The trek to the base camp of the world's highest mountain, Mount Everest is once in a lifetime experience and hence is on the bucket list wish of thousands of people around the world. Trekking to the Everest base camp means one gets an opportunity to spend some quality time in the lap of Mother Nature while traversing through the incredible Khumbu region that offers the warmest hospitality. Although many people aspire to summit the base camp, only a few of them make it to the final destination of the trip due to some unavoidable adverse situation.
The adverse situation one can face during the base camp trek includes altitude sickness, accidents, illness, and some other circumstances like flight cancelation, stolen baggage, and many more. The above-mentioned situations are always present during any treks in Nepal so one must be prepared to face them with a proper plan. So, what can be the best plan for someone willing to trek to the base camp? A lot of you might have already guessed that we are talking about insurance.
Yes, having an Everest base camp trek insurance or similar trekking insurance will help you to cover the risk and cut off extra expenses in case of any unfavorable situations like evacuation from a helicopter due to altitude sickness and others. So what does an EBC trek insurance actually covers and why is it important for the trekkers?
Read the full blog and find it out yourself:
Travel Insurance / Everest Base Camp Trek Insurance:
Most of us are quite aware of travel insurance and its importance while traveling to another country. But for those who are unaware of the subject, travel insurance is a planned purchase that protects travelers from certain financial risks and losses that may occur during the trip. The plan can cover the minor losses to a major one including the medical emergency overseas.
According to the travel plan you choose, the travel policies may cover damage to your personal property, rented equipment, trip cancellation, lost baggage, medical expense coverage, accidents coverage, and many more. In a simple term, travel insurance provides you protection from possible or uncertain loss and hazards while traveling. If you take one of the travel insurance policies, you have to pay a certain amount as a premium to the insurance company and the price may vary according to your destination, age, duration, possible risks, and others.
Similarly, the insurance for the Everest base camp trek also covers some of the risks like altitude sickness, accidents, illness, and other general categories subjects like national and international flight cancelation and many more.
Why is Everest base camp travel insurance necessary for trekkers and travelers?
Imagine arriving at Gorakhshep and you are just a few kilometers away from the base camp and suddenly your health condition worsens due to altitude sickness. You cannot get back to a lower altitude by yourself and on top of that, you don’t have insurance to get rescued by helicopter. Isn't that scary? This is the moment when one regrets not having insurance while trekking to the Himalayas.
In addition to this, as your health condition gets worse, there is no other option than chartering a helicopter and transferring you to Kathmandu. And by the time your health condition gets better, the hospital bills and the cost of rescuing you from a helicopter starts giving you a nightmare. This is why we recommend our trekkers to have insurance before they embark on their journey to the Himalayas.
Apart from just the health condition, sometimes one gets into trouble when the aircraft misplaces the luggage/baggage. Now imagine not having insurance and losing your luggage in a foreign country. This simple hazard could have been halted if you had insurance that covered the loss of personal property. That means if you have insurance and by any chance, you lost your personal belongings while on the trek, the insurance company will compensate you for the loss. Isn't that amazing and life-saving?
Together with the above-mentioned examples, the general insurance plan for the Everest base camp trek also covers the cost of flight cancellation, hotel booking, and many others, allowing the trekkers to avoid uncertain or unfavorable life situations.
As mentioned earlier, insurance is a plan that covers the risk and cuts off expenses that may occur due to unforeseen situations like accidents, sickness, and others. Having an Everest base camp trek insurance will allow one to trek without worry as it offers trekkers a peaceful state of mind to appreciate the views rather than to focus on the hazards one can face during the trek.
What does insurance for Everest base camp trek cover?
Below-mentioned are some of the areas covered by the Everest base camp trek insurance:
Medical evacuation
The Everest base camp trek is a moderate trekking experience in the Himalayas with an itinerary of approximately 12-20 Days with average walking of 7-8 hours per day. The trek is exhausting and the harsh climate can give trekkers a hard time during the journey.
Apart from just the altitude sickness, trekkers sometimes come across accidents while crossing cliffs and bridges. The most common accident one meets during the trek is the ankle injury or muscle strain followed by other severe accidents.
Together with this, with the increase in the altitude, the trekkers experience acute mountain sickness and other altitude sicknesses as the oxygen level decrease drastically from Namche as you head towards the base camp. As one suffers from AMS, they tend to have difficulty in breathing and end up feeling dizzy followed by other symptoms. In such circumstances, the trekkers need to be transferred for an immediate health emergency. Since there is no other transportation facility and reliable health service in the upper region, rescuing them from the helicopter is the only option.
And with the Everest base camp travel insurance, one can easily have the evacuation facility in case of any emergency.
Note: Another thing one needs to remember is, if you have any allergies or hygiene-related issues, please note that in the upper region, you have to take care of yourself. Packing your medicines, water-purifying tablets will help you overcome other illnesses like diarrhea, allergies that may get worse in lack of medical support.
Flight insurance / flight cancellation
The most amazing thing about the EBC trek insurance is that you can even claim the nonrefundable amount like the tickets of a flight. The major highlight of the EBC trek is the scenic Kathmandu-Lukla flight, but at times due to various reasons, the flight is canceled at the last minute making trekkers wonder what do I do next?
To avoid such issues, the flight cancellation insurance policy is a game-changer solely because, with this policy, the insurance company will compensate you for the canceled flight. In addition to this, the flight insurance also covers up for your life in case the plane crashes during the trip.
Luggage / baggage insurance:
As discussed earlier, there is a high chance of your luggage being misplaced by aircraft, or in some cases, people with wrong intentions can change it with theirs. In such a case, you might lose some of your valued personal belonging together with your expensive trekking equipment like down jackets, sleeping bags, and many more.
Hence, before buying your insurance policy, make sure that it covers the loss of goods.
Pro-tip: Always carry your important things in your handbag. So that anything that is misplaced or lost can be replaced by something cheaper on the way to base camp.
Rescue:
Not everyone who dreams of summiting the base camp makes it to the end. Apart from the altitude sickness, and accidents, one may come across unavoidable natural adversities like a flood, avalanches, landslide, and many other similar situations. In such emergencies, you will need a rescue team. So while buying any insurance plan, make sure that the company covers the rescue emergencies.
How to find the best insurance for an Everest base camp trek?
There are numbers of insurance companies offering travel insurance policies but finding the right one for you might be a challenging task. Therefore, if you are looking for one, make sure that the insurance company offers you the adventure insurance for the EBC trek that covers over 6000m. For this, make sure that you go through a bunch of insurance companies and their reviews online as it will help you to find the right one for you.
Related Trip:
✔ Everest Base Camp Trek
Some FAQ's related to Everest Base Camp Insurance:
1. Is travel insurance for Everest base camp trek compulsory?
✔ Insurance for EBC trek is not compulsory. However, we recommend our trekkers be insured to cover the risk of any unforeseen adversities during the trek.
Having insurance for the trek will cover the risk of baggage theft/loss, medical emergencies, flight cancellation, and many more. so get insured before you make your way to the Himalayas.
2. Will my travel insurance cover all the problems discussed above?
✔ It all depends upon the policy and the insurance company you chose for your travel. While some policies only cover a few concerns/problems, others can give you coverage to greater risks including medical evacuation and rescue at times of natural calamities like avalanches and landslides.
So whenever you are choosing your policy, make sure that you choose one that covers up to the height of 6000m and offers medical evacuation service in case of any type of emergencies.
3. What is the best season for the EBC trek?
✔ The best season for the base camp trek is from March to May and September to December. During this time, the climate is favorable and offers the magnificent sight of the Himalayas.
4. Is Nepal safe for travels?
✔ Nepal is safe for travels and the locals are known for their hospitality. The reason we ask our trekkers to have insurance before their travel is to reduce the risk of other events that might happen during the trek.
5. How long is the Everest base camp trek?
✔ The base camp trek varies in between 12-20 days according to the itinerary you choose. If you choose the EBC trek with Kalapathar, it is 13-15 days program. However, if you add island peak or Gokyo Lake Trek to the itinerary, the program is elongated to 18-21 days.
Below mentioned are our bestselling Everest trek packages:
✔ A Complete Guide to Everest Base Camp Trekking
✔ Everest Base Camp Gokyo Cho-la Pass Trek
✔ Island Peak Climb with Everest Base Camp Trek
Conclusion
Although most of us might avoid buying insurance because it costs you a lofty amount, but it is the only way to cover the risk of any hazards that might occur during the travel and treks. So before you buy your insurance plan for the EBC trek, make sure that it covers all the factors like baggage, medical evacuation, flight cancellation, rescue and offers medical evacuation above 6000m. This will help you to cut the extra expenses as well as cover the risk.
So make sure that you are covered before you head on your trip to the Himalayas.
