Everest Base Camp Trek

You land at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m) and are met in the arrivals hall by our representative, who drives you to your hotel in Thamel — the lane-and-courtyard district that has been the launching point for Everest expeditions since the 1950s.

Your guide joins you later for the trip briefing. The Everest Base Camp trek demands more of you than most Nepal itineraries, so we go through it carefully: the flight into Lukla, the two built-in acclimatisation days at Namche and Dingboche, the daily height gains, and the symptoms of altitude sickness everyone in the group should be able to recognise. Your guide checks your kit thoroughly — a proper down jacket, a four-season sleeping bag and sturdy broken-in boots are not optional above 4,000 m.

Anything missing can be bought or hired in Thamel within a few minutes' walk. The rest of the day is free to rest or explore. Overnight in Kathmandu.

A very early transfer to the airport for the flight into the Khumbu. Depending on the season you will fly from Kathmandu or from Ramechhap, a four-hour pre-dawn drive east. The flight itself is short — around 30 minutes — and unforgettable, running along the flank of the Himalaya with peak after peak on the left-hand side.

Landing at Lukla (2,860 m) is famous for good reason: the runway is 527 m long, slopes uphill at a gradient of about 12%, and ends at a stone wall. Once down, you meet your porters over tea while the loads are sorted, then start walking.

The first day is deliberately gentle, and it goes downhill. The trail follows the Dudh Koshi — the 'milk river', named for its glacial colour — through Chheplung and Ghat, past mani walls, prayer wheels and the first of many suspension bridges strung with faded flags. You reach Phakding (2,651 m) in the early afternoon, having lost 200 m, which is exactly what you want on day one. Overnight in a teahouse.

A serious day. The trail follows the Dudh Koshi upstream through pine forest, crossing and recrossing the river on high suspension bridges. At Monjo you register at the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park, the UNESCO World Heritage site that protects the whole Everest region.

Beyond Jorsalle the valley narrows and the route crosses the Hillary Bridge, the highest and longest on the trail, hung far above the confluence of the Dudh Koshi and the Bhote Koshi. From the far side begins the climb everyone remembers: roughly 600 m of relentless switchbacks up through pine forest to Namche. Around halfway there is a clearing where, on a clear morning, you get your first sight of Mount Everest (8,849 m) in the distance behind the Nuptse ridge.

Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) sits in a natural horseshoe amphitheatre and is the commercial heart of Sherpa country — bakeries, gear shops, cafés and a Saturday market. Overnight in Namche.

A rest day, but not a lazy one. The rule of acclimatisation is climb high, sleep low, so we spend the morning gaining height and come back down to sleep at Namche.

The standard excursion climbs to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m) above the village, one of the highest-placed hotels in the world, where the terrace looks straight out at Everest, Lhotse and the extraordinary spire of Ama Dablam (6,812 m). From there we walk on to the Sherpa villages of Khumjung and Khunde, where the monastery is said to hold a yeti scalp and the school was founded by Sir Edmund Hillary in 1961.

Back in Namche in the afternoon, it is worth visiting the Sherpa Culture Museum and the Sagarmatha National Park visitor centre. Drink steadily throughout the day, eat well, and let your body do its work. Overnight in Namche Bazaar.

One of the most scenic walking days on the whole route. The trail leaves Namche and contours high along the valley wall with an almost continuous view of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam ahead — this is the stretch that appears in most photographs of the trek.

At Kyangjuma the path drops steeply to the Dudh Koshi at Phunki Thanga (3,250 m), where water-driven prayer wheels turn in the river. Then comes the climb: around 700 m of steady ascent through rhododendron and birch to the ridge at Tengboche. It is a long pull and it comes in the afternoon, so pace it.

Tengboche (3,956 m) is the spiritual centre of the Khumbu. Its monastery, rebuilt after a fire in 1989, sits on a saddle with Ama Dablam framed behind it, and visitors are welcome at the late-afternoon prayer ceremony — monks, horns and chanting, with the mountain going pink outside. Overnight in Tengboche.

Step out at dawn for sunrise on Ama Dablam from the monastery lawn — from this angle it is arguably the most beautiful mountain in Nepal.

The trail descends through rhododendron forest to Deboche, crosses the Imja Khola on a bridge slung high above a gorge, and climbs to Pangboche (3,930 m), the oldest Sherpa settlement in the valley. Its monastery is worth the short detour off the main path. Above Pangboche the vegetation gives out almost entirely and the landscape turns to high alpine — dwarf juniper, scrub and rock.

The route continues up the Imja valley to Shomare and then climbs to Dingboche (4,380 m), a summer settlement of stone-walled potato and barley fields at the junction of the Imja and Khumbu valleys. Above 4,000 m the air is noticeably thin, nights are cold, and the peaks — Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Island Peak, Taboche — feel very close. Overnight in Dingboche.

The second and more important acclimatisation day. At this altitude the body needs time to build red blood cells, and this rest day is a major reason well-run itineraries get people to base camp successfully.

Again we climb high and sleep low. The usual walk ascends the ridge of Nangkartshang Peak above the village, gaining 400 to 600 m over two or three hours. It is steep and it will feel harder than the numbers suggest, but the reward from the top is a genuinely enormous panorama: Makalu (8,485 m) — the world's fifth-highest mountain — appears to the east, along with Lhotse, Island Peak, Ama Dablam from a new angle, and the ice wall of Cho Polu.

We descend to Dingboche for a long lunch and an easy afternoon. Rest, hydrate, and let your guide check how everyone is feeling. Overnight in Dingboche.

The landscape turns austere today. The trail climbs gradually out of Dingboche onto a broad shoulder and traverses to Thukla (4,620 m) at the foot of the Khumbu Glacier's terminal moraine, where we stop for tea before the steepest section of the day.

The climb up the moraine to Thukla Pass (4,830 m) is short but hard at this altitude. At the top is the memorial ground — dozens of stone cairns and plaques commemorating climbers who died on Everest, including Scott Fischer and Babu Chiri Sherpa. It is a sobering, quiet place with prayer flags snapping in the wind, and most groups spend a while there.

Beyond the pass the trail follows the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier, with Nuptse rising as an immense wall to the right, to reach Lobuche (4,938 m) — a handful of cold, basic lodges in a bleak spot. Nights here are hard; sleep may be broken. Overnight in Lobuche.

A demanding day at serious altitude. The morning's walk follows the Khumbu Glacier's moraine — uneven, rocky and slow going, with several short climbs — for two to three hours to Gorakshep (5,160 m), the last settlement on the route and the highest place you will sleep.

After lunch and a rest we climb Kala Patthar (5,545 m), the brown hill above Gorakshep. It is a steep 400 m ascent on loose rock and it will be the hardest hour of the trek — at this height you may be taking three breaths per step near the top. It is entirely worth it.

Kala Patthar gives the best view of Mount Everest (8,849 m) anywhere in Nepal. From base camp itself the summit is hidden behind the west shoulder; from here the whole south-west face stands clear, with Nuptse, Changtse, Pumori and the Khumbu Icefall spread below. Late afternoon light on the summit is the classic shot. We descend to Gorakshep for the night.

The day you have come for. After an early breakfast we set out across the Khumbu Glacier toward Everest Base Camp (5,364 m), a two to three hour walk over rock, rubble and ice that undulates far more than the map suggests.

Base camp itself is a sprawl of moraine at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall — a frozen cataract of house-sized séracs tumbling from the Western Cwm, and the most dangerous section of the standard route up Everest. In the spring climbing season the site is a small city of yellow and orange tents; outside it, the place is bare rock, prayer flags and enormous silence. You will not see the summit from here, but standing at the foot of that icefall is its own kind of arrival.

We retrace our steps to Gorakshep for lunch, then begin the descent — down past Lobuche and Thukla to Pheriche (4,371 m). Nearly 1,000 m of descent makes for immediate relief in your breathing and a far better night's sleep. Overnight in Pheriche.

A long but genuinely enjoyable day, walking back into thicker air with the pressure of the high altitude behind you. The trail descends the Imja valley past Pangboche and Deboche, and every hour brings back a little more oxygen, warmth and vegetation.

Juniper scrub gives way to rhododendron and birch, and by the time you climb briefly back up to Tengboche the forest is properly around you again. It is worth pausing at the monastery for a last look at Ama Dablam before the trail drops steeply to Phunki Thanga and the river.

The final section climbs out of the gorge and contours the high traverse back to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m). After a week above 4,000 m, Namche feels almost like a city — hot showers, bakeries, and a beer if you want one. Overnight in Namche.

The last day of walking. From Namche the trail drops steeply down the switchbacks you climbed on day three, losing 600 m to the Hillary Bridge over the Dudh Koshi. Going down is faster but harder on the knees — poles help.

From the bridge the route follows the river through Jorsalle and Monjo, where you check out of Sagarmatha National Park, and on through Phakding. The valley is green and warm again, full of pine and rhododendron, and there are more villages, mani walls and prayer wheels than the high country has shown you for a week.

A final undulating stretch — with a sting of a climb near the end — brings you into Lukla (2,860 m). Tonight is the celebration dinner with your guide and porters, traditionally the point where the whole crew relaxes properly. Overnight in Lukla.

An early flight out of Lukla, since mountain weather closes the airstrip most afternoons. Departures are scheduled at first light, and the take-off — accelerating downhill toward a cliff edge — is as memorable as the arrival was.

The flight back to Kathmandu (1,400 m) (or Ramechhap plus a road transfer, depending on the season) takes around 30 minutes, with the Himalaya lined up along the northern horizon one last time.

One honest note: Lukla flights are weather-dependent and cancellations do happen, sometimes for more than a day. This is why we recommend keeping at least one buffer day before your international flight, and why helicopter transfers are worth considering as a backup. Once in Kathmandu you transfer to your hotel and the afternoon is free — a hot shower and a proper meal go a long way after two weeks in the mountains. Overnight in Kathmandu.

Your last day in Nepal. If your flight is in the afternoon or evening, there is time to see something of the Kathmandu Valley — Boudhanath Stupa, the centre of the city's Tibetan Buddhist community and closely tied to the Sherpa culture you have just spent two weeks among, is the most fitting choice. Pashupatinath and Swayambhunath are both nearby.

Our representative collects you from your hotel and transfers you to Tribhuvan International Airport about three hours before departure.

You have walked to the foot of the highest mountain on Earth, stood on Kala Patthar at 5,545 m, crossed the Hillary Bridge, and slept in Sherpa villages that have hosted climbers for seventy years. If the Khumbu has left you wanting more, the Gokyo Lakes, the Three Passes and the Everest View trek all cover this region differently, and our team is happy to help you plan the next one. Safe travels.