Of all the world’s famous walks, the Everest Base Camp trek is the one that sounds impossible until you look at the details. You don’t need climbing experience, ropes, or an oxygen mask. You need two weeks, a decent level of fitness, and a willingness to walk uphill slowly for days on end!
The trek takes you through the Khumbu region of Nepal, past Sherpa villages and monasteries, to the foot of the highest mountain on earth at 5,364 metres. Around 40,000 trekkers do it every year, and most of them are ordinary hikers rather than experienced mountaineers.
This Everest Base Camp Trek guide covers everything you need to plan it properly: the route, what it costs, when to go, what daily life on the trail is actually like, and how to handle the altitude. By the end, you should know whether this trek is for you, and exactly how to make it happen.
Where is Everest Base Camp and What Does the Trek Involve?
First, it’s worth clarifying that there are two base camps. The North Base Camp sits in Tibet, and you can drive to it. The South Base Camp, in Nepal, is the one trekkers walk to, and it’s the one this guide covers.
The trek itself is around 130km there and back, starting from the small mountain town of Lukla at 2,860 metres. Most itineraries take 12 to 14 days, which sounds slow for the distance, but it is slow on purpose. Your body needs time to adjust to the thinning air, and the pace is built around this acclimitisation rather than around fitness.
And one more thing to know before you get your hopes up is that you can’t actually see the summit of Everest from Base Camp itself. The mountain hides behind another mountain called Nuptse. For the classic view, trekkers climb Kala Patthar, a rocky ridge at 5,545 metres above the village of Gorak Shep, usually at sunrise the day after reaching Base Camp. It’s the hardest morning of the trip, but easily the best one.
Essential Things to Know for Planning a Trek to Everest Base Camp
How to Get to Lukla
Nearly every trek starts with a flight to Lukla, home of the famously short sloped runway. From Kathmandu, it is about a 35 minute flight. However, during the busy spring and autumn seasons, most Lukla flights leave from Manthali airport in Ramechhap instead, which means a 4 to 5 hour drive from Kathmandu, often starting around 1am.
Helicopter transfers exist for those with bigger budgets, and there’s a road-and-trek option via Phaplu for anyone nervous about the flight, though it adds days to your trip!
Where to Stay and What to Do in Lukla
After you’ve landed in Lukla, it’s best to factor in a night’s stay here before beginning your trek. There are dozens of options here, ranging from budget backpackers lodges to more high-end luxury hotels. Here’s my pick of some of the best:
Budget:
- Himalaya Lodge and Restaurant (a twin room from £3 a night)
- Mountain View Lodge (a double room from £14 a night)
Mid-range:
- Lukla Himalaya Lodge (a double room from £44 a night)
Luxury:
- Mountain Lodges of Nepal (a double or twin room from £191 per night)
Lukla is considered the Gateway to Everest, and makes for a beautiful start ahead of the Everest Base Camp trek. The main things to do in Lukla, other than to organise any last minute kit, would be to visit a couple of the local monasteries. Sitting above the town is the Lukla Monastery, adorned in colourful prayer flags and offering beautiful mountain views. There’s also the Pasang Lhamu Memorial Gate at the start of the Everest Base Camp Route. It pays homage to the first ever hikers to summit Everest and is a great photo spot.
Tasting local Sherpa cuisine is a must in Lukla. It’s hearty, warming and delicious and ranges from curries, noodle soup and Sherpa stews. Make sure to try the popular Nepalese dumplings, called momos. They are filled with vegetables, chicken or yak meat and make a delicious warming snack when served with tomato chutney.
Lukla’s bakeries also serve up delicious warm apple pie and also yak butter tea. It’s a rich, salty drink (that’s not for everyone) but is worth a try.
The Route
From Lukla, the classic route runs like this:
- Lukla to Phakding (2,610m) – a fairly easy half day to start
- Phakding to Namche Bazaar (3,440m) – a long climb to the main Sherpa town
- Namche – acclimatisation day
- Namche to Tengboche (3,860m) – home to the region’s most famous monastery
- Tengboche to Dingboche (4,410m) – the trees thin out here
- Dingboche – second acclimatisation day
- Dingboche to Lobuche (4,940m) – past the memorials at Thukla Pass
- Lobuche to Gorak Shep (5,164m) and on to Base Camp – the big day
- Kala Patthar at sunrise, then descend – the return takes 3 days
How Much Does the Everest Base Camp Trek Cost?
An organised trek with a local company typically costs somewhere between $1,500 and $1,800 per person for the standard itinerary. That covers your guide, porters, permits, teahouse accommodation, three meals a day, and the Lukla flights.
Even with everything arranged, there are a few extra costs to consider as almost nothing above the town of Namche is free:
- Hot showers: $4 to $8, rising with altitude
- Charging a phone or power bank: $2 to $5 per hour
- Wifi: sold as prepaid Everest Link cards, roughly $10 for a few GB
- A pot of tea at 5,000 metres: more than you’d pay in a Kathmandu café
So it’s best to carry more local cash than you think you’ll need. The last ATMs are in Namche Bazaar, and they can’t be relied on so it’s best to withdraw in Kathmandu. Beyond that point, Nepali rupees in your pocket are the only currency that counts.
Permits
You need two for the Everest Base Camp trek.
First, the Sagarmatha National Park permit (NPR 3,000, around $20) and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality fee (NPR 3,000, around $20).
Both can be bought on the trail at Lukla, and your company arranges them if you’re on an organised trek. The TIMS card required elsewhere in Nepal isn’t needed for the Everest region.
When is the Best Time of Year to do the Trek?
There are two proper seasons, and they suit slightly different trekkers.
- March to May brings warmer days, rhododendron forests in full bloom below Namche, and the buzz of expedition teams heading to the mountain. Base Camp is a working tent city in the spring, which is a spectacle in itself. The trade-off is haze building up as the season goes on, especially in May.
- Late September to November is the classic window. The monsoon rains have washed the dust out of the sky, and the mountain views are at their sharpest and most reliable. It’s also the coldest of the two seasons at night, and the busiest on the trail in October, when teahouses in smaller villages can fill up by mid-afternoon.
The monsoon months of June to early September mean rain lower down, as well as clouded views, and frequently cancelled Lukla flights. Winter treks are possible for the well-prepared, with empty trails and clear skies, but night temperatures at Lobuche can drop below -20°C, and some teahouses close.
What is the Trek Actually Like Day to Day?
Each day, you’ll walk between 4 to 7 hours, usually starting around 8am after breakfast. The trail is well built and busy. As you hike, you’ll see plenty pass you by. From orderly lines of yaks and dzos (like a cow) carrying supplies, to the local porters with impossible loads, as well as a steady stream of trekkers from every corner of the world. You stop for lunch at a teahouse along the way and reach your overnight village by mid-afternoon.
Teahouse rooms are simple. They typically consist of two beds, a blanket, and a shared bathroom down the corridor. There’s no heating in the rooms. The heart of every teahouse is the dining room, where a stove burning yak dung is lit around 5pm, and everyone gathers to eat, play cards, and compare blisters.
The food is better than most people expect though. Dal bhat, which is the Nepali staple of rice, lentil soup, and vegetables, comes with free refills and becomes most trekkers’ daily fuel. But you’ll also find noodles, fried rice, pasta, pancakes, and apple pie on nearly every menu. Though note that prices climb with every hour of walking, since everything is carried up on someone’s back.
Above Dingboche, things get noticeably harder. Night temperatures drop well below freezing, appetites fade, and sleep gets patchy. But this is normal at 4,500 metres! The mornings make up for it though. You’ll wake up to clear, still surroundings, with 8,000 metre peaks in every direction.
Altitude and Acclimatisation
Altitude is the thing to respect on this trek. There’s no beating it.
At Base Camp, there’s roughly half the oxygen you’d get at sea level, and so your body needs days to adapt. That’s why every sensible itinerary includes two acclimatisation days, one in Namche and one in Dingboche. They’re not rest days. You hike high during the day, to somewhere like the Everest View Hotel or Nangkartshang Peak, then come back down to sleep. The idea is that you climb high, sleep low, and your body adapts during this.
Mild altitude sickness feels like a bad hangover. Typically you’ll have a headache, poor appetite and broken sleep. Most trekkers get experience altitude sickness, and it passes. But if a headache doesn’t ease with rest and water, it’s important to advise your guide and to not continue going higher than that day. If it gets worse, you should descend. The serious forms of altitude sickness don’t often happen on this route because the solution – which is to descend – is always available.
Three bits of advice for anyone doing the trek include: to walk slower than feels natural, drink 3 to 4 litres of water a day, and tell your guide or trekking partners the moment you feel off. I don’t think anybody has ever regretted an extra acclimatisation day.
What to Pack
You need less than you think, and most of it can be bought or hired cheaply in Kathmandu’s Thamel district or in Namche during your acclimatisation day.
- Layers: These are key, rather than bulky items. You need a base layer, a fleece, a down jacket, and a waterproof shell. These four key layers will take you through everything from handle everything t-shirt mornings to freezing evenings.
- Hiking boots: The single most important item. But definitely make sure to have worn them in first. Never take new boots to the this trek!
- Sleeping bag: This should be rated to -15°C comfort. You can buy one before you travel, or you can hire one in Kathmandu for a couple of dollars a day.
- Water purification: These come in the form of tablets or a filter. Bottled water is expensive up high, and the plastic is a real problem so it’s best to purify water at altitude yourself.
- A 20,000mAh power bank: Definitely cheaper than paying to charge every night.
- Sun protection: This is important, as the high altitude sun is fierce! You should bring a high-factor cream, lip balm, and proper sunglasses.
- Cash: Make sure to take enough rupees for the whole trail, ideally drawn ahead of time in Kathmandu.
Porters carry a duffel of up to about 10kg per trekker, so you only walk with a day backpack holding your water, snacks, sunscreen, and a warm layer.
Is the Everest Base Camp Trek Worth It?
The reality is that it’s cold, basic, an expensive trip, and there will be at least one morning when you question your choice to do the trek!
But – it’s also two weeks of hiking through some of most dramatic mountain scenery on the planet and achieving an awesome feat that has drawn people to Nepal for decades. Not only that, but a trip to Nepal is worth is alone for the generous, kind people and delicious cuisine.
If you’re physically able to walk uphill for 5+ hours a day and have visiting Everest Base Camp on your bucket list, then it’s definitely worth it. However, if the classic route I’ve outlined above feels to well trodden, an alternative is the Gokyo Lakes trek. This is located in the neighbouring valley and delivers the same Everest views from Gokyo Ri, with turquoise glacial lakes and far quieter trails.
Everest Base Camp Trek Guide
So that concludes my detailed guide to trekking to Everest Base Camp. I hope it’s been helpful in planning your trip, or provided the inspiration to take on this awesome adventure. It’s most definitely one of those places and experiences that stays with you forever!
For another epic hiking adventure, why not consider Trolltunga in Norway? It’s only a day hike but an awesome experience.
Have you been to Everest Base Camp? I’d love to hear about your experience in the comments below.
