Last week my phone buzzed with a message from Nepal. It was Prashant, one of our porters, sending me a photo of his newborn daughter Diyaa, his third child. Prashant calls me Mum. So when that photo came through, it felt like getting a picture of your own grandchild.

This is what people don't tell you about trekking in Nepal. Yes, there's the altitude and the training and the gear lists. All of that matters. But underneath all of it is something that will surprise you if you're not expecting it. The people. Not just the people you trek with. The people who make the trek possible.

When I first stepped onto the trail towards Everest Base Camp, I promised myself I’d savour every moment. The quiet mornings, the endless horizon of peaks, the laughter over warm tea and even the wobbly breathless moments at altitude.

I filmed these daily vlogs as a way of remembering what it actually felt like to be there: the sound of yak bells echoing up the valley, prayer flags fluttering against a sky so sharp it didn’t seem real and the growing sense of “we’re really doing it”.

This Guide is aimed at those hikers who are joining a Tour and will have the support of professional guides and porters throughout their trip. I outline those items that are included with a Tour as well as explore what’s not included. 

If this is your first time travelling to Nepal, this Guide is a must read.

Whenever a group of hikers gather around, the conversation soon turns to food and the Everest Base Camp trekkers are no different. One of the delights of this trek is the variety and abundance of food available particularly when you consider that nearly everything is physically carried in either by porter, yak or mule train. 

Having woken at 5am to the freezing cold, I reflected once more on Raju’s briefing the night before. For the first time since leaving Lukla, Raju warned that this was going to be a hard day. According to Raju, we’d already had seven easy days though with the challenging climbs, high altitudes and reduced oxygen, easy was not the description any of us would have chosen. If Raju was telling us to prepare for a hard day, we’d better take him seriously.

What is this divine feeling, is it happiness, is it wonder or is it perhaps spiritual? It remains intangible as I gaze upwards to the world’s highest peaks. While the feeling is indescribable, I sense a peacefulness on this most significant of days, having arrived at long last at Everest Base Camp and I was in complete awe of my surroundings. Welcome to my Everest Base Camp Trek Diary.

The Everest Base Camp Trek is the dream of any outdoor enthusiast and every year, thousands of people achieve that dream.

Major highlights include tracing in the steps of mountaineers to Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar, the extraordinarily beautiful views of the Himalayan mountains, immersing yourself in the local Sherpa culture and traversing through the UNESCO listed Sagarmatha National Park.

The Everest Base Camp trek introduces hikers to the Khumbu Region, steeped in history and culture and inhabited by some of the friendliest people you’ll ever have the privilege to meet.

Are you planning to trek to Everest Base Camp in Nepal? Then get ready for an unforgettable experience.

The Khumbu Region is steeped in history and culture, has extraordinarily beautiful views, the friendliest people and a range of budgets to suit even the most cost conscious traveller.

It was almost as if the Gods had flicked a switch, one moment was quiet and calm, surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world, the huge glacier below us swathed in early morning sunshine, the next was charged with tension.