EBC Tea House Cost??

[BoyfromWagga]

Would really appreciate some advice on $$ amount to budget (daily) trekking from Jiri to Lukla - Lukla to EBC in regards to:-

(1) Cost of tea houses
(2) daily food/drink
(3) other costs

I understand costs increase the higher up you trek and some indication of this would assist greatly with my trip preparation.

Realise that this could be stated elsewhere and would be happy to follow any links provided (yes, I have had a look for myself)!!

Thanks
J

[Spaceman347]

I'm not sure about the Jiri - Lukla section as I've never done that (pretty cheap though), but from Lukla upwards I found that I was spending 800 - 1200 NRs at each lodge which covered the room, dinner and breakfast. (AUD $1 = 50NRs) Things were a bit cheaper down closer to Lukla/Namche.

You'll then need to buy lunch/snacks/drinks. Drinks can get pretty expensive the higher you get if you want coke/beer.

I don't drink coke, actually really don't like the stuff but found that I was craving the sugar and actually had a few whilst I was up there. I think I paid around 200 - 250 NRs for a coke at Loboche (or maybe my memory is shot, I know it was expensive though). You can pick up 600ml cokes at Namche for 80NRs.

Same with the ubiquotous snickers bars. They get really expensive the further up you go, so it would certainly pay to buy half a dozen or so at Namche and save them for later on when things get expensive. Again I found that I was craving the snickers bars by the end of the day.

There really aren't any "other costs" to worry about, except maybe 100'ish NRs / litre for boiled water and anywhere from 50 NRs to charge a battery (Namche) through to 300 NRs per hour to charge at Loboche (Asian Trekking Lodge).

[Tanus]

You should be able to keep your costs to 1000 Rs a day easy.

Use iodine in your water, (Betadine is fine, 5-10 drops per litre). Getting boiling water gets expensive.

If you are travelling by yourself this cost might go up slightly as you cant share room costs.

This is all assuming you dont eat junk food, drink coke etc etc.

[yakshaver]

Trekking is funny business, and whatever budget you set, unless you are Scrooge, you'll spend more. Often trekkers who vowed to stay at cheaper lodges, after a strenuous trek to Gokyo or EBC decided to blow the piggibank by staying at Hotel Namche in order to feel a bit spoiled and scrub up properly.

I suggest a budget of 20-25 US per day. You can do it for 10 US per day, but you will envy all thouse people who drink a bottle of coke or something, when the climb up to Mong La and feel the positive need for a good sugar hit.
And why not? Trekking in the Himal is the only time yours truly drinks soft drinks. I think they are quite appropriate there.
Most people spend 15-20 US per day, for food, accomodation and little additional costs, like buying touristy stuff from the Namche Saturday markets. I would push it to 20 per day.

[Spaceman347]

I know that some people are on a pretty tight budget, but sometimes we're only talking about a couple of dollars and you are on holidays, relax and enjoy it. Work some overtime when you get home and pay it off.

When I got to Loboche I went to the first lodge with some people that I had met that day and the place was very drafty (Loboche gets pretty windy as it is very exposed). I checked 3 different rooms and not one of the bed platforms was actually level, so much so that you could see it as soon as the door was opened and the chimney was leaking just as much yak dung smoke inside as it was transporting outside.

I went and stayed at the Eco trekking lodge/Asian trekking Lodge/Eco Asian... (can't remember the exact name) much to the amazement of the small Swedish/English group that I had just met because it was "very expensive".

The room cost me $10 (USD). A reasonable price for a room with proper sealed windows, carpet, a level bed and a light. They also had an indoor shower and toilet although both of these 2 items were frozen solid and not usable, much to my disappointment.

At the end of the day the room cost me the equivalent of a couple of coffees back home. Yes it was expensive compared to the first lodge who were charging 100rps for the room, but not expensive compared to back home.