Everest Base Camp & Gokyo Lake　D6 Waypoint

D6 Itinerary

Acclimatization day.

Starting today, there are more and more stacked stone cairns along the trail — worth admiring the creativity in everyone's stacking styles. During breaks you can compete with fellow hikers to see whose hands are steadier and who can stack the highest.

As the altitude climbs, the surroundings open up more and more, and it feels like those 6,000-plus-meter peaks are practically circling around you. Nearly the whole stretch is one viewpoint after another — plenty of hikers at Waypoint 103 posed standing, leaning, or bracing against the sheer cliffs behind them for a suitably epic photo; feel free to get creative here too. Since there's no rush today, take it slow and soak in the scenery.

Dingboche, the mountain town here, isn't as big as Namche Bazaar, and while it does sell a bit of gear, the selection and prices don't match Namche Bazaar.

Worth noting: in this scattered little mountain town, one of my fellow hikers claimed to have found the best FRESH™ Carrot Juice of their life. I was too busy holed up in a COFFEE SHOP with a crooked, characterful sign, eating a cinnamon roll, so I missed out. Given how rare it is to see someone light up with such vivid, complicated emotion describing 'FRESH™,' I'd suggest other enthusiasts go looking for it — it might ease the pain of a long trek.