EVEREST BASE CAMP IN TIBET

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Day 16: Shigatse - Sakya Monastery - Everest Base Camp in Tibet

Today is the day we will arrive at Everest Base Camp, one of the sour cherries of this incredible trip to Tibet, so we have a long car day ahead of us, practically 9 hours to our destination. Yesterday, after a most complete day visiting many of the essential places to see in Tibet, we met with Pasang leaving at 8 in the morning, after having breakfast at the Shigatse Hotel.

After a good early morning, to try to work for a while, since we do not know if in the Everest Base Camp we will have connection and we have to leave some things ready, we go down to the dining room where we have breakfast with tranquility and we have a couple of coffees, which we They give energy to start the day with very few, or no symptoms of altitude sickness, load the backpacks in the car and get on our way to the Sakya Monastery, which will be our first stop today.
The route, like all we have done on this route by Tibet by car, we do it surrounded by incredible landscapes that leave us again images that we will never forget about skies dotted with clouds, that look like cotton and a land, dotted with small towns , all of them full of color, that we are enjoying looking out the window of the car, while we talk with Pasang who continues to explain and update us of everything we still have to see and above all, the current situation in Tibet.

Villages of Tibet

We arrived at Sakya Monastery, located at 4200 meters altitude when it is 11:30 in the morning, with a mixture of feelings. And at this point in the trip, we know that we are about to reach the Everest Base Camp, which is the icing on the cake and also the place where this trip will end and from where we will start the return to Lhasa. This is one of the reasons why we try to squeeze the experience to the fullest, in addition to finding ourselves much better than we expected as we ascend, something that we have to say, encourages us a lot, since initially, today and tomorrow we have enough respect for him, both for what we have read and for what they have told us and that knowing that we are going to sleep at almost 5300 meters of altitude is no nonsense and less for us, which will be the first time.

Sakya Monastery

It's 11:30 in the morning when we leave the car in the parking lot and get ready to start the visit to the Sakya Monastery, a place that we initially weren't going to visit, but that we eventually included in the initial itinerary that we planned to travel to Tibet, after the day we visited Namtso Lake, we had to abandon the idea of a visit to the Tshurpu Monastery because we had a huge traffic jam on the road and Pasang suggested this visit to us. make up for.

After reading and knowing a little more about the Sakya Monastery and above all, now that we are in front of him, we have to say that we believe it was a success to make this change, and that he demonstrates once again the professionalism of Pasang, since This is another visit that we believe is essential in Tibet, especially if you go to Everest Base Camp, since it is practically on the same route.

Today's route: Shigatse - Sakya Monastery - Everest Base Camp in Tibet

Today's route will take us from Shigatse to the Everest Base Camp, making a visit to the Sakya Monastery, one of the most impressive in Tibet.

The Sakya Monastery, like the rest of the buildings found in this area of Tibet are ash gray, which symbolize the Rigsum Gonpo and leave us with spectacular views, as well as different from everything we have seen so far.
Despite being one of the most incredible monasteries we can see in Tibet, the Sakya Monastery, due to its location, somewhat away from everything, it is not as visited as you might expect.
At the time of its construction it was done thinking about the defense of the area, so you can see perfectly several watchtowers, strategically located in the walls that surround it. Upon entering, the first thing that catches our attention is the large patio that we find, and then access the meeting room, one of the largest we have seen so far, with 15 meters high, with which you can Get an idea of its incredible dimensions.

Sakya Monastery

In this meeting room, the most remarkable, in addition to the atmosphere that is breathed, are the columns that support the room, all of them made directly from Tibetan tree trunks, brought from distant areas, in which one of the most special woods grows of Tibet, which today is practically extinct.

We continue the visit by accessing another of the chapels that surround the courtyard, where we find a sand mandala and 10 silver chortens containing relics of several Sakya monks.

Sakya Monastery

From here we continue the visit going up to the upper floors, where we can visit several chapels that are open, to then reach the last floor from where we have incredible views, not only of the Sakya Monastery, but of the surroundings, from where we have a magnificent practically 360 degrees view.

Sakya Monastery

Watchtowers of Sakya Monastery

Incredible views from the Sakya Monastery

After these incredible views, which are the final climax and when it is almost 1:30, we end the visit to the Sakya Monastery, a place that has exceeded all our expectations and that we strongly recommend, especially if you go to the Everest Base Camp, since you only have to deviate a few kilometers to get to know it.

At this time of day we have two options, eat here or a little later, so seeing what time it is, we decided to go to one of the restaurants in front of the Sakya Monastery, where we eat a plate of fried noodles with meat and Vegetable, one of rice, more water and the dishes of Pasang and Tree for 90RMB per person, a price more than adjusted and also, all great.

Fried noodles in Samye Monastery

It's 2:30 p.m. when we get back on track, now that Everest Base Camp in Tibet, losing ourselves among dreamlike landscapes, increasingly wild that only remind us how small we are. Streams that break the mountains leaving extremely beautiful scars, which remind us of how important we are and how much we have left to learn from where we live.

Road to Everest Base Camp

It is just after three in the afternoon when we reach the first step of this journey, 5200 meters, where we make a short stop, just a few minutes, to follow the road and make another small stop to stretch our legs at the signal where we It indicates the beginning of the Everest National Park or Qomolangma, its name in Tibetan, which reminds us how close we are to fulfilling another of our traveling dreams.

Everest National Park

We follow the path to pass two controls where we have to present all the entry documentation to the Everest Base Camp, after a few kilometers, leave the Friendship Road and access a small road that in about 100 kilometers will leave us one of the most incredible places in the world. One of the places that led us to make this trip to Tibet.

Road that will take us to Everest Base Camp

From here, the landscapes become even more incredible, showing us the part perhaps more wild, and as we move forward and the higher the altitude, the more incredible the landscapes seem to us and the more charming the small towns that we find.

Villages on the way to Everest Base Camp

In the ascent, Pasang tells us that the months of April and May are the best time to see the Everest clear and that although today it seems to be cloudy and from the next step we will probably not see it, surely tomorrow from the Everest Base Camp, we will see it at dawn. Or at least it is what he believes and what we begin to wish for, since we don't want to imagine getting there and not being able to see him today or tomorrow. Something that on the other hand, they tell us that it is not uncommon, but quite the opposite and that it would not be the first or the last time that accompanies a traveler who leaves without even seeing the peak of the most majestic mountain in the world.
He even tells us that he has had people in the middle of August, the worst time to see Everest clear, they have stayed a week in the Base Camp to try to see it, without getting it, since at that time, most of the time It is completely covered with clouds.
And with this conversation, curve after curve and meter after meter, suddenly we reach 5200 meters and in front of us appears. Majestic. Amazing. So, without more. On the horizon, finally, we have Everest.

In front of us, finally, Everest

Road and curves to Everest Base Camp

We get out of the car almost without believing it and without taking into account that we are at more than 5200 meters of altitude and our body does not act as a lower altitude, we cross the road at full speed so as not to miss a second of the views we have.
It is time to enjoy, to feel and above all, to thank for this incredible gift, which although it has not been completely clear, has given us with partial views that we are sure, we will not forget for being the first we have had of Everest .

Altitude vs. Everest

Everest

After being here for a while, with a wind and a cold that cuts our hands and face, we return to the car to go back through the mountains, now down and with stunning views of the Himalayas, Everest, surrounded of small towns, which make this a unique and unforgettable moment.

Road to Everest Base Camp

It took us no more than an hour to reach what will be our accommodation tonight, at 5200 meters above sea level, the Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse.

Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse

We have to say that we have read true barbarities about this accommodation, but we do not need more than a minute to see that it is the best place in the world: from the window, broken, from our room we have unique views of Everest, just like from the lounge where you have dinner and breakfast. What else can we ask for?

Accommodation at Everest Base Camp Tibet

As you can imagine, there are not many accommodation possibilities in the Everest Base Camp or in the surrounding area.
- Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse: This is the option we have chosen. With shared rooms, double or triple, it is open all year. It has the basic services and the bathroom is shared (without showers), only turkish bath. Do not expect too much hygiene in the rooms or in the bathroom.
- Everest Tent Guesthouse: It is only operational in the summer months, although when the climbing season begins (April), it is normally already open.
- Zhufeng Hotel: Road to Everest Base Camp. Only open in high season.

Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse

At this time Everest is quite covered, so Pasang recommends us to have dinner, rest as much as we can and go tomorrow to the area closest to the mountain that allows us the permission we have, from where we can contemplate Everest in all its splendor.
How could it be otherwise, we pay attention to it, we leave our backpacks and the oxygen bottle in the room in case we need it and we go to the hotel lounge, where it is much hotter than in the room, since there is a stove, where we ate a rice with vegetables plus water for 74RMB, which we have to say is very good and more considering that we tasted with sublime, but cloudy, views of Everest in front of us.

Having dinner overlooking Everest

After a desktop, in which we cannot look away from the windows, in the heat of a stove heated by yak droppings, we go to the room, where after turning on the electric blanket, so that one of the beds, it is more than clear that we are not going to sleep apart telling that the windows are cracked and it gets quite cold and the room temperature is less than 2 degrees… taking advantage of these minutes to enjoy an incredible sunset over Everest from the Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse.

Sunset over Everest from the Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse

There are a few minutes to 9 at night when we return to our room, we place 3 Nordics on us, and of course we sleep dressed, when we fall as children, in a deep sleep, still incredulous to know that we are on the slopes of the mountain highest in the world and that from our window, Everest watches over our dreams.

Everest from the Rongbuk Monastery Guesthouse

"Everest has always been a magnet for crazy people, romantic irredentos, advertising seekers or people with a somewhat dubious sense of reality." Jon Krakauer

Remember that any foreign traveler who wants to travel to Tibet must do so through an agency (IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TRAVEL TO TIBET FOR FREE), either by adding to a group or privately and having, before entering Tibet, a fixed route, that the agency will have submitted and must be approved by the Chinese authorities.
To obtain the visa and all permits, it is necessary that this itinerary be approved by the authorities. It is also not possible to modify the itinerary on the fly, something very important to keep in mind, as it will force you to be clear about what you want to visit from the first moment, since based on that, the agency will manage the permits.
In our case we have traveled with The China Guide, who managed all the permits after designing a personalized itinerary together, with a guide in Spanish and that has led us to enjoy as we had never imagined this magical place.