Everest Base Camp 2018

For the last 4 years our team was in regular present in between 1-14 of October at the Base Camp of Everest. This year our team had 14 members and all of them managed to reach successfully the Everest Base Camp and Kala Pathar 5,550m.

Congratulations to everyone.

Articolul Everest Base Camp 2018 apare prima dată în Extreme Expeditions.

Manaslu 8.163m Expedition 2018-Our expedition was a real success. We summited on the date of 27th of September 2018.

Articolul Manaslu 8.163m Expedition 2018 apare prima dată în Extreme Expeditions.

Everest Base Camp 2017

Articolul Everest Base Camp 2017 apare prima dată în Extreme Expeditions.

Mountaineering and photography. Two passions that go hand in hand

A great wild nature lover and passionate photographer wrote an article about his Everest Base Camp adventure that started like this: “if you love mountains and want to find a place where the overstatements are really justified and deserve all the credit, leave all your worries aside and go to Himalaya!” – Valentin Groza.

He wrote five articles where he described his journey not just using text but also amazing photos, capturing his experience through a photographer’s eyes. It’s the incredible story about one of the most famous trek routes in the world, the route leading to the foot of the highest mountain on Earth and many spectacular peaks surrounding the trek every step of the way.

If we are to look through a photographer’s eyes, there are a few types of photos you can do, and here we will list the main ones, in our opinion:

#1 Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city

You’ll be stunned by the contrasts in this city even before landing. A busy mix of old buildings with the ones being rebuilt after the Earthquake, irregular streets in a constant motion and frequent terraces on top of each block.

The tourist part called “Thamel” looks like an old crowded market where chaos is the keyword. You would take photos at every corner and spend hours trying to capture all the details and the life the neighborhood breathes everywhere. People, old and new constructions, antique shops, restaurants, mountain equipment on display, old doors abandoned and commercials everywhere. It’s a bit of everything put together in an apparent chaos, but this is what the city’s charm is all about. It’s a photographer’s paradise, a place to spend days and still feel like you might have missed a really good shot.

#2 Kathmandu’s temples 

Kathmandu is home to two quite different religions, in many ways opposed in what they preach: Buddhism and Hinduism. But locals are very tolerant with each other, and the temples they build sometimes host both a Buddhist temple and a Hindu one in the same building. On top of temples, there are various praying statues or monuments all over the city, fascinating in purest way for a curious camera.

Still, there are three main temples in Kathmandu that a photographer visiting Nepal should absolutely visit:

• The Monkey Temple:a Hindu one, with many buildings put together in the same characteristic chaos, with lots of handmade statues and home to hundreds of friendly monkeys. They sit still for photos but will take advantage of any opportunity to steal anything that has food potential or is shiny enough to trigger their curiosity.
• Boudhanath Stupa:one of the main community center for the Tibetans that are in exile, and the biggest Buddhist temple outside of Tibet. Around the temple there are all sorts of monasteries where you can take part in or assist in the praying rituals and talk to the bald monks dressed in scarlet gowns, and always wearing on a large smile on their faces. They are really friendly and curious about where are you from and what are you doing there, and for sure can help you with tips on what not to miss about their religion while spending the time at their temple.
• Pashupathinath Temple:a sacred Hindu temple for the locals, as this is where they incinerate their dead people, about 40 every day. It’s not an experience a photographer would want to miss, as the opportunities are unique even if it’s on the edge of the viewer’s comfort. You can literally feel the death on every inch of your soul and skin, you can even taste it in your mouth. The photos here will be shocking, but full of nuances you can hardly find elsewhere. But yes, you need to be brave to go to this temple.

#3 Himalayans from above

To start the trek to Everest Base Camp you need to take a small plane from Kathmandu to Lukla, a Nepalese village situated at 2,800 m altitude, home to one of the most dangerous airports in the world. The flight takes you through the clouds and you’ll be able to see from above how the mountain chain shows up, its spectacular valley and rivers, terraces with rice and other crops carefully grown by the isolated locals. If the weather is bad you can fly an helicopter, or just request that one of the journeys to be made with one, even if the cost is higher. This way you can get amazing close-ups of the scenery through a clean windscreen, while the helicopter is much more stable and this always helps when striving for the best shots.

#4 Wild nature

Once landed in Lukla, the trek is done solely on your own two feet. There is no modern mean of transportation, only the “classical” ones, such as yaks, donkeys and very few horses. People work as porters to make sure the tourists and locals have the supplies they need in these secluded villages along the Everest Base Camp Trek. During the first two days, the nature will be green everywhere, alive and happy. As you climb though the scenery changes to stones, sand and ice. Everything is so spectacular that the hungry eyes of the photographer will want to capture everything with the lenses of his camera.

#5 Portraits

If you are passionate about the human’s character, the journey to the Basecamp will offer you the most spectacular range of faces: children, old people, poor and richer, monks, people telling a thousand stories through their eyes and expressions. They don’t speak English but will impress you with the stories they carry and the world they are sharing with every friendly tourist. Kids love sweets, so make sure you have enough candies with you to put some smiles on their faces when you meet them. The porters carrying even up to 40 kg on their heads and backs are superheroes that will make amazing photo albums. Despite their job and fate, their dirty looks uncover friendly and positive eyes, always curious to find out everything they can from the tourists willing to spend some time with them.

Even if we are sure we couldn’t capture in full the picture of this place, we can only hope we have given you a taste of curiosity to choose Everest Base Camp for your next travel photography destination, and live all these possibilities with your own eyes and camera.

Get in touch with usto find out more and book yourself on our next Everest Base Camp Expedition!

Articolul Travel Photography Reasons for the mighty Himalaya apare prima dată în Extreme Expeditions.

Explore a fantastic adventure: Himalayans and Everest Base Camp!

If travel is one of your biggest passions, and you’ve explored some of the famous classical destinations, it’s time to try something new, exciting, and adventurous. Take the trek up to Everest Base Camp and enjoy some of the most impressive mountain sceneries on Earth.

Mix the breathtaking landscapes with a personal sports challenge, lots of fun and unique ingredients that will make this adventure a must do for the travel lovers destination list. Let’s dive a bit deeper and give you the 8 reasons why this trek is the right adventure for you to embark in next!

Reason #1

It’s still a relatively unexplored destination

 How many of your friends have been to Everest Base Camp? Even if there are hundreds of tourists going up the route every year, it’s still just a few compared with the thousands that go to Paris and Rome. Your journey will be quite unique and impressive, not only as a show off to your friends but for your travel portfolio.

Reason #2

It’s a combination between an active holiday and mental rest

Everest Base Camp is a mountain trek that will push you during some of its parts to reach your limits. But given you walk for 4-5 hours every day at a slow pace, it’s also a chance to spend some time with yourself. We do recommend some training so that you are at the right fitness level, but even old people and children can do it, so there is no reason you cannot make it!

Reason #3

Get to know two Asian cultures: Hinduism and Buddhism

Nepal is a country where people belonging to both these cultures live peacefully together and respect each other. In Kathmandu and the cities locates at the foot of the mountains Hinduism is more popular, with its colorful traditions, while as you climb up the Everest Base Camp trek, you will meet the quiet and mysterious Buddhist, which will impress you with their life spirit and positivism.

Reason #4

Indian cuisine

Kathmandu offers a large variety of restaurants and terraces to experiment with the local cuisine, most of it with Indian influences. You can even try the local street food, but it would be safe to do it once you’re back from the trek. You don’t want to jeopardize the expedition itself, but it’s also good to try out all the food variety as you never know when and if you’ll be back.

Reason #5

Flying to Luckla on a tiny plane or helicopter

The Everest Base Camp Trek starts in Lukla, a small mountain village you reach with a plane or a helicopter. There are few places in the world to experiment such a ride over these high mountains, milk rivers, and spectacular valleys. It’s one of the best parts of the expedition!

Reason #6

Reach your altitude record

There are few people to take on this adventure, so you’ll be one of the few to reach an altitude of over 5,500 m at the end of the trek. And it will most probably be the highest point you have achieved so far as a traveler and not a mountain climber. This attitude is even higher than Mont Blanc, but it’s not technical at all and anyone with the will to do it can do it.

Reason #7

Meet different kinds of people

The kind of people that will join you on the Everest Base Camp trek is incredibly passionate and love the mountains much. Some of them are even professional climbers, with stories that fascinate you. They’ve lost fingers and dared enormous challenges just to sit atop of some of the highest and provocative mountains in the world. Some of their stories are worth making moves off, similar to the famous “Everest” film you most probably have seen.

Reason #8

Widen your horizon and life paradigms

The Everest Base Camp trek is more than just a hike. With so much time disconnected and spent admiring the natural beauty of the highest mountains on the planet, you’ll experience a wide range of feelings, from amazement to insignificance and gratitude. You will put some of your problems into a different light and perspective, and your horizon will widen up to accommodate new ways of thinking. It’s as much a journey for the soul as it is for the love of travel.

If these reasons have made you at least curious to want to try such an adventure, reach out to usand sign-up for this year’s expedition! Meet us and ask us all your questionsahead of embarking in a once in a lifetime journey, guaranteed!

Articolul Reasons for travel lovers to take on Himalaya apare prima dată în Extreme Expeditions.

5 reasons to choose an adventure holiday in Himalaya!

Take the road to the foot of the highest mountain in the world, in Himalaya, following the steps of some of the greatest climbers in the world!

Working at a desk for eight hours a day, for months in a row before taking a break can be quite difficult, and the thought of a vacation is the only thing that gets you excited.  You might have tried already the all-inclusive options families with kids usually go for, in Turkey or Greece. But have you thought of a more active holiday, less luxury but more unusual experiences, that only a few lucky ones get to dive into?

Let me tell you 5 reasons why you should consider something completely different, like the Everest Base Camp Trek in Himalaya!

Reason #1

Dare to have a totally different kind of holiday

While you are exposed at no risk whatsoever. The Everest Base Camp Trek is a challenging route that goes up to 5,536 m, but with the proper training and following the guide’s instructions, anyone can do it. You will be away from the usual crowd, and do something utterly new and different, not to mention the spectacular views over the mountains you get to see from the plane or helicopter on the route to the start of the trek in Lukla.

Reason #2

Test your own limits

For 10 days you walk 10-12 km every day, starting from 2,800 m altitude, going up to 5,545 m on the Kala Patthar peak. If the beginning of the trek will feel easy like a walk in the park, the upper you climb every day, challenges will start to surface. The lack of oxygen will make you feel more tired, your luggage will seem heavier and your body will need to adjust to the pressure of the altitude. But nothing to worry, as the climb is at a very slow pace, and the guides know what advices to give you so you acclimatize with the lest effort. The trek though will give you plenty of time to spend with your thoughts, mind and soul, away from the mundane stress and worries.

Reason #3

Get to know the local culture and beliefs

Nepal is a country where Hinduism and Buddhism live peacefully together, as the population is almost equally split. The Hinduism religion has many rituals involving animal sacrifices, even publicly in the street during festivals and celebrations. As opposed to Buddhists that will never kill not even an insect for food and believe that everything and everyone is good by nature. You will notice a more pregnant influence of Hinduism in Kathmandu, while starting from Lukla where the trek begins, the influence is mostly Buddhist. The best way to experience these cultures is by visiting local temples, the biggest one in Kathmandu is a monkey one, or go to more specific ones where they perform local rituals, such as the dead people incineration, a ritual that takes quite a lot of courage to see.

Reason #4

Reconnect with the nature, yourself, and put your thoughts in order

An escape out of the routine stressful life will do wonders with your mind and soul, trust us! During the Everest Base Camp trek your only means of transportation will be your own foot, and as everything around you is so out of the ordinary, this comes as a perfect way to walk slowly, admire the view and enjoy the beauty of silence and amazing nature. Of course you will go with a group and you’ll socialize, but there will be many hours of walking where it’s just you and your thoughts, taking a break from everything. The silence will allow you to clear your mind, to put your thoughts in order and reconnect with the things that are really important for your soul. You will come back refreshed and having a totally new life perspective, and of course a lot of memories and nostalgia.

Reason #5

Experience a totally authentic life

Once you land in Nepal, the experiences will blow you away. Starting from Kathmandu, a colorful town where you can find anything you want, but the luxury from your home. Still, the crowd, the diversity, the architecture and the way they live will mesmerize you in the most positive way. Once you fly to Lukla for the start of the trek, you will then experience the villages, unique in the way they actually survive. In the middle of secluded valleys, with yaks as the only means of transportation, built on abrupt mountains sometimes and with inhabitants that solely rely on nature to live. Many places to take pictures of, and moments to take in and enjoy. We can promise you one of the feelings you’ll have when coming back is to realize how lucky you are to be born in the place you are born, given all the opportunities you have that most of the Nepalese don’t have.

Nothing though can be compared with your own experience when tasting this amazing world of mountains and valleys, Buddhism and Hinduism, villagers and Sherpas, mixed with the personal challenge of silence, no stress and body acclimatization. It’s totally an adventure to try on, at least once (as we know afterwards you’ll want to come back).

Find the next Everest Base Camp Trek expedition and contact our guides to discuss this with them, and why not, to book it now! It’s a once in a lifetime experience and we can guarantee you’ll never regret this decision.

The group size is limited to 12 people, once or twice every year.

Dare to try something different, dare to explore the way up to the base of Everest, the highest peak on our Planet, and get to say hi to it from very, very close! Sounds definitely exciting!

Here you can find details about our coming Everest Base Camp Event

Articolul 5 reasons to choose an adventure holiday in Himalaya! apare prima dată în Extreme Expeditions.