Teahouses During Everest Base Camp Trek

Everest Base Camp Trek is a great teahouse trek. Trekking in the Nepalese Himalayas along with Everest Base Camp trek and teahouses have become synonymous. However, those who listen to the word ‘teahouses’ for the first time assume that they are the small houses that serve tea only.

However, the definition of a teahouse in Nepalese trekking routes is a bit different. Here, teahouses are a great place for relaxing their tired muscles and getting food like hotels dotted along with trekking milestones.

To those unknown with the term, tea houses are not so many houses that serve only tea but are rather small beds and breakfast just as hotels scattered throughout the trekking routes entire the Kumbu section.

Nowadays, teahouses are the best alternative for lodging for the adventurers to the Everest region that offers you the easiest, the most convenient, quite affordable, and pay as much you stay approach to trekking in some of the highest elevations of the world.

Identifying the teahouses is not so difficult. Most of them are easily identifiable by the large signs outside their doors reading ‘tea and coffee,’ ‘hot showers here’ and ‘we have electricity and so forth.

After walking 5-7 hours a day, trekkers need a proper place to relax and feed their hungry stomachs. For these all, get in a teahouse, check-in a room, and get relaxed. Then, in the evening, go to the communal area, select any food item from the menu and have it in the warm atmosphere. I mean to say, local burn cow/yak dung in a special oven to heat the area.

A typical teahouse offers you every basic amenity required for a comfortable yet humble approach for trekking in the Nepalese Himalayas and applies in the Khumbu section. Expect two single beds, a hot meal, tea and coffee, the option of a hot shower, and some electricity are what is while lodging in a particular teahouse.

So, we highly recommend teahouse trekking as it exposures you to the local people, who are very hospitable, kind, ever-smiling, accommodating, and friendly. It also shows you a typical Nepal that you may not get a chance to see if you decided to camp by yourself and provide the opportunity to meet fellow trekkers.

What actually is a “teahouse trekking”?

As earlier mentioned, teahouse trekking is hiking during the day and relaxing in a small lodge at night. This includes merely going from one teahouse to another throughout your trek for your accommodation and meal needs.

In the earlier days, it was essentially meant as a place where trekkers were offered basic refreshments as tea, local food items, and accommodation at a reasonable cost or even sometimes free. However, time has changed, and the perception of this trekking style these days takes a transformed meaning.

These days, teahouses principally mean small hotels run along the trekking routes that provide room and board at a nominal cost. Almost all of them are family-owned, where home-cooked food items are served, which is an outstanding way to experience the daily lifestyle of the local people in remote Nepal.

The good news is, most of the teahouses in the Everest, Annapurna, Manaslu, and Langtang region are well managed, and some of them even offer you western-styled facilities like hot shower, flush toilets, and choices of menus including some soft and hard drinks.

In the lesser-known areas, they provide basic facilities, and you might expect to eat the same meals as the family owning the property. The most common and recommended food is Dal Bhat (a set of rice lentils, vegetables, curry, pickle, salad, etc.) that is healthy and readily available.

Concerning the accommodation in a teahouse, you will have a small, neat room with fundamental services mostly during your trek in Everest Base Camp. So do not expect luxurious hotels during the trip, especially in the higher elevations. However, there are luxury lodges and restaurants in the lower altitudes like Lukla, Phakding, Monjo, Namche Bazaar, and Khumjung.

The price of the room depends upon what sorts of rooms you choose to stay. The price depends upon whether you choose the private room, sharing room, room with attached bathroom or sharing bathroom, etc. As you ascend higher, the rooms are facilitated with almost the same amenities and costs almost the similar.

The rooms are basically filled with two wooden beds, a thick blanket and, a mattress, a pillow. In the lower elevations, most of the teahouses are facilitated with the attached bathrooms. However, in the elevated lands, they change into common ones. Therefore, we recommend you carry your own sleeping bag. The rooms are separated with thin walls, and you can literally hear someone next door or even walk around.

Everest Base Camp Trek Teahouse: Toilets, Showers, and Communal Areas

All you need to know is not all the teahouses have the same amenities. Hence, differences in quality are generally quite marked, especially as you hike from the lower elevations to the higher ones. In addition, the frequency of teahouses also differs according to the popularity of the trek you are on.

Everest Base Camp Trek route attracts more than 100,000 trekkers annually; therefore, there are numerous teahouses on its trails, most of which will be reliable.

Most tea houses will have wider rooms at lower altitudes, charging stations, flush toilets, and hot water showers. As you ascend to the higher elevations, toilets will become manual flushing toilets (using a bucket) and eventually long drops.

Unavailability of hot water also upturns with the altitudes where most tea houses will offer a pot of warm water, heated by a fire, with which to wash. The communal area in tea houses is likely to be the dining room. In the center of this hall, large yak dung burning stove to heat the entire hall. Meantime, trekkers can socialize with their fellow climbers. Either to revel in the heat that the stove delivers.

Everest Base Camp Trek Teahouse: Rooms, Electricity, and Wi-Fi

Almost all tea houses offer twin sharing rooms (two single beds about one meter and a small bedside table in between). However, as the flow of the trekkers is high in the peak seasons, it is almost impossible to get single rooms, especially above Namche Bazaar.

Each bed will have a bed, a pillow, sheets, a thick quilt, or blanket; however, we always advise using your sleeping bag or a pillow liner for hygiene reasons.

The sleeping bag is also useful as the nights in the mountains are extremely cold, especially in higher elevations (Namche Bazaar, Tengboche, Dingboche, Lobuche, and Gorekshep). It will be smart to use earplugs as the walls are mostly fragile and not well insulated.

Almost all the teahouses are facilitated with electricity for lighting and charging electronics inside a room. Some of them have charging ports in a communal area only, which charge a small amount(US$ 2-5) per hour to use those plug points that are typically in high demand (especially in the busier tea houses).

Some teahouses have an internet connection and provide Wi-Fi hotspots at a charge. However, these are typically unpredictable, and not all tea houses are connected. Therefore, we recommend purchasing a 3/4G SIM card (subscriber identification module) card to use for internet access buying a data pack for your trek. Mobile connectivity is sound and works well in the entire region, and the prices are affordable.

Everest Base Camp Trek Teahouse: Food

One of the main advantages of using the teahouse while trekking Everest and any other popular region is that you do not have to worry about regular food or carrying hiking food. Instead, the dotted teahouses throughout the trail offer various hot meals, fresh ones cooked by the owners and made with love! However, as the meals tend to be varieties of each other, there are not many choices, with slightly changed ingredients.

Almost all the ingredients have to be carried from either Lukla, Salleri, or Phaplu carried up the mountain by yaks or porters. Meals tend to be dominated by rice, flour, and cereal products. Daal Bhat, Bread, porridge, beans, and momo dumplings are the staples of any meal. These are served with either vegetables, pickles, or soup, and some are even with lentils.

Twig to the traditional rice and vegetable variations, local bread (often called Tibetan bread), vegetable soups, or eggs in the morning, and you should be safe and well-nourished to tackle whatever pass or peak lies in front of you for that day.

We highly advise you to stay away from the meat dishes as they might not be fresh and therefore not secure for consumption. According to the religious faiths of the Sherpa people, they are not allowed to slaughter in the mountains, so all the meat items are carried up to the teahouses on foot, often over many days!

Teahouses in Different Places in Everest Base Camp Trek Route

Let me go through the Everest Base Camp trek accommodations according to the places you will stay in. You can get various itineraries for Everest Base Camp; Phaplu to Everest Base Camp, Lukla to Everest Base Camp, Everest Base Camp via Gokyo Lake, etc. However, the following accommodation plans are based according to standard 14 days’ itinerary for the Everest Base Camp trek.

Teahouses at Lukla

Lukla is the first place you step after flying 35 minutes from Kathmandu. Known as a gateway of the Everest region, many trekkers and mountaineers reach Lukla and the last day of their trek. However, on the first day, trekkers usually do not accommodate in Lukla; instead, they head towards the village of Phakding for an overnight stay.

However, all of them spend their last day in Lukla, where choices of accommodations are available, from budget teahouses to luxury lodges. The cost for a room in the teahouse in Lukla ranges from $5 to $250 per night. The food costs according to your choices.

The most popular lodges/Teahouses in Lukla are;

• Buddha lodge
• Hotel Sunny Garden
• The Northface Resort
• Mera Lodge
• Khumbu Resort
• The Nest
• Yeti Mountain Home

Teahouses at Phakding

Phakding is a daily destination for your first-day trek. After the Lukla flight, you need to walk just 3-4 hours, depending upon your pace, to reach Phakding. Reaching there, you will have plenty of choices to stay in, from the luxury lodges to the budget teahouses.

The price ranges as per the accommodation chosen. The cost for a room in the teahouse in Phakding ranges from $5 to $250 per night. The food costs according to your choices. The moderate rooms are also well maintained here. Instead, if you want a room with attached bathrooms, well-furnished rooms, and so on, choose luxury accommodation.

The most popular lodges/Teahouses in Phakding are;

• Hotel Beer Garden
• Yeti Mountain Home
• Sherpa Guide Lodge
• Hotel Snowland
• Hotel Mountain
• Kalapatthar Lodge
• Hotel Kongde View

Teahouses at Namche Bazaar

After Phakding, Namche Bazaar is the daily destination for your Everest Base Camp Trek, where you will spend two nights; an extra night is usually spent for acclimatization purposes. Namche is probably the largest Sherpa town of the entire Khumbu region, with high-quality lodges, budget teahouses, markets, restaurants, cafes, museums, and several other religious shrines.  

Everest View Hotel, the highest elevated hotel in the world, is located near Namche Bazaar. Trekkers wishing to Mt. Everest from their window can choose this luxurious accommodation.

A room in the teahouse in Namche Bazar ranges from $5 to $250 per night. If you wished to stay in a five-star hotel-The Everest View Hotel, it might cost up to $350 per night for a room. The food costs according to your choices.

The most popular lodges/teahouses in Namche Bazaar are;

• The Nest
• International Foot Rest Lodge
• Hotel Green Tara
• Hotel Camp de' Base
• Namche Guest House
• Hotel Kongde
• Hotel Kamal
• Hotel Hilton
• Yeti Mountain Home
• Hotel Namche
• Hotel Sherpaland
• Hotel Tibet Khumbu Resort

Teahouses at Tengboche

Tengboche, a place of one of the renowned monasteries in the Khumbu region, sits in the lap of sacred Khumbila and just unrivaled backdrop of Mt. Ama Dablam. Over the hill crossways Imja Khola, Tengboche is the most common night halt after Namche Bazaar.

While accommodating in the local lodges in Tengboche, you can attend the morning prayers in the monastery. Also, be sure that listening to Buddhists humming in the morning will captivate you with new vibrations and peaceful feelings.

You will have basic and moderate service in Tengboche. For example, the teahouses have well-maintained cozy rooms with attached bathrooms, but not in Namche, Phakding, and Lukla. Thus, generally, the tea houses of Tengboche are the moderate type with basic amenities.

The cost for a room in the teahouse in Tengboche ranges from $5 to $7 per night. If you are staying in Debuche, you will find the rooms up to $30 per night. The food costs according to your choices.

The most popular lodges/teahouses in Tengboche are;

• Hotel Himalayan
• Hotel Tashi Delek
• Tengboche Guest House

Teahouses at Dingboche

Trekkers are now at the elevation of 4400m above sea level, with only a few teahouses. It is quite uneasy to find single rooms now. However, there are still some teahouses with attached bathrooms. Almost every teahouse now offers a similar basic type of service. The cost for a room in the teahouse in Dingboche ranges from $5 to $30 per night. The food costs according to your choices.

The most popular lodges/teahouses in Dingboche are;

• Hotel Good Luck
• Hotel Summit
• Hotel Yak
• Hotel Peak 38
• Hotel Valley View

The food costs according to your choices

Teahouses at Lobuche

The more you climb upward, the more you will find the limited quantity of teahouses to accommodate during the Everest Base Camp trek. Expect basic qualities in the teahouses. The teahouses now have a shared bathroom, a squatty toilet, a dining hall/communal area with a common fireplace, common charging ports, etc. A room now has two beds with a mattress, a bedsheet, a pillow, and a blanket in each. The cost for a room in the teahouse in Lobuche ranges from $7 to $60. The food costs according to your choices.

The most popular lodges/teahouses in Lobuche are;

• Hotel Mother Earth
• Hotel Peak xv
• New EBC Guest House
• Oxygen Home
• Hotel Above The Cloud
• Himalayan Eco Lodge
• Hotel 8000 Inn

Teahouses at Gorekshep

Gorekshep is the last accommodating place for the Everest Base Camp trek. Situated at 5180m above sea level, you will see only a few teahouses. However, as all the travelers stay here in their Everest Base Camp journey, the teahouses become a bit crowded.

The teahouses in Gorakshep deliver elementary rooms. The choices of food are not as much as lower elevation. Thank them for doing hard works to provide you lodging and food in such elevations. The cost for a room in the teahouse in Gorekshep ranges from $7 to $50. The food costs according to your choices.

The most popular lodges/teahouses in Gorekshep are;

• Everest Inn
• Yeti Resort
• Snowland Highest Inn
• Buddha Lodge
• Himalayan Lodge

Note: The rooms with the lower prices are just the basic ones, mostly having a shared bathroom. With the price raised, the amenities increase too. The expensive rooms are facilitated with a private bathroom (mostly), hot shower and electric heated blankets, etc. Choose any room according to your interest and budget.

Everest Base Camp Trek Teahouse: Useful Tips

Always trek with tour operators, as they will have the advantage of knowing which tea houses are the best and will be able to book your rooms in advance. Thus, you will walk without any stress for accommodation and food, which are major essentials for any treks.
If you do not hire a porter and guide, reach the destination as early as possible to book the available rooms.
Expect basic amenities in the teahouses; most of the rooms in the teahouses are on sharing basis.
Carry your own sleeping bag to be safe from the extreme conditions in the higher altitudes.
Final Say

Everest Base Camp trek is a great teahouse trek that offers you various accommodation amenities according to the place and elevation. In Kathmandu and lower elevations as Lukla, Phakding, Monjo, Namche Bazaar, and even up to Khumjung, you will have luxurious budget hotels/teahouses.

You will find teahouses with basic amenities in the upper parts of the trek as Tengboche, Dingboche, Pheriche, Lobuche, and Gorekshep. Ho, however, the rooms are tidy and the best option to spend a night before embarking on another big adventure.