Everest Base Camp, Tibet

After spending three days in Lhasa, we spent the next four days on the road to visit the Everest Base Camp!

We set out from Lhasa in the morning to drive to Shigatse. The drive took about six hours. Many animals crossed our path.

When we arrived, we went straight to the monastery. It's famous for being the traditional home of the Panchen Lama, who is the second-in-command in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy after the Dalai Lama. The Panchen Lama lives in Beijing now, but visits every year or two. 

We stayed that night in Shigatse, then left first thing in the morning to drive 10 more hours to Everest Base Camp (EBC). Most of the drive was mildly interesting, but when we made our final mountain pass crossing, we got our first view of the Himalayan Range. We still had two or three hours of driving left, but it really lifted our spirits after a long day of driving. 

We got a really good view of the winding road that would take us towards base camp... 

About 20 minutes before we arrived, we encountered a snow storm. We were told that if the storm weren't there, we would be able to see Everest. I got worried we wouldn't get to see Everest because of cloud cover. 

Then, we broke through the clouds and Everest appeared. We headed straight for base camp to take a look before sunset.

As we were standing at base camp, the cloud cover completely cleared and we saw Everest completely. We were so lucky to see it without the clouds. It was stunning. 

Later, while we were eating dinner, we saw the last bit of light catch the peak from our guesthouse. 

The next morning, we went back to base camp and went further up to where the yaks and climbers stay. This time, not a cloud in sight!

First we got to where the yaks and yak herders stay, who help carry supplies up to farther camps for the climbers. 

We also spotted the camp where the actual climbers stay. They have to stay there for a month, taking small expeditions, to acclimatize before they can head for the summit. 

Then, sadly, we left. We headed back on the same 10-hour drive to Shigatse. When we were leaving, we once again got a full view of the Himalayan range. Everest's summit was just covered by some clouds, but it still towered over everything around it. 

We arrived in Shigatse in the evening, and I basically just went to sleep. Altitude sickness and a mild ear infection in both ears made most of my free time into sleeping and rest time, which unfortunately made me a bit boring. 

The next morning, we left at 5am to drive back to Lhasa to get some people to the airport in time. After a short snooze in the bus, we got to witness this beautiful sunrise.

We stopped in Gyantse to take a look at the fort, but it isn't open to tourists, so we didn't get to go in. 

We also stopped at a few passes to overlook a beautiful lake. 

We passed grasslands and beautiful mountain ranges. We took a different route back to Lhasa, so the scenery was much more interesting. 

We stopped at the Karola glacier, which was incredible (but so cold, not surprisingly!). 

We passed another lake, which is one of the four most sacred lakes in Tibet. It's a beautiful teal color in the sunshine, which is so amazing. 

Many hours of windy mountain roads and steep drop offs later, we arrived back in Lhasa.

That evening, we went out for momo (Tibetan dumplings made of yak meat and spices) and beer. We were supposed to go out to a 'discotheque' but that ended falling through. It was a calm ending to my time in Tibet. 

The next morning, I went to the airport to catch my flight to Urumqi.