The Everest Base Camp Trek is a very popular adventure offered by the Khumbu trails housing Everest. Trekking along the hamlets and trails that take you to the foothills of Everest is definitely an experience. However, you cannot easily fulfill this experience. A lot of help is necessary if you wish to do the Everest Base Camp trek. One of the major help you need is guides and porters too. You ought to do the Everest Base Camp trek with guide and porter if you wish to make it a success.
The Everest Base Camp trek is a great adventure, but it’s a very exhausting task. Completing the trek means you need to trek for multiple hours a day for 10 to 12 days. Such a task should not be ventured alone without a learned hand. So we recommend you take some experts and some help along with you on your trek. Do the Everest base camp trek with guide and porter. There could be unforeseen challenges that occur during your travel. Having a good support system with a team of guides and porters would make navigating the challenges much easier.
People usually do the Everest Base Camp trek with a guide and porter through a team. A team is included via a trekking agency, including both guides and porters. The guides will serve as educators, helpers, and translators during your trek. On the other hand, porters will help you carry your luggage during your trip.
Managing to do the Everest Base Camp trek with a guide and porter on your own will be a little tricky. If you wish to do your Everest base camp trek with a guide and porter and are seeking help, you’re in the right place. We at Great adventure Trek are here to help you!
We provide all sorts of trekking services within Nepal. There are amazing deals we have for you to hire guides and porters. We will cover these deals in this article, along with giving you more info on my guides and porters are essential for the EBC trek. Stick with us!
Packaged deals
We have package deals for the Everest Base Camp trek with a guide and porter. In this deal, we offer you guides and porters for the length of your trek based on the number of people you are traveling with.
The basic allocation of guides and porters will be as follows:
- 1 Porter will assist 2 people
- 1 Guide will assist 1 to 7 people
Your cost for guides and porters will also vary based on the number of people trekking with you. The bigger the group, the wiser, as less number of guides can assist large groups of people. Also, a porter for two people will be allocated. Moreover, it will be cost-effective. Just follow the rates below for detail :
- 1 person – USD 1580
- 2 person – USD 1360
- A group with 4 to 6 people – USD 1300
- A group with 6 to 10 people – USD 1280
If you get these packaged deals, it means that you will have guides and porters with you for the proposed itinerary of our Everest Base Camp trek. You need not try and make arrangements of guides and porters every other day. Once you buy the package, they are set to help you and make your trek easier.
However, if you wish to hire guides and porters for particular days, we have such deals too. Daily rates for individual hire of guides as well as porters are available.
Individual Guide Hire
We have provisions for hiring guides for individuals on daily rates as well. One person can hire a guide at the rate of USD 30 to USD 40 per day. They will be licensed guides permitted by the government. Such guides will not necessarily work as porters. So you might have to hire porters differently if needed.
Why hire guides?
To help in translation during your travels
Nepal is a multilingual country. People all around the country speak in various languages. You might prepare yourself to learn basic Nepali during your visit. But it’s almost impossible to be well versed in other native languages spoken in the Khumbu trails. As a foreigner, it will be quite difficult to interact with locals. Hence, it will cause a communication gap that needs to be bridged.
Our guides will be the ones helping you bridge this gap. Licensed guides are fluent in various languages. This includes English, Spanish, German, Mandarin or Chinese, etc. Hence, when you have to talk to locals, the guides will translate your conversation to them. Guides are also versed in the native languages of the people living along the trails. So the problem with the language barrier will not be a big hassle.
Help with navigating your trip.
The trekking trails of a foreign country are not easy to navigate. Moreover, the trails of the Everest Base Camp trek are in remote Himalayas covered in alpine forest. Trying to remember such a complicated route is not feasible. But you cannot just commence this trek to end up being stranded. So, someone to help you navigate the routes should be there with you. Such help will be given by the guides that we provide for you.
The licensed guides we provide you are well-versed in traveling these trails. They have enough experience and travel records to navigate the route easily. The guides are there to make sure that things go as planned. They will make sure your itinerary is followed, and there are no dangers en route.
Moreover, the trails of the EBC route are very tricky. It has glaciers, icy slopes, steep uphill roads, suspension bridges and such. You might not be habituated to traveling through such unique landforms. That’s why guides are there to help you navigate such travels. They will make sure you travel safely. They also ensure issues of road blockages during harsh weather is tackled. In case you need changes in routes or transportation or itinerary changes, the guide will navigate that for you as well.
To handle your logistics
You have to manage a lot of things logistic-wise during your EBC trek. Necessary documents like permits, tickets, and amenities like food, accommodation, transportation, etc., are also necessary. Ensuring these are available for you will be the job of your guides.
If you wish to you could prepare all these logisitcs on your own too. But handling them in remote trails of Nepal requires you to be more familiar with the places and people of the region. So it is best to allow guides to help you with it. They will definitely know what you need during the trek.
The guides are aware of the finest transit options based on your requirements and the timing. They can assist you in obtaining special pricing and amenities and also have regular tea houses.
Also, in regards to your permit, guides only need the document you give them. Then they will quickly secure your permit. Hence, you do not have to deal with the inconvenience of keeping up with offices and headquarters just to obtain your permits.
Once you hire your guides, just relax and have faith that they will take care of all of it.
To educate you during the trek
Trekking through the foothills of Everest is a great learning opportunity. The place holds a lot of significance in various sects. Geographically, culturally, historically, and naturally, Khumbu trails have a lot of knowledge to offer.
The peak of the world, Everest, itself is a great subject of study. Along with it, the natural wildlife and trails of the region are quite unique. The Khumbu trails house the Sagarmatha National Park. The park consists of various rare wildlife and vegetation. Understanding the nuances of such natural entities of the Khumbu trails is important during the trek. Your guides will be the ones to give you a lot of trivia and knowledge regarding it.
Khumbu is also quite significant culturally. Nepal’s Sherpa population inhabits most of the hamlets of the Khumbu region. They mostly follow Buddhism and have many monasteries in their settlement region. You might encounter them during your trek. Your guides are quite familiar with their lifestyle and culture. So rather than teaching you from afar, they can help you give an epistemological understanding of their culture. They will be a bridge for your cultural barrier and help you approach them in an appropriate manner.
To help you when medical assistance is needed
The Everest Base Camp trek includes long days of traveling through remote, cold Himalayan foothills. This means the chances of injuries or health issues are quite prominent. In some cases, these injuries and sicknesses could be treated on your own. But sometimes they need special care.
In remote Himalayan trails, chances of finding medical experts and facilities are rare. So, your guides will be your nurse or doctors. Guides are familiar with injuries and sicknesses that occur during treks. Injuries like broken bones, muscle tears or sprains, open wounds, etc., are probable. Similarly, catching a cold, getting altitude sickness, or oxygen deprivation is also common. Your tour guides expect such occurrences and are always ready to help you with them.
Is Everest Base Camp Trek without Guides possible?
If you were thinking of doing the Everest Base Camp trek solo, it is not possible. Doing the Everest Base camp without a guide is not possible. The government of Nepal has made it a compulsion for solo travelers to have a guide with them for the Everest Base Camp trek. Guides will be a support system for you during your travel to remote places in Nepal. They ensure your safety and also help you adjust various factors of your trek.
Although you might think guides are a hassle, they are needed for all the good reasons. Especially if you’re trekking the Khumbu region alone or for the very first time, you need some guidance. That’s why it is highly recommended to do the Everest base camp trek with a guide. It is both safe and also the legal and only way to do the trek.
Individual Porter Hire
We also have deals of individual porter hiring for you. You can hire an individual porter yourself based on daily rates. It will cost around USD 25 to USD 35 to hire a porter for a day. The porter will carry a load of up to 25 kg a day for you during your treks. Porters are mostly there to lend you a helping hand strength-wise. Carrying heavy luggage for a fortnight’s worth of travel is very difficult. Hence, porters for your rescue!
Perks of Hiring Porters
To help transfer your luggage
Porters are not as experienced as guides. However, they have great strength. They are accommodated to traveling through remote trails often, carrying heavy loads. You need to carry many essentials during your Everest Base Camp trek. A minimum of 10 kg of luggage per head is estimated during your trek. Trekking through tricky landforms throughout the remote trails of Khumbu will be very difficult. And with more than 10 kg to carry with such a difficult trek will take all the fun out of your trip. For some, it could literally be unattainable. So we urge you to hire porters.
They will carry the luggage for you while you can still carry your immediate belonging in your own bag. Your trek will still be exhausting with the porters helping. However, it will not be unattainable.
To be your translators
Although porters are not as qualified as guides, some do know quite a bit of English. They could also be translators for you during your Everest Base Camp trek. Slight help with communication with locals can also be through the help of porters. They usually know the native tongue of the Buddhist settlement of Khumbu, Sherpa. So, they might also act as a bridge for your communication gap. However, do not expect them to be as good of a translator as guides.
To keep you company and give immediate support
The Everest Base Camp trek becomes more enjoyable with people around. Traveling with more groups of people makes it fun. Moreover, it will be quite difficult to carry yourself around strange places with strange faces every other day. Having a group of the same people, guides, and porters will give you a sense of familiarity.
Similarly, porters will also give you immediate support in case of problems. Since porters are also experienced with EBC treks, they can help with emergencies. They can help you during sudden weather change, health issues, minor injuries and so on. Porters might not be as efficient as the licensed guides we allocate you. However, they will still be proficient enough to give you minimal help in case of emergencies.
Is the Everest Base Camp trek without Porter possible?
The government of Nepal does not impose any kind of compulsion on taking porters to your EBC trek. So, yes, the Everest Base Camp trek is possible without porters. However, it is highly inadvisable. Trekking the Everest Base Camp is no joke. Walking hours on end through such remote trails is a challenge. The challenge gets worse with kgs of luggage on your back. To have a safe and comfortable trip, you will need to carry many amenities too. So, having porters to carry those for you would be much wiser than doing the trek without porters.
You may also like:
- Packing List For Everest Base Camp Trek
- Everest Base Camp Trek in Autumn
- Everest Base Camp Trek Cost and Itinerary
- How Long to Walk to Everest Base Camp
Final Say
Trekking into the inaccessible routes of the Everest region is a fantastic method to discover the Himalayas. Trekking through such a rugged area will be both rewarding and difficult. Hiring guides and porters for your journey to Everest Base Camp will greatly reduce these difficulties. With guides and porters, you will have a safety net and can begin the trek without many worries.
Guides and porters are also quite affordable compared to the total cost of the tour. We at Great Adventure Treks provide you with a range of suitable options for hire. You can either take a packaged deal with both porters and guides or make individual hires. The packaged deal covers you for the whole trip as per the itinerary, while individual rates apply as per the number of days. The packaged deal is great for traveling with friends and family. On the other hand, individual hire is great if you’re traveling with less number of people or solo.
If you wish to book your guides and porters for the EBC trek, definitely remember us. Contact us for booking or for additional info!
