EVEREST BASE CAMP & GOKYO LAKES
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Trip Details
Full details & information about what you can expect in the lead up & during the challenge.
Costs & Fundraising
The balance for your trip cost, will be due to us 10 weeks before your departure. You will be sent a reminder & an invoice 12 weeks before, giving you 2 weeks to make the payment.
80% of your fundraising target is due to be with your charity 12 weeks before the challenge, meaning that it either needs to be banked with them, or sat against a Just Giving page. We will then invoice your charity for the remaining cost of your place on the challenge, it is important you make that 80% target otherwise your charity will not pay for your place, and your trip could be cancelled.
The remaining 20% of your balance will be due to be with your charity 4 weeks after your trip ends.
Our base cost is on a twin share room basis, if you are signing up as a couple of two friends – you can tell us when you register onto the challenge, so we ensure that you will be sharing a room.
If you are signing up to the challenge as an individual, we will match you with someone of the same gender and roughly the same age.
You can choose to pay an additional supplement to have your own room (and/or tent) on the challenge.
All of our groups are an average size of approximately 20 participants. We welcome individuals, couples and groups of friends on to our challenges, and many who join us literally have a mountain to climb in terms of the scale of the challenge they are taking on. We advocate camaraderie and team bonding, and really believe that this enhances your experience.
Yes as long as we know in advance of the trip, we can cater for all dietary requirements & requests.
Signing Up to the Challenge
Once you pay your deposit & have signed up to the challenge, you will receive a confirmation email welcoming you into the challenge.
You will also receive instructions on how to download our challenge app which has in it all the information you need to start preparing for your challenge – from kit lists to training guides.
We will keep you updated with regular emails & newsletters in the lead-up to the challenge, as well as information on training days & weekends.
If you need to cancel your challenge, your deposit is non-refundable – therefore we recommend you speak to our team to see what alternative options you may have.
Yes, if for whatever reason you need to push your departure back to a later one or change your trip altogether you can do so for a date change fee of £175, subject to availability.
Country entry requirements can change because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s something our team constantly keep their eyes on. If we must cancel the trip – you will be offered a transfer to a future date/ departure or a full refund. However, if you need to cancel your trip – e.g. you test positive, then you will need to seek reimbursement from your travel insurance.
Currently, we do not have the accounting facility to take instalments, we can only take your payment in full at least 12 weeks before your departure.
Preparation
Yes – in our challenge app, which you can download once you are fully registered for the challenge we have a host of training materials, guides & advice for you to use. We also have training weekends and days which you can sign up to meet others & test out not just your fitness, but your mental readiness for the challenge and your all-important kit!
Closer to the challenge we will set up a WhatsApp group so that you can meet others online who are going to be on your trip. We also have a lively & dynamic Facebook group you can join at any time to meet other fellow challengers – past & present to share and swap training tips, advice & stories.
You will need specific travel insurance, which covers the duration of your trip, along with full cover for any activities you will be doing (i.e. trekking, cycling) and to cover you up to any altitude you may be trekking to. Once you are signed up for the challenge, we will send you full details of our recommended providers of appropriate cover.
Life on the Challenge
- Fully supported 20 day group challenge
- UK qualified medic
- Full support team, including local guides
- International flights and air travel taxes
- Action Challenge trek leader
- All accommodation, twin share – hotels / tea house
- All meals with the group; including breakfast, lunch and dinner
- National Park entrance fees
- Day in Kathmandu ended with a celebratory dinner
- Pre event support including discounted training weekends
- Airline fuel surcharge
- Single supplement for teahouse / hotel
- Nepal visa
- Travel insurance
- Vaccinations
- Tips for local crew
- Optional extensions
- Optional training weekends
- Kit hire
The Everest Base Camp Challenge is a flights included package. Upon signing up you will be included in the group flight booking that we make.
Yes – why not stay on and explore more of what Nepal has to offer! We can request with to change your return date with the airline. Places are limited and all arrangements are subject to availability.
Yes, this becomes our land only package and reduces your final balance or minimum sponsorship balance – please contact us for more information if you are looking to book your own flights.
You will be required to arrange all flights and transfers in order to meet the group at the starting hotel on day 2 of your challenge and Action Challenge will require details of your travel arrangements before departure.
Please note you are unable to change your package once final balance invoicing has been completed and tickets have been issued by the airline.
This is a demanding and tough challenge, but one that is very achievable with the correct training. It requires a reasonable level of strength, stamina and determination. An ideal training plan should include both endurance and strength building- but most importantly should include some good long walks!
The Everest Base Camp & Gokyo Lake Trek with Action Challenge is a classic Himalayan trek based in tea houses. We typically rise early, and after a hearty breakfast prepared by the tea house staff, we hit the trail. Trekking days typically range from 4 to 8 hours, with a steady pace and plenty of opportunities to stop for photos, to rehydrate or have a snack. En-route we stop for a hot meal at lunch time, again prepared by the hospitable local Sherpa community in a local tea house. The afternoon is spent trekking further along the route to our overnight tea house. We’ll have the chance to gather as a team for hot drinks in the heated dining communal room of the tea house. This is when we’ll have a briefing and the chance to share our stories from our day on the trail. An evening meal is served before a well earned early night. We’ll always sleep in simple tea house rooms, on beds with basic mattresses and our own sleeping bags. These teahouse bedrooms are typically not heated- so be sure to bring your own warm sleeping bag as listed on the challenge kit list.
This is a high altitude trek through the some of the most stunning mountain scenery on earth- so of course there are ups, downs and rocky/uneven terrain. There may even be some snow on the higher up parts of the trek. Having said that, the paths and trails are solidly built and are often surprisingly well graded. The varied terrain gives all the more reason to hit the paths of the UK and enjoy some training walks as part of your challenge preparation.
You’ll have hot meals prepared three times a day. Food will be freshly prepared to order at the tea houses that we stay at and pass as we trek along the route. Typically you’ll be given a choice of 3-5 meals that are healthy, hearty and have the right nutritional qualities for our trekking days. The meals are often vegetarian and often contain plenty of carbs to fuel us! Think rice, noodles, pastas, porridge, pancakes, omelettes as well as local foods such as Dhal Bat.
When in Kathmandu, and the larger communities on the trekking route, there will be a little more choice and variation to enjoy. Not least of course our wonderful celebration meal to mark the end of the challenge- that really is a Nepali feast!
In Kathmandu, we will stay in a comfortable hotel. On the trek, our accommodation will be in tea houses which are basic lodges with rustic facilities.
Whilst trekking your luggage will be transported by yak! Our local support team will include one or two yak herders and a number of yaks. Each morning your main luggage will be collected, organised and strapped securely to a yak. The yaks are then ‘driven’ along the trekking route and typically arrive at our evening tea house accommodation a little before you do. It’s not just our luggage that is transported in this way- this is how things work here, the vast majority of food and goods are transported to the region by horses, mules and yaks!
The pace will always be slow, steady and manageable. A slow and manageable pace is a key part of good, safe acclimatisation. Your action challenge leader, UK medic and head local guide will together decide the best pace for the group. Remember there’ll always also be time to stop and take in the views, eat a snack or change a layer.
Yes, and plenty of it! Your challenge will be led by an experienced Action Challenge leader. Our leaders are selected for their experience, knowledge, enthusiasm, sensitivity and sense of humour, and will ensure that your trip runs smoothly.
You will also be accompanied by an Action Challenge doctor, who will be carrying a fully stocked medical kit in case of any emergency. They will carry out daily health checks, and the re-assurance of their presence should allow you to focus on, and enjoy your challenge!
We have a full support team in country with two way radio contact between the Action Challenge Head Quarters in London and local staff and satellite phone for emergencies. If for any reason you need to leave the group early local staff will assist you and will arrange transfers, accommodation and medical care if necessary.
There’ll be a real range of temperatures on this challenge. At lower altitudes daytime temperatures can be quite warm, perhaps reaching 20c. As we gain height the temperature drops, at the very highest altitudes the temperature may not even get above zero during the day. As with all mountain regions the weather can be very variable, so it’s best to be ready for a range of conditions, including rain, hail, sleet and snow as well as very low temperatures. At night times the temperatures can drop very low indeed, perhaps as low as -20c, but we’ll be in the relatively warm tea houses.
Our Brochure
The Challenge brochure details the full itinerary, inclusions, and more – download for a full run down of the challenge details.