Everest and the Khumbu Region | Updates October - November 2023

Everest, the Lhotse wall and Ama Dablam from the high route between Phortse and Pangboche 

I was in the Khumbu for around three weeks in October – November 2023. Here are some updates which would be useful for trekkers in the coming year.

Trek Card

There is a trek card now which is issued at Lukla. You can apply online for the trek card uploading your passport soft copy and your photo at https://trekcard.app/registration  When you reach Lukla you can get the trek card by paying Rs 2000 at the Lukla checkpost.  The Sagarmatha Park fees continue to be paid at the Monjo checkpost. 

Mobile Connectivity

I noticed that both Ncell and NTC are working in the Everest region now. In Phortse there are both NCell and NTC towers so communicated is much improved. Dingboche, Chukung, Lobuche, Dzongla, Thangnak and Gokyo continue to be problem areas where you have to depend on wi-fi connectivity (see below).

WIFI

There are two types of wifi connectivity now – the old Everest Link cards offering Rs 3000 for 50 GB of data and the new Air Link offering Rs 700 for 24 hours use. Both are available at all lodges en route but I was told that the new Air Link is better even though it is more expensive.

Costs

There has been an all-round increase in costs of both rooms and meals on the Everest trek. In Namche Bazar, for example, deluxe rooms with hot showers and en-suite toilets and would cost between $30 to $50 a night. In other locations like Monjo / Pangboche/ Devoche etc. rooms with attached toilets would be around $20-25 a night (exception is Rivendell Devoche $50 a night for their top end rooms). The cost of meals is also up – Black tea could range between Rs 100-200 per cup depending on the location and Dal Bhat (vegetarian) could also be between Rs 800-1200 depending on the location. In Namche a cup of high end coffee in the bakeries would be around Rs 500-600 and a slice of apple pie would be about the same. Daily budgets for meals only could be around $30-40 excluding beer, coke, sprite, apple pies, etc. Rooms would be extra depending on where you stay.

Lodges

There are lodges with attached toilets in all the main night stops now except Gorak Shep, Chukung, Dole, and Thagnak on the main trails. Dzongla too has the Green Valley Lodge with some rooms with atatched toilets.  If you stop in the smaller places like Pangka, Dugla, etc you will also not get rooms with attached toilets.

Helicopters

There are helicopters flying all day but the cost of helicopter flights have also increased significantly e.g. Namche to Kathmandu is $3200 (5 pax) and Gokyo to Kathmandu is $3500 (4 pax); Namche to Lukla is $750 (5 pax). For more helicopter information please contact Easy Flight Travel in Namche +977 9852850192.

Trails

There has been an all round improvement in the trails due to the work done during covid by the Pasang Lhamu Municipality. I found that many of the sections which needed work earlier have been repaired like-
Phortse to Pangboche high route – railings on exposed sections, new steps.
Toktok to Benkar – new railings and steps
Pangka to first lake of Gokyo – New trail built on the exposed sections including railings
Sanasa to Mongla – new steps and railings on the first part of the trail out of Sanasa
Devoche to Pangboche – new bridge and also new trail up to the entrance gate of Pangboche

Tengboche Monastery

There is an entrance ticket now to the monastery of Rs 300 per tourist. The monastery also has timings for entry and is not open all day any longer.

For Indians – Indian Currency no longer welcome 

As an after effect of the demonetization of Indian currency and also the withdrawal of Rs 2000 notes in India this year, Nepal is wary of accepting Indian currency. In Kathmandu the unofficial rate of exchange of Rs 100 Indian notes in 1.5 not 1.6 as per official India- Nepal exchange rate. Money changers also are reluctant to change Indian rupees. In the trekking lodges in the Khumbu most will not accept Indian rupees so Indian tourists should not bring Indian rupees in cash to Nepal. They would be better off drawing money from a Nepal ATM using their debit cards.

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