Overview
This classic privately guided Everest Base Camp trek will take you to arguably the most iconic base camp in the world at the foot of Mount Everest (8,848m). Starting with an overnight in Kathmandu before flying to Lukla and walking through Sherpa country past cultivated fields and small villages, you will have enough time to acclimatise. Then experience Namche Bazaar, Tengboche and Dingboche and Ghorak Shep before reaching Everest Base Camp at 5,364m, taking in views of Ama Dablam, Everest and the other mighty Himalayan peaks.
The opportunity to embark on the remarkable journey that Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa took on their way to the summit and the feeling of being able to view the mighty Everest up close is second to none.
All our Nepal and Himalaya treks are private departures, so you are free to choose your date (between September and May), and companions (minimum group size is 2 people) and our trekking support crew will be with you during the entire trek – we provide one of the highest staff to client ratios on the trek: one trekking guide per party, one Sherpa assistant for every four trekkers and one porter for every two trekkers. During the trek, you will need to carry only your daypack.
On this classic Everest Base Camp Trek, you will spend 2 nights in a nice hotel in Kathmandu on a twin share basis, one night in a tented camp in Manthali, and 12 nights on a twin share basis in traditional mountain lodges (tea houses).
- Explore vibrant Kathmandu and Namche Bazaar
- Experience authentic Sherpa villages, meet locals during tea house stays and soak up the Sherpa culture
- Visit the ridge-top monastery of Thyangboche and participate in a Buddhist prayer ceremony
- Take in incredible views of Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse and Ama Dablam
- Reach Everest Base Camp, following in the footsteps of the great climbing parties
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Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive Kathmandu
Upon arrival at Kathmandu Airport (you can choose any flight you wish), you will be met by our representative and transferred to your hotel in Kathmandu. Relax at your hotel, then explore the streets of Kathmandu.
Day 2: Kathmandu Sightseeing and Transfer to Manthali
After a lovely breakfast in the morning, we start a half day guided sightseeing tour to four UNESCO World Heritage sites of Kathmandu with historical and spiritual values. We will visit Pashupatinath Temple and Bouddhanath Stupa. Meet your trekking guide at the hotel lobby and get the all information about your trip, and also feel free to get his help for last-minute gear shopping in Thamel. Afternoon transfer to Manthali (4.5h) and overnight in tented camp.
Day 3: Flight Manthali – Lukla; Trek to Phakding | 4h | 2,610m
After a 10 minute walk to the airport early in the morning you take a scenic flight to Lukla. Make sure you sit on the left for your first great views of the Everest region. The landing at Lukla is an adventure experience by itself, but the pilots are highly skilled. Upon arrival at Lukla, we meet our other crew members, and after some packing and arrangements, we start our trek through the village of Lukla until we reach Phakding village. We will follow the Dudh Kosi, the river that flows down from the Himalayas, crossing many hanging bridges along the way. There are some monasteries in the vicinity that are worth a visit.
- Walking for the day: 3-4h, ↓200m, final elevation 2,610m
Day 4: Phakding to Namche Bazaar | 5-6h | 3,440m
Walking through a beautiful pine forest, the track leads us along the Dudh Koshi River through series of suspension bridges, one of which is the famous Hillary Suspension Bridge with a wonderful viewpoint of the gleaming Mt Thamserku (6,618m). We pass through the last village of Jorsale before finishing with a challenging uphill climb to Namche Bazaar. Enjoy the first glimpse of Everest.
- Walking for the day: 5-6h, ↑1,000m ↓100m, final elevation 3,440m
Day 5: Namche Bazaar Acclimatisation Day | 4-5h | 3,440m
Today we walk around the Khumjung valley. Hillary School and Khunde Hospital are the places we can visit in this valley. We hike to a viewpoint to enjoy the great view of Mount Everest, Ama Dablam, Thamserku, Lhotse and then trek back to Namche. Acclimatisation days are crucial for a successful trek to Everest Base Camp and we take them very seriously.
- Walking for the day: 4-5h, ↑450m ↓450m, final elevation 3,440m
Day 6: Namche Bazaar to Tengboche | 4-5h | 3,860m
The route from Namche to Tengboche route is beautiful – the Dudh Kosi is far below and Nuptse, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, and Everest rise in front. The trail now forks northeast along a tributary valley with the mountain views opening up to become very dramatic as the steep climb approaches the holy ground of Tengboche. Monastery, yak pastures and world’s highest place of worship combined! Tengboche is the largest monastery in Nepal situated on a high ridge with views in all directions. You should be able to attend a prayer ceremony in the evening or morning.
- Walking for the day: 4-5h, ↑750m ↓350m, final elevation 3,860m
Day 7: Tengboche to Dingboche | 4-5h | 4,410m
Today we descend to Debuche through rhododendron, pine and birch forests. After reaching Debuche, we cross the suspension bridge on the Imja Khola. Climbing for a while to Pangboche along with the company of thousands of mani stones will cheer us up. We continue our uphill trek, and we arrive at the traditional Sherpa village of Dingboche. Enjoy the views of Lhotse, Island Peak, and Ama Dablam.
- Walking for the day: 4-5h, ↑550m ↓100m, final elevation 4,410m
Day 8: Dingboche Acclimatisation Day | 3-4h | 4,410m
A second acclimatisation day, with optional hikes to Nagajun Hill or Chukung village, with fine views of Ama Dablam, Makalu and other peaks, interspersed with lakes and glaciers.
- Walking for the day: 3-4h, ↑500m ↓500m, final elevation 4,410m
Day 9: Dingboche to Lobuche| 4-5h | 4,910m
Ascending at a reasonable pace, traversing ice covered torrents, we reach the Khumbu Glacier and then trek to Lobuche where stone houses sit amongst a frozen wilderness of stunning beauty and offer spectacular views of Nuptse.
- Walking for the day: 4-5h, ↑500m ↓0m, final elevation 4,910m
Day 10: Lobuche to Everest Base Camp & Return to Ghorak Shep | 7-8h | 5,160m
Today we’ll spend the whole day trekking via Ghorak Shep to the Base Camp (5,364m) and then back to Gorak Shep alongside the Khumbu Glacier. Whether occupied or not (depending on the season), Everest Base Camp is an inspiring place. After exploring it, taking in the atmosphere and admiring the mighty Khumbu icefall, we return to Gorak Shep where we overnight.
- Walking for the day: 7-8h, ↑550m ↓300m, final elevation 5,160m
Day 11: Climb Kala Pattar; Ghorak Shep to Pheriche | 6-7h | 4,270m
Wake up early morning and walk up to Kala Patthar (5,550m) for the sunrise over Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse and Pumori. The views are amazing and Everest is magnificent. We continue our descent to the sandy flat expanse of Gorak Shep, back to the lodge for a breakfast and then onwards to Pheriche.
- Walking for the day: 6-7h, ↑240m ↓1,130m, final elevation 4,270m
Day 12: Pheriche to Tengboche | 5-6h | 3,860m
The path descends gently, crossing the Dudh Koshi torrent that is fed by the glacier of Khumbu, then, leaving behind alpine meadows, the trail reaches Tengboche.
- Walking for the day: 5-6h, ↑100m ↓500m, final elevation 3,860m
Day 13: Tengboche to Namche Bazaar | 4-5h | 3,440m
After enjoying again the magnificent views from Tangboche, you will descend down to Phunke Tenga, and then it is another few hours uphill hike to Namche.
- Walking for the day: 4-5h, ↑350m ↓750m, final elevation 3,440m
Day 14: Namche Bazaar to Lukla | 5-6h | 2,840m
It’s a long but enjoyable and rewarding walk from Namche Bazaar to Lukla. Take your time to take in Sherpa village life on your last day of trekking in the Himalayas. Check-in for the overnight and relax with an ice-cold beer after the rigorous adventure you’ve just completed.
- Walking for the day: 5-6h, ↑350m ↓750m, final elevation 2,840m
Day 15: Flight Lukla – Manthali; Transfer to Kathmandu and Overnight
Recall the memories from the trek and enjoy the flight back to Manthali. Back in Kathmandu, you can spend some leisure time.
Day 16: Departure
Private transfer to Kathmandu Airport or optional extension.
Optional Chitwan Jungle Safari Extension (2 nights)
Experience the other side of Nepal in the jungle of the Chitwan National Park. Once home to a royal hunting reserve, Chitwan is now widely recognised as one of the best national parks in Asia. The park offers protection to numerous species including the one-horned rhinoceros, Bengal tiger, leopard, sloth bear, wild elephant, striped hyena, Gangetic dolphin, crocodile and wild bison.
- Take a boat along the Rapti river, which shelters about a quarter of the world’s remaining gharial population
- Jump on a jeep safari and spot a range of wild animals
- Spend some time in a local village, visiting the wildlife display centre and learning about local life
- Accommodation on twin share basis in a comfortable local hotel
- Meals included: 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 2 dinners (excl. beverages)
Important: You will see other tour operators offering elephant riding activities and many tourists taking part in them during your time in Chitwan. However, we have an elephant welfare policy, and as such, we discourage travellers from riding elephants in Nepal or anywhere in the world. See the Responsible Travel section for more information.
Day 1: Kathmandu – Chitwan National Park
We walk off to the tourist bus stand, which is around 15 min walk from your hotel. Take the tourist bus and ride past river valleys, terrace fields, and highway settlements to southern lowlands (5 h). Upon getting off the bus, meet the staff, who will drive you to the resort. After having checked in, enjoy the lunch and make yourself comfortable amidst the beautiful garden. The manager will brief you about the activities schedule. In the afternoon, drive to the nearby river where alligators, birds, and rhinos can be spotted along with the mesmerizing sunset view. Overnight.
Day 2: Chitwan Activities
Early in the morning, we drive to the river and start canoeing through the jungle to spot alligators and various species of birds. After canoeing, we walk through the forest and take the jeep back to the resort. After lunch enjoy a jeep drive into the national park where we can spot more wild animals, and if lucky, Royal Bengal tigers. After we drive back to the resort, enjoy the dinner, and walk to the community hall to view the cultural show. Overnight.
Day 3: Chitwan – Kathmandu
After breakfast, the staff will drive you to the bus station and you will board the tourist bus. You can get back to Kathmandu or opt for Pokhara.
What to expect
Accommodation
On this classic Everest Base Camp Trek, you will spend 2 nights in a nice hotel in Kathmandu on a twin share basis, one night in tented camp in Manthali, and 12 nights on a twin share basis in traditional mountain lodges (tea houses). Lodges are very comfortable except for a few nights at higher elevations when they are fairly basic. We have carefully hand-picked all places and regularly monitor their quality. We have tried to choose accommodations that offer friendly service, clean and comfortable rooms and local flavour.
Tea houses are mountain lodges that are located along many of the trekking routes in Nepal that provide meals and accommodation. They are similar to mountain huts in the Alps except that in Nepal you primarily get private rooms and a wide choice of food. The tea houses, in general, offer simple but adequate accommodation; please be realistic about what to expect in the high mountains and in remote areas. Most tea houses are built specifically for trekkers, but some, in the more remote regions of Nepal, may double as the family’s home.
The teahouse’s centre is the heated eating hall (some lodges charge a fee to switch the heater on). The bedrooms are almost all twin-share (note that you may still be asked to share with 2 or 3 during peak season on very rare occasions). Bedrooms are not heated, and you will need to bring or hire a sleeping bag.
Most tea houses have only one or two basic toilets, and sometimes these are located outside the main building. Toilet paper is not provided so you should bring your own or buy it from the tea house. If there is not a flush handle, there should be a container of water to use.
The owners make most of their income from the meals and beverages. For this reason, you are expected to eat all your meals at the teahouse at which you’re staying. Most teahouses sell snacks, soft drinks, tea, coffee and other essentials such as soap and toilet paper. Almost all tea houses have electricity, but power outages are quite frequent. Electricity is available to charge your cameras and other electronic devices for a small fee at the dining rooms of most tea houses. A few of the lodges on this trek have WiFi which varies in quality of signal. Some lodges now have hot showers (you will be charged a small fee for using them). Note that sometimes this is simply a bucket of hot water and not a proper shower head.
Click to view our optional upgraded hotels for this trip
- Kathmandu: Mulberry, Shangri~La, Dwarika’s Heritage Hotel, Yak & Yeti
Meals
Several years ago, tea houses’ choices were limited and pre-booking the lodge fixed menu was often the only option. Since then, as the lodges have improved in quality, so has food choice, with most tea houses now offering an extensive menu. To give our customers choice, we now operate our trek on a lodge only basis (welcome dinner and breakfasts in the Kathmandu hotel are included). You will need to plan £25-30 per day in total for all meals.
- For breakfast, you can have toast, tea, eggs, and porridge. It gets served at around 7-8 am which is ideal for the early morning trek.
- Dal Bhat which consists of rice, dal (pulses), lentils, spinach, gundruk, optional meat, and others is a typical meal offered for lunch, or you can opt for a noodle soup.
- For dinner (normally, it’ll be served around 7.30 pm to 8.00 pm), where once there was a choice of 2-3 different rice or lentil-based meals at the lodge, most now offer a menu of 20 or more choices from the basic (such as dal bhat) through western-style (pizza, spaghetti) to more sophisticated (yak steak with blue cheese sauce).
Difficulty and terrain
Although you are not expected to hike more than 6h per day (except for the trek to the Base Camp on Day 10), this holiday is graded strenuous, due to the extended length of time spent trekking at high altitudes. You should be in good physical shape and have experience in multi-day trekking before undertaking the Everest Base Camp Trek (read more about difficulty grades).
Acute mountain sickness
AMS is a significant concern when trekking above 3,500m. Although our itinerary is designed to minimise the chances of you suffering from AMS by providing enough acclimatisation days and ensuring a gradual increase in altitude, each individual is affected differently by height. If you have any pre-existing health conditions that you think may make you more susceptible to AMS, we recommend that you consult your doctor before booking this trip.
When to go
The main trekking season in Nepal is from September to May when daytime temperatures at most altitudes are generally comfortable for walking, the sky is clear much of the time and rain and snow are occasional occurrences. Different seasons offer different advantages for the Everest Base Camp Trek. The best times are in spring ‘pre-monsoon’ (February, March, April and May), and in autumn ‘post-monsoon’ (September, October and November). The summer months are very wet as it is the monsoon season and winter is extremely cold.
- Post Monsoon: September to November. This is the main trekking season in Nepal. Skies are usually clear and days on trek are sunny and mild with clear mountain views. Nights will be colder with temperatures dropping as low as to minus 10C at the highest altitudes.
- Winter: December to February. Despite the cooler conditions, this is a good time to trek in Nepal. Skies are usually very clear especially in December and the mountain views are at their best. Nights will be very cold with temperatures down to minus 15C to minus 20C at the highest altitudes but days are pleasant and sunny. The trails are also much less busy at this time of year. If you want to trek during the winter months you need lots of warm clothes.
- Pre-monsoon: March to May. Both day and night temperatures will be warmer in general but often a haze will build up in the afternoons. Flowers bloom in this season and this is one of the reasons many people chose to trek in spring.
Getting there
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Tipping
It is customary in Asia to tip service providers such as waiters, at approximately 10%, depending on the quality of service. All our staff in Nepal (guides, assistant guides and porters) are fully insured and paid a fair wage; however, tips are not a substitute for wages. The amount is purely a personal matter but we would suggest a tip per day of 15-20 USD for your guide, 8-10 USD for your porter and 5-6 USD per day for assistants and other staff. These apply to the whole party, not per person. Obviously, this is very much a rough guide and you are completely free to give whatever you feel is appropriate.
Inclusions
Included
- All airport transfers as listed in the itinerary (one arrival and one departure transfer per party)
- 2 nights quality accommodation on a twin share basis in Kathmandu
- 1 night accommodation in tented camp in Manthali
- 12 nights twin share accommodation in the mountains
- Half day sightseeing tour of Kathmandu including entrance fees
- 2 breakfasts in Kathmandu
- 1 breakfast in Manthali
- Welcome dinner in Kathmandu
- Return flights from Manthali to Lukla with 10 kg check-in baggage and 5 kg hand baggage
- Return transfer Kathmandu – Manthali
- All national park fees and trekking permits
- 1 English-speaking tour guide in the lowlands
- 1 English-speaking trekking guide in the mountains
- 1 Sherpa assistant for every 4 trekkers
- 1 porter for every 2 trekkers
- Detailed pre-departure information pack including guide book, city maps and trekking maps
Excluded
- International flights and international airport departure fee
- Visa fee
- Lunches and dinners in Kathmandu (except for the welcome dinner) and all meals in the mountains (plan £25-30 per day in total for all meals)
- Hot shower, water, WiFi, charging mobiles and cameras etc during trekking (if you plan on using the internet and showering every day, then you should budget around £8-10 per day)
- Drinking water (beverages)
- Extra expenses due to unforeseen events such as natural disaster, roadblocks or health conditions of a fellow traveller
- Travel insurance (required – get a quote online)
- Personal expenses and tips
- Any items not specifically mentioned as included in the programme
Options, extras and supplements
- Single room supplement applies to members of a group who require a single room (Kathmandu only – ask our experts for a quote); in the tea houses you may ask the owner if there are single rooms available and you can pay locally for them
- Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate solo travellers on the Everest Base Camp Trek
- Breakfasts in the mountains (12 breakfasts)
- Full board in the mountains (12 breakfasts, 13 lunches and 12 dinners)
- Kathmandu upgrade to a superior 4 or 5-star hotel
- Extra nights in Kathmandu (highly recommended – Lukla airport is notorious for being shut to fog. If you have no flexibility regarding your international flight schedule, this can cause huge problems for you. When fixed-wing planes are unable to fly, but helicopters to Lukla are available, clients may choose to travel by helicopter; in this event, the extra cost will be approximately US$500-600 per person. So, if you have the time, it is worth booking extra nights or arranging fully flexible international flights.)
- Optional Chitwan Jungle Safari Extension
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