Kiss the sky: Up close with Mount Everest

The Everest Base Camp trek is one of the best ways for mountain and adventure enthusiasts to catch an overwhelming glimpse of the world’s tallest mountain. At 8,848 metres (29,028 feet) above sea level, Mount Everest – also called Sagarmatha by the Nepalese and Chomolungma by the Tibetan Buddhists – lies on the border of Nepal and Tibet (China). The South Base Camp in Nepal is located at 5,364 metres (17,598 feet). The trek begins at Lukla, a town at 2,860 metres (9,383 feet), which has a small airport handling flights from the capital Kathmandu. MRIDULA DWIVEDI recounts her physically demanding albeit memorable trek to the Everest South Base Camp.

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Lobuje village: The trek was so tiring for me that before reaching Lobuje I was never sure if I would be able to make to the next day! My constant chant to whoever would listen to me was, “I wonder if I would be able to haul myself all the way up to the Base Camp.” But once I reached Lobuje for the first time I thought, “It would be a pity if I do not complete the trek now.”
Lobuje village: The trek was so tiring for me that before reaching Lobuje I was never sure if I would be able to make to the next day! My constant chant to whoever would listen to me was, “I wonder if I would be able to haul myself all the way up to the Base Camp.” But once I reached Lobuje for the first time I thought, “It would be a pity if I do not complete the trek now.”