Everest Base Camp trek - Mighty Everest

Everest Base Camp trek


Kathmandu - Lukla - Phakding - Namche Bazaar - Tangboche - Dingboche - Lobuche - Gorakshep - Everest Base Camp - Pangboche - Namche Bazaar - Phakding - Lukla - Kathmandu

Mount Everest stands at 8,848 metres, making it the highest mountain in the world. As a result it has drawn travellers from all over the globe, making the Everest Base Camp trek one of the most popular on earth! Our lodge-based route follows in the footsteps of the great climbing parties.

You'll be trekking through Sherpa country, past cultivated fields and small villages. Above the tree line the scenery is stark but spectacular. The incredible monastery at Thyangboche is a photographer's paradise, set against the backdrop of Ama Dablam, Everest and other snow-capped peaks. The Everest Base Camp trek is a long and at times strenuous trek, so a decent level of fitness is required!
Duration 14 days / 13 nights

Accommodation

Simple traditional lodges. Category 1 (see accommodation page).

Price

Please see our Contact Us page for further details

Includes

13 nights accommodation, National Park permits, 1 porter between 2 people, return flights to Lukla

Transport

Airplane and your two feet!

Excludes

International flights, all meals, tips

Day 1: Kathmandu - Phakding (2,600m)

Flying time 45 mins followed by approx 5 hours hiking

This morning you will be picked up from your hotel in Kathmandu, transferred to the airport and then fly to Lukla. The mountain flight into Lukla is spectacular and the landing an exciting beginning to the Everest Base Camp trek – one end of the runway is 60 meters higher than the other!

Once you have landed you will head through pine and cedar woods along the Dudh Kosi to Phakding you will encounter your first yak caravans carrying trekking equipment and supplies towards base camp. These vast beasts create mobile roadblocks, or virtual avalanches on downhill stretches are a feature of all treks in the Everest region. It is also possible to see musk deer, Himalayan tahr and, if you sit quietly on the river banks, water rats.
Everest Base Camp trek - Kathmandu
Everest Base Camp trek - Amazing culture

Day 2: Phakding - Namche Bazaar (3,450m)

Approx 5 hours hiking

Namche Bazaar is the administrative capital of the region, historically it was the staging point for trading expeditions to Tibet and the Saturday market remains an important event bringing traders from villages a week’s walk away.

Day 3: Rest and acclimatisation

Approx 5 hours hiking

An acclimatization day on the Everest Base Camp trek allows for an excursion to Thame. Intricately carved Mani stones mark the path to this large valley with a picturesque gompa on the hillside overlooking the valley.

Many Sherpa live in the village of Thame and it is the home of Apa Sherpa, who holds the world record for summiting Everest 20 times! It was also a childhood home of Tenzing Norgay, who was one of the first men to climb Everest (with Sir Edmund Hillary).
Everest Base Camp trek - On the trail...
Everest Base Camp trek - Local children

Day 4: Namche Bazaar - Tangboche (3,860m)

Approx 6 hours hiking

Leaving Namche the route is unbelievably beautiful – the Dudh Kosi is far below and Thamserku, Kantega, Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Everest rise in front. Woods, rhododendron forests, Mani walls, chorten and suspension bridges across the river make this a lovely walk. The morning view from Tengboche is justifiably considered one of the most magnificent in the world. Tengboche Gompa is considered the cultural and religious centre of Khumbu. Founded in 1912, it has been destroyed and rebuilt twice.

Day 5-6: Tangboche - Dingboche (4,400m)

Approx 4 hours hiking

Stone steps lead down through rhododendrons, birches and conifers where, due to the hunting ban, almost tame pheasants are regularly seen. At the bottom lies the small village of Deboche and its nunnery. Rising above the tree line the trail enters alpine meadows of scrub juniper summer settlement from where the views of Island Peak (6189), Lhotse, Ama Dablam and the fluted ice walls flanking the Amphu Lapcha pass are one of the highlights of the entire trek.

You'll have a day to continue to acclimatise and to rest the legs before the final push to Everest Base Camp.
Everest Base Camp trek - View from Dingboche
Everest Base Camp trek - Sunrises can be spectacular

Day 7: Dingboche - Lobuche (4,900m)

Approx 5 hours hiking

Alpine meadows and summer yak pasture lead toward the end of the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier where there is a steep, tough climb. From Lobuche the view is straight towards Nuptse and the sunsets are truly magnificent. Altitude makes the climb onto the Changri Glacier tough on this day of the Everest Base Camp trek.

Day 8:  Dingboche - Gorakshep (5,150m)

Approx 4 hours hiking

Reaching Gorakshep, near a small, usually frozen lake, by lunchtime you can rest or make a side trip up Kala Pattar, which provides the best views of Everest. The descent back to Lobuche is not difficult, but altitude induced lethargy can make the many uphill sections below Gorakshep seem quite arduous.
Everest Base Camp trek - Just one more day...
Everest Base Camp trek - The rustic base camp

Day 9: Everest Base Camp (5,337m)

The route to base camp follows the Khumbu Glacier with its intriguing 15-meter-high seracs of ice, a feature unique to Himalayan glaciers. There are two base camps on opposite sides of Mount Everest: you'll be heading to the south side in Nepal of course, with the northern camp in Tibet.

All the hard work getting to this point has paid off; soak up the views and take the weight off your feet - you've made it to Everest Base Camp!

Day 10: Everest Base Camp - Pangboche (3,950m)

Approx 3 hours hiking

Descending the Imja Khola overnight at Pangboche, the highest permanent settlement on the Everest Base Camp trek. Its gompa, the oldest in Khumbu, is built over the hermitage of Khumbu’s saint Lama Sanga Dorje. The juniper trees on either side are said to have sprung from hair cut from his head and a rock-like projection is a piece of mountainside he pulled out for protection one day.
Everest Base Camp trek - The obligatory photo
Everest Base Camp trek - More great views on the way down

Day 11 - 13: Pangboche - Lukla (2,800m)

Approx 4-6 hours hiking each day

Things are easier now as you are heading down the way you came. Continue down through Namche Bazaar and Phakding to Lukla to pick up your flight back to Kathmandu and conclude your Everest Base Camp trek.

Day 14: Lukla - Kathmandu (1,300m)

Approx 45 minute flight

Upon returning to Kathmandu we can arrange a hotel for you or why not continue you Nepalese adventure taking a flight to see the top of Everest with our module Fly to the roof of the world.

If you'd like to stay a few nights in Kathmandu, please let our travel specialists know. If you'd like to continue on to the beautiful Chitwan National Park, we offer a couple of options there. The Chitwan Nepal tour gives you two nights in the park with transfers and safaris included. If you've only got a couple of days to spare, a night in our Chitwan jungle lodge might suit you better.
Everest Base Camp trek - Back in Kathmandu