Travelling with Tribal Tracks is a wonderful experience. They take care of everything and you don't have to worry about anything!
Gordon G
Merfyn Jones better known as 'Smyrff' is an experienced Summer and Winter Mountain Leader. He is passionate about sharing outdoor experiences with our teams.
Take on arguably the world's most famous bucket list trek
Stay in comfortable teahouses along the route
Guided by an expert, friendly Sherpa crew and English speaking Tribal Tracks Leader
Experience exceptional Nepalese hospitality
All the info you need
Trip Details
While the Everest region as a whole is understandably one of the world’s most popular and spectacular destinations, the trek to Everest Base Camp is truly a once in a lifetime trip.
Your adventure starts in Kathmandu, Nepal, and from here you will fly to Lukla where your Everest Base Camp trek begins. Trekking through valleys and high passes, on glaciers and plains, you will be staying in local tea-houses along the way, immersing yourself in the Sherpa homelands and learning about their culture. The Everest region is stunning, with lush valleys and majestic snowy peaks, including, of course, Everest itself. Its Tibetan name, Chomolungma, means, appropriately, ‘Goddess of the World’. Reaching Everest Base Camp and seeing the iconic peak is an unforgettable experience and a truly incredible achievement.
The Everest Base Camp trek is demanding and will require a good fitness level. The majority of this trek is at altitude and while the daily trekking distances are not overly long, they are substantial and these factors combine to add up to a very challenging trek.
Please note that 'single supplement' does not apply in Nepalese tea houses (lodges). In some of the tea houses, there may be multiple beds in one room.
Trip Details
“A superb adventure into demanding territory. Fully supported by the team but allowed to be totally immersed in the culture, land and people” - Mike, EBC, 2025
Welcome to the Himalaya!
Our Nepalese team will welcome you at Kathmandu international airport and transfer you to your hotel, along with your Tribal Tracks UK Leader.
After settling in, we may have time to explore before we have supper and a pre-trek briefing from our TT leader.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight in hotel in Kathmandu in twin share rooms, dinner.
After an early breakfast, we leave for the airport for the 30 minute flight from Kathmandu to Lukla ( 2800m), enjoying a spectacular aerial view of the snowcapped ranges.
Lukla has the most amazing Short Take Off and Landing (STOL) airstrip in Nepal and is quite a dramatic place to land! Lunch will be in Lukla or en route to Phakding, depending upon our arrival time. You will have time to explore, while the Sherpa crew organise the baggage on the Ghopkyo (mixed breed of yak and normal cow, as the yak cannot survive below 3000m/9843ft) and some loads are also carried by porters. The trek to Phakding is an easy and gentle, mostly downhill acclimatisation walk with beautiful views of Kusum-Kangru (6369m/20895ft). You trek from Lukla, through the village of Cheplung, then catch your first views of the Dudh Kosi river roaring along the bottom of the valley.
Crossing over a suspension bridge, we have a climb to a Ghat and then continue uphill to your lodge in Phakding near the banks of the river.
**Please note that during peak season there can be limits on the numbers of flights from KTM to Lukla. There is a chance that the group will have to fly from Ramechap to Lukla instead. This is a 4 – 5 hr drive from Kathmandu and a 15 minute flight to Lukla. We will not have confirmation until 1 month prior to your departure date. This is completely out of our control. If we have to fly from Ramechap, we will transfer on day 2 to a hotel near to the airport.**
Accommodation and Meals
Full board and overnight in Lodge at Phakding (single rooms are not available)
From Phakding, the trek continues along the bank of Dudh Koshi crossing it and re-crossing over suspension bridges.
Passing through Benkar village, we have a magnificent view of Thermasarkhu (6608m). It is a busy trail, filled with trekkers, porters and Ghopkyos and leads to Monjo (2835m/9301ft), a small Sherpa settlement. We continue to the entrance of Everest National Park at Jorsalle (3096m/11296ft and then trek for 2hrs uphill, following a winding trail to the famous Namche Bazaar with its colourful houses located in a natural U-shaped Amphitheatre.
The trek offers magnificent views of Kwangde, Kusum Kangru, and our first glimpse of the Everest- Nuptse wall, Lhotse and a close view of Taweche.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight in lodge with full board supported by our trek crew (single rooms are not available)
Today we stay at Namche Bazaar for rest and to assist with acclimatisation.
There is the option of short trek to the nearby Sherpa villages of Khumjung and Kunde to view Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam. Alternatively, you can trek to the Everest National Park office, overlooking Namche Bazaar and with magnificent views of the surrounding snow-capped giants and deep valleys.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight in lodge with full board supported by our trek crew (single rooms are not available)
The route starts off fairly gently, but then is followed by a climb to the top ridge of Namche Bazaar.
Here you will be rewarded with magnificent views of the giant peaks of Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, Thermasharkhu and Kwangde-ri. You arrive at Phungitenga (3250m/10663ft), a small Sherpa settlement with beautiful prayer wheels which are propelled by water. The landscape is full of silver fir blue pines, rhododendron, magnolia and birch trees. From here you follow a winding trail through the pleasant shaded woods to Thyangboche where you stay for the night.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight teahouse, full board (single rooms are not available)
The trail descends through beautiful birch, fir, juniper and rhododendron forests to Deboche (3650m/11975ft).
Along the way you pass religious motifs painted and carved on rock faces, Buddhist stupas, prayer wheels and flags. The trail passes a long mani prayer wall and over a bridge above the narrow gorge of Imja-Tse river and up a gradual walk to Pangboche (3900m12795ft) stopping at Shomare for lunch. There are no more trees at this altitude but stunning views of Ama Dablam, Nuptse and Lhotse. In the afternoon, the route passes through the beautiful Imjatse valley. The trek ends at Dingboche (4358m/14298ft), an authentic mountain settlement with a beautiful patchwork of fields enclosed by stone walls.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight teahouse, full board (single rooms are not available)
Today is a rest day.
There is the option of trekking eastwards to Chukhung (4730m/14800ft) that lies within the Imjatse valley, which takes about 3-4 hrs from Dingboche. The trek is gradual but you will feel the thin air as you gain altitude and you approach the settlement. At Chhukhung, there are about five teahouses with a superb view of snow-capped peaks and glaciers of Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Imja glacier. Chhukhung is the last settlement in eastern Khumbu region.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight teahouse, full board (single rooms are not available)
From Dingboche the trail heads north with the path ascending gradually for about 40 -50 minutes as you approach a stupa with mani prayer wheels.
From here it is then a gentle walk along the trail over a stony meadow overlooking Pheriche village (4270m/14009ft). After trekking between 1.5 to 2 hrs the trail reaches Thugla after crossing a small wooden bridge over the raging Khumbu glacial river. From here a steep 1 hr walk will take you to a resting spot where there are superb views of Everest and other prominent Himalayan peaks.
A gradual ascent of 1.5 to 2 hours will take us to Lobuche, a small settlement, well-hidden and sheltered from the wind, which is a pastoral home of yak herders.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight teahouse, full board (single rooms are not available)
The first hour of walk involves a gradual ascent at the end of the grassy field then a short climb of about 20minutes. The trail continues along the side of the Khumbu Glacier, which is straight forward at first, but later the path becomes rocky and we have a tricky climb across the moraine, compensated by the fabulous mountain setting as the path gets closer to the world’s highest mountain.
The sugar loaf dome of Pumori lies directly ahead, on the opposite side of the glacier, Nuptse rises like a sheer spire. Just behind it, remaining elusive to the last moment is Mount Everest. Gorakshep is another small cluster of teashops, directly above here is Kalapatthar 5545m/18192ft. After a rest at Gorakshep we continue towards Everest Base Camp and the Khumbu Icefall. Treading upon the icefall can be quite tricky, and the trails change every year due to glacial movements, so we need to pay special attention and follow the lead Sherpa. The walk can be quite strenuous due to thin air, rocky dunes, moraines and streams but we eventually reach our goal, Everest Base Camp. This is a lively and fascinating place during the high expedition season. You then return to Gorakshep for the night.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight teahouse, full board (single rooms are not available)
Departing in the early morning, we trek to Kalapatthar, a small rocky peak on the southwest ridge of Mt.Pumori.
The views from here are simply incredible and Everest seems just a stone’s throw away, sandwiched between Nuptse and Lhotse and dominating the view. Everest Base Camp is also visible from here on the Khumbu Glacier.
Descending back to Gorakshep, the trail continues onto to Pheriche. It is then a downhill walk most of the way after reaching Thugla, where the Dingboche trails branches off and the route descends further down to the flat Pheriche valley. Afternoons can be very windy here and an hour’s walk will take you to Pheriche for your overnight stop.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight teahouse, full board (single rooms are not available)
It is a short trek from Pheriche to the bridge then it is mostly downhill all the way.
At the end of this route there is a bridge where the trail heads back to the woodlands and vegetation with an hour-long uphill walk to Namche for the overnight stop.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight teahouse, full board (single rooms are not available)
Today is the final trek day and it is a gentle descent through the lush green scenery with amazing views of the surrounding mountains.
Apart from a few short uphill stretches, the only long climb will be from a place called Choplung just before we reach Lukla (40 minutes). Tonight you can celebrate your Everest base Camp achievement with your Sherpa crew.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight in lodge with full board supported by our trek crew (single rooms are not available)
After breakfast, it is time to say farewell to our Sherpa crew and take the flight back to Kathmandu.
This is a final chance to enjoy the aerial view of the Himalaya. Flights are usually scheduled in the morning due to high winds in the afternoon; sometime flights can be delayed due to weather so we need to be prepared for this. Upon reaching Kathmandu, you will be transferred to hotel by the local team. Tonight we will have a celebration at a local restaurant!
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight hotel, full board.
Today is free, allowing for sightseeing in Kathmandu (it is also a spare day to allow for any delays in the flights to or from Lukla).
You can visit the main sites in Kathmandu, such as the monkey temple at Swayambunath, one of the largest Buddhist Stupas in the world at Bodnath, or the most important Hindu temple in the valley at Pashupatinath. There will also be time for shopping in the famous Thamel district.
Accommodation and Meals
Overnight hotel, full board.
After breakfast, we head to the airport for our flight home.
If you have a later flight, you can continue your exploration of Kathmandu on your own, before heading to the airport later.
Accommodation and Meals
Breakfast
Trip Details
Trip Details
In a nutshell, almost everything!
This is what you will need to buy/source yourself.
It is important that you read the itinerary carefully, and take account of the rating we have given it.
Although our challenges are not technical, they do require a good degree of physical fitness. The conditions will require stamina and strength, which you should recognise and train for. This will be a much better experience if you are fit and prepared. You should feel comfortable walking 6-8 hours per day.
In setting the maximum size of our groups, we take a number of factors into account.
Altitude, degree of difficulty, the terrain, the climate and time of year, all determine the maximum group size. Sometimes it will be 20, sometimes it will be 8-14, but safety is always our priority.
You will be accompanied by a Tribal Tracks UK Leader, Mountain Leader qualified, as well as supported by our local, in-country guides.
It is a requirement of Tribal Tracks booking terms and conditions that each supporter must hold their own travel insurance, which covers the trip and the activities they are doing. Read more here.
We advise you to put insurance in place as soon as possible, ideally on booking so you are covered immediately. There have been instances where someone has signed up, broken their leg a few weeks later, and been deemed unfit to travel. If travel insurance were in place, the non-refundable deposit could be claimed back from the insurance policy. Without this, your money is lost.
Your insurance must be valid and in date, covering the entire period that you are travelling for, including the return journey home. It must cover medical and personal accident risks, and should include repatriation costs and air ambulance or helicopter rescue services, where appropriate.
We will need to know the travel insurance provider, your policy number and the 24 hour medical/emergency assistance number.
Tribal Tracks has 100% Financial Protection and has a trust account with the Protected Trust Service, member number 5566.
This means that all client monies paid to Tribal Tracks are held in our dedicated trust account, which is supervised by an independent trustee. This means that in the very unlikely event that Tribal Tracks ceases to trade, your money is safe. For more information, please visit this link. Any flights booked for you by Tribal Tracks will be ATOL-protected under our own ATOL certificate.
Tribal Tracks considers the safety of all of its participants and staff to be a top priority, and as such we have thorough safety systems in place.
In the event of an injury, we have an evacuation plan in place for all elements of the trek route. We do ask that you look after yourself during the trek in the following way, as this will help avoid unnecessary problems:
We know that the unexpected can happen.
While you are away, things can happen at home and people may need to get in contact with you. This can be tricky when you are in remote areas. So, shortly before departure, we provide you with an Emergency Procedure document to distribute to your nearest and dearest. This sets out how to contact Tribal Tracks and the steps Tribal Tracks will then take to get in contact with you.
It is really important that you are well prepared for your physical challenge and that you are confident that you will be able to fully participate.
Although our leaders are well trained to deal with different capabilities, if they have any concerns about someone’s ability to safely partake in the trek, or their impact on other people’s enjoyment, we authorise them to take necessary action which, in some circumstances, may involve asking someone to step out of the trek. Although this is a very rare occurrence, by booking this trip you agree to section 11 of our Booking Conditions which clearly states that our leaders have the authority to do this. In these circumstances, we will ensure anyone sitting out is safely provided for and offered alternative options where possible. Refunds will not be provided for activities missed and customers may be liable for additional costs incurred.
At Tribal Tracks, Responsible Travel is enormously important to us, and our commitment to responsible travel is evidenced in every itinerary that we prepare.
Core to our business is the belief that holidays can and should be enjoyable to the traveller but should be conducted in a socially, environmentally and economically responsible manner which brings benefit to local communities. This is implemented through a variety of measures which can be found in our Responsible Travel policy. We encourage you to read this and to play your own part in travelling responsibly.
If you're not happy with something, please talk to the Tribal Tracks Leader. They are there to ensure your experience is as enjoyable as possible. They can only act on what they know, so please don’t be afraid to raise anything that needs addressing with them and certainly don’t wait until the end of the trip. If you’re travelling with a charity, someone from there will be on the trek too, if you’d feel more comfortable liaising through them.
If you are feeling unwell on this trek, tell your leaders and listen to their advice, they are professionals who will know the best course of action for you. If you need to be taken off the trek, or if there is an emergency, our experienced leaders and local guides carry phones and can call for help. No one will be left unaccompanied. If necessary, we hold details of your next of kin and travel insurance and will help organise next steps and onward arrangements.
If your flights are included in the trip price you will automatically be booked on to the same flights as everyone else in the team, unless you let us know before or on booking. If you want to book your own flights, you need to ensure that you coordinate your arrival and departure times with the trip’s itinerary. If your dates/timings don’t align with the itinerary, you will be responsible for costs incurred for additional airport transfers or accommodation arrangements.
Tribal Tracks can book alternative flights for you (for example, from a different departure airport) but this may incur an extra charge. We will liaise with you about costs before booking to ensure you’re happy to proceed.
Please inform us of any dietary requirements or allergies before you travel, and preferably at the time of booking and no later than 4 weeks prior to departure. We can cater to almost any diet, but only if we know about it beforehand.
For up-to-date vaccination information, please visit Travel Health Pro to see the most recent recommendations for your itinerary.
Although we are travel experts, we are not medical specialists, so we cannot explicitly recommend what vaccinations you should or shouldn't have. Always seek the advice of a medical professional if you are unsure. They will likely want to see a copy of your itinerary, and can then best advise whether they think an advised or 'to consider' vaccination is appropriate for you.
Please note that information on vaccinations can change at short notice.
Please check the most recent FCDO advice.
Typically, to enter Morocco, your passport must have an ‘expiry date’ at least 3 months after your arrival. You can visit Morocco without a visa for up to 90 days for tourism.
Please be advised that if you do need a visa (for example, if you're traveling on a South African passport), we advise starting the process as early as possible. Their visa processing system has been slow and difficult to communicate with. We recommend using a service like Coast to Coast visas to help, email Peter at info@c2cvisas.co.za and mention your Tribal Tracks itinerary.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) monitors all overseas destinations and offers advice to British citizens. In order to be fully informed of safety issues, crime rates, political stability and local customs you can view the advice here. We monitor FCDO advice carefully and may, on occasion, be required to cancel trips, reroute itineraries, or make other changes to trips based on the FCDO advice. Any decision will always be made in the interests of your safety and security and will be fully communicated to you.
If travelling with a child and only one parent is present, please be aware that you must have the permission of everyone with parental responsibility before that child can be taken abroad. You automatically have parental responsibility if you’re the child’s mother, but you still need the permission of anyone else with parental responsibility before you take the child abroad. A letter from the person with parental responsibility for the child is usually enough to show you’ve got permission to take them abroad. You might be asked for the letter at a UK or foreign border. The letter should include the other person’s contact details and details about the trip. If you are travelling with a child who has a surname different to your own, for example you are a single parent, you are advised to travel with evidence of your relationship (eg a birth certificate) and a divorce or marriage certificate if applicable. In other scenarios, for example, you are a grandparent taking your grandchild on a trip, or you are taking your child’s friend on a trip, you should be able to provide evidence that you have permission from the child’s parents to do this. You should also check the requirements of the country you are travelling to, as they may have additional specific requirements and the age limit up to which a person is considered a child may vary.
Trip Details
Trip Details
Teahouses are lodges in Nepal. They are wonderful places to meet other trekkers and usually have cosy, communal dining rooms with a good choice of local food. Some sell beer, soft drinks and some basic snacks such as Pringles and chocolate bars. The sleeping accommodation is usually basic, with twin share, or sometimes triple share rooms, with beds, bedding and pillows, but we suggest you take your own sleeping bag. The rooms are usually not heated, and while they will have electricity, the supply can be intermittent. There are usually charging facilities in the dining room if you cannot charge your phone in your room. There is usually a mix of squat and Western toilets, and while there may be a shower, it is better not to depend on this. Please note that single supplements are not available in teahouses as all rooms are shared, usually by 2-3 people, but they can also be dormitory style rooms.
The trek is a challenge. We will be walking for a long time over sometimes challenging terrain with steep ascents and descents.
The best way to build endurance fitness is to start with some gentle walks and gradually build up both the distance and duration over the next few months. In the last 2 months, we would recommend to go out and do long days, ideally in the hills, to build up the strength in your legs. About a week before the trek, limit any training to short walks – you want to have fresh legs at the start!
For the trek you should be comfortable trekking between 6 - 8 hours per day, but remember we have all day to achieve the distances and will not be going at racing snake pace. It may sound obvious, but make sure that you are walking properly, hitting the ground with your heel first, then rolling onto your toe, which pushes you onto the next step (this will help reduce the risk of shin splints and tendon pulls). Walk with your head up, eyes forward and shoulders level.
It is a good idea to develop a level of cardiovascular fitness (exercising and strengthening your heart and lungs). This comes from running, cycling or swimming for between 20 minutes and an hour, and will really help develop your endurance fitness. Three sessions a week is normally advised, increasing time and distance over time.
Replicate conditions in training i.e., use all the kit you will be using and try your walking poles if you want to use them.
It is important to pack so that you know where everything is. Here at Tribal Tracks, we are big fans of separating kit into different packing cubes (compression ones are great), or even just individual plastic bags can really help with this.
You can pack by item (e.g., socks and pants in one cube, tops in another, waterproofs in another etc.) or by day, putting your entire outfit for that day together in one place. We recommend taking an extra bag or cube to separate the dirty kit from your fresh clothes, too.
You will have two bags on the trip - your main bag and your back pack.
You should operate on the basis that you will not have access to your main bag during the day and while you are trekking. This means that it is important to have everything you need in your back pack. Waterproofs should go in the bottom, together with an extra layer, sunscreen and sunglasses, plus hat and gloves (if you are in a colder climate). You should also have your water bottles, and any specific snacks, medicines or first aid items you want to take, such as zinc tape and blister plasters. Baby wipes/toilet roll and nappy sacks are also essential for going to the toilet while you are trekking - we will explain more in the pre-departure briefing!
In the event of an injury, we have an evacuation plan in place for all elements of the trek route. We do ask that you look after yourself during the trek in the following way, as this will help avoid unnecessary problems:
We will brief you in the pre-departure briefing as to the catering specifically for your trip. However, as a guide, each morning you will be provided with a very filling local breakfast, usually accompanied by tea or coffee. Lunch will be during your trek and will be prepared by the team of cooks or we will utilise local restaurants or teahouses. Food will always be ample and tasty. If wild camping, dinner will be in the dining tent and will be traditional, freshly prepared food. If you are staying in a hotel or teahouse, dinner will be served there. Water, tea and coffee will be served and alcohol will usually not be available, although there will be some exceptions. We will provide 4 litres of drinking water per person per day. You will need to fill up 2 litres at breakfast and another 2 litres at lunchtime.
Please ensure that you have notified us before departure if you have any specific dietary requirements or allergies as we can cater for most things as long as we know about them!
Sleeping bags are designed to work by trapping your body heat in the down surrounding you. If you wear lots of layers, your body heat will not escape as effectively, and you will be cold. Wearing a thin thermal layer is ideal. It does sound counterintuitive, but we promise that it works!
Putting your clothes for the next day in the bottom of your sleeping bag will also help with warmth, as it will fill up any spare space around your feet, and it will mean your clothes are nicely warmed up in the morning.
If you find it difficult to sleep without a pillow, we recommend taking a travel pillow and a regular pillowcase with you. Put your pillow in the pillow case, and use your down jacket/layers to fill out the pillowcase. You will end up with a pretty decent pillow!
And as for stuff or roll when it comes to packing your bag away? We are very much in the stuff camp! Read more here.
There will be early morning starts, typically around 0600 - 0700hrs, so that the team can set off on the trek in good time. It is important that you pack up your kit before breakfast and leave your bag outside your tent or accommodation so that the crew can load them onto the jeeps and/or mules. There will be a freshly cooked lunch provided on your trek route. The aim is to get into camp before sunset if possible, when you can enjoy a hot drink and snacks. It is important that you change into your thermals and put layers on when you get into camp as the temperatures can drop sharply and you need to keep warm.
In the morning, the Tribal Tracks leader will wake up the group. When you hear the call, please begin to get ready, and pack all your kit away in your 'main bag' before breakfast. Put this bag outside your tent or accommodation as the crew can then begin to break down the tents/load the luggage. Ensure that you have all that you need in your backpack for the day, as you will not have access to your main bag until the next camp (see 'What do I put in my backpack?).
When you arrive into camp, it is important to get changed into different clothes, usually the ones that you will be wearing the next day. Even if you have had dry weather, you will have been sweating, and your clothes will be damp. As the sun sets and the air cools, you will quickly feel cold. Before this, you will want to freshen up and we recommend the 'baby wipe bath'. As there are no showers while on the trek, having a freshen up with a baby wipe will help keep you clean and will make you feel much better, before you put your clean clothes on. Unpack your sleeping bag and get everything out that you need for nighttime, such as your warm hat, jacket, head torch and book. Sort out your back pack for the next day by removing rubbish and replenishing snacks etc.
Doing this before dinner will mean you can get into your sleeping bag quickly, when it is likely to feel cold.
We recommend that you bring a multi-region adapter plug with you. There will be no facility to recharge electrical items on the trek, so we recommend you bring a power bank to top up the charge. We also recommend putting your phone on Airplane mode during the day to save on power.
Using your mobile overseas can sometimes attract unwelcome, very high tariffs. We recommend that you check with your network provider before you travel, but if in doubt, keep your phone switched to Airplane mode and use it only when there is WiFi. Reception can also be patchy, and unreliable, particularly in remote areas, which is why we carry a satellite phone with us. Please let your nearest and dearest know about this, and warn them that you may not be able to be in regular contact.
We ask that your luggage is kept to the absolute minimum. We will tell you the weights that you should not exceed, but usually (depending on the airline), your main bag should not exceed 23kgs in weight.
It is important that you wear your trekking boots or take them in your hand luggage on the flight, as they are vital for the trek and cannot be replaced if your luggage is lost.
We recommend leaving behind items such as high-value jewelry, watches, etc. Your passport and money should always be kept on your person.
Trekking at high altitude (generally above 2500 metres) involves additional risk not normally associated with lower level treks. This is not something that should prevent you from undertaking a trek to our higher destinations, but it makes sense to learn about the dangers inherent in trekking at high altitude and also the ‘golden rules' to prevent Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS).
For each of our trips, you can find the maximum altitudes listed on the web site and in the itineraries. You should read the itinerary carefully and use your own judgement to gauge whether your chosen trip is suitable for your level of experience. If you have any doubts at all you should contact us and we are happy to discuss the trip with you.
You can acclimatise to altitude by the process known as acclimatisation. The most important rule is to gain height slowly and it is generally accepted that the maximum safe altitude gain in any one day is 500 metres once above 2500 metres. Where this is not possible, then it is important to have a rest or acclimatisation day at the new altitude before gaining further height. All our itineraries follow this rule. In general the maxim ‘climb high and sleep low' applies. It is perfectly acceptable (and even beneficial to your acclimatisation) to climb higher than 500 metres above your last camp (for example when crossing a high pass) as long as the increase in sleeping altitude remains within the above rule. All of our itineraries are carefully designed to build in optimum acclimatisation.
There is a link between daily fluid intake and successful acclimatisation and you must pay particular attention to hydration during trekking at high altitudes. On treks to 3000 metres and above most people will need to drink between 5 and 6 litres each day to achieve suitable hydration levels and you must adopt a responsible approach to achieving this target. It goes without saying that as alcohol is a diuretic, it is not recommended that you drink alcohol while at altitude.
Before embarking on a trek to high altitude it is important that you familiarise yourself with the signs and symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) and that you report any illness to your tip leader straight away. See the links at the bottom of this page for further reading on AMS.
There are a number of untested herbal remedies which claim to prevent mountain sickness. However, only one drug is currently known to have a useful role in preventing AMS and to be safe for this purpose: acetazolamide (Diamox). We recommend that you carry Diamox in your first aid kit for treks where you spend an extended period above 4000m. Diamox can only be obtained from a medical professional on prescription and it is important that you first consult your own doctor so that you know there are no contra indications with other medicines you may be taking and that you do not have an allergy to acetazolamide. Diamox commonly causes some minor side effects, such as tingling fingers and toes, or a metallic taste in the mouth, but more severe reactions are rare. On trek, the decision whether or not and when, you should take Diamox as with any drug, will rest solely with you. If you intend to take Diamox, you must familiarise yourself with the appropriate dosage and regime prior to coming on the trip. The links at the bottom of this page will provide further information on the use of Diamox as an aid to acclimatisation.
Travelling to high altitudes is not something you need to be scared of. Every year thousands of people enjoy the most amazing experiences in the world's greatest mountain ranges. Altitude sickness is entirely preventable if you follow the very simple rules and procedures detailed above. Please make sure you are aware of these before you travel. However, please be assured that we have emergency procedures in place in the event that someone does experience AMS.
For further reading on the above issues we recommend the following websites:
http://www.altitude.org/altitude_sickness.php
In many tropical countries, mosquitoes can spread diseases such as Dengue, Chikungunya, West Nile Virus, Malaria, Yellow Fever, and Zika virus. It is essential that you seek medical advice prior to travel, and especially if you are pregnant or have an underlying medical condition. Whilst travelling there are several simple measures you can take to reduce your risk of infections spread by mosquitoes: wear suitable clothing and cover up at times of day when mosquitoes are active, use insect repellent on exposed skin (containing 20% to 30% DEET), and use a mosquito net if sleeping in unscreened accommodation. It is important to seek prompt medical attention if you have a fever or display any other symptoms. If you become unwell on your return, make sure you tell your doctor about any trips abroad you have taken in the past year.
Trip Details
If you want to stay on and explore further, please just let us know.
Have a question? Get in touch, our small team will be delighted to help.
