth” was organized. British DJ Paul Oakenfold held a party for 100 climbers at the Everest Base Camp. His whole idea behind organizing this event was because he wanted to shed light on the environment at the Everest Base Camp. If an all-out party can be organized at the Everest Base Camp, we can at least merit the idea of sleeping overnight there during your trek.
What Makes Sleeping at the Everest Base Camp Possible?
There are a few things to keep in mind. Even people who have been to the Everest Base Camp once without any health concerns might suffer from altitude sickness if they choose to go the other time. Even local Sherpas who’ve spent a year or two outside this region suffer from pangs of altitude sickness if they return here after a long time. So we advise every traveler wishing to complete this trek to take their journey as slowly as possible.
Benefits of Acclimatization
One of the ways of doing this is by spending a day acclimatizing at the Namche Bazaar. After your flight lands in Lukla, it takes you a couple of days to get to Namche. And this is a major spot for acclimatizing. Acclimatizing doesn’t simply mean that you spend the day resting in your lodge. It mans trekking for a few hours to reach Hotel Everest View, which is located at an altitude that is 500 meters higher than Namche. It also involves getting to Hillary School, Hillary View Point, and other notable places that make you get used to higher altitudes. After this tour, we trudge back to Namche Bazaar.
In a similar manner, we also spend another day acclimatizing in Dingboche. In a manner that is not too dissimilar to what we did in Namche Bazaar, we spend the day following our reach to Dingboche acclimatizing. And the acclimatization involves reaching Nangkartshang.
Eating Healthy
In addition to the benefits of acclimatization days, you will also have to ensure that you eat and drink as healthily as possible. And that means that you avoid processed food as much as you can. Nepalese have an adage: “Dal Bhat Power 24 hours” i.e. the traditional Nepali Dal Bhaat you will eat keeps you charged for 24 hours. Yes you might want to increase protein supplies to your body by eating dry fruits or chocolates for power-snacking, we advise you to stay away from other forms of processed food as much as possible.
Also, make sure that you keep yourself hydrated throughout the day. This means cutting down or avoiding liquor during the trek and increasing the intake of water. Since there will be a strong wind blowing along the way, you will have to wrap yourself around with robust clothing. Robust clothing coupled with upward ascent tends to dehydrate your body and sap your energy. Make sure that you constantly recharge your body with the pristine mountain water that you get along the way. If you think you need to go for bottled water, you can do that too. Just make sure that you’re properly hydrated.
Safety
The strongest reason why overnight Sleeping at the Everest Base Camp trek seems impossible at the outset is that many people are concerned with their safety. And justifiably so.
As there are no tangible houses in the Everest Base Camp region, and the exact location of where the camping is done depends upon the local weather, it is impossible to precisely mark the location where our tents will be set up beforehand.
In order to ensure safety, we provide you with oxygen supplements and masks that go along with it. We also ensure that you get much more than a decent meal. We also provide you with warm sleeping bags and blankets that keep the surrounding cold away.
Reasons to Pick Sublime Trails For Everest base camp overnight trek
Our team
Our team at Sublime Trails comprises the most experienced Guides and Porters. We make sure that they are locals of the places you visit. They have completed the overnight EBC trek plenty of times. This is why they can come up with unique stories about the history, culture as well as heritage of the place you are trekking to. We also give porters proper training so that they mature into guides and climb up the social ladder. The guides, as well as porters, are properly insured too. This ensures that the community of the various villages where you trek during your Everest Base Camp trek grows. Most of the time, we provide 1 porter for 1 person and 1 guide is shared between 5 people.
Proper training advice
Most of the people who come for the Sleep at Everest Base Camp trek come with a mentality that they will rely on helicopters when things get a tad challenging during the trek. This mindset is often what deters them from completing the proper physical training that is needed to complete the EBC trek. EBC takes you to an altitude of more than 5500 meters. This is why you need to get into shape with exercises that build your endurance. This includes strength training or taking a hike for a few days before you attempt the overnight Everest Base Camp trek. If your health deteriorates to a point where evacuation becomes mandatory, helicopters are always there.
First Local company to offer the trip
Sublime Trails has been doing the Everest trek with overnight stays at Base Camp for a long time to our direct clients. After we received rave reviews from them, we became confident that we could go beyond and offer our services to new and enthusiastic trekkers who would want to experience not only the trek to the Everest Base Camp but sleep at the Base Camp overnight. The fact that we have got the tinge of being the first local company to offer the trip, we feel deeply for the community there. This is why we focus on traveling sustainably to the pristine region that is the Everest Base Camp. And also support the community there.
Our amenities
We make sure that you bask in the warmth of regular tea houses until you reach the highest settlement during the trek i.e. Gorak Shep. And that comes with all inclusive food. Your concern might be your sleep during the Everest Base Camp trek. But you don’t need to worry. But we provide the best quality tents for one night at the Everest Base camp. They come with the best insulation against the chill of the Everest region. We also provide you a sleeping bag with inner fleece liner for extra warmth. In addition, we provide good food for one night stay at Base Camp. And sufficient hot drinks.
Altitude preventions
Our guides are properly trained in basic first-aid and carry the corresponding tool with them at all times during the Everest Base Camp trek while sleeping overnight. The medication includes Diamox in proportion to the number of people that are trekking and the number of days it takes you to get to the Base Camp and back. The guides will also carry other medication in need. Further, we also have the provision of oxygen facilities for people in need. And if trekkers are sick during the night time, we help the trekkers descend via horse. We are always doing the extra mile in order to save people that have traces of altitude sickness during the EBC trek with an overnight at the Base Camp.
Environmental concern
Preserving the environment of the Base Camp falls among our topmost priorities when we are doing the Everest Base Camp trek. We often see pictures of mounds of oxygen cylinders that mountaineers leave during the ascent to the top of Mt. Everest. In order to not make the same mistake, we bring all the garbage that we produced during the one-night stay at the Everest Base Camp. The other thing on our checklist is to bring back all the waste including toilet papers so that we dispose of them at the proper place. And the motto of sustainable travel and Carbon neutral travel that we have at Sublime Trails doesn’t budge during the trek to the Everest Base Camp.
Better Lodge and better food
We understand the importance of good lodges and even better food while you are trekking to the Everest Base Camp trek with overnight sleeping. This is why we make sure that the lodges you go to are well insulated and provide the necessary warmth that is needed to enjoy a relaxed sleep. The rooms are well made and come with blankets and pillows that are warmly comforting. The same is true of food. We serve the standard 3 meals a day to you. We make sure that the food comes with nutrition that matches the energy that you spend during the trek. During your overnight Everest Base Camp trek, we serve you vegetables that are locally grown. This ensures that the Carbon footprint of transporting vegetables from other areas is cut down.
What makes sleeping at Everest Base Camp Overnight trek special?
After the sightseeing, travelers head back to Gorak Shep overnight. But, it's not as thrilling as sleeping in a tent at Everest Base Camp. Watching twinkling and shooting stars while curling inside a warm blanket is an unmatched experience. Also, the vibe of being around the mighty Everest and other peaks makes you calm. This fashion of the Everest trek is popular among travelers.
How safe is sleeping at Everest Base Camp Overnight trek?
Safety comes first when you are traveling over 5,000 meters. Further, while sleeping at Everest Base Camp, it has to be with utmost comfort and safety. To keep health safety in the first place, we will provide oxygen supplements with masks to individuals. Our chefs will serve you quality food for an overnight sleep at EBC. Warm sleeping bags and blankets are also crucial to keep you warm all night. Not to worry, we will manage each item that keeps you warm and safe. Our seasoned guides with more than a decade of guiding experience will be there for your service.
Best time for sleeping at Everest Base Camp Overnight trek.
All trekkers with a veritable enthusiasm to trek to Everest Base Camp might already know that Spring and Autumn mark the best time to Sleep at Everest Base Camp Overnight trek. During these months, the rains are not as heavy as some other months of monsoon nor is the temperature unbearably cold like in the winter.
March, April, and May- which mark the spring season- are the three months when expeditionists visit the Everest Base Camp and set up their tents before marching off to the highest peak in the world. Seeing a lot of other climbers not only gives you a chance to share your experience with them but also get lessons from them for climbing in the future (if you’d like to do that). In addition, a strong social presence also gives you much-needed mental support as you will feel that this trek is doable.
Another season where you can enjoy the Everest Base Camp Overnight Trek is the months of autumn- September, October, and November. The early days of September might still have remnants of the monsoon while the latter days of November might mark the presence of the looming winters and make it a tad colder than you expect.
Regardless, the temperature during the daytime in the aforementioned best seasons would be around 10-15 degrees. During the night time, it might get to as low as -15 degrees, but with proper safety measures that we will provide you with and assisted guidance, you need not worry about it too much.
In Autumn months like September, October, November, and December, the daytime temperature at Everest Base Camp average 17°C. This warmer temperature makes daytime hikes a lot easier. Also, the nighttime temperature is not that cold in these months in the base camp. The average nighttime temperature at EBC falls to -6°C in October and -12°C in November.
As in Spring, the proper gear, down jackets, and warm sleeping bags let you curl comfortably.