Everest Base Camp Trek Day 13: Periche to Tashinga

PERICHE TO TASHINGA KEY STATS

Starting Point: Periche (4,371m/14,340ft)
Finishing Point: Tashinga (3,550m/11,614ft)
Distance: 13.5km/8.4mi
Trekking Time: 4 Hours
Accommodation: Everest Summit Lodges

PERICHE TO TASHINGA EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK DIARY

Day 13 of our Everest Base Camp Trek saw us heading from Periche to Tashinga via the famous village of Tengboche.

We left Periche and hopped onto the main Everest Base Camp trail. As we moved further away from the Khumbu Valley, we traversed along the ridge around Ama Dablam and passed the Imja Valley. The path crosses the Lobuche River, which is formed by the melting Khumbu Glacier and eventually flows into the Imja and Dudh Kosi Rivers.

It was very clear from the start that we were going to get a work out today. The whole stretch between Periche to Tashinga is one super steep, undulating mess. The first was the trail that we took along the side of Taboche (6,542m) through the little villages of Orsho, Shomare and Pangboche.

As we continued along the path we eventually made our way back to the tree line and were once again walking through forests. The mani walls and stupas we loved so much during the earlier stages of the trek and also began to appear more prominently on the trails.

After crossing over the Imja Khola the trail was relatively flat until our final twenty-minute push to the spiritual center of the Khumbu – Tengboche (3,860m). In addition to having a few tea houses and a popular German bakery that is written about in every trekking guide, Tengboche is home to one of the largest and most famous Monasteries in Nepal. We decided to stop here for a coffee break and have a slice of good old apple pie (yes – at the tourist trap bakery).

We sat outside on the rustic park benches and admired the views of Mt. Everest (8,848m), Lhotse (8,516m), Taboche (6,542m), Nuptse (7,861m), Thamserku (6,623m) and Ama Dablam (6,813m) in the distance. Not a bad place to take a break.

As we were enjoying our snacks, we noticed a commotion beginning to unfold. A helicopter came whirring through the village and landed directly in front of the Tengboche Monastery. The chopper door opened, a rolling-suit case carrying monk hopped out. As he made his way into the monastery, a line of monks came running out to greet him and all should respect by touching his feet. In a flash, he was whisked away in to the monastery and the chopper took off again. It was all very James Bondesque. While I can’t be 100% certain, our guide Prem felt strongly that the visitor was the official lama of the monastery.

This must-see monastery has its fair share of history. It was originally built in 1916, damaged by an earthquake in 1934, destroyed by a fire 1989 and has since been rebuilt. It’s exactly what you would expect a monastery to look like but even better considering the surrounding mountains that act as its backdrop.

We popped our heads in for a visit – and considering they had a VIP guest onsite, it was made very short. We were shown into a gorgeous room full of buddha statues, colorful robes that help keep monks warm, inscriptions on old papers, tuning bowls, drums and a conveniently placed box to drop your offering into on your way out.

After our short visit to the monastery we continued day thirteen’s journey from Periche to Tashinga. The trail descended steeply to the town of Phunku Tenga (3,250m).

As we continued along the path, we could see our next tea house – Everest Summit Lodges Tashinga – in the distance perched high up in a hill. It was only after reaching the bottom of the valley in lower Tashinga, that it donned on us that we would have to somehow manage to get all the way up that hill.

The path was brutal. We climbed for what seemed like ages – dodging trekkers and yaks who were making their way in the opposite direction. We then veered off the main trail and joined a small dirt track in the forest that was even steeper. There is no way I would have thought to take this route if I wasn’t accompanied by a guide. We trudged on for another half hour until we arrived at the Everest Summit Lodges in Tashinga.

The team at the luxury Everest Summit Lodges welcomed us with a cup of tea and showed us to our lush rooms. Warm beds, plenty of blankets, access to electric sockets, a bathroom with plumbing and – drum roll please – hot showers. It had been 9 days since our last luxury tea house and proper shower (unless of course, you count the hot water thermos that was used to shower in the village of Thangna). Needless to say, we both desperately needed those showers.

The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent lounging around the tea house, reading, admiring the surrounding views and catching up on what was going on in the rest of the world. Yes, you guessed it – we were back in the land of 3G connectivity.

The journey from Periche to Tashinga was tougher that we thought it was going to be, but the comfy beds gave us the opportunity to rest our weary bodies and prepare us for our second to last leg of our Everest Base Camp Trek.

PERICHE TO TASHINGA VIDEO

LOOKING FOR NITTY GRITTY DETAILS?

Check out the day as recorded by Stava. See the trails taken, overall elevation gains, trekking times and how fast (or slow) we made it from Point A to Point B.

TRAVEL PLANNING ESSENTIALS: NEPAL

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ENJOY PERICHE TO TASHINGA? CHECK OUT MORE OF THE EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK AT EVEREST BASE CAMP TREK DIARY.

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38 Comments

broganab on December 12, 2017 at 5:10 pm

Your photos are mind-blowing! And what an adventure! Everest Base Camp is definitely on my list and I really hope I can make it soon! 🙂
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:37 am
  
  Thanks for the kind words. Pleased to hear that you are thinking about heading to the region. It really is a special place for so many reasons. Don’t leave it on your list for too long. 😉
  Reply
Anita Hendrieka on December 12, 2017 at 3:34 pm

What an incredible experience! Trekking to the everest base camp is definitely on my bucket list and I’m sure many others. I can imagine the shower and electric blankets would be so amazing after your hard work!
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:37 am
  
  Awesome to hear that EBC is on your bucketlist. The trip is worthy of it for sure. And yea, those showers and blankets were always something to look forward to after a long day of trekking in the sometimes freezing temps.
  Reply
Harsh on December 10, 2017 at 5:45 pm

It is a dream to do everest base camp trek at least once in a lifetime. Going by the pictures, I am so tempted like right now. Bookmarking your blogs for future planning of the trek.
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:31 am
  
  Great news that you are keen to go as well. Keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming post on the top 15 considerations for planning your own EBC trek. It was a trip of a lifetime – you will deffo enjoy.
  Reply
Anneklien Meanne on December 10, 2017 at 2:58 pm

The base camp is on my list since i started a hiking group here in UK im so jealous and the views are just stunning!
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:30 am
  
  If it’s on your list, you should deffo go. I am based in the UK. What is the hiking group that you are talking about?
  Reply
Clara Cosenza on December 9, 2017 at 10:41 am

I will be repetitive, but I need to say it: your photos are simply stunning! You had such an amazing adventure, and the video perfectly show it! 🙂
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:26 am
  
  Repetition is good Clara. I appreciate the kind words and that you keep coming back for more adventure. 🙂
  Reply
Lara Dunning on December 8, 2017 at 2:52 am

Your photos are amazing! What a view and experience. My bones are aching at the descriptions of the trails. Rough going, but I’m sure the points along the way and the landscape make it all worth it. Love the story about the helicopter and the monk.
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:21 am
  
  Much appreciated Lara. The whole trip was an exercise for sure, but as you said – well worth it considering the views we were treated with.
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Sandy N Vyjay on December 7, 2017 at 5:49 pm

Another fascinating account of your Himalayan adventure. This time I was fascinated by the Tengboche Monastery. The historic monastery looks so intriguing and the account of the monk emerging from a chopper and disappearing into the recesses of the monastery makes it even more intriguing.
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:20 am
  
  Thanks for the kind, poetic works Sandy.
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ourtasteoftravel on December 7, 2017 at 2:39 pm

That river looks COLD! Glad to hear you found a hot shower eventually. That must have been sheer joy.
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:19 am
  
  That shower was indeed a treat. Always good to feel squeaky clean after days upon days of exercise.
  Reply
Catherine on December 7, 2017 at 5:58 am

Wow – what an amazing adventure with breathtaking scenery. How unexpected to see a monk land in a helicopter!
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:18 am
  
  Thanks for the kind words and for checking out the adventures. Yea – the monk with his rolling suit case caught us so off guard. lol
  Reply
Followingtherivera on December 6, 2017 at 6:22 pm

I feel so guilty after reading this, especially as I’m the world’s worst hiker! I’m sure you really got a good workout hiking here, and I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t mind the tourist trap apple pie, it sounds good! Beautiful photos, and to a place I’ll probably never see…
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:15 am
  
  No need to feel guilty. Treks like these are not for everyone and hopefully my posts have given you a view into what it is like. I ate that apple pie up. Tourist trap just means that they hocked the prices up as they knew weary trekkers would be more than happy to pay for a slice after a long days trek. 🙂
  Reply
Christopher James Mitchell on December 5, 2017 at 10:59 pm

Those views are just nuts! I mean, I expected they would be, but seeing a collection of photos which show your journey is pretty damn fantastic. Thanks for sharing your photos and words in this post!
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:12 am
  
  Thanks for the kind words CJM. I am glad that you are enjoying the Everest adventure. Obviously a lot of work schlepping my gear around and taking notes to create the posts, but comments like yours make it all worth it. Much appreciated.
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stylishtravlr on December 5, 2017 at 1:55 pm

wow each post I see on your blog have more and more beautiful photos! The views of this days are just amazing! Love this crustal clear river! And 9 days with no showering 😀 wow 😀 I bet you that was a happy moment when you finally got under that water 😀
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:10 am
  
  You are too kind Adrianna haha. Its the views that make the pictures better, not me – trust me. And yes, 9 days of no showering was tough considering my bathroom tends to looks like a Dermalogica and Kiehls shop. lol Honestly, after a couple days you forget about it as everyone else around you is just as stinky. 🙂
  Reply
Debbie on December 5, 2017 at 12:12 am

Wow, this is definitely one of my must do treks! Thanks for all the tips.
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:09 am
  
  You are very welcome – thanks for continuing to check out the Everest adventures on DomOnTheGo. 🙂
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Jennifer on December 4, 2017 at 8:22 pm

I love hiking and this is a bucketlist hike for me for sure. I am not in good enough shape at the moment, but as soon as my injuries heal, I can start thinking about training.
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:08 am
  
  Training for EBC is important if you have injuries that are currently in the healing process. I’d say a general level of fitness is required to tackle the trek, so once you are healed you should be good to go.
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lisa on December 4, 2017 at 2:08 pm

Ok so I had to read this twice it was so interesting! Personally it is not something I would be able to do! I have only ever seen snow once (LOL). It really appeals to me though this must have been such a awesome experience. Your pictures are so captivating and I love the Buddhist prayer flags guiding you.
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:07 am
  
  It was such an awesome experience – thanks. If you have only ever seen snow once, even more reason for you to go. 🙂
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Helene on December 4, 2017 at 1:33 am

Do you carry your own bag around? I get headache above 4200 with each step I take however I can have that headache the whole day at that altitude and I won’t feel any worse. What I have not tried is to carry a Traveller backpack around. In Spiti the trekkers we met carried their own bags around but they would have shorter trekking routes, I think.
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- Dom on December 25, 2017 at 11:05 am
  
  Minor altitude symptoms are probably felt by most people getting about 4,000m. Staying hydrated and allowing the body to properly acclimatise is key to it not turning serious. A lot of people who trek to EBC solo carry all of their gear. We hired a local guide and porter for the two of us. The porter carried less than 20 kilos in our pack for us, which allowed me to carry my camera equipment along the route. The key for longer distance treks is to pack as light as possible. The longer the trek and the higher the altitude, the heavier that pack will feel. ?
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Renata Green on December 3, 2017 at 1:43 pm

Again, the pictures are just mind blowing – so beautiful! It’s very funny that they have a German bakery there – still better than a McDonald’s… Are you training for hiking in this altitude? I’ve been to Peru and any sort of minor physical activity was really tough for me – besides the fact that I’m afraid of heights, so you won’t invite to your next hike, I assume. But also because of the fact that I’ll never do something like that I enjoy your posts.
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- Dom on December 4, 2017 at 9:00 am
  
  1000% times better than Mc. D’s. Anything remotely sweet or tasting of coffee after 13 days of trekking would have been better. 🙂 I’d say we both have general fitness levels and hike quite a bit on our travels. By the time we made it to Everest we had a significant hike under our belt each month for almost 7 months. That was probably the best training we could have done for EBC. Peru is amazing – hope you enjoyed yourself.
  Reply
lukeandmeagan on December 2, 2017 at 7:51 pm

The views are amazing, but that picture of the trail looks harrowing, at best. You’re killing it, though, and I’ve really enjoyed reading about your treks around Everest!
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- Dom on December 3, 2017 at 11:38 am
  
  The stretch of trails on this day were not as bad as some of the others where we had to hand on to the side of the cliffs. The route you take will influence the experience. Some of those we opted for are not for the faint hearted, that’s for sure. 🙂 Appreciate the kind words and for you following the adventure along.
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masseys5 on December 2, 2017 at 7:01 pm

The views are stunning! I cannot imagine going 9 days without bathing! You said that the apple pie was a tourist trap. Are apples grown in the area?
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- Dom on December 3, 2017 at 11:37 am
  
  Hahah I’m not sure where the apples comes from to be honest. I just know that after multiple days on the trail with limited food options – some of which has no flavour or just gets boring – a slice of apple pie would be such a treat. It’s the same as a shower after 9 days of having one. You will want a slice. You will want the hot shower. Regardless of the price – that’s the trap. 🙂
  Reply