In this blog, we are going to share with you a general idea of how much elevation you are going to cover during this trek. Reading this blog can help you out in clearing any doubts about the elevation profile of Everest Base Camp.
Elevation Profile
The first thing you need to know, Everest Base Camp is elevated at an altitude of 5,380 meters above sea level. So, you need to make up your mind that you are going to reach that altitude within 7 to 8 days depending on the package you chose, and start preparing for that. Here is the detail of how you are going to hike up to that altitude.
Before you start your trek you need to arrive in Kathmandu which is elevated at 1400 meters. Which is the lowest elevation you are going to be a while on this trek? On the other day, you will be at Lukla which is elevated at 2,860 meters. There will be no major difference in air pressure, but the air around here can be cold compared to Kathmandu.
You will be taking a flight to Lukla and from there you will be hiking to Phakding which is elevated at 2,610 meters. The climate will be the same as in Lukla. The very next day you will be hiking to Namche Bazar gaining an elevation of about 700 to 800 meters. Namche Bazar is elevated at 3440 meters. The air will be thinner but there will not be any difficulties while breathing.
The elevation will keep increasing until you reach the Base Camp. Once you are at Namche Bazar you will get acclimatization day. It will help you adjust to the elevation minimizing any risk at higher altitudes. On the next day, you will be hiking to Tengboche gaining an altitude of 400-500 meters. Tengboche is elevated at an altitude of 3,860 meters.
Your next destination will be Dingboche which is elevated at an altitude of 4,410 meters. You will be gaining about 600-700 meters of altitude. Once you are above 4000 meters you again need to adjust to the environment so that you can get to a higher altitude easily. You will get acclimatization day on Dingboche.
After acclimatization day there will always be less elevation to gain it helps you adjust to the air more precisely. From Dingboche, you will be going upward towards Lobuche which is elevated at 4,940 meters. It means you will only gain about 400 meters of elevation.
From here you need to gain about 400 meters of elevation to reach base camp. Since the climate will be a lot colder in base camp, so we have minimized the altitude you need to gain. It makes the trek more effective and decreases any kind of issues which will help minimize any casualties.
Once you reach Everest base camp we will return to Gorakshep for the night's stay. The next day you will hike to Kalapatthar which is elevated higher compared to the base camp. You will be gaining about 500 meters in elevation to reach Kalapatthar. Then you will be returning to Pheriche which is elevated at 4,731 meters. Starting from this day you will be descending downhill which means you will start going towards a lower altitude.
From Pheriche, you will hike to Namche Bazar and back to Lukla. From Lukla, you will be returning to Kathmandu on the flight. In short, while on this trek you will gain about 4,145 meters of altitude on which you will gain a total of 2,700 meters of elevation by hiking.
If you want to know more about the elevation you can visit our package page and you can review the itinerary and the map to fully understand the structure and itinerary of the trek. Here's the link to those pages Everest Base Camp Trek.
