What Food and Drinks Available during an EBC Tour?

Everest Base Camp tour is among one of the most popular tourists sites in the world and it attracts thousands of visitors coming for a tour at EBC areas every year, thus it is essential to know about what food and drinks available around the EBC areas. It makes an indispensible part of your tour. What below is a detailed description about the food and drinks available at the EBC areas both at the Tibet side and Nepal side, which you could refer to during your tour in EBC.

Food and drinks available at EBC Tibet side

Food available in EBC areas is not much, for on such a high altitude no crops are able to grow and most of the food you could find here is transported from Shigatse at much cost. At Rongbuk Monastery, some 8km away from EBC, you could eat at the restaurant managed by the Monastery. You could also buy food provided by the tent guest houses along the way from Rongbuk Monastery to EBC managed by local Tibetans. The food and dishes provided by both of the two are mostly fried rice and noodles. Green vegetables are scarce and the prices for them are much higher than in other places.

For drinks you could prepare some purified water bottles bought from other locations before your tour to EBC. You could also get some fresh snow-melt water in the rivers and then boil them. You need to know that EBC is located at an altitude of some 5200m above the sea level and the water would boil at 73.5℃ at such an altitude, so you are suggested to bring with you a pressure cooker to get a truly boiled water.

Highly recommended EBC tour: 8 Days Everest Base Camp Small Group Tour; 10 Days Everest Base Camp with Lake Namtso Small Group Tour

Food and drinks available at EBC Nepal side

Food and drinks available along the routes to EBC Nepal side are richer than in Tibet side due to its relatively more flourishing trekking culture. You will find many tea houses along the routes that offers menu to tourists. In most of them you will find pasta, potato soup, eggs, chowmien, bread, pancakes and dal bhat tarkari-a popular Nepali daily diet made with rice, lentil mixed with vegetables. Daily food such as porridge, muesli, noodles and many other dishes are often provided at a full filling.

For your own part, you could carry some chocolate bars, yak cheese or canned food with you from Kathmandu or any other locations near EBC for instant energy. Cost of these items could multiply several times if you buy them on the trail as all of them are eventually shipped from Kathmandu or surrounding cities with added cost. At many tea houses you may be served with boiled potato soup with rice and noodle in it. It is a very popular food in EBC areas because of its convenience and calories it provides.

As for drinks along the route to EBC, tea and hot lemon are traditional main drinks on the trail. Bottled soft drinks, bottled water and even beer are common along the popular trekking routes and could be bought all the way up to base camp, but the price of them rises as you get nearer to EBC because it has to be shipped from the nearest road; Nepal has a thriving beer industry. You could get beer even in the remotest villages in lodges and teahouses.

If you want to drink some local water, you could bring with you UV filtration for water purification with soft plastic bags so that you could purify water from rivers and make it safe for drinking.

Highly recommended EBC tour: 7 Days Lhasa to Kathmandu Small Group Tour

Other ways to get food in EBC

Tourists could also prepare food themselves for a trekking tour in EBC, because it is too difficult to boil water at high elevation, the instant and easy cooked food will be the standard during your trekking. Our tour guide will help you to cook instead of cooking for you. The meals in the wild are usually quite simple, such as bread, milk, dry beef, fruit, vegetable, canned beef or pork, as well as special cake made by corn.

You can make a simple meal with the out-door cooker. A well prepared lunch or dinner can be obtained if you pay money to take a professional cook with you. A trekking cook who can make perfect western food is available. If it is over 5 persons in your group, you'd better hire a cook for meals after your long distance trekking in EBC. 

Some tips for an EBC tour

EBC trekking clothing

Tibet has a crazy temperature fluctuation among different areas. Particularly, in mountain areas, the temperature is generally lower than that in Lhasa city. And sometimes, at night, the temperature drops rapidly beyond your imagination.

Therefore, the key to better enjoy trekking experience is preparing with plenty of warm clothes but not too much. If you just want to trek at a lower altitude, fleece jackets and pants are enough. While for a higher altitude trekking, down jackets are necessary.

The following list of clothing could be referred to in your EBC your:

A woollen hat that can cover your ears
Long sleeved cotton shirts/blouses
Heavy woollen sweater/polarfleece jacket & lightweight wool sweater/polarfleece pullover
Waterproof and wind proof jackets and pants for in some places the wind can be very strong and cold
Synthetic or Down Insulated Jacket rated to at least -7 degrees C (approximately 20 degrees F)
Light scarf or neckerchief
Cotton walking shorts for hot days (knee-length or almost knee-length), one pair of polarfleece pants.
A pair of cotton long pants and a long cotton skirt is recommended for women
Trekking trousers should be light and quick drying.
Gaiters
Several pairs of underwear
Long Thermal Underwear
Woollen or synthetic gloves, preferably Wind Fleece Gloves
Good quality socks, preferably woolen for your hiking boots, and also some thin cotton socks

Tibet trekking gear

The following trekking gear is recommended in your EBC tour：

Good light-weight sleeping bag
Sun glasses with UV protection and goggles for higher altitude
Drinking water bottle
Torch or headlamp with spare batteries and bulb
Water purification tablets
Water bottles
Walking poles
Sturdy and well fitted back pack and day pack with water proof cover
First aid kit
Lip and skin protection product
A couple of small towels - the more absorbent the better 
Toilet kit: Just the essentials—toothbrush and toothpaste, comb, biodegradable soap, and small metal mirror
Camera and spare batteries
Journal, reading book, and writing materials for quiet moments
Money pouch: Safer than a wallet for keeping your passport, money, and valuable papers
Snack foods: Nuts, chocolate bars, dried fruit, hard candies, and beef jerky
Sewing kit: For repair
Gaiters: Good for winter treks or wet conditions
Umbrella: For rain and hot sunshine
Plastic bags