BEST TREKKING DESTINATION FOR BEGINNERS - BAJRE DARA TREK, SIKKIM.

 

BEST TREKKING DESTINATION FOR BEGINNERS - BAJRE DARA TREK, SIKKIM.

Your first trek will change your mindset, many treks will change your life.

As a beginner (young or elder), for mental preparedness should first have a clear idea about - WHAT IS TREKKING ? 

In short, TREKKING is a long distance and multi-day journey, most commonly done on foot, and involves challenging terrain and climate conditions that can often change many times over the trek. Trekking routes often go through more difficult and remote areas, making for more strenuous journey.

Let us first understand why anyone who is young or old should come out from the comfort of their home and begin to trek on the rugged mountain and forest trails where life is not at all as conducive as they have been into so far. Once you have decided to go for your first trek, then which one should be your first trekking destination as a beginner ?

In today's environment and the lifestyle that most of us experience and go through, trekking is the best option to rejuvenate oneself - both for a youth and for a senior citizen as well. Age is not at all a criteria to begin trekking.

From quiet moments of self reflection, invigorating sights and challenging yourself in nature, trekking provides a number of benefits - both physical and mental. To actually list out reasons to go for trekking seems absurd. There is always a joy in the activity of trekking, once you start it is almost like an addiction. You will not be addicted to trekking, but will be addicted to the way it makes you feel. In such a situation a listing of reasons is not really something you think of, you just go and do it. But first timers or beginners might require a bit of motivation and few very basic physical training to take that first step. 

BE WITH NATURE 

On a trek, you are in the lap of nature. Trekking is an unscripted experience filled with surprises, which may be both good or bad. In the fast moving world, we hardly have any time for appreciating the raw beauty of nature. Trekking will teach you to take things as they come and not crib on petty issues. 

Trekking really helps to clear your mind from the daily monotony of life and seek fresh horizons. City life usually works on set patterns that keeps every one bounded. Trekking can make you enjoy the simple joys of nature - lush greenery, various types of trees and plant, wild flowers growing on mountain slopes, gorgeous meadows, snow capped mountain peaks and suddenly you realise it's time to go back to nature !

HEALTH BENEFITS

There are numerous health benefits of trekking. Regularly going for treks helps in lowering blood pressure, and various studies have shown that it reduces the risk of diabetes and heart ailments. On a trek fitness comes for free. Our lungs get pumped up due to the constant workout and the clean air helps us in enhancing our breathing capacity and circulation of fluids in our body.

Trekking helps you to live in the present moment and improves our mood, lowers the level of anxiety and enhances our memory. The experience of trekking especially on less visited trails is extremely refreshing and mentally relaxing. It is on trek that one can lose as much as 5 kg weight on a 10 day trek. Trekking is the most underutilised antidepressant.

LIFE QUALITY 

Trekking life is not a fancy one, it's a real life. Life comes as it happens as we capture natural vistas, meet intriguing people and experience diverse cultures that very few know about. A trek teaches you to experience life as it is. Your approach towards life will totally change. You will learn how to lead a life in line with nature, thus bringing a major change in your thought process and mindset . 

One takes back fabulous memories and stories that will remain with you forever. Studies have shown that trekking helps immensely for generation of new and creative ideas. You get a chance to meet people from different backgrounds and build lasting relationships. Nature will teach you to open our heart and embrace experiences, cultures and relationships. Trekking makes you a humble person when you see the hardships on an expedition and how you got past it. It is a great way to strengthen your mental fitness. 

LISTING SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF TREKKING

1. Better physical fitness.

2. Great social experience.

3. Improved stamina.

4. Healthier heart.

5. Less stress.

6. Happier mood.

7. Spiritual connection.

8. Better life skills.

BAJRE DARA TREK - SIKKIM

As we have learnt that, experience of trekking especially on less visited trails is extremely refreshing and mentally relaxing mainly for first time trekkers. Bajre Dara in West Sikkim is one of such destination. Bajre Dara trek is a mysterious beauty that provides insight into the wonderful parts of nature. As a beginner, this trail is considered one of the best alternative if you want to explore the alluring mountains. At 3350 meters above sea level (11000 feet), the Bajre Dara is not hard but rewarding climb.

"Bajre Dara" - the name came from the enormous power of lightning strike (known as Baaz in Nepali and Bengali). This viewpoint cum camping ground is located in West Sikkim district at an altitude of 3350 meter above sea level. This location is full of burnt out Pine trees. These trees were hit by lightning during 1970s. Since then, the dead trees are standing like monuments in their own graveyard. When snow and mist create the appropriate background, the dead trees make a spooky environment all over the camping ground, a view worth experiencing. 

On a clear day, one will find a spectacular view of Mt. Kanchendjonga massif along with the Kasturi range. You can also see the Sangalaila range from this point. Bird eye view of Pelling city and Kacheperi lake, Yuksome town are another views to capture in your mind from Bajre Dara. 

Overall beauty of the place can easily beat Dzongri considering the level of hiking required to reach Dzongri. Bajre Dara can be accessed via a short three days two nights easy - moderate level trek from Meli or Lamathang village. Both the routes join together at Bhanjang and then proceed towards Bajre Dara through Door camp site. This trek traverses steep terrain covered in verdant vegetation and goes close to the Kanchendjonga range. 

To begin the Bajre Dara trek, you must first fly into Baghdogra International Airport, or via train reach Newjalpaiguri(NJP) or Siliguri junction railway station. Then hire a cab to Melli Aching Monastery via Jorthang, Pelling, Darap, Rimbi, and reach Melli Aching Monastery, among other places.

The ridge, which rises at an elevation of 11000 feet, provides a welcome break from the monotony of city life. The walk begins at Melliaching, a little hamlet 17 kilometers outside Pelling. From here, take the Pangreytar and Gorujurey trails to Bhanjyang. Camping at Bhanjyang will allow you to experience nature in it's purest form. 

The next day, trek to Bajre Dara, the rout's cardinal point. Here's where you will have the most fun on your adventure. The panoramic rout is truly life-changing  and a sight worth experiencing. Descend to Pangreytar through Gorujurey the next day, then hike back to Melliaching the next day. Return to NJP/Bagdogra or Pelling from this point. 

Now get-set for your first breathtaking and life changing trekking experience. 

ITINERARY

It is always advisable to go for your first trek with an experienced and licensed trekking agency or a guide. Myself has mentioned below an itinerary which an agency or a trek guide will normally suggest and follow :

DAY - 1 :

Reach NJP / Siliguri Railway station or Baghdogra airport at Siliguri , and drive to Melliaching via Melli check post, Pelling. Total distance is around 150 Km, which will take nearly 7 hours to reach the destination.

Representative of your trekking agent / guide may receive you at the Airport/Railway station. As you commence your journey, you will start experiencing the most beautiful valleys and mountains , as well as bamboo forests and cardamom plantations. It is important that you acquire sufficient amounts of fresh and pure air. Relax and inhale the fresh air as you wander through the mysterious mountains. Spend the night in a tent or a home-stay. 

DAY - 2 :

Melli Gompa or Pangrey tar to Bhanjyang, Distance to cover of about 8 Km via Goru-jurey, An elevation of 2200 meters.

The day-2 is the first day of your adventure. After having your breakfast, begin your trek from Melliaching Gompa to Bhanjyang. You have to trek about 10 km and takes about 5-6 hours to finish. You can tour the medieval monasteries of Pangreytar and Gorujurey. This experience is more than natural splendour, it is about religious tranquillity. If you come early, you may catch the glimse of last rays of a magnificent sun set. Spend the night in Bhanjyang base camp, which is surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery and an ideal weather. 

DAY - 3 :

Bhanjyang to Bajre Dara, an altitude of 3355 meter, and have to cover about 8-9 Km.

This third day is going to be the happiest day of your life, and it represents the culmination of all you have trekked so far. This is the first day of your trek to Bajre Dara. The trek will take you through one of the most magnificent and romantic environments on the planet, with views of snow capped mountains , tropical rain forests, rhododendrons, and wildlife such as barking deer. Here you will get the chance to glimpse the apparently infinite ridge of Mt. Kanchenjunga. Take lots of snaps while you are here to remember your visit. For the night, pitch a tent and stay the night here.

DAY - 4 :

Bajre Dara to Khechoperi Lake via Bhanjyang, Lamathang. To cover about 14-15 Km, altitude 1850 meters. 

You should get up early on this day in order to get a glimpse of the sunrise. At any dawn on a mountain, you should not miss this breathtaking spectacle. Spend a few minutes to admire the surroundings and prepare for breakfast before continuing on. Bhanjyang and Lamathang villages will be visited on the way to Khechoperi Lake.

DAY - 5 :

The last day, Khechoperi Lake to Siliguri/ NJP, Or Baghdogra covering about 155 Km taking approx 7 hours drive. 

COST : 

If planning to go for this trek with a trekking agency , then the expense will be around INR 9000.00 to INR 11000.00 per person from airport / NJP to airport / NJP  back, all inclusive(as per their itinerary). These agencies also provide customised trips. 

PREPARATION :

Few basic physical preparation is required to make you fit and enjoy your first trek. 

Considering you not a regular trekker, who do not train throughout the year. Now, you have planned with your friends to go for a Himalayan trek or a mountain trek having a mix of easy to moderate terrain. For this, you need to prepare yourself physically & mentally for you to enjoy the trail and motivate you for planning your other future treks.

We all mostly know how we should prepare for our upcoming hikes / treks - going to the gym 3-4 times a week, doing cardio, jogging, walking between those sessions. But let's be realistic, most of you may not be hard core trekkers or fitness freaks and are mostly busy in your daily professional life and social obligations, with less time to spare for trek preparation. Or even retired senior citizens.

Myself would suggest a very simple routine that you should start at least 2-3 months before your trek, depending upon the level of difficulty of your trekking destination. If it is an easy trail, then 2 months of training is good, or else 3 months of preparation is enough for you for an easy to moderately difficult trek. 

Twice a week do full body strength training, during your training months. No separate upper body & lower body training days. The goal is to strengthen the overall body muscle groups, not any specific group. Each of these workout sessions should not be more than 45 minutes, that is just 90 minutes per week. Most of these exercises should be compound exercises involving multiple muscle groups per exercise, like - squats, push-ups, basic dead lifts, etc. This routine you can do at your home, only need a pair of dumbbells. Add to this twice or thrice a week light jogging covering 4-5 Km. Start with 2-3 Km initially then as you progress target to cover 5 Km in 40-45 minutes. The most important is to do daily breathing exercise , do deep breathing - slow inhalation and slow exhalation routine for min 15-20 minutes every day. This will enhance your lung capacity and thus help you a great at high altitude and long treks. To know more about preparation , read my blog titled "SIMPLE WAY TO TRAIN FOR YOUR UPCOMING TREKS" (post dated : 20th Sept. 2021).

TREKKING will teach you that -  you are capable of so much more than you ever imagined.

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HOW YOU CAN SLOW DOWN THE AGING PHENOMENON & LIVE A FULL LIFE.

 

HOW YOU CAN SLOW DOWN THE AGING PHENOMENON & LIVE A FULL LIFE.

If you really want to punish someone let's say we won't give him death sentence, we give him deathless sentence - you cannot die... he will suffer much more than death sentence, isn't it ?

So, only a fool who is inebriated either with money or hormones thinks he wants to live for ever. Either money has blinded him or his intelligence has been fully hijacked by his hormones, such a fool wants to live forever otherwise it's very nice that you come, you live a full fledged life and you go gracefully. But we want to live a full life, what does a full life mean, full life does not mean a thousand years, full life means everything that is there for a human being to explore, know and experience, must  happen in this life. 

The whole universe is a manifestation of five elements, so is our body. Out of these five elements, there are only four that you can really handle, another one you just experience, it's the ambience for the other four. The five elements are - the earth, water, fire, air, and the space which is the fifth. Four ingredients if they are functioning the way you want them, then everything about you will be great. Out of these four, 72% of you is water.. your body is actually water, so is the planet. The same composition of the planet you have in your body - about 12% is earth, about 6% is air, 4 % is fire, the remaining is space, this is how it is looked at. 

If you master these four, even if you have a bit of control over these four, you will see miraculously you will generate health within the system. If you fail on this, then the next level of handling this is nature has evolved certain things in the form of herbs and many things which are healthful to us, so that we can learn to use them. If you fail in that, then you can create a psychological structure which will create health for you. If you fail in that, then you go for the chemical treatment. If you fail in that, then you go for a surgery. 

Health does not mean that just the medical parameters are okay. Health means you must feel a certain sense of wholeness. The word health itself comes from that word 'whole'. A certain sense of wholeness when you wake up in the morning, you are more alive than you are when you went to bed, you feel ten years younger than the time when you went to bed. If you feel like that, that means you are healthy. It is just that all the tests are showing you are normal, that is still not normal because you have no experience of health. So, when we say experience, ultimately we have come here only to experience life, so we know that experience is the most importance aspect of life. 

Now we are looking at the word experience in two different ways. One is our experience of life itself, how profound and how wonderful it is or how nasty and how unpleasant it is. So the pleasantness that we generate in the body, we call this HEALTH. The pleasantness if it hits a higher pitch we call it pleasure. But if your mind becomes pleasant , we would call it peacefulness. If it becomes very pleasant, we would call it joyfulness. If your emotions become pleasant, we would call it love or affection. If it becomes very pleasant, we would call it compassion. If our very life energy if you make it pleasant, we call it bliss. If it becomes very pleasant, we call it ecstasy. This is what a human being is seeking all the time. He wants pleasantness inside. If your surroundings become pleasant, we call it success. 

Out of the 5 elements, earth which is about 12% of our body contributes immensely in regulating our ageing phenomenon - FOOD that we have, being the major factor.  

Food is considered a very basic level of reception. How we receive is very important. 

Today, what are we receiving ? 

Right now, as you see societies get more and more affluent, they start eating worse and worse food. What a rural person in India would not touch, very sophisticated cities are eating that type of food. This means, almost anything that western societies are using today are a minimum 30 to 60 days old.

In yoga, food is classified as SATTVA, RAJAS and TAMAS. Tamas means inertia, if you eat anything which has Tamas, inertia will come in your system. Inertia does not mean you just become lazy. Inertia means certain things slow down, this means essentially regeneration of the system slows down. 

Today, we know that neuronal regeneration is one of the most important aspect of keeping our brain reasonably functional throughout our life. If you are consuming foods which are Tamasic or causes inertia in the general function of your system, in the energetic process of who you are, then you will see cognition levels will slowly go down over a period of time.Because everybody understands this, this is why they are drinking cups and cups of Coco-Cola or coffee or alcohols or something else, because they know they need to balance that. So, this kind of balance is a very rudimentary way of balancing your system, that you are putting wrong things and then you are trying to correct it with right things. 

The highest number of antacids in the world, nearly 60% of the world's antacids, sold in America, the most affluent population on the planet. This means they have a whole choice of nourishment, they can eat the best food, but no , they will eat the worst food because commercial forces will decide what you eat. You can not eat consciously anymore what you want to eat. What I mean is, if everything becomes fresh food. In the yogic culture, if you cook something , the maximum time in which you can eat is one-and-a-half hours, or 90 minutes, before that you should have eaten the food. After that, not to touch the food because it is started gathering Tamas - inertia will begin to happen. If you want to experiment, you can experiment by eating something very fresh  for one week , eat something which is processed and kept  for 30 or 60 days, and then eat it . You will see the level of alertness in the system, you will notice it in your experience. But it is happening at the cellular level. It is happening in terms of ... we call this 'Ojas', there is no English word for that. 

If you create sufficient Ojas, which is a non-physical dimension of energy, if every cell in your body is wrapped in this, believe me your aging process will not progress. Your cellular age will almost remain stagnant for a long period of time. Some of the tests done on yogies of 65 to 70 years of age, came out with results that their cellular age is 25 years. That means these individuals are maintaining the same level of activity, maintaining the same weight, same level of alertness. This is not a miracle, every human being is capable of this with some simple attention to fundamental things. 

Going further in terms of food, there is something called Virudha Ahara. That means, if you eat one thing and put another thing which works opposite to that, then in your system there is a war. We know that digestive process is largely between acids and alkaline and all such stuff. In the yogic culture, food should not remain in your stomach bag for than two-and-a half hours. Within 150 minutes it should have moved out, you should be feeling empty stomach. Hunger will not come, empty stomach will come, and that is good. We want our stomach to be always empty, because in an empty stomach everything works well.

The colon health is something that is completely neglected today, if you do not keep your colon clean, keeping your mind in a balance state is very very difficult. So, in Ayurveda and Siddha, first thing if you say anything, you are having sleepless nights, you are having disturbed something, mild, any kind of psychological psychological problems, first thing is purging. Purging the system, clean the colon, suddenly you feel a little balanced. 

 

Neem & Turmeric :

Start your day with a small marble sized ball of Neem & Turmeric. There are many aspects to this, of what impact it has on your system. One immediate thing it will do is, it will keep your alimentary tract clean. When we say clean, this is the region, this whole digestive process is a region where you have maximum amount of other life. So, within this alimentary tract there are a whole host of microorganisms, many of them have turned friendly to us. We are living because of them, we are able to digest food because of them. Many, many functions in the body happen because of them, but still there are many who are harmful to us.

The uniqueness of Neem especially when it is taken along with turmeric, if these two things go together, largely those things which are not necessary for the body, those things that can harm the body, any kind of parasitic life which is there, all these things get eliminated. 

Fruit Diet :

The most easily digestible food is fruit. Digestion means the 'Jatharagni'  , the digestive fires as they are known. If these fires have to burn and most effectively, fruit is definitely the best thing. When we say fruit, fruit is one aspect which nature itself intends to be food. Suppose you are ill in a hospital, no body brings you chicken biriyani , they will bring fruits, because even your friends and relatives understand that eating all that junk you got sick, at least now eat sensibly. So fruit can do miraculous things to the body. Sufficient consumption of fruit can do great things to the system. One can become very, very alive and active no mater what is your lifestyle. But if you are doing very menial kind of job then you find every 2 hours you get hungry because of the fruit, because there is only that much volume you can eat, but gets digested so rapidly that you may feel empty stomach. 

Hunger is like you are running out of  energy, like you are running out of battery, that's why you need to eat. But today a lot of people when feel little empty in their stomach, they like eating. To get out of this, you need little bit of awareness - you are empty stomach but still you are okay because you are energetic. When your energy starts dipping, then you eat. It's very incredible that what kind of fruits the land produces at a certain time is most suitable for the system. There is a lot of study about this. As per a study where a women went on only oranges for 1008 days. She was full of ailments when she started, in 1008 days, she came out like she was 20 years younger and full of vitality, all ailments gone totally. This is just one person, please do not follow this blindly as there are other aspects to it also. But yes, fruit will make wonderful difference, especially in today's world. 

Honey :

Honey is the only substance on this planet whose chemical composition is very close to that of human blood. You change a few things, it's almost like blood. Daily consumption of honey can do a lot for your health. Especially people who have excess mucus problems. It is very good for your heart, brains, it keeps your mind alert, and it's highly energetic. The daily consumption of honey can do a lot, especially if you have growing children, they must consume honey on a daily basis. It will do a lot for the development of their intelligence. 

If you cook honey, it will become poisonous. Honey should not be cooked - people are baking with it, putting it in cakes and other things, it's not a good thing to do. Certain part of honey turns poisonous if you cook it. You should put it in warm water, not in boiling water. Honey has different types of impact on the system. If consumed raw it has one kind of impact, if  in cold water then another kind of impact, if consumed in warm water it's a different kind of impact. One should consume in warm water, because we want the system to open up. If you want to integrate the system just for health, for example some one is feeling anaemic, which means on one level the blood has lost it's iron, you lost the strength in the body, you will feel exhausted for nothing. So to take care of this is you can consume a little bit of honey in warm water on a daily basis, slowly the RBC content will go up. If there is more oxygen in the blood, suddenly you will feel a burst of energy, ever thing becomes active, the rejuvenation system in the body is going up, dead cells are replaced quickly, the level of inertia that you feel in the body is much lower, the level of inertia you feel in your mind is much lower. So, consuming honey will bring a certain balance to the circulatory system which is very very essential for especially a yoga practitioner.

LIFE :

You invested too much on little things, like earning a living, and having this and having that, and missing everything.  We are a bundle of thoughts, emotions, ideas, opinions and prejudices right now, not a piece of LIFE. If you be just a piece of life, this would naturally reverberate with the rest of the existence. Having this, that , is not the problem, clinging is the problem. Remember, this LIFE is the most important piece of life in your this life.

If we recognise that our life is just a certain amount of time and energy, we would definitely invest our energy in a way it is most meaningful to this life. If we do not understand that we have an expiry date and it is not even fixed like a pharmaceutical product that you have another two years to live, it could be just about any time. If you miss this one fundamental fact, you are sure to miss your whole life, because everything that is vital will be tomorrow, and tomorrow never happens.

Please put your valued suggestions and opinion about this blog on the comment section below.

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WAY TO REINVENT LIFE AFTER 50.

WAY TO REINVENT LIFE AFTER 50

From the day we are born till the day we crossover to the next dimension, each day of our life should be utilised to it's fullest, in a way that death never scares us.

The nature of life that we are as created by that Eternal Source, our possibilities are limitless as compared to any other life on this planet, that's why we are called HUMAN 'BEINGS', provided we realise our capabilities and move in that right direction. 

In fact, growing older is a privilege, although many of us fail to see it as such. However, your 50's are actually a great time to figure out what you want from life, and without the uncertainty that followed you a decade or two earlier, actually achieve it. Many find that their 50's are the perfect time to make some serious changes in their lives in pursuit of happiness, health, and overall well-being.

In most part of your active life you are too much engrossed in building career, family, fame, social status, money, property, and other materialistic possessions..... as if we are immortals, in this process have you ever thought how much time really we spent on yourself to enhance the life within you. Have you done anything to take a step towards the state of self realisation and try to be in a state of joyful and contribute to other living beings and mother nature. 

Considering the age of the Earth 4.543 billion years, we are just "Pop-ups'', just imagine how many like us have come and gone before us, and will after us. By our coming and going this Earth gets least effected. It is for us therefore, to enhance our this life form so that we are able to experience this short stay on this planet to it's optimum. 

The Life energy or the soul as some may term as, that keeps our body and mind active, or terms us as being alive, is having the same intensity as on the day we were born till the day it leaves the body. It is just our mind and body that loses it's intensity due to our own negligence and /or ignorance. We are a combination of three things - The BODY, The MIND, and The ENERGY (Prana). 

The basics of life, as myself had understood - always be in line with NATURE and follow a routine, simple living, never harm a life, try to make honest attempts to distance from EGO & DESIRE as much as possible, and focus strongly on physical conditioning, as it leads to mental stability, which helps you in  having clarity about this LIFE.

Seen many who give in when in there 50's or 60's, or whatever age they are in - "I am too old to start", or "At this age it's not possible for me start", thus you are putting limitations on yourself just because of a NUMBER, thus killing the possibility. 

The biggest issue is not just limiting yourself, but accepting these limits, accepting that.. beyond a certain age it's not just possible. This is a clear example of your MIND controlling YOU and your BODY, thus YOU have lost control over your MIND or surrendered to the limitations that your mind has created for you. Remember, your body is capable of doing anything, it's your mind you have to convince, and this is only possible when your mind takes instructions from you, not the other way.

Once you cross 50 years of age, chronologically you are over the hill, considering 85 years of life, but it's not what it's about, chronologically age means nothing. If you want to continue to be... be young then you should better preserve your physicality..... BODY + MIND + ENERGY, better start now, age do not mater at all. 

Though, by now my words must be sounding extraneous to the title, but these are necessary to create the launching pad for igniting the boosters.

There were activities that you used to do when you were 6, 8, & 10 years old that you can not do now. It does already happen in your teens and it gets worse through your 20's, and gets worse through your 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, every age and day that you get older it all gets worse and you end up being a sycophant. Unless you continue to use few techniques. Also, It's your mind that you have to go on convincing and put under your control.

It's all about pushing yourself to the limit in all realms of physicality and mentality. It's not just about strength, but also about coordination, about conditioning, it's about balance, about mental ruggedness and toughness. It just takes few months of  very simple physical and mental conditioning with no extra cost, to reach a stage where you get yourself rejuvenated and thus make your later half of life more enjoyable and most exciting. You will then realise that age is just a mindset.

Firstly, you have to come out of the notion that fitness is just going to gym, handling dumbbells and barbells, brisk walking, jogging or doing cardio workout, there has to be a Mind-Muscle connection for development of a fit physique, at what ever age you may be in. 

Any exercise has to be targeted as per your motive / purpose of doing so - is it to reduce only body fat, or reducing fat and develop muscles, or for gaining strength, or improving only body flexibility, or gaining body endurance / stamina. There are techniques and types of exercises to accomplish your desired motive. Whatever technique you adopt, correct BREATHING process is most vital, a rigorous training without proper breathing will give no result. 

Breathing is the most vital process in our body to sustain this life in a healthy way - are you breathing in correct way, how does breathing effect your life span, how can you increase your lung capacity and improve your immunity, how can your general health drastically improve just by correct breathing process. This is nothing new, during the VEDIC period (1000 - 500 BC) our then scientists or "Rishis" as we call them, had already mentioned the techniques of BREATHING in various forms of PRANAYAMA . It would be enough for us to just understand that PRANAYAMA basically means breathing in more oxygen in to our lungs. By adopting such techniques in your daily routine will invariably take you towards a healthy and joyful life even at the later stage of your life.

A fit body, smooth movement of Prana (Energies / Breath), and steady and alert mind are the basic ingredients for MEDITATION. This is the reason, regular practice of Yoga / any form of physical workout and Pranayama are the prerequisites for MEDITATION. 

Meditation is not that simple a word as it seems. One can be some what meditative but can never do meditation - it's a certain quality. Meditation is not that can be learnt by paying money. If only the body, mind emotions and energy are brought to a certain level of preparedness, then only meditation will blossom within you. Meditation has to happen, it can not stop, similar to our breathing process. A flower blossoms only when the soil, sunlight, atmosphere around become conducive for it to blossom, it will never blossom if we sit and peal it. Similarly, if we just sit for meditation, it will not happen, it is not about going somewhere, it's home coming, it's getting back to it's original nature. Instead of being on the surface you are going back into the core, it can not be done, but we can make it happen. Meditation is a deep sense of unity with an object or activity.

It is most important to understand that proper mental fitness and smooth channelising of life energies are not possible if you are not physically fit. Also, on the other hand if you are not mentally fit (alert, steady, calm), and, fear, stress, anger, insecurity, jealousy frequently haunts you, then there are glands in our brain that releases certain type of hormones which effect adversely the new cells that are regularly being produced in our body, thus effecting our physical health in a very adverse way.

Our dependency and priorities always go on changing from the day we are born - during our schooling days, college days, career building days, during our professional life, during our family life and so on. If so, then when did you actually think about yourself as an individual life form - your body, mind and life energy. 

As you age, even if you are with all financial securities, a small fear creeps in, frustration bothers you, you start doubting people around you and get irritated and agitated fast, suddenly you find nothing going around as you expected. This is mainly because as you get older you have very less to do, you start spending more time in front of your TV with a glass of wine or a cigar becoming a couch potato, thinking unnecessarily about things that are no longer under your control, or engulfed in your mobile phone or live in your thoughts of past. A feeling of  "can do nothing more" or "can not do much at my this age" sets in, causing the release of negative hormones effecting your health and you actually start ageing faster - mentally and physically. Ultimately end up on a hospital bed with tubes inserted and needles pricked all over your ageing fragile body. Is this what you lived for ???? 

Most of us are under-worked (Physically) resulting in ill health. If we lived here on this planet about 100 years ago, physically we would be doing at least 30-40 times more activity of physical work. Only by using our body we can keep a good physical health. The more we use, the better it gets. If we sufficiently use our body, it has everything to create a health for itself. If we physically use our body as much as we should, then 80% of the ailments will disappear, the balance 20%  ie  10% due to food, and 10% due to Karmic and atmospheric reasons will remain.  

Health is not mine or your idea, we did not invent health, what we have created or invented is ill-health. Today's 20 year old can not do what 60 year old used to do 80-100 years ago - we are actually weakening humanity or degenerating humanity over a period of time. Medical science can enhance our life span to some extent, but can never make us fit and a naturally healthy being. We had just experienced what a small VIRUS has done to humans with poor health and weak immunity system.

Even a simple daily activity of walking or light jogging can bring a great change in you. Walking research is very clear, if you take 30-45 minutes walk or jog each day, your heart will be dramatically healthier. As you walk, your heart pumps in a nice and relaxed manner, circulating oxygen rich blood throughout your body. When your body is receiving this vital oxygen-rich blood and nutrients your body and tissues stay younger and healthier with improved immune system. The walking benefits are infinite. The need to walk is baked into our DNA. We are meant to eat and then move, and not eat and just sit on our butts. We are built to walk. Walking has no age limit, rather you should walk more as you age. Think of walking not as an exercise, but as daily base line movement.

Trekking in is a great activity, especially for those above 50, a trek can boost your metabolism for up to 12 hours after the trek. Trekking at least once a year for minimum 4-7 days can help you lose some amount of weight without doing much exercise in a gym. Additional benefits of trekking include strengthening your bones and improving your attention and memory. Specially when trekking in nature, research has shown 20% increase in attention and memory. Sunshine provide Vitamin D , breathing pure air calms nervous system, the different colours of nature during your trek phenomenally good for our overall physical and mental health. Age should not be an obstacle in your enthusiasm for venturing in mountains for trekking, just with some simple basic fitness and breathing training you can get into  your trekking shoes.

There is a huge misconception, most people talk about losing weight, eating better, better habits, etc, but they forget the number one reason for exercising, it is for the most important part of your body, your BRAIN. The real reason you should exercise is, especially as you cross 50 and step into the later half of your life when your general level of activity gets reduced, if you do not get regular movement, your brain will degenerate prematurely. Degenerative brain diseases include types of dimentia like Alzhemer's disease, Frontotemporal Dementia and Lew Body Dementia. 

You may be doing all the right things - eating low carbs, eating less frequently, switching from processed food to whole food, but the one thing you are not doing is regular EXERCISE. Exercise is not optional if you want to have optimum health. Enjoy more flexibility and a stronger body in your 50's or above by taking up Yoga or doing any for of regular exercise. Not only doing regular physical exercise great for limbering up stiff joints, it's also an ideal way to get those lean muscles you have always wanted. 

Better functioning of physical, mental and life energies is HEALTH or FITNESS, it's all about LIFE HAPPENING WELL.

The main objective of my this blog is, with whatever little experience myself  has gathered, learned and practised till now,  to make you aware and assist you to come out of  the mindset you had about ageing. Lets now bring a change in our life, still there is time, there is no age limit to learn, just start and take the first step towards making your life very positive, active, vibrant, romantic, exuberant, be adventurous like never before, with a fit body, calm and alert mind assisted with smooth flowing life energy within us.

Let us together step into a new world with a changed mindset about physical and mental fitness, where you become not a burden, but a pride of your family and the society, by setting an example for the younger generation. Just have to focus on yourself and experience life with a smile till your last day on this planet Earth - this is the cycle of nature, just accept it - nothing to worry... be joyful and LIVE LIFE AS IT IS.

 

                                              

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EVEREST BASE CAMP SOLO TREK - Preparation, Trekking Gears, Itinerary, & Cost.

 

EVEREST BASE CAMP SOLO TREK - Preparation, Trekking Gears, Itinerary, & Cost.

Among all the trekking destinations in Nepal, Everest Base Camp (EBC) is one of the most popular mountain destinations in the world. The Khumbu region, in Nepal, plays host to thousands of trekkers every year, and trekkers come from all over the world to enjoy magnificent views of the highest mountain on Earth, Mt. Everest (8848m) and it's neighbouring peaks. The natural beauty of the region inspires some beautiful photography, and the views along the rout, as well as at EBC itself, are just captivating. There are beautiful, century old monasteries to visit and the trek provides the opportunity to experience the unique culture of the Sherpa people. 

Trek to Everest Base Camp is an incredible journey for those whose dreams soar as high as the clouds around the majestic peak. This is really the adventure of a life time. Far from the madding crowd you can saturate your spirit with the natural beauty of the region, and stretch your endurance beyond what you thought was possible. EBC is one of the most iconic trekking adventure.

The traditional trekking route from Lukla to EBC is travelled by around 95% of all trekkers to EBC, and the round trip takes between 10 to 14 days. The trek to the base camp, which is at an elevation of 5,364 m, crosses suspension bridges that span huge chasms of thin air, past hidden Buddhist monasteries, and into the heart of the rugged Sherpa country.

PREPARATION

Your physical fitness plays a factor in the perceived difficulty of this adventure. Though some classify this trek as an advanced level, but you may be glad to know that no technical training or mountaineering experience is required. With proper physical fitness your age won't mater at all in undertaking this trek.

It's always advisable to go for few treks before you plan for EBC. Walking / jogging is the most common and best way to prepare for Everest Base Camp trek. Do not try to do too much too soon. This may lead to fatigue or injury, take it slowly and gradually increase your training. Do proper warm-up and cool-down before and after exercise. 

Focus on your cardio endurance training, diet is also an important aspect - start taking diets that are rich in protein and carbohydrates. I would suggest, as a first timer start your training at least 6 months ahead of your trip, those who are into trekking may start 3 months before. Start with jogging or running for 1 -2 km, gradually may increase up to 5-10 km. If you are already into gym then that's great and will be an added advantage. Train your legs with squats, lunges, leg press, focus on your shoulder strength training also. If you are carrying your backpack during the trek then your shoulders have to be strong. Would suggest to go for weekend short treks near you, or go for long walks of 10-12 km with your backpack with load of min 10-12 kgs. You also need to focus on your mental strength by doing Yoga, meditation. 

One of the most important part of your preparation should be doing breathing exercises (Pranayama) like "VASHITA PRANAYAM" (Belly Breathing technique), Pressure breathing exercise, Breath Holding Technique,  and few other similar breathing techniques, as these breathing exercises not only enhances your lung capacity, but also improves your immune system. Such breathing exercises are of great help during high altitude treks. where air is thin and breathing is really difficult during long hours of trek. Also with ability to inhale good volume of air due to enhanced lung capacity, you will minimise the risk of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). It is always advisable to consult your doctor before planning and preparing for EBC trek.

Once you think you have done your preparation, it's time to check on your fitness level - you should be able to run or jog 5 km in 25-30 minutes, this is the bench mark. But do not get demotivated if you are not being able to cover it, its OK, keep on with your practice. You should also be able to climb 30-40 stair steps at one stretch, able to do 15-20 push-ups in one set, also should be able to do squats and lunges 2-3 sets of 15-20 reps per set. It's not mandatory to achieve exactly these numbers, your body type, physical fitness level, posture should be in a good position.

Remember, EBC is a difficult trek, there is a difference between a difficult trek and expedition. There are number of factors that make a trek difficult, moderate, or easy. Total distance to be covered in EBC trek is about 120 km, maximum altitude is 17598 ft., and if you attempt Kala-Pathar then the altitude will be 18517 ft. Your trekking distance will be minimum 7 km and up to 20 km in one day, trek duration min 4 hrs & maximum 9 hrs per day. There may be snow fall or snow storm on your trail, temperature may drop to minus 15 to minus 20 degrees celcius. Number of days you will be spending on this trek is about 14-15 days. All these factors take your trek into a difficult grade. 

AMS may be a major and serious factor in this trek, cause of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is shortage of oxygen in the air, if not diagnosed in time then leads to high altitude cerebral edema, where water fills your lungs and you will not be able to breath and there will be swelling in the brain. Symptoms of AMS - headache, dizziness, tiredness, extreme fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, shortness of breath, not able to sleep. AMS may start at 2500 m. (8200 ft.).

It can be prevented, but there is no medicine to cure AMS, only thing that you have to do is descend or take the patient to lower altitude as early as possible. Therefore it is recommended not to gain altitude of more than 500 mt. 1640 ft. in a day, should take a rest day for acclimatisation once you gain an altitude of 1968 ft to 2952 ft, spend one extra day at this altitude. 

Strictly you should not be smoking or taking alcohols in the mountains. On consultation with your doctor may take DIAMOX  48 hours before entering mountains as a preventive measure. DIAMOX  should not be taken when in the mountains or with AMS, there is no use of DIAMOX once you catch AMS. May take paracetamol if you get severe headache. Should drink sufficient water per day to keep you hydrated, it's very important to stay hydrated even in minus temperature, that is the key. Have Garlic soup during your EBC trek, this is a very good AMS preventive food, every Sherpa & guide recommends this. Take Garlic soup twice a day. Ever one or two hours of trek you can have one or two cloves. 

Always keep your head and feet covered, but unless compulsion due to chilled winds keep your head covered but ears open, because then our body will detect the surrounding air pressure and start acclimatising and start giving signals to our body to make necessary changes. If have headache, then try one litre water with one disprin tablet and monitor for one hour, if it is AMS then headache will not go, take decision very wisely, if after sleep you are comfortable then go for next destination, or else descend immediately. Remember that, every body is different and reacts differently under varied conditions, therefore it is always better to undertake few 14000 -16000 ft altitude trek before you go for EBC, just to check how your body responds at such high altitude.

To know in details about how to prepare, please read my Blog (dated 20th Sept. 2021) : "SIMPLE WAY TO TRAIN FOR YOUR UPCOMING TREKS - Fit To Trek@50 Series".

TREKKING GEARS 

Your trekking gears can be divided into 5 sections :

1. Essential gears.

2. Clothing.

3. First aid kit.

4. Toiletries.

5. Electronic Gadgets.

1. Essential Gears : Sleeping bag, trekking pole, water bottles, trekking shoe, lighter or match box, head lamp with extra batteries, please note that lighters and match box are not allowed on flights, you have to purchase lighter or match box from Lukla and leave these at Lukla on your return, micro spikes, 60 - 65 litre ruck-sack, your day pack , day pack is nothing but your small back-pack.

Your trekking poles will cost around 750 - 800/- INR purchased online. Water bottles are most important, carry 2 numbers of one litre each - one metallic and one plastic, as the nights will be very cold therefore fill hot water in the metallic bottle and keep inside your sleeping bag, it will keep you warm. One litre warm or boiling water will cost you around 300 Nepali rupees at the tea houses where you will be staying. The other essential item is your trekking shoe, would recommend a water proof trekking shoe with high ankle and good grip,  I used Quechua trekking shoe which I bought from Decathlon for 5999/- INR. Next is Head torch or lamp which I bought from Amazon, it's not much expensive, costs about  300/- INR. The main essential trekking gear is your rug-sack or back-pack, I used Wildcraft 60 litre back-pack with in built rain cover and having excellent back support system, I got it online costing around  4400/- INR. Your day-pack should be about 25 - 40 litres.

2. Clothing : On Himalayan treks you should be having your proper clothing - warm layers, rain covers, etc., Quechua men's half zip NH100 which costs about 499/- INR is the one that i used as rain cover. I also bought Quechua men's waterproof hiking over trouser NH500 costing about 699/- INR. You should also carry woolen cap, sun cap which you can buy at Thamel(Kathmandu) for 300 Nepali Rupees, trekking pants which preferably should be water repellent, this also you can buy from Thamel for 1200 Nepali Rupees. I also carried a pair of quick dry track pant. For my entire trek I carried a pair of Trek pants. Also carried 4 pairs of Jockey sports socks of ankle size, two full size normal socks, a pair of thick woolen socks, these are very useful at night. Carried two pairs of thermals - upper & lower. You must also carry a flees jacket or light weight sweater. 

The next item is very very important - Down Jacket made of duck feathers, as it's very light and warm, also water repellent. Padded jackets can also be used, these are cheaper, but are heavy. I would recommend Duck feather down jacket. Wind cheater is also useful when it's very windy and chilly, but I used my rain cover or rain coat instead. I also carried 6 quick dry T-shirts - 1 full sleeve T-shirts with hoodie , 2 full sleeves T-shirts, and three half sleeves T-shirts. Carry Balaclava or neck warmers, a pair of micro-fibre towel or light weight multipurpose scarf. Hand gloves are also very important, can carry a pair of normal woolen hand gloves, and a pair of snow proof hand gloves with flees inners, which I bought from Thamel market. Over and above, should carry about 8 quick dry under-wears. 

3. First Aid Kit : You can carry glucose, water purification tablets, which are must. Medicines that you should carry  for emergency are - pain killers, muscle reluctant tablets/sprays, diarrhea tablets, paracetamol tablets, tablets in case of vomiting, waterproof band aids, bandage, Vaseline, body lotion, antiseptic lotion/cream, sun screen lotion/cream, cotton, crape bandage, a small scissor, sanitizer, dry cough syrup, strepsils/vicks tablets, antacid tablets. May also carry Diomax, but use only in case of emergency on consultation with a doctor.

4. Toiletries : Tooth brush, tooth paste, soap cream/paper, toilet paper rolls (it's very costly as you go up in the mountains), wet wipes as there will be less chances of getting showers on the trail, you may get it but, hot water will be very costly (400 - 600 Nepali Rupees).

                                             

5. Electronic Gadgets : Charging your electronic devices in your EBC trek is expensive, there is no electricity, Tea Houses depend on solar power. Cell-phone charging will cost you around 300 - 400 Nepali Rupees (NR), power-bank charging will cost on per hour basis at some Tea Houses, if you are carrying 20000 mh power bank then imagine how much will be the charging cost. Best is if you could carry a mini solar panel for charging your devices, this you can buy fro Amazon for 3500/- INR. It is always advisable to carry 2 nos of mobile phone chargers. If carrying camera then carry extra memory card and batteries, because EBC trek passes through such majestic landscapes that you will be compelled to take lot of pics. For EBC digital or off-line trail map is not required, this rout is well marked.

To know in details on Trekking Gears please read my blog my blog (dated 22nd Aug'21) - "TIPS FOR FIRST TIME TREKKERS - Fit To Trek@50 Series".

ITINERARY 

The recommended time to go for EBC trek is either before or after late-May to mid-September, the monsoon season. Late September-November, and February-May are the main trekking months with fairly stable conditions, good visibility and temperatures at Base Camp getting up to around minus 6 degrees celcius. 

Although late November-February are extremely cold, around minus 15 degree celcius by day and much colder at night, clear skies are usually the norm with quieter trails  and teahouses adding to the exhilarating feeling of wild and unadulterated isolation.

EBC trek can be completed in 14-15 days, there is other rout to reach EBC, but I followed the conventional rout which the trekking companies follow : 

1 - Kathmandu

2 - Lukla to Phakding

3 - Phakding to Namche Bazar

4 - Namche Bazar acclimatisation

5 - Namche Bazar to Tengoche

6 - Tengoche to Dengoche

7 - Dengoche acclimatisation

8 - Dengoche to Lobuche

9 - Lobuche to Gorakshep to EBC

10 - Kala-pathar to Gorakshep to Dingoche / Phariche

11 - Dingoche / Phariche to Namchi Bazar.

12 - Namche Bazar to Lukla

13 - Lukla to Kathmandu

DAY -1 :   Your journey begins in ancient Kathmandu, where you will acclimate and explore the city at your leisure while anticipating your ascent. You have to reach Kathmandu and stay one night. 

Day - 2 : Try to get early morning flight to Lukla. Lukla is situated at an altitude of 9393 ft. Have your breakfast at Lukla and get your tourist permit. Then start your trek to Phakding, you have to cover 9 Km which will take about 3-4 hours and reach an altitude of  8563 ft., the trail is decent and easy. Once you reach Phakding have your lunch there.

Day - 3 : This will be a tough day, Phakding to Namchi Bazar - have to cover 10 km for which it will take 7-8 hours.  From 8563 ft you have to trek to an altitude of 11290 ft, ie to Namche Bazar. On day 3 you have to get your Sagarmatha National Permit from Joshali village near Monjo. Start your trek from Phakding early in the morning after completing your breakfast, as reaching Namchi Bazar will be one of your toughest day on your EBC trek. You can have lunch at Monjo.

Day - 4  : This will be your acclimatisation day at Namchi Bazar. For acclimatisation, hike to Hotel Everest View, hike distance is 3-4 km, from an altitude of 11290 ft. to 12729 ft, it will take 4-5 hrs. Have your breakfast at the place where you are staying at Namche Bazar, take your 'day-pack' carrying water bottles, poncho, warm layers, first aid kit and trekking poles and start your hike to Hotel Everest View. It's not just acclimatisation hike, but you will be blessed with the first view of Mount Everest. On acclimatisation day you don't have to stay in your hotel room, you have to go at higher altitude and come back. Go high and sleep low - this is the rule of acclimatisation. You can come down at about 3 pm in the afternoon and explore Namche Bazar market. You have to spend two nights at Namche Bazar.

                                        

Day - 5 : Namche Bazar to Tengboche, trekking distance is 9.2 km, from an altitude of 11290 ft to 12700 ft, it will take about 7-8 hours of trekking. Have lunch at Kenjuma with a stunning view of Mount Ama-Dablam. The toughest section of day 5 will start after  Fungedengma suspension bridge, a deep ascend for about two and a half hour. 

Day - 6 : Tengboche to Dingboche, trekking distance is 10.8 km, from an altitude of 12700 ft to 14468 ft, it will take about 7-8 hours. Somari is the best place to have your lunch, it is also a good place to spend some time here, don't rush as you will be gaining some altitude.

Day - 7 : Acclimatisation day at Dingboche. You can get up bit late in the morning, then after breakfast get ready for the acclimatisation hike with your day-pack to the top  of Nagarjun hill (16668 ft). From top of the hill you can get a magnificent view of Mount Ama-Dablam and surrounding mountain range. Once you are back from your acclimatisation hike, have your lunch at where you are staying at Dingboche.

Day - 8 : Dingboche to Lobuche, trekking distance is 7 km, from an altitude of 14468 ft to 16210 ft, it will take about 7-8 hours. If your health is good with no symptoms of AMS, then you can continue. Initially the trail is little bit flat with gradual ascend till Dugla, you can take lunch and some rest at Dugla. After Dugla there is a steep ascend, once you cross the ascend you will be at the Dhukla pass where the Everest Memorial is situated, this is the memorial for the mountaineers who lost their lives in the Everest and other mountains during their expeditions. 

Day - 9 : This is the most awaited day, Lobuche to Gorakshep to EBC to Gorakshep, total trekking distance is 9 km, from an altitude of 16210 ft to 17598 ft, it will take about 7-8 hours. Once you reach Gorakshep (16942 ft) which is 3 km from Lobuche, take your room, keep your ruck-sack, have your lunch and take your day-pack to proceed towards EBC. From Gorakshep to EBC is 3 km trek, and will reach an altitude of 17598 ft at EBC. After spending some tome at EBC and taking few pics come back to Gorakshep before it gets dark. Spend night at Gorakshep.

Day - 10 : If you are planning for Kala-Pathar, then you have to wake-up at 3 am, and by 4 am start your trek for Kala-Pathar, which is at an altitude of 18519 ft. It will take two hours to reach Kala-Pathar, Once the sun rises spend some time at Kala-Pathar and come back to Gorakshep, have your breakfast and start your return trek. On day ten you have to reach Dingoche or Pheriche, trekkers usually prefer to stay at Pheriche, because it's bit lower in altitude. The total distance will be about 13 kms (Gorakshep to Kala-Pathar and to Gorakshep, then to Pheriche or Dingoche), from altitude of 17598 ft to 14340 ft, trekking time will be about 7-8 hours.

                                  

Day - 11 : If staying at Pheriche, get up early, have your breakfast and start your trek to Namche Bazar, on the way have your lunch at Tengboche, this is going to be another tough day where you have to cover about 20 km, it took 9 hours to reach Namche Bazar. 

Day - 12 : Last day of your actual trek. Namche Bazar to Lukla , trekking distance 19 km , from an altitude of 11290 ft to an altitude of 9393 ft, trekking time about 8-9 hours. Get up early in the morning, have your breakfast at Namche Bazar and start your descend . Take your lunch at Monjo or Pakding. From Pakding it will take 2-3 hours to Lukla. 

Day - 13 : You will be flying back from Lukla to Kathmandu. Try to get the first early morning flight, as there are chances of the weather getting bad during the later part of the day, weather is very unpredictable at Lukla and flight may get cancelled. That is the reason you should add extra one to two days to your itinerary. 

                                       

Day - 14 : After spending one night at Kathmandu, it's time to fly back to your home town with tons of trekking experience and magnificent Himalayan memories.

COST 

Everest Base Camp trek is bit expensive, compared to most Himalayan trekking destinations in India. The total cost can be summarised in 3 steps - 

a) Lukla to Everest Base Camp & EBC to Lukla will cost you around 35,000 - 40,000 INR. 

b) Kathmandu to Lukla & Lukla to Kathmandu round trip flight will cost you around 15,000 INR. 

c) Reaching to Kathmandu totally depends on where your home town is.

These 3 steps do not include your trekking gear cost. Trekking cost can be further divided into -

1. Trekking Permits - we require 2 permits, one from Lukla, ie Khumbu Pasang Lamu Rural Municipality tourist entrance fee which is 2000 NR, and the other is Sagarmatha National Park entry permit from Josale Village which will cost 1500 NR for Indians, but for non-SAARC country tourist it will cost 3000 NR. Documents required for permits are - your passport, Indians if not travelling by flights have to show only their Government IDs like Adhaar Card, Voter ID Card, PAN card, or Driving License. For Everest Region TIMS card (Trekker's Information Management System) is no longer required since 2020.

2. Food - The cost I mentioned before ie 35,000 - 40,000 INR is inclusive of food cost. If you calculate day wise expense, then it will be around 2000 -3500 NR per day. In general the staple Nepali menu of carb-heavy Dal-Bhaat will cost 350-550 NR, Bread with honey will cost 400-600 NR, black tea 100 NR, coffe 150 NR, Hot chocolate 400-500 NR.

3. Accommodation - when you are travelling from your country to Kathmandu, before travelling to Lukla you have to spend a day at Kathmandu, so have to consider that also. There are hotels and lodges of all budget tourists, myself had stayed at a hotel where the cost was 1500 IR for a day. You can book online before you reach Kathmandu. During your trek the accommodation cost will increase as you gain altitude, it will vary from min 200 to max 700 NR. 

All teahouses usually have a large dining hall where you can eat and relax with other trekkers. There is a fireplace in the centre of the dining hall designed for heating the entire room during dinner time.

All the cost mentioned of food & accommodation are as on 2021, it may vary  through years, so keep track on internet for latest cost updates.

4. Trekking gear cost - There are 4 main trekking gears that are expensive - Down jacket, Ruck sack, Sleeping bag, and Trekking Shoes. Wildcraft Down jacket normally costs around 4500 INR, Wildcraft 65 litre Ruck Sack cost around 4200 INR, Wildcraft sleeping bag which works till -10 degrees cost me around 4700 INR, Quechua trek 100 waterproof from Decathlon cost me about 5999 INR. All other trekking gears that myself carried have already been mentioned above under "ESSENTIAL GEARS".

5. Domestic Flights - Kathmandu to Lukla & Lukla to Kathmandu round trip will cost around 15000 INR, This cost is only for Indians, for non- SAARC country tourists it's higher. You can book this flight via websites of only Nepal airlines like - Buddha Airlines, Summit Airlines, Yeti Airlines, Tara Airlines, etc.. Please note that Indian Credit and Debit cards can not be used while booking flight ticket via these airlines websites. The best is to call the customer care of the airlines you intend to book your ticket, over phone they will book your ticket and send you ticket itenery via email from their official e-mail ID, On landing at Kathmandu, you have to go to their sales office and make the cash payment in Nepali Rupees.

Lukla is one of the most dangerous airport in the world, It's in a hilly region and weather is so unpredictable there, there are high chances of flight cancellation, so whenever you are travelling always keep min two spare days in hand.  

                                          

6. Travel & Trekking Insurance - there is a difference between travell and trekking insurance. Why we need Trekking insurance ? because high altitude mountain sickness, accidents and flight cancellations, are the 3 major risks at EBC trek. If you are planing to take trekking insurance for EBC make sure your policy covers emergency evacuation by helicopter till 6000 m. Premium depends on your age and number of days you are going to spend on EBC trek, it starts from 8500 INR, this trekking insurance is not mandatory for EBC trek, I did not opt for trekking insurance, myself had only normal travel insurance that cost me around 700 INR.

TREKKING AGENCY COST : In case you plan to go for EBC trek through a trekking agency, then you have to trek with a group of trekkers. The cost vary from agency to agency, for which you need to do a very thorough research on internet judging all pros & cons. There are no fixed rates , it may vary from 69999 - 80000 INR for Indians, and about 2000 - 4500 USD for other foreign nationals . The rates depend on the facilities you opt for. Please check what all are included and what all are excluded in their cost.

WHY EBC TREK ?

Reaching Everest Base Camp has become the goal of thousands of avid trekkers the world over. There is a sense of grandeur that comes with trekking through an area considered a Mecca for climbing and mountain enthusiasts.

Everest Base Camp trek is really a life time experience which every trekker should go for. With proper preparation, I would suggest every human irrespective of their age should experience this Himalayan trek at least once. This trek will open up a new window for you, and you will start experiencing life as it really is. The energy level at the Himalayas are so high that it rejuvenates your body and mind entirely, your approach towards all living beings and nature will completely change. The majestic mountains around you will make you feel just a spec on this earth and will humble you down.

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