Mount Everest

The World's highest Mountain

Mount Everest also known as Chomolangma in Tibetan and Sagarmatha in Nepali located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas on the border between Tibet (China) and Nepal. Chomolangma means the mother of all mountains. The Nepali side of Everest is called the the South Face and Tibetan side is called the North Face. The peak of Mount Everest rises at an elevation of 8848 m (29500 ft) which is considered the tallest point on earth. Mount Everest is accompanied by a number of substantial peaks, including Lhotse (8,516 m/27,940 ft), Nuptse, (7,855 m/25,771 ft ), and Changtobse (7,580 m/24,870 ft).

Tibetan Buddhists believe that each mountain is a home of a mountain god or goddess. Thus Mt. Everest is the abode of Miyo Langsangma (Tib.: མི་གཡོ་གླང་བཟང་མ Wylie: mi gyo glang bzangma) – one of the Five Sisters of Longevity (Tib.: ཚེ་རིང་མཆེད་ལྔ Wylie: tsering mchedma), which are honored by Tibetans in general and especially by adepts of Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

When you plan a trip to Mount Everest in Tibet. You will see many local tour operators promote as Everest Base Camp Tour. This is because Everest Base Camp is the furthest and highest point you can travel on the Tibet Travel Permits. However, Everest Base Camps for mountaineers and for tourists are different on the Tibet side. Tourists are not allowed to visit the Base Camp for climbers which is located further and higher, but you can clearly see it from distance (The Everest Base Camp for tourists moved down about 2km in end of 2019, so you can only see part of the Climbing Base Camp). Visiting the Everest Base Camp for mountaineers only permitted for those who got climbing permits from Chinese Authorities and Chinese Mountaineering Association. While permit to visit the Everest Base Camp (EBC) for tourists is easy to obtain through all the travel agencies based in Lhasa, Tibet.

Rongbuk Monastery – the highest Monastery in the world

Everest Base Camp for tourists is located only 2 km away from Rongbuk Monastery (Old Everest Base Camp 8km), which is the highest monastery in the World. Rongbuk Monastery is a very small Monastery compare to the massive monasteries you would see along the way to Everest Base Camp. It consists of 2 temples and one stupa. The mountain ridge on the right side is a great spot for taking photo of Rongbuk Monastery with Mount Everest in the background. Today, Rongbuk Monastery became the best place to take full view photograph of Mount Everest.

Where to stay at Everest Base Camp

There are two options of accommodation: Yak hair tent guest house and Rongbuk monastery guest house. Tent guest house is operating from May to October while monastery guest house is open year round. If you’re traveling from May to October, we recommend to stay at the yak hair tent guest house – it is warmer, more comfortable and authentic. The tent guesthouse is located between Rongbuk Monastery and Everest View Point.

How to get to Mount Everest and Everest Base Camp?

The region offers great hiking opportunities. You can walk from the monastery to the yak hair tent guest house, from where you can either continue walking to the Everest View Point or take a park bus. Here you can also visit Padmasambhava’s cave which is located near the yak hair tent.

Access to Everest Base Camp is more easier than ever. You can travel from Kathmandu, Nepal to the border town of Zhangmu/Dram and then continue your trip to Everest Base Camp or you can take the friendship highway from Lhasa to Everest. The Lhasa to Everest route is very smooth paved road. The last part of Shegar to Everest Base Camp road completed at the end of 2015.

We recommend spending one night at the Everest Base Camp for two reasons:

 
• Though accommodation at the Everest Base Camp is quite basic for luxury groups but the Yak hair tent guesthouse is very warm and cozy place to crash for one night. The tents are made of Tibetan yak hair and it’s the traditional home for all the Tibetan nomad. The tents can resist strong sun, wind and rains. It’s a very spacious tent with 6-8 beds in each tent. The tent owners are local Tibetans from Everest region. SnowLion Tours arranges clients to stay in these tent guesthouses to support local business.
 
• If you’re lucky with the weather condition, you will see incredible sunset and sunrise of Everest North Face which is the highlight of your once a life time travel to Tibet.