Teahouse Accommodation Along The Everest Base Camp Trek
Nepal is generally known for the beautiful teahouse treks. The teahouse treks bring trekkers closer to the local lifestyle and culture. The homely atmosphere and cosy accommodation along the Everest Base Camp trek will amaze you.
Tea houses have a varied cost that mostly depends on the amenities provided and the time of the trek. In the lower altitude, you can get well-equipped rooms with electricity, commode toilets, wifi, and a hot shower.
As you move up in the higher altitude, the facilities get scarce, and you only get limited services. Overall, the accommodation facilities along the Everest Base Camp trail are pretty basic.
How are the Rooms?
The rooms provided on the tea houses along the Everest Base Camp trek is on a twin sharing basis. Most teahouses offer rooms with twin beds with some furniture. You will also get a pillow and a warm, fuzzy blanket.
The blankets are essential as the nights are freezing in the Everest region. You can get a padlock for securing your valuables. Overall, the facilities are as basic as it can get but more than enough for a comfortable stay.
What about the Toilets?
There are basic squat style toilets along the teahouses. The bathrooms are pretty basic, and you can find a small wooden hut outside the lodge for toilet purposes. The toilet is simply a hole in the floor above a deep pit.
The tea houses do not provide toilet papers. In lower elevation, most lodges offer commode style western toilets as well. You might find it weird or hard to use the squat toilets, but you need to get accustomed to it.
Hygiene is of great importance, and you need to maintain your sanitation properly. You should bring essential toiletries along with you for the trek.
Other Amenities
You need to spend a few dollars for hot showers along the Everest Base Camp trek. The cost of hot showers is around $1-3$, which changes according to the altitude. For charging your electronic devices, you need to spend $2-$3 per hour.
For connectivity, you can purchase a prepaid SIM Card with mobile data. Ncell provides high-speed 3G internet in the Everest region. There are also wifi facilities along the lower region teahouses in the Everest Base Camp trail that costs around $3-$5 per hour.
Food Facilities Along The Everest Base Camp Trek
What to eat?
The Everest region is remote, and all the food ingredients get carried by Yaks to the villages along the trail. Thus, non-perishable ingredients like rice, cereals, and grains are in high use in the region. You can also get cooked lentil soup called Dal. These dishes come with white steamed rice. The combined dish of “Dal Bhat” is famous and eaten all over Nepal.
The whole menu along the tea houses is rice based with a different staple side dish or vegetable soup. You can also find different western cuisine like pizza, burgers, pasta along the trail, especially in the lower regions like Lukla, and Namche. Namche is a bustling commercial town with many cafes, restaurants, pubs, and bakeries.
Is meat available?
You will find meat dishes at the tea houses as well. However, having meat products, at such high altitudes is not a good idea. The meat products get carried by a yak after being flown to Lukla without any refrigeration.
The freshness of the meat products remains largely unknown. Yak makes for a common steak dish, but slaughtering of animals is not allowed in the region. You could alternatively gorge on freshly baked items from the bakeries along the trail.
Is the food served fresh?
The freshness of food in the Everest region is not guaranteed. This is because of the remoteness of the Himalayan region. However, popular tea houses crowded with tourists and trekkers generally ensure fresh food.
Water along the trek
Bottled water is available at most tea houses but is quite expensive. The tea houses boil water from the local stream to make tea, coffee and other purposes. If you do not wish to drink bottled water, then there are various water purification tablets and chlorine solutions available.
Drinking water without boiling is not recommended. Staying hydrated is a must for acclimatization purposes. On an average, 3 to 4 litres of water per day (including tea, coffee, hot soups, etc.) is essential in the Everest Base Camp trek.
How many meals a day?
The tea houses generally provide three sit-down meals during the day. The breakfast involves porridge, tea and eggs. Breakfast is usually early around 8 am as trekkers need to start early on their trek.
For lunch, you will stop tea houses along the trail. The lunch and the dinner menu have similar items of rice and lentil dishes like Dal Bhat. Garlic soup is quite a popular dish that helps to prevent altitude sickness among trekkers.
Dinner gets served in the dining area around a large stove in the company of fellow trekkers. The dal bhat is on the menu for dinner as well with some hot soup to end the day. You can carry your tea bags, protein bars, granola bars, energy drinks as well.
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Popular Dishes In The Everest Base Camp Trek
Dal Bhat
Dal Bhat is the staple dish for most trekkers around the region for the length of their trek. A generous serving of steamed rice served alongside vegetables, lentils, spinach, pickles will satisfy your taste buds. You might feel repetitive after a while, but the Dal Bhat is very nourishing and provides energy during the strenuous trek.
Garlic soup
The garlic soup is a popular dish that protects you from altitude sickness. The meal is quite delicious as well, and you can have a generous amount during the day and before you go to bed.
Yak meat
Yaks are the most common animal in the Himalayan region, and yak steaks are incredibly delicious and nutritious. You can check the freshness of the meat with your local guide. The yak meat steak served with some cheese is the protein that your body needs in such high altitude conditions.
Chinese cuisine
Chinese Asian cuisine with Nepali twist is also quite popular in the tea houses. You can get the popular momo and chow mein that are available in the higher regions as well. These dishes are a welcome change from the staple Dal Bhat.
Food And Accommodations at Various Places Along the Everest Base Camp Trek
Kathmandu
You will arrive at Kathmandu before the start of the Everest Base Camp trek. For overnight stay at Kathmandu, you will find many accommodation facilities, including the budget hostels to luxurious five-star hotels. These hotels are available at various costs based on the facilities provided.
You can have a variety of western, continental, or other world cuisines in and around Kathmandu. The tourist hub of Thamel is famous for the vibrant atmosphere consisting of cafes, pubs, hotels, and others. You can have a great celebration dinner after the successful completion of the trek in Kathmandu.
Lukla
After a short flight from Kathmandu, we arrive at Lukla. You can stay a day at Lukla or take the trail straight away and head for Phakding or Namche. There are plenty of hotels in Lukla. The hotels provide better facilities than the lodges in the trail. However, they will cost you more than the teahouses.
The food facilities in the hotels of Lukla is quite good. You will get a variety of Nepali and western cuisine dishes in hotels. These meals get prepared by certified chefs and cooks. The food prices are higher than the Kathmandu as all the food ingredients have to be flown by air.
Phakding
After arriving at Phakding, through the Dudh Koshi river valley just north of Lukla and south of Monjo. Phakding has many hotels and tea houses on both sides of the pristine Dudh Koshi river. They are affordable and perfectly suits any budget traveller.
However, if you seek some luxury stay, then there are plenty of luxury accommodations as well. You can get a variety of dishes in these hotels and lodges. However, you might have limited choices if you are trekking in the offseason.
Namche
Namche Bazaar is the commercial hub of the Khumbu region. Namche is an excellent acclimatization point in the Everest Base Camp trek. You can spend a couple of days in Namche to adequately adjust to the climate and the high altitude.
You can get the best tea house experience in Namche. The wide range of accommodation facilities from luxury to basic is available at different prices. Namche is also the last point where you can get some luxury amenities along the Everest Base Camp.
Namche has a great food scene with many restaurants, pubs, cafes, etc. You will get a variety of choices of food items. There are vast menu choices with varying prices. Meat items are also available, and Namche should be the last place where you have any meat items.
This is because there are no places along the trail that provide proper refrigeration after Namche. You will be pleasantly surprised to find a charming bakery at such a high altitude. You can gorge on the delicious freshly baked items in Namche. The bustling environment in Namche is reminiscent of Thamel in Kathmandu.
Tengboche
Tengboche is quite famous for the holy Tengboche monastery situated at an altitude of 3,867 m. The monastery is the largest in the Khumbu region.There are 4-5 hotels and tea houses in Tengboche. As we move up along the trail, the teahouses get more basic. It will be tough to find a room with attached bathrooms and hot shower.
The morning prayers at Tengboche monastery will liven up your soul. Many trekkers spend the night in Tengboche for the prayers, so it gets quite crowded at peak seasons.
You will find contrasting visuals in Tengboche in comparison to Namche.
You will find that the menus get shrunk by a significant amount. However, there is a bakery in Tengboche as well so that you can satisfy your hunger with some freshly baked products.
Dingboche
Dingboche is a bustling acclimatization point along the EBC trail. The Sherpa village has dozens of lodges, shops, and even an internet cafe. You can spend a couple of nights at Dingboche for adapting to the high altitude and climate. The tea houses and lodges welcome tourists and trekkers all around the year.
The food menus shrink further as we move up in the trail. At Dingboche, you will have basic food facilities. Most tea houses offer the staple dish of dal Bhat. While the food might not be fancy but it is nutritious enough for you to get energized for the trek.
Lobuche
Lobuche is the last stop before the stunning Everest Base Camp. Lobuche has many accommodation facilities, but they are pretty basic. You need to pre-book the accommodations as it can get quite crowded during peak seasons.
You can also share the rooms in case the accommodations get packed. The teahouses in the Lobuche area are pretty basic and there is not much variety in the food menu. The meals are delicious made with extra warmth and care by the teahouse owners.
Gorakshep
Gorakshep is the original Everest Base Camp and the base of the Kala Patthar. The place gets crowded, and there are basic tea houses for accommodation. You might have to share a room or sleep in the hall in the peak seasons. However, you will get the warm heating from the kitchen and also get to socialize with fellow trekkers while relaxing.
The food facilities in Gorak shep is pretty basic as well. You will have to remain satisfied with the basic food facilities as this is the highest point of the teahouses. Thus, the food facilities get extremely limited. The basic dal bhat is what you get in the tea houses.
Cost of Food and Accomodation Along the Everest Base Camp Trek
The cost of the accommodation facilities of tea houses along the Everest Base Camp trail depends on the altitude and time of the trek. The peak season (spring and autumn) trek will cost you more than the offseason treks. A basic teahouse accommodation would cost you anywhere between $3-$5 per night on average.
This cost estimate will give you a basic idea on how much money to take on the Everest Base Camp trek. You can find that the prices drop around 50% in comparison in the off season. Some tea houses also allow free accommodation if you have your meals at the same tea house. Hence, you should look at the menu first before choosing the teahouses for stay.
The Final Say
There is a wide range of accommodation facilities along the Everest Base Camp trek. It is essential to pre-book your accommodation, especially in the peak season. Excellent accommodations will get filled up early.
As soon as you can confirm the schedule, you need to book your accommodation. This will provide you with great deals, and you can enjoy your trek stress-free. This Everest Base Camp trek food and accommodation guide is a must-read before you start your trek in the Everest region.
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