October is one of the best months for trekking Everest Base Camp. October lies in the autumn season (September, October, and November) of the four seasons witnessed in Nepal. Pleasant weather conditions, stable temperature, only occasional chances of rainfall or snowfall, dramatic as well as unobstructed views of the mountain massifs, fewer possibilities of being the flights canceled or delayed, refreshed nature after long monsoon days, crystal skies attract thousands of trekking enthusiasts to the Everest Base Camp in October.
October is the season of autumn flower blossoms and festivals as well. The most popular festival of Nepal Dashain lies in this month. Trekkers can enjoy the festival during the trek and even can celebrate with locals.
Along with the festivals, trekkers will be welcomed by the beautiful religious shrines and cultural heritages during your trek. Lukla Monastery, Phakding Monastery, Namche Monastery, Khumjung Monastery, Pangboche Monastery, and Tengboche Monastery, Sherpa Cultural Museum at Namche, long mane walls throughout the trek, fluttering prayer flags in the different parts of the trail and monuments, people with are some of the signs that prove trekking Everest has equal cultural and religious significance.
Not only will they, but trekkers also be amazed to see the natural wonders inside the Sagarmatha National Park. Diverse flora at the lower altitude of the park includes pine and hemlock forests, white fir, juniper, birch, and rhododendron, scrub, and alpine plant communities are common at the higher altitude. Similarly, you can witness diverse fauna such as red panda, snow leopard, musk deer, Himalayan tahr, marten, Himalayan mouse hare (pika), and over 118 species of bird including the Impeyan pheasant, snow cock, blood pheasant, red-billed cough, etc.
As October is a peak season for trekking Everest, all the teahouses, restaurants are full in operation, and choices of accommodations are available. Although there is a limited number of teahouses established, fulfill every responsibility to make you satisfied.
Destination: Nepal
Region: Everest region
Activity: Everest treks
Nature of the trek: Lodge to lodge trekking
Trek distance: 130 kilometer/ 80 miles (Lukla to Lukla)
Start/Endpoint: Kathmandu
Accommodation: Hotel in Kathmandu, Lodge/Teahouse during the trek
Best season: Feb to mid-June and September to December
Activity per day: Approximately 4-6 hrs walking during the trek
Transportation: Ground transportation (Airport-Kathmandu hotel, Kathmandu hotel-airport) and flight (Kathmandu-Lukla-Kathmandu)
Major attractions: Cultural, natural, and historical wonders of Kathmandu valley, Lukla, Sagarmatha National Park, Namche Bazaar, Tengboche Monastery, Nagarjun hill, Everest Base Camp, Kala Patthar
Festive moments
October is the month of the festival. The greatest festival of Nepal, Dashain, falls this month, and the people of Nepal celebrate it with great enthusiasm. Trekkers can see the people returning to their original homes after long stays in the cities or abroad.
During your trek, you might encounter people gathering and celebrating the festival. People seem to decorate their houses with different colors.
Scenic Views
While trekking in Everest Base Camp in October, trekkers will have panoramic views of the mountain massifs, landscapes, settlements, large and wide valleys, and river gorges. In addition, the yak pastures, distinct flora, and fauna inside the Sagarmatha National Park make your journey even scenic.
The seasonal flower blossoms, post-monsoon refreshed nature, torrential rivers, and magnificent waterfalls make your journey to Everest Base Camp worth visiting. You will never get tired of seeing the settlements of the Sherpa people along with their monasteries, prayer flags, and mani walls.
4 of the 6 tallest peaks of the planet-Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Makalu, and Cho Oyu, along with dozens of other peaks above 6000m, can be witnessed during this epic journey.
Favorable weather and climate
Trekking in the high Himalayas is largely dependent upon the weather conditions and temperature. Pre and post-monsoon periods are considered as the best months for trekking Everest Base Camp. October is the post-monsoon season that offers warm and dry days chill nights with less wind. Thus, the weather is neither too hot nor too cold, making it favorable for walking.
Trekkers can enjoy their walks without getting too sweaty and too chilly, making your trekking experience more enjoyable, memorable, and unique. A bright and comfortable climate offers spectacular, and you can relax and complete your trek without any rush.
Diverse flora and fauna
During your hike to Everest Base Camp, you will pass through Sagarmatha National Park, the world's highest elevated Himalayan national park. Home to the diverse vegetation and wildlife, trekkers will welcome Himalayan vegetation and fauna while passing it.
The lush green forests of rhododendron, orchid, and oaks, along with the forests full of several medicinal plants and herbs with a beautiful fragrance, make your journey scenic and enjoyable.
You will pass various crops like paddy, millet, corn, and potatoes in the lower elevations during your trek.
March, April, and May are spring months, and September, October, and November are autumn periods in Nepal. Therefore, you will experience almost similar weather and temperature during these periods. The days are warmer and bright, and nights are cool and usually experience negative temperatures, especially high elevations.
The trekking routes will be filled with the rhododendron and other springs during spring, and the villages seem to decorate with the marigold flowers during autumn periods. Spring is an ideal period for mountaineering. Thus, you can encounter mountaineers who dare to climb Mt. Everest and other mountain massifs. However, in autumn, you will see people gathering from far and near to celebrate the festival of Dashain.
The probability of rain or snowfall is a bit higher in the months of April-May compared to October-November.
If you are a first-time hiker, trekking Everest Base camp in October will be the perfect choice for several reasons. This month, the maximum flights are operated, and there are fewer chances of getting stuck in Lukla due to bad weather conditions. You will never feel alone while walking as dozens of other trekkers are proceeding towards the same destination where you are going.
Proper Gearing Up
Besides clothing, there is some separate equipment that you need to take while trekking in the Himalayas, what we call trekking gear. For example, a backpack (Size depends on whether you take porter or not), a thermal bottle, a water purification system, trekking poles, sleeping bag (-15 degree bag is recommended for high altitude trekking), body lotions and creams, and toiletries (a medium-size drying towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant floss, a biodegradable bar soap, nail clippers, a small mirror) are some of the gears and equipment that you need while trekking Everest in October.
Concerning clothing, you need to have layers of clothes along with down jackets for trekking. Furthermore, as the mornings and nights are freezing, you need to pack an appropriate number of clothes to bear such temperatures.
Guides and Porters
Almost every traveler asks us whether we can trek Everest Base Camp trek solo or not. The short answer is ‘YES.’ However, there are many things you need to consider while trekking in Everest. If you hire a guide and porter, your stress will be reduced by 95%.
Your guide does only not show the way; instead, they take you to the best available teahouses, explains the itinerary of the following day, listens to your problems, tries to solve out them, takes you to the best viewpoints, explains dos and don’ts while trekking and the most importantly they are very helpful in case of emergencies.
Your porter carries your duffle bag, making you comfortable for walking. However, carrying a weighty duffle bag, walking in the high altitudes is quite uncomfortable, and you may miss the scenic views and feel exhausted at every end of the day due to the heavy burden.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is a good measure to prevent you from all the unexpected things that may happen to you during the trek. For example, you never know when emergencies from Altitude sickness and any other causes occur. In such cases, your insurance covers the cost of helicopter rescue and other medication charges.
For the Everest Base Camp trek, you need to get insurance covering helicopter rescue up to 5500m above sea level. Make sure that you check with these companies as to what your insurance covers things before buying it.
Preparation
Planning, preparation, and practice are some of the most important aspects you need to consider while trekking at Everest Base Camp. It would help if you did not discount the importance of physical preparation, a mental determination before your trek.
Some of the physical exercises such as swimming, going to the gym, cycling, and walking up and downstairs are activities that help you build stamina for walking.
During the trek, you will walk acclimatized properly in different places. After spending a day in Kathmandu, you will fly to Lukla and trek to Phakding on the same day. The next day you will walk to Namche Bazaar and will spend two nights there for acclimatization purposes.
After walking 2 more days, you will spend two nights at Dingboche before your final walk to Everest Base Camp. Spending extra days in those places is crucial where you can get adjusted to the surrounding atmosphere.
Day One: Fly Kathmandu to Lukla and trek to Phakding
Day Two: Trek Phakding to Namche Bazaar
Day Three: Acclimatization at Namche Bazaar
Day Four: Trek Namche to Tengboche
Day Five: Trek Tengboche to Dingboche
Day Six: Acclimatization day in Dingboche
Day Seven: Trek Dingboche to Lobuche
Day Eight: Trek Lobuche to Gorakshep to Everest Base Camp and back to Gorekshep
Day Nine: Hike Kalapatthar and descend to Gorekshep and further to Pheriche
Day Ten: Trek Pheriche to Namche Bazaar
Day Eleven: Trek Namche Bazaar to Lukla
Day Twelve: Fly back to Kathmandu
Everest Base camp trek is centrally a teahouse trek. Teahouses are a great place for lodging and food. They have built small but cozy rooms sold mostly on a sharing basis. The rooms are facilitated with two small beds, a blanket, a pillow a mattress in each. Some of them have kept chairs and tables, but some do not. Anyway, they are the best options to make your exhausted bodies relaxed.
The charging ports are kept in the rooms where you can charge your electronics there. However, lodges in the upper region use solar energy to produce electricity, so they charge you extra for its usage. You may need to pay an additional cost for hot showers and water.
Moreover, they offer you a variety of clean, hot and healthy meals. Every day, you will taste choices of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Food can be chosen from the menu set by the teahouse owners.
You will mostly get bread, jam, scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, paratha, and more for breakfast, Dal, Bhat, curry, pickle, and side dishes like meat, paneer, spinach, etc. lunch and dinner. For drinks, you will have relatively limited options. Tea, coffee, coke, and a couple of other drinks are available.
Despite being the choicest month for trekking Everest, trekkers face some challenges during their walk-in in October. And they are:
Altitude and Altitude Sickness
One of the major challenges for trekking the Everest region is altitude sickness. Trekkers walking above 3000m above the sea surface may face symptoms as severe headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, upset stomach, diarrhea, unable to sleep, difficulty in breathing, blur in vision, and so forth.
These are the symptoms of Altitude Sickness. If such symptoms are seen, inform immediately to your trekking leader and descend from your place as soon as possible.
Altitude sickness is seen mostly if you skipped acclimatization days, rushed while walking, or did not get plenty of water. Alcoholic drinks are also the supportive materials for Acute Mountain Sickness.
Finding accommodation
Another major challenge you might face during Everest Base Camp Trek in October is finding accommodation. However, these days there are several teahouses and lodges to accommodate every hour’s trek distance.
October is a peak season for trekking and peak climbing. Hundreds of trekkers seem to ascend towards the base of Everest. Most of the lodges and teahouses might already get tenanted. So, pre-booking is advised for accommodation.
Route Difficulty
The trekking routes are less slippery and snow-covered, unlike monsoon and winter. Therefore, the probability of rain and snowfall is less, making your journey more comfortable. However, walking under the sunny temperature passing the rugged landscapes can make the route difficult.
The mountain trails are not pitched or straight; instead, they are zigzagged and can be quite tiring, especially for novice trekkers. Walking in the high Himalayan lands can be quite uncomfortable, passing several ups and downs.
No privacy
As already mentioned, October is a peak month for trekking the Everest region, so the trails are swarming with people. In the teahouses, you might need to share a room with fellow travelers. If you are an introvert, you might feel uncomfortable while sharing a room with other travelers.
It isn't easy to find peace while walking as there are chiliads of trekkers on the way. So trekking in October can be throttled if you don’t like itinerant with crowds. In every nook and turn, you will find a fellow mate, which can be unpleasant.
Trekkers need to buy two kinds of permits for Everest Base Camp Trek. Sagarmatha National Park Permit and Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Entrance Permit that cost NPR 3000 + 13% Govt. Tax and NPR 2000 respectively.
Trekkers do not require to buy Trekkers’ Information Management System (TIMS) card to trek Everest Base Camp now. With the implementation of the local permits, they have removed the compulsion of (TIMS) cards for trekking.
Nepal is an endless destination for exploration. There are thousands of trekking and hiking routes to walk in. Among them, all Everest Base Camp Trek is one of the best trekking destinations of Nepal, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of trekkers each year.
Autumn (September to November) and spring (March to May) are considered the best months for trekking Everest and any other regions in Nepal. Stable weather conditions, moderate temperatures, best views, fewer chances of water or rainfall make your journey in these periods even enjoyable, memorable, and scenic. Holy Mountain Treks welcomes you all for your next adventure in Nepal.
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