Everest Base Camp (Tibet)

Everest North Base Camp Overview

A visit to the North Base Camp requires a permit from the Chinese government, on top of the permit required to visit Tibet itself. Access to the North Base Camp has been closed to tourists since February 2019. Earlier, such permits could be arranged via travel companies in Lhasa as part of a package tour that included hiring a vehicle, driver, and guide. The North Base Camp is accessed by vehicle through a 100 km road branching to the South from the Friendship Highway near Shelkar. From the Base Camp, all tourists were required to take the buses managed by the government to limit the traffic in the last stretch of gravel road to a marked hill at 5,200 meters above sea level just before the climbers’ camp. It was also possible to trek up from the tourist camp, but only when properly acclimatized. The "tourist Base Camp" is located about halfway between Rongbuk Monastery; the actual climbers' Base Camp is at the foot of Rongbuk glacier.