Nepal Travel Forum

Hi all,
I've been to Nepal before but never to EBC south base. If anybody been to both North and South base camps, what would you advise to someone that has already trekked to the North EBC in Tibet, is it worth seeing the South one? Which one had impressed you most? Another question is, is it possible to do a combination of trek and drive to EBC Nepal, as I don't have 14 to 16 days to do a proper trek? I've heard that roads to South EBC are virtually non-existent at best times of the year and I will be in Nepal End-July/beginning of August, peak monsoon. Any feedback/comments will be highly appreciated. Cheers!

Strikes me that you need to do a lot more research !!
I will give you some starting points

1) The shortest trek to EBC (Nepal) is to fly into Lukla and trek from there, Because of altitude gain and risk of AMS the recommended minimum time for this trek is 16 days Kathmandu – Kathmandu. I came across a guy who tried to cut down the time in doing this trek and he was lying dead on the side of the trail – and that is the Truth !!

2) I aren’t aware of any organised trips to EBC Tibet from Nepal, Travelling from Nepal to Tibet is complicated enough because of the requirements of Tibetan Travel permits, These are only issued to groups, OK, You could go as a group of one and organise the trip yourself but you would be looking at a couple of thousand dollars +

If you are that limited for time then the only way you are going to see Everest is from the Buddha Air Mountain Flight

Have a browse at my Nepal Page tips section, That will give you a better idea of what is possible when you have a limited time frame
Good Luck
Rob

I have been to Namchi Bazaar near EBC. I also did Annapurna-Machhe Pucchare base camp. I liked Annapurna base camp trek much more. It is short, (5-7 days, depending upon your speed), popular and has plenty of place to take rest enroute. The landscape is beautiful and it is a moderate level trek. You have to start from Pokhara for Annapurna trek.
Enjoy your trip

Hi Rob, hi Bkarjee, thanks for your replies. Sorry, Rob, I think you misunderstood me here, what I meant was would it be possible to take let's say a truck from Lukla and drive a bit further towards EBC Nepal, to cut on days, not fastpace the trek :) (With the backpack at this altitude? No way!) Similar to what I did in Tibet, to the North EBC from Lhasa, I was short on time too, so I found out that some folks got an SUV with a driver to go to EBC and are looking for 2 more ppl, so I joined them. I think this method of reaching EBC is quite common in Tibet, but seems it is not in Nepal. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have those 16 days in my pocket to do the trek, but unfortunately I don't. Annapurna trek sounds good, plus I was planning to go to Pokara anyway if EBC has to be postponed for another time.

Thanks for clarifying your post
OK – Easy to answer, There are no roads at all from or to Lukla. So No Chance of speeding up your trip. But as I said on my 1st answer, even if there were roads then you would still be stuck with the only gaining 300m per day after 3.000m rule to try and avoid AMS
But you say you are going to Pokhara – Consider ABC Trek, you can do the round trip, Pokhara (Phidi) to Pokhara in about 10 days, if that is still to much time then consider taking a flight to Jomsom and trek up to Kagbeni - Jharkot – Muktinath – Jomsom and fly back, That’s a 4 day round and you really get up amongst the mountains (See my pics and videos)
Good Luck
Rob

Hellow, "iTrek"!!! Perhaps, you could do 7 days Everest trek to Tengboche, starting from Lukla. You have to take flight to lukla and then start trekking from there. As you do not have 14-16 days, I suppose you would have 7 days. As I did the trek in 6 days, though the plan was of 7 days. You can see the beautiful view of Mt. Everst from tengboche too. Since, you are planning to do trek in the end of July, it will be humid, and due to the humidity your trek would be quite difficult but not impossible. I guess it would be rather challenging and fun. There is high probability of getting AMS, only if you are use to living near sea-level.
And there is no vehicle in Lukla, rather it is not possible.

All the best for your Trek,

I was in Nepal in May and am going bace next year and we want to see Everest.

so I searched the Tibet side first with Prem Silwal as they looked after us really well last time
Heian Treks
Kathmandu,Nepal
Tel 00977-01-4700579,4701443
Cell 00977-98510-30913
Email info@heiantreks.com
URL www.heiantreks.com

and if you have 4 people it will cost $700 each not including the flight to Lsha and it is a 4WD Trip to Everest over 5 days. for 2 people it is $900 each.

So we decided to go to the other side and walk to Base camp from Luka for our next trip. For me I just dont like the package deals but everyone is different.
I dont know what which view would be the best one. We walked half way last time and it was so beautiful so cant wait to go back there.