Everest Base Camp, Three Passes Trek, Travel
Lobuche Pyramid, Everest Base Camp Honeymoon (Day Eleven)
DESTINATION: Lobuche
ELEVATION: 4,940 meters
ELEVATION GAIN: n/a
DISTANCE: n/a
OXYGEN: 56% of sea level (previous 57%)
Our original plan consisted of continuing our trek from Lobuche to Gorakshep the morning after crossing the Kongma La Pass. We planned it this way because the distance between Lobuche and Gorak shep is only 4.3 km, which would take us about an hour and a half. However, because I had a pretty bad case of AMS headache on the night after crossing the Kongma La Pass, we decided to stay an extra day to recover. Initially, we wanted to see if we would need to abandon the trek and start our descent if I wouldn’t feel better. Luckily, ibuprofens worked the night after the crossing. The morning after, I woke up starved, thirsty, and had only a slight trace of the horrible headache I experienced the night before.
Travel Tip: Our hike from Chukhung to Lobuche over the Kongma La Pass was supposed to take about seven hours based on the Lonely Planet Nepal guide. However, it took us 11 hours to cross the pass and even without carrying all of our stuff (we hired a porter for this part of the trek), the altitude hit me hard. Altitude sickness is a serious thing. It shouldn’t be ignored, especially if you don’t know how your body adapts to altitude in the Himalayan mountains. I put together an Altitude Sickness 101 post, listing my experience and what I’ve read up on this topic. Based on some anecdotal evidence collected from other travellers and my own experience, even a mild to moderate altitude headache can feel like someone is hammering nails through your skull (sounds terrifying, and feels horrible). For me, though, both times, a 400 ml dose of ibuprofen worked wonders, but you should always speak to your doctor before you travel to high altitudes.
I remember that morning very clearly, mainly because I remember the pain the night before. That morning I woke up happy I don’t need to cross any moraines, cross any passes, or trek for hours with my heavy backpack. All we planned for the day is get back in shape and rest! I woke up starving, so we packed up our bags and went to the restaurant for breakfast, where I discovered the Rara noodle soup – a Nepali veggie ramen noodle soup. At the resto, we met the couple we saw at the Kongma La Pass. After chatting for a little, it turns out they were also pretty worn out. We then both decided to move to the Oxygen Altitude lodge for the following night.
The Italian Pyramid in Lobuche
It’s marked as a small side trek in the Lonely Planet Guide, so not to die of boredom while we were recovering, we decided to check it out. Unfortunately, you can’t go inside, but it’s not a bad tiny side trek. From Lobuche, it only takes 15 to 20 minutes to walk up there (1.1 km), and it’s actually on the way to the Gorak Shep trail.
The Italian Pyramid, also known as Ev-K2-CNR on Google Maps, is an international laboratory/observatory and a high altitude research center located at 5,050 meters. And according to the Pyramid website, it has been offering the scientific community a chance to study climate change, environment, geology, and human physiology in remote mountain areas since 1990.
You can see the pyramid from the outside, but you can’t go inside, unfortunately. It’s also run on renewable self-sufficient energy and has a teahouse at the base to accommodate up to 20 researchers. I don’t think we would make it a part of our trek intentionally, but it wasn’t a bad idea to check it out while we were there.
While in Lobuche (if you’re spending an extra day to acclimatize), you could opt-in for some day hikes like the Lobuche base camp hike. I was pretty out of it the night before, so we took it very easy and just walked around the village. We also found “the highest bakery in the world,” according to the bakery sign, where we had excellent apple pie and coffee and watched an episode of an Indian TV series, and read books at the Oxygen Altitude Lodge.
Travel Tip: The Oxygen Altitude Lodge rooms have big windows, and we got a nice double bed. There was lots of space, so we were happy with the choice. There are only two toilets for the whole compound, but you rarely see a line. They can charge your phone (no need for an adapter) and sell WiFi in all the lodges. This was the first time we both charged our phones, read the news, and checked in with everyone wondering if we were still alive. 🙂
That night we went to bed excited for our next adventure – the long-anticipated trek to the Everest Base Camp. According to the Lonely Planet Nepal Guide, most trekkers will experience trouble sleeping and will have at least some symptoms of altitude sickness at Gorak Shep because of the altitude (5,100 m). If you are only doing the Everest Base Camp trek, this would be the highest elevation up to that point. As we have been exposed to the passes, which were higher than 5,100 meters, I had no problem sleeping and had no AMS symptoms, probably for the first time since we started our trek. So if you’re only doing the Everest Base Camp trek, keep that in mind and take it slow. After dinner, we cozied up fell asleep thrilled about finally visiting the Everest Base Camp.
Read next:
Everest Base Camp Trek Series:
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- Day 1 – Toronto to Kathmandu
- Day 2 – Exploring Kathmandu
- Day 3 – Kathmandu to Lukla
- Day 4 – Namche Bazaar
- Day 5 – Namche Bazaar to Tengboche
- Day 6 – Tengboche to Pangboche
- Day 7 – Pangboche to Dingboche
- Day 8 & 9 – Dingboche to Chuchung
- Day 10 – Chuchung to Lobuche (over the Kongma La Pass)
- Day 11 – Lobuche (and the Italian Pyramid)
- Day 12 – Gorakshep to Everest Base Camp
- Day 13 – To Kala Patthar and Dzongla
- Day 14 – To Dragnak (over Chola Pass)
- Day 15 – Gokyo (with Gokyo Ri ascent)
- Day 16 – Back to Namche Bazaar
- Day 17 – Namche Bazaar to Lukla
- Day 18 – Lukla to Kathmandu
- Day 19 – Kathmandu to Toronto
