Trek Overnight Camp Sites
During the trek, we camped at 14 different locations. Today, many of these locations have basic lodges where trekkers can stay, but in 1988, aside from a couple of the larger villages, there were no such facilities, and camping was the only option. This section provides some information about each of the camp site locations.
Lukla
9,420 feet
October 16 & 17 1988
November 9, 10 1988
Lukla is a town in the Khumbu area of the Solukhumbu District in the Sagarmatha Zone of north-eastern Nepal. It is a popular place for visitors to the Himalayas near Mount Everest to arrive. Although Lukla means place with many goats and sheep, few are found in the area these days.
Lukla contains a small airport servicing the region, and a variety of shops and lodges catering to tourists and trekkers, providing western-style meals and trail supplies.
From Lukla, most trekkers will take two days to reach Namche Bazaar, both an interesting village and an altitude acclimatization stop for those continuing on.
In August 2014, the Nepalese government announced plans to open the first tarmac road from Kathmandu to Lukla.
Lukla is served by the Tenzing-Hillary Airport. Weather permitting, twin-engined Dornier Do 228s and de Havilland Canada Twin Otters make frequent daylight flights between Lukla and Kathmandu. Lukla Airport has a very short and steep airstrip, often compounded by hazardous weather, resulting in several fatal accidents. It has been called the most dangerous airport in the world.
Phakding
8,581 feet
October 18 1988
November 8 1988
Phakding is a small village in the Khumbu region of Nepal. It lies in the Dudh Kosi river valley just north of Lukla and south of Monjo, at an altitude of 2,610 m, one of the UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
The trail start at Lukla and Phakding is often the main stopping point for trekkers on their way to Sagarmartha (Mount Everest) via the Gokyo Ri route or Tengboche route.
Its primary function of the village is to support the tourism industry and as such consists of a number of guesthouses.
Namche Bazaar
11,540 feet
October 19 1988
November 6, 7 1988
Namche Bazaar is a village and Village Development Committee in Solukhumbu District. It is located within the Khumbu area at 3,440 metres (11,286 ft) at its low point, populating the sides of a hill.
Namche is the main trading center and tourist hub for the Khumbu region with many Nepalese officials, a police check, post and a bank. Namche is the most expensive place in Nepal, at least thrice as expensive as the capital city Kathmandu.
At the time of the 2001 Nepal census, it had a population of 1647 people residing in 397 individual households.
Namche Bazaar is popular with trekkers in the Khumbu region, especially for altitude acclimatization, and is the gateway to the high Himalaya. The town has a number of lodgings and stores catering to the needs of visitors as well as a number of internet cafés.
On Saturday mornings, a weekly market is held in the center of the village. There may also be a daily Tibetan market where clothing and cheap Chinese consumer goods tend to be the main articles for sale.
Namche has cool, wet summers and chilly, dry winters mainly affected by its altitude and the summer monsoon season.
Dole
13,254 feet
October 22 1988
Dole is a small village in the Khumbu region of Nepal that lies in the Dudh Kosi River valley just north of Khumjung and south of Machhermo at an altitude of 4038m.
Dole is often a stopping point for trekkers on their way to Mount Everest via the Gokyo Ri route. Its primary function is to support the tourism industry and as such consists of a number of guesthouses.
Gokyo
15,608 feet
October 24, 25 1988
Gokyo is a small village in Solukhumbu District in the Himalayas of Nepal, at the foot of Gokyo Ri and on the eastern shore of the third Gokyo lake (Dudh Pokhari). The village, barely a hamlet consisting of several huts, is located at an elevation of 15,608 ft, making it one of the highest settlements in Nepal and in the world.
Gokyo is likely not permanently inhabited all year around as it is essentially a collection of huts catering to yak herders and trekkers.
A small peak, Gokyo Ri, rising to the north west of the village to 17,445, and providing excellent views of Everest and the other surrounding mountains, is the goal of most trekking groups exploring the Gokyo valley.
Chuguma
16,562 feet
October 27 1988
There is no village or anything that marks Chugyuma as a place. It is merely a suitable camp site, below the Cho La Pass, from which to make the crossing of the pass.
Lobuche
16,206 feet
October 29 1988
Lobuche is a small settlement near Mount Everest in the Khumbu region of Nepal. Lobuche sits below Lobuche Peak at an elevation of 16,206 ft., near the foot of the Khumbu Glacier, approximately 8.5 km SW of Everest Base Camp. It is one of the last overnight stops with lodging on the trail to Everest base camp. It is popular with both climbers heading for Everest and trekkers in the area.
Lobuche is a particularly busy place each year in the month of April as hundreds of porters and Sherpas from the region pass through Lobuche on their way to Base Camp. Many of them also move supplies, with the aid of yaks or other means, for various climbers and expeditions also traveling up the trail in preparation for the Everest spring climbing season in May.
The lodging accommodations at Lobuche are notoriously primitive, consisting mostly of stone huts with shared bunk dormitories. In recent years there have been some additions of more modern facilities and amenities including seven lodges providing 200 twin-bed rooms. Some lodges provide internet and oxygen services.
Dingboche
14,157 feet
November 2, 3 1988
Dingboche, at an elevation of 14,157 feet, is situated at the mouth of the Chukkung Valley, where the valley of the Imja Khola joins the valley below the Khumbu Glacier. It is one of the larger villages in the upper reaches of the Khumbu area, with a population of approximately 200 estimated in 2011.
Dingboche is a popular acclimatization stop for climbers and trekkers headed to Mount Everest, Ama Dablam or Island Peak, though it is less frequented than Pheriche which sits just to the west on the main trail to the Everest area.
One of the characteristics of Dingboche is the kilometers of stone walls, built using the stones of different sizes that cover the entire valley of the Imja Khola. These stones are removed in order to plow the soil and end up being piled one over the other creating kilometers of walls. Some agricultural products are produced locally around the village, with yaks and mules carrying in the remainder.
Like most villages in the area, Dingboche relies heavily on tourism, with numerous lodges that have been developed in recent years, as well as areas for tents.
Khumjung
12,372 feet
October 20, 21 1988
Khumjung is a village located in the Khumbu region inside Sagarmatha National Park, a world heritage site. The village is at an elevation of 3,970 metres above sea level, and is situated near Mount Khumbila.
A monastery in Khumjung has a purported Yeti scalp. This village has modern communications such as the internet and mobile and landline phones.
The village is the seat of Khumjung village development committee which include Kunde, Khumjung, Tengboche (Tyangboche), Pangboche, Pheriche, Dole, Chharchung, Machhermo, Lobuche, Dingboche, and Gokyo.
As of 1991, it had a population of 1809 people living in 433 individual households.
Nerebu
14.665 feet
October 23 1988
Nerebu is a very small village on the west side of Dudh Kosi River valley between Machhermo and Gokyo at an altitude of 4471m. It is dominated by the peak of Cholatse (6441 m) just over 3 miles to the east.
Dragnag
15,432 feet
October 26 1988
Dragnag is a very small village on the eastern side of the Ngozumba Glagier in the Gokyo valley at an altitude of 15,432 ft.
In 1988, it was little more than some dry stone wall enclosures used by yak herders, but now has a couple of lodges serving providing basic facilities to trekkers.
Dzonghla
15,884 feet
October 28 1988
Dzonghla is a small village located in the Chola Cho valley on the east side of the Cho La Pass. It sits at an altitude of 15,884 feet, spectacularly located below the north face of Cholatse.
In 1988 it comprised of lille more than enclosures used by yak herders and a couple of huts. Today is has a couple of lodges for trekkers.
Gorak Shep
16,947 feet
October 30, 31 1988
November 1 1988
Gorak Shep sits on the edge of a frozen lakebed covered with sand in Nepal at an altitude of 16,947 ft. It is the last stopping point for climbers headed to the present day Everest Base Camp and was the site of the original base camp used by the 1952 Swiss Everest expedition, being approximately 6 miles from the summit of Everest. Gorak Shep is also the best location from which to ascend Kala Pattar, which for its excellent views of Mount Everest is often the ultimate goal of trekkers in the area, and is the highest altitude that most will reach without a climbing permit.
In 1988, there was nothing at Gorak Shep, bar flat open space for the pitching of tents. Today, lodges with modern amenities such as satellite high-speed internet access have become available.
Tyangboche
12,664 feet
November 4,5 1988
Thyangboche is a village in the Khumbu region of northeastern Nepal, located at an elevation of 12,664 ft. The village is the location for an important Buddhist monastery, Tyangboche Monastery, which is the largest gompa in the Khumbu region. Tyangboche has a panoramic view of the Himalayan mountains, including the well-known peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku. Tenzing Norgay, the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary was born in the area in the village of Thani and was once sent to Tyangboche Monastery to be a monk.
The original gompa (monastery) was built in 1923. The gompa has been destroyed twice; firstly In 1934 by an earthquake, and again by a fire in 1989. It was rebuilt with the help of volunteers and the provision of foreign aid. Everest expeditions visit the monastery to light candles and seek the blessings of gods for good health and safe mountaineering.
John Hunt, leader of the British 1953 Everest expedition described Tyangboche as one of the most beautiful places in the world, where the Monastery buildings stand upon a knoll at the end of a big spur, which is flung out across the direct axis of the Imja river. Surrounded by satellite dwellings, all quaintly constructed and oddly mediaeval in appearance, it provides a grandstand beyond comparison for the finest mountain scenery that I have ever seen, whether in the Himalaya or elsewhere.
