Trekking in the Everest Region

Mount Everest, known in Nepali as Sagarmatha and in Tibetan as Chomolungma, is Earth’s highest mountain, located in the Mahalangur Himal . The Khumbu or Everest region is the worls’s most renowned trekking trails all around the globe. Particularly, you will get to witness the world’s highest peak, Everest (8,848m) which is also known as ‘Sagarmatha’ and several other mountains over 8000m, like- Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Makalu. Apart from the gigantic snow-white mountains, you will also notice the mountain ecosystem, superb geographical part of Solukhumbu, meet with friendly Sherpa people, and observe wide varieties of plants and animal life in the national park. The major attractions of Everest Region are exploring Sherpa Museum, knowing Sherpa Culture and their way of life in Khumjung Village, scenic turquoise Gokyo Lake, Cross Chola Pass (5300m), Kangma La(5500m), and Renjo -La(5400), Khumbu Ice Fall from Everest Base Camp, visit Tengboche Monastery and many more.

Accessing Your Trek

To access the Everest Region, most people take a flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, from where you start the climb toward Namche Bazaar (usually done in two days). Alternatively, if you have more time and are interested village life, it’s best to start your trek from Jiri or Salleri, four days walk south of Lukla. To reach Salleri, you’ll need to take public or private road transport from Kathmandu. Starting your trek from Salleri or Jiri is a great option if you have the time.

Weather in the Everest region:

With Nepal situated in the Northern Hemisphere, its main variations in temperature coincide with the European seasons. Beyond this though, the climate is heavily affected by two main forces: winds coming over the Bay of Bengal to the south and winds coming from the main Asian continent to its north. In the summer months, from June to August, the winds coming from the Bay of Bengal dominate, bringing in the South East Asian monsoon. In the winter, from December to February, the winds from the main Asian continent dominate bringing very cold weather.

You may have read about how critical the timing is for the attempts to climb Everest and this is because there is a very short window when the winds from the North and South cancel each other out creating a period of calm. The variation in wind strength on Everest is shown in the chart opposite. Fortunately conditions lower down are much more benign.

The net result of these continually balancing climate influences are that the average temperatures and rainfall at Everest base camp are below. Of course, in the winter months most of the precipitation at base camp is snow.

Alternative Way to See Mt. Everest:

When people think of seeing Mount Everest in Nepal they often have visions of being kitted out in metal crampons, thick sub-zero mountaineering coats, goggles on an ice encrusted face after weeks of trekking. Nepal can offer this scenario, but there are far easier ways to see, experience and enjoy Mount Everest!. For those on a tight time-frame taking a mountain flight from Kathmandu is by far the easiest and quickest way to see Everest. It’s as simple as arriving in Kathmandu on day one and booking a flight for the next morning. You’ll be flying right beside the worlds highest peaks including an up close fly-by of Everest.