Ultimate Guide for Gokyo Lake and Everest Base Camp Trek 2024

A big Teahouse shelter trekking in the Himalayan heaven encircling Gokyo Lake and Everest Base Camp Trek leads trails over Himalayan grassland, Glacial lakes, and into the alpine scenery. In between 5 to 7 hours periods daily, the trekking over 12 to 14 days in a teahouse to teahouse alone the Cho Oyu Himalayas world.

The hiking starts and ends at Lukla. Across the complete routes few treks away from modern human social and cultural developments from lodges to lodges. Alongside the routes are full of Rhododendron flowers and a few Alpino Flores and the nearest face-to-face Huge Himalayas chains including Mt. Everest, Lhotse, and Cho Oyu with its amazing petrified South Face.

At every step, the cozy Himalayan guest house anticipates where the sherpa owners saturate the trekkers. Those Sherpas well recognize the Himalayas heaven surroundings, Everest. Nepal’s guide tells the story of the Himalayas to describe.

Gokyo Lake and Chola Pass with Everest Base Camp Treks provide dissimilar features and 15 to 17 days of attractiveness in Everest and Cho Oyu Himalayas heavens.

• Please bring a Camera or a good Mobile Phone.
• observance of the admiration at several secret and seen parts of Everest and Cho Oyu.
• Everest Base camp trek beginner officially after the moments of first success ascend climbing of Mt. Everest.
• This extensive trek lasting for 17 days in an alpine and sub-alpine territory, Mt. Everest Base camp, and Gokyo Lake hike is essential the attentive planning.

When to Trek Everest Base Camp and Chola Pass?

According to our twenty years of experience, geologists predict that Gokyo Lake, Everest Base Camp, and any mountainous region of Nepal will have heavy rainfall from July to August. Therefore, the time before the rain and the time after the rain are considered suitable times for trekking in the hilly parts of Nepal.

At such times the sky is very clear. There is less chance of rain and snow. But the Everest Base Camp is a tourist hotspot at that time. If you do not want to hike in a crowded time, then the cold season or winter season is suitable. Sometimes the footpath is closed due to heavy snowfall.

Compared to Everest Base Camp, Gokyo Lake is a quiet trekking trail. November end is considered the most appropriate time for trekking there.

During that period less probability of rain, sunrises during the day and it is warm when walking. Trekkers stay inside the guesthouse at night. So even when the temperature is negative 15, it doesn’t feel so cold. But the clothes should be well prepared.

Ultimate Guide for Gokyo Lake and Everest Base Camp Trek:

Gokyo Lake, Cho La Pass, and Everest Base Camp Trek cost Breakdown:

Below we include the costs for the combined route of Gokyo Lake, Gokyo Peak, Chola Pass, and Everest Base Camp Trek for 2024 – 2025. The cost of each 15-day-by-day trek is below and the total cost is also included.

Day 01. Kathmandu to Lukla Flight and Trek from Lukla to Phakding.

• Drive cost from Hotel to Airport: US$ 10
• Flight fare: US$ 180
• Teahouses Cost: US$ 5
• 3 meals cost: US$ 7*3= 21
• Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Gaunpalika Permits fee: US$ 20
• Total cost for day 01: US$236

Day 02. Trek from Phakding to Namche

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 5
• 3 meals cost: US$ 8*3= 24
• Sagarmatha National Park Entry Permit: US$ 30
• Total cost for day 2: US$59

Day 03. Rest Day in Namche:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 5
• 3 meals cost: US$ 8*3= US$24
• Everest View Hotel Coffee Cost: US$5
• Total cost For Day 03: US$34

Day 04. Tyangboche Monastery trek from Namche Bazaar:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 5
• 3 meals cost: US$ 9*3= US$27
• Total cost for Day 4: US$32

Day 05. Tyangboche to Dingboche trek:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 5
• 3 meals cost: US$ 8*3= US$24
• Coffee or Bakery strolling in Dingboche: US$10
• Total cost For Day 05: US$39

Day 06: Rest in Dingboche:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 5
• 3 meals cost: US$ 8*3= US$24
• Coffee break in the afternoon: US$5
• Total cost For Day 06: US$34

Day 07: Dingboche to Lobuche Trek:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 6
• 3 meals cost: US$ 9*3= US$27
• Coffee break in the afternoon: US$7(highest altitude coffee House)
• Total cost For Day 07: US$40

Day 08: Lobuche to Gorakshep:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 7
• 3 meals cost: US$ 10*3= US$30
• The coffee takeaway for the Everest Base Camp hike: US$ 10
• Total cost For Day 08: US$47

Day 09: Gorakshep to Dzongla:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 7
• 3 meals cost: US$ 10*3= US$30
• Higher elevated coffee second break: US$7
• Total cost For Day 09: US$44

Day 10: Dzongla to Thaknak via Chola Pass:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 7
• 3 meals cost: US$ 10*3= US$30
• Packing Food for Chola: US$10
• Total cost For Day 10: US$47

Day 11: Thaknak to Gokyo:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 10
• 3 meals cost: US$ 10*3= US$30
• Lakeside Coffee: US$10
• Total cost For Day 11: US$50

Day 12: Gokyo to Dole:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 7
• 3 meals cost: US$ 9*3= US$27
• Total cost For Day 12: US$34

Day 13: Dole to Monjo:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 6
• 3 meals cost: US$ 8*3= US$24
• Namche Coffee time: US$7
• Total cost For Day 13: US$37

Day 14: Monjo to Lukla:

• Teahouses Cost: US$ 5
• 3 meals cost: US$ 7*2= US$14
• Treat Dinner for the Trekking crew: US$30
• Total cost For Day 14: US$49

Day 15: Fly to Kathmandu and Drive to the Hotel:

• Flight Cost: US$ 180
• Drive cost: US$10
• Breakfast in Lukla: US$7
• Total cost For Day 15: US$ 197

Total Cost Breakdown:

• Teahouse Accommodation Cost: US$85
• Personal Flight Fare: US$360
• Transportation cost from and to Airport: US$20
• Extra coffee cost: US$71
• National Park and Local Permits Cost: US$50
• Meals and Drinks cost: US$393

The Lump sum of 15 days Gokyo RI and Everest base camp trek cost:

From the above cost breakdown calculations, the total cost for Everest Base Camp Chola pass, Gokyo lakes, and Its RI are as follows.

• Minimum cost per person for solo trekking: 979
• Extra Optional Cost: Drinks, Hot water, Hot Shower, battery Charging, WIFI and Internet, personal snacks, Pastry, soup, and desert US$ 300
• Total cost per person: US$ 1279
• Note: Cost could be different due to guest budget, requirements, food category, and extra items used during the trip.
• Dependent organized Trek:
• Guide and Porter Salary: US$ 20*2*15=600
• Guide flight fare: US$ 100

Note: Tips for staff are extra, Group trekking for more than 2 people should be much cheaper due to sharing a guide and porter salary, flight, and your accommodation.

The total cost is US$ 1979 per person for the dependent trek with a guide and porter from the agency.

How cost Minimization for Chola Pass and Everest BC Trek:

Although we gave the day-by-day breakdown of cost, according to our prior high experience in Nepal Himalayas trekking we will give you some tips to minimize your traveling cost through Nepal trekking. Below are the tips for cost minimization that will be better to understand before your Himalayan treks.

Bring enough water-purified medicine:

Due to the high labor cost of transportation, the bottled mineral water cost on Everest trekking routes is very expensive starting from US$1 to US$ 5 at different elevations. A reasonable way to minimize this is to fill your normal water bottle with tap water and use personal water purification pills or chlorine drops.

Note: Nepali people and some trekkers are not affected even if they drink direct water from taps. But we suggest trekkers use the medicine before drinking.

Bring Extra Battery and Power Bank:

Trekking in the higher elevation of Nepal has no electricity supply. Many tea houses have solar panels for light and charging facilities. At higher altitudes the charging is expensive and the battery cost is also expensive. We suggest our valuable trekkers bring at least a 20000MAH Power bank for your charging. If possible you can bring a small solar charger for the camera battery and mobiles. If you have your power bank you can recharge your battery from time to time even during the day hiking.

Traveling in the group:

Traveling in Nepal in the Everest region is costly and traveling solo is more costly.  If you traveling in a group you can share your teahouse accommodation cost with your teammates which decreases your teahouse lodging cost by half. Trekking in Nepal with a guide and porter is also costly so if you share a guide and share porter with your travel mates it reduces the half cost.

Packing with some snacks:

Trekking in Everest base camp and Chola pass is sometimes not shorter. During the long day, you need to eat many times on the trails because it’s difficult, and hungry sometimes. If you have your snacks you can take them anytime when you want which saves your extra food cost arriving to your trekking difficulty and length.

Choose Vegetarian foods:

In trekking places in Nepal, Vegetable foods are cheaper than meat items. Himalayan vegetarian foods are fresh and cheaper so choosing vegetarian food is the way to reduce your Everest base camp cost.

Many trekkers take meat items during the trek but the meat is not fresh they feel some stomach problems and cannot complete the trek. They need to eat medicine and necessary rescue in higher elevations which is very costly. So for health and cost-benefit try to eat veggie food.

Combined Everest Base Camp with Chola pass and Gokyo lake Trek Difficulty:

This trek starts from Hillary Airport, Lukla, along with the Everest base camp, Chola pass, Gokyo, and back to Lukla lasts for a total of 15 days. The total length of the trek is 125 kilometers and the duration of the trek is 14 days. The approximate daily walking time is five to eight hours. Your trek journey will be over 2800m above sea level.

Most of the footpaths are wide, well recognized, and find a way easily. However, it is advisable to travel with a trekking guide as you have to travel above the melting glacier on the day of Chola Pass.

This is a difficult trek because trekkers carry a day backpack like 5kg and hike from 5 to 8 hours on higher elevated trails.

Height is considered to be the main factor in making this trek difficult. Because in this trek you travel up to 5555 meters, we can’t say right now how your body reacts to the height. You sleep at an altitude of over 4500 meters total of 5 days. You may have a problem with High altitude sickness.

When hiking over 3500 meters, you are advised not to sleep at more than 650 altitudes in one day. Drinking around 3 to 4 liters of water/fluid in a day and walking slowly is the golden advice to reduce AMS.

Things to know before trekking Gokyo RI and Everest Base Camp:

Exchange enough local currency:

Normally ATMs and banks are not available after Namche Bazaar during EBC and Chola Pass Trek. In those places, ATMs are not reliable and do not work all the time. So we warmly suggest you bring enough local currency from Kathmandu ATMs or exchange your cash with money exchange stalls or banks in Kathmandu. The teahouse has availability for money exchange service but the exchange rate is very low.

Poor Quality Meat Items:

This trek is very well-developed in Nepal. So there are many types of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods available in teahouses. Meat products take a long time to reach and may not be reliable to eat due to the lack of a refrigerator. So we warmly advise eating vegetarian food for our trekkers.

Mountain Sickness is Dangerous:

Tell your walking partner or guide if you feel any symptoms of acute Mountain Sickness. If you have any of these symptoms, going up the route is dangerous so you should go back down immediately. Or you can rest at the same altitude where you have symptoms and go up the next day. If the symptoms appear again. Canceling the trip is the best idea because your health is your wealth.

Protect your Lungs with cold dry air:

Due to higher elevation hiking expertise, we were clear that after hiking Everest base camp trekkers have a common cold and cough from dust and dry cold air. So please wear a buff and mask during the trekking that saves your lungs and neck. Many trekkers had that problem until 10 days after they finished the trek to Everest Regions.

Do not buy trekking gear:

Rent Trekking gear instead of buying it if you are trekking in Nepal. Buying gear or renting in Nepal is a very cheap price. If you do not have trekking gear like a down jacket, Sleeping bag, Trekking shoes, and trekking poles you can rent them in Thamel Kathmandu instead of buying them in your country and the gear is reasonably fine.

Start your daily trekking in the Morning:

Start hiking early morning instead of late or afternoon due to clouds and fog covering the clear Himalayan ranges. Trekking in the morning makes you warm due to sunrise and the afternoon can be cold and windy so we suggest all hikers start the trek in the morning is better.

Beware of Yaks and Donkeys:

During Everest base camp and Gokyo Lake trekking lots of Donkeys, Naks, and Yaks passed on the trails. When they are crossing please do not forget to follow the mountain Cliffside instead of the riverside. They can hit you by legs or by their loads so you can fall into the river or they have accidents. Giving way to the animals is the best way because they are unknown what they transport with them.

How to Reach Tenzing Hillary Airport Lukla:

In the beginning, you need to get into the capital Kathmandu from your country. Numerous airlines fly to Katmandu from different countries.

The famous airlines are Turkish Airlines from Istanbul, Emirates (flies Dubai for Nepal), Etihad Airways, Cathy Pacific from Hong Kong, and Thai Airways from Bangkok.

Except for that airline many airlines from India, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia the flights to Nepal. Please choose the best and most reasonable airlines you prefer.

From the capital city of Kathmandu, there are just a few airlines that have flights to Lukla. Tara Airlines, Sita Airlines, and Goma Airlines have flights to Lukla every morning.

Note that flight delays and cancellations due to weather are normal in the Nepal Himalayas regions. Flight cost for Lukla is normally US$ 178 for foreigners.

Few trekkers who have enough time and prefer road trails drive to Jiri or Salleri and start trekking from there. That is a budget trekking way for Everest base camp and it needs 7 days extra to reach Lukla from Kathmandu.

Due to airport construction and heavy air traffic sometimes from Kathmandu, trekkers cannot fly to Lukla. They need to drive to Manthali Ramechap for their Lukla flight and vice versa when they back from the trip.

Where to stay in Kathmandu?

There are several types of accommodation in Kathmandu. Please you can book or we can help you to book the accommodation according to your budget and requirements. From US$ 5 to US$ 300 per night accommodation is available in the capital Kathmandu.

Where to stay during the Chola Pass and Everest Base Camp trek?

Everest base camp trekking is a very well-known trekking trail in the world. Basic to luxury accommodation is available during your EBC journey. Everest View Hotel and Yeti Mountain Home are the most expensive lodges in that region. If you prefer to stay in that lodge please book the luxury Cho la pass and Everest base camp trek with us and inform us before the trip. Except for those lodges, some lodges and basic and some are normal. According to your budget and availability of accommodation, we will provide you with the best accommodation for our valuable clients.

Below is our normal teahouse accommodation that we booked our clients before for a normal trek.

1. Phakding: Hotel Azalia or Hotel Beer Garden(inside toilet room)

2. Namche: Hotel Sakura(room with attached toilet)

3. Tyangboche: Himalayan hotel or Tashi Delek Hotel (Himalaya View room)

4. Dingboche: Dingboche resort(inside toilet accommodation)

5. Lobuche: Oxygen Lodge or Alpine lodges

6. Gorakshep: Hotel Himalaya

7. Dzongla: HOTEL Mountain home(inside toilet room)

8. Thaknak: Hotel Khumbi La(attached toilet room)

9. Gokyo: Hotel Namaste(inside toilet room)

10. Dole: Alpine cottage(Room with attached toilet)

11. Monjo: Hotel Kailash(inside toilet room)

12. Lukla: Hotel Northpoint or Paradise(attached toilet and shower room)

Internet:

Noted that access to the internet in the Khumbu region or other trekking destinations of Nepal is poor. Do not forget to buy a prepaid sim card from Ncell or Namaste in Kathmandu after your arrival. What cards can have access to the internet till the lower region of Khumbu? Lukla to Pangboche or Somare that sim cards have internet access but the signal is not strong. That sim card can work in Gorakshep for 1 day as well. When you back from Chola pass that card works data after Mongla near Namche.

The wifi and internet in the Khumbu region are expensive. Many teahouses sell Wifi prepaid cards of Everest Link. If you buy 20 GB cards that can work during all the trials in higher elevations until your data is left.