Food & Lodging Advice on the Trail
-Click on Earthquake Information for updated information about villages and lodging along the EBC trail starting from Jiri to the upper Khumbu. -Click on Must Read Advice section for information on budgeting your money for the trail -Scroll below ( Lodging Advice ) for lodging recommendations per village. Lodging: The Everest Base Camp trail boasts hundreds of lodges & restaurants that cater to trekkers. Even on the most isolated parts you typically find lodging and a hot meal every 2-3 hours on the trail. Lodges cover all the basic amenities and in most cases have attached kitchens and dining rooms to provide hot meals to tourists and locals. The fancier lodges are located in between Lukla & Namche Bazaar & you can find nice options above Namche Bazaar in Pangboche, Pheriche, & Dingboche. Keep in mind that the higher in elevation you get, the more expensive basic goods and services are as everything is trekked in. Lodges will typically charge a group of two trekkers 100 Rs to stay as long as you eat all your meals at the lodge. If you eat elsewhere don't be surprised if they ask for 2000-3000 Rs per day. If you want a room with a private bathroom/shower you will pay extra. For example a room shared bathroom/shower costs 100 Rs but a room with private bath/shower at the excellent Hotel Norling in Namche Bazaar cost 3000 Rs per night. Food: You can typically purchase various snacks, beer, soda, chips, tea, and batteries at lodges however the price increases with the elevation. Typical menus at lodges consist of Dal Bhat (best Dal Bhat below Namche Bazaar), Thukpa Noodle Soup (Tibetan & Sherpa specialty) Vegetable & Garlic Soup, Veggie Lomein, Veggie Fried Rice, pasta with mixed local vegetable, potatoes with vegetable, pizza with Yak Cheese, & other delights. You don't have to be very concerned with water sources on the trail, typically because you can't go more than 2-3 hours without passing a village. There are plenty of water sources in various sections of the trail but bring Iodine tablets, a Sterilizing Pen (sterilizes with UV radiation), or if you want to carry it, a water purifying pump. We used iodine for most of the trip. However, you do not want to run out of water so always remember to fill up at every opportunity. Being hydrated is very important in avoiding altitude sickness. TEA, TEA, & MORE TEA: On the trail in the Gurushankar & Khumbu regions we enjoyed tea for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Lodges serve it in large, extra large, and jumbo thermos. There are various options but we enjoyed chai in the mornings and ginger and hot lemon tea for lunch and dinner. Drinking tea is very important to avoid dehydration, help with acclimatization, and lift your spirits. You can buy various meat dishes and Yak steaks but beware the meat bought at higher elevations that is not dried has to be trekked in and may be a couple days old. However we ordered Chicken Chili in Deboche (Rivendell Lodge) and it was excellent. We recommended you purchase various snacks in Kathmandu as snacks and various food items (other then meals) can be expensive on the trail. We brought granola, energy bars, and various snacks that lasted until about Ghat, which saved us money and filled our stomachs in between meals. A snickers bar in the higher elevations will cost you 100-300 Rs vs 30-40 Rs in Kathmandu. Lodging Recommendations: (Some lodges listed below were damaged and are in the process of being rebuilt. Since these are isolated villages it's difficult to find out information about specific villages however asking a reputable guide company or officials at the Tourism office where you get your TIMS card and permits is advisable). Shivalaya: We stayed at the first lodge on the right when you cross the bridge over the river. Bhandar: Himalayan Lodge which is one of the last lodges before exiting the small village. Excellent food and adequate rooms. Junbesi: Ang Chopa. One of our favorite lodges on the trail. A well built & large house with friendly owners, warm showers, and incredible food. Bupsa: Everest Lodge: Comfortable rooms and good food. Surke : Yak & Yeti Home: A large lodge with decent food, Rakshi, and good breakfast. Lukla: The Khumbu Hotel. Really nice two story hotel in the middle of town with private rooms and tasty food. Really good value for some luxury at the end of your trip. It's in the middle of town across from the Irish & Scottish Pub's & across from a great cafe. Ghat/Thadkoshi: (5 minutes south of Ghat in Thadkoshi): Hotel Sherpa View Point. Owned by Fumu & Mingma Sherpa, the Hotel Sherpa View Point has comfortable rooms and excellent local food from the garden. They also have an outdoor deck to dine on with a great view of the Dudh Kosi River. ***Note: The Hotel Sherpa View Point was heavily damaged by the earthquakes and is in the process of being rebuilt as of August, 2015. If you want to donate to help the family rebuild please click on: Hotel Sherpa View Point Namche Bazaar: Hotel Norling. On the "left side" of Namche slightly above the Holiday Inn & close to Namche Bazaar's ATM & Mountain Hardware store the Hotel Norling services excellent food, has rooms with private shower, and the owner is very friendly. Gokyo: Cho Yo View Lodge. The best food we had on the upper EBC trail, the best part of this lodge is the warm owner and her amazing food. Best food in the upper Khumbu Phortse: Namaste Lodge, Owned by a friendly and hospitable family that loves playing music (via iPod) for guests. Also makes really great food and has a large dining area. Located in the middle portion of Phortse. Chukhung: Panorama Lodge. At the end of this high village is a comfortable lodge with wonderful food, especially the fried macaroni with veggies & potatoes. Deboche: Rivendell Lodge. This is one of the largest lodges we stayed at on the trail. A huge dining room and kitchen with various rooms, some with private bath/shower. The food is very good and the owner and her kitchen cook wonderful food including delicious Chicken Chili. They also have a leave a book take a book library. |