The classic Khumbu trek from Lukla to Everest Base Camp and up Kala Patthar (5,545 m) for the closest trekking view of Everest, staying in Sherpa teahouses with two acclimatisation days on the way up.
The classic Khumbu trek from Lukla to Everest Base Camp and up Kala Patthar (5,545 m) for the closest trekking view of Everest, staying in Sherpa teahouses with two acclimatisation days on the way up.
The Everest Base Camp Trek follows the Dudh Kosi and Imja valleys from Lukla into the heart of Sagarmatha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The route links the Sherpa villages of Phakding, Namche Bazaar, Tengboche and Dingboche before climbing beside the Khumbu Glacier to Lobuche, Gorak Shep and the base camp used by Everest expeditions.
The high point is not base camp itself, which sits low among the moraine, but Kala Patthar, the rocky spur above Gorak Shep. From its prayer flags you look straight at the south-west face of Everest, with Nuptse, Lhotse, Pumori and Changtse around you and the Khumbu Icefall below.
We pace the trek to the standard used by the Himalayan Rescue Association: no more than 300 to 500 m of extra sleeping height on most days above 3,000 m, with acclimatisation days at Namche Bazaar and Dingboche. On both rest days we climb high and come back down to sleep, which is the most effective way to adapt.
Days on the trail are usually five to seven hours, starting after breakfast and arriving at the next teahouse by mid-afternoon. The path is well made and busy with yak and porter trains, but above Dingboche the air is thin and the nights are cold, often well below freezing in October and November. Teahouses are simple: twin rooms, shared toilets above Namche, and a warm dining room heated by a yak-dung stove in the evening.
In spring and autumn the Lukla flights leave from Ramechhap (Manthali), a four to five hour drive from Kathmandu, so the second day starts in the middle of the night. We keep a contingency day at the end because mountain weather can hold flights for a day or more.
No climbing skills are needed, but this is a long trek at high altitude: eleven walking days, several above 4,900 m, and two long descent days of 14 to 18 km. It suits healthy people who walk regularly and can manage six hours on hilly ground with a light daypack, two days in a row. Start training at least two to three months before departure: three or four sessions a week of hill walking, stair climbing or running, building up to back-to-back day hikes with 800 to 1,000 m of ascent. Altitude affects fit and unfit people alike, so being strong does not replace slow ascent, but it does make each day less tiring and lets you recover overnight. If you have heart, lung or blood pressure conditions, see your doctor before booking.
We meet you at Tribhuvan International Airport and drive you to your hotel. In the afternoon your guide runs a briefing, checks your gear and confirms whether your Lukla flight leaves from Kathmandu or from Ramechhap, which sets the pick-up time for the next morning.
In peak season we leave Kathmandu in the small hours for the drive to Ramechhap (Manthali) and the 20-minute flight to Lukla; at other times the flight leaves from Kathmandu. From Lukla (2,860 m) the trail drops gently through Chheplung and along the Dudh Kosi, past mani walls and prayer wheels, to Phakding. It is a short first day, which suits an early start.
We follow the Dudh Kosi north, crossing it several times on suspension bridges, and enter Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo. After Jorsale comes the high Hillary Bridge and a long, steady climb to Namche, with the first glimpse of Everest from a viewpoint partway up if the sky is clear.
We climb above town to Syangboche and the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m) for views of Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Thamserku, often looping through the villages of Khumjung and Khunde before dropping back to Namche. The afternoon is free for the Sherpa museum, the bakeries and the Saturday market.
A balcony trail contours high above the Dudh Kosi with Ama Dablam ahead, then drops to Phunki Thanga before a steep climb through rhododendron and fir forest to Tengboche. The monastery here is the largest in the Khumbu, and we try to arrive in time for the afternoon prayers.
We drop through Deboche, cross the Imja Khola and climb past Pangboche, a Sherpa village with a centuries-old monastery, as the trees give way to juniper and scrub. The trail turns into the Imja valley to Dingboche, a village of stone-walled barley fields directly beneath Ama Dablam.
A second rest day is what makes the rest of the trek safe. We climb the ridge of Nangkartshang behind the village to around 5,083 m for views of Makalu, Lhotse, Island Peak and the Imja valley, then come back down to sleep at Dingboche.
We walk up the open Pheriche valley to Thukla, then climb the steep moraine to the Thukla Pass (4,830 m), where stone memorials remember climbers who died on Everest. The trail then follows the edge of the Khumbu Glacier to Lobuche, with Nuptse and Pumori now close.
We follow the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier to Gorak Shep, drop our bags and have an early lunch. In the afternoon we walk over rock and ice to Everest Base Camp (5,364 m) beside the Khumbu Icefall, where expedition tents fill the glacier in spring, then return to Gorak Shep for the night.
We start before dawn to climb Kala Patthar (5,545 m), the best viewpoint for Everest itself, with Nuptse, Lhotse, Pumori and the Khumbu Glacier around you as the sun reaches the summit. After breakfast back at Gorak Shep we retrace our steps past Lobuche and Thukla and descend to Pheriche, where the thicker air makes sleep much easier.
A long day of mostly downhill walking back through Pangboche and Tengboche, down to the river at Phunki Thanga and along the balcony trail to Namche. Your legs will notice the descent, but the extra oxygen helps.
We descend steeply to the Hillary Bridge, leave the national park at Monjo and follow the Dudh Kosi back through Phakding. The final climb up to Lukla takes about an hour, and the evening is a chance to thank the porters.
We take a morning flight out of Lukla to Kathmandu, or in peak season to Ramechhap followed by the drive back to Kathmandu, arriving in the afternoon. The rest of the day is yours.
We keep this day free in case weather delays the Lukla flight on either end. If the flights run on time, use it for Boudhanath, Pashupatinath or Patan Durbar Square.
We drive you to Tribhuvan International Airport in time for your flight home.
Permits we arrange: Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu fee
In the main spring and autumn seasons (roughly late March to May and late September to November) scheduled flights to Lukla leave from Ramechhap Airport in Manthali rather than Kathmandu, to ease congestion at Tribhuvan International Airport. Manthali is about 132 km from Kathmandu, a four to five hour drive, so on those dates we collect you from your hotel at around 1 to 2 am to make the early morning flight, which takes about 20 minutes. Outside those windows the flight usually leaves from Kathmandu domestic terminal and takes about 35 to 40 minutes. The return works the same way in reverse. Lukla flights are small twin-engine planes and fly only in clear morning weather, so delays of a day or more happen, especially in autumn cloud and spring haze. The baggage limit is usually 15 kg per person including hand luggage, so we store anything you do not need on the trek at your Kathmandu hotel.
You sleep above 4,000 m for five nights and reach 5,545 m on Kala Patthar. Mild headache, poor sleep and breathlessness are normal; worsening headache, vomiting, confusion or loss of coordination are not. Your guide checks your oxygen saturation and pulse every evening and will turn you around if symptoms point to acute mountain sickness. Descent is the treatment, and the Himalayan Rescue Association runs a seasonal aid post at Pheriche. Drink three to four litres a day and avoid alcohol until you are back below Namche.
You need two permits: the Sagarmatha National Park entry permit, checked at Monjo, and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit, collected at Lukla. The Khumbu uses this local permit instead of the TIMS card used in other regions. We arrange both. Nepal's 2023 rule requiring foreign trekkers to hire a licensed guide is applied unevenly in the Khumbu, but every Himalayan Trek Quest departure is led by a licensed guide regardless.
Your policy must cover trekking up to 6,000 m and helicopter evacuation, since a helicopter is the only fast way out from above Namche. Bring the policy number and the insurer's 24-hour emergency phone number; your guide keeps a copy.
Namche Bazaar and Lukla have ATMs, but they often run out of cash or fail to accept foreign cards, and there is nothing higher up. Carry enough Nepali rupees from Kathmandu for drinks, snacks, hot showers, charging and tips. Most teahouses charge to recharge phones and batteries, and prices rise with altitude. Mobile data works in much of the valley, and many lodges sell wifi cards.
Above Dingboche night temperatures in October and November drop to -10 °C or lower inside unheated rooms. The dry, dusty air causes the persistent cough many trekkers pick up; a buff over your mouth on the trail and throat lozenges help. Drink only boiled, filtered or treated water.
Everything is yours to bring, except items marked “We provide” or “Rent locally”.
Thermal base layers, top and bottom (two sets)
Merino or synthetic, not cotton
Fleece or light insulated mid layer
Down jacketWe provide
On loan from us; bring your own if you prefer
Waterproof and windproof shell jacket
Waterproof overtrousers
Trekking trousers (two pairs)
Quick-dry trekking shirts
Two or three
Warm hat and sun hat
Buff or neck gaiter
Useful against trail dust and cold morning air
Liner gloves and insulated waterproof gloves
Trekking socks (four pairs)
Broken-in waterproof trekking boots with ankle support
Camp shoes or sandals
For evenings in the teahouse
Sleeping bag rated to about -15 °CWe provide
On loan from us; a liner is recommended
Daypack of 25 to 35 litres with rain cover
Trekking polesRent locally
Easy to rent in Kathmandu or Namche
Head torch with spare batteries
Needed for early starts
Water bottles or bladder, 2 to 3 litres total
Insulated bottle helps at night
Water purification tablets or filter
Power bank
Charging costs extra and cold drains batteries
Category 3 or 4 sunglasses
Glare off snow and glacier is strong
Sunscreen SPF 50 and lip balm with SPF
Personal first-aid kit and any prescription medicines
Talk to your doctor about acetazolamide
Hand sanitiser and biodegradable wet wipes
Passport with at least six months' validity and spare passport photos
Travel insurance policy details covering helicopter rescue
Nepali rupees in cash for the trek
In the main seasons, roughly late March to May and late September to November, scheduled Lukla flights operate from Ramechhap Airport in Manthali, about four to five hours' drive from Kathmandu. We include the private transfer and pick you up around 1 to 2 am. Outside those dates flights usually leave from Kathmandu. We confirm which applies a few days before departure.
Delays of a day are common, and occasionally several days of cloud ground all flights. We keep a contingency day at the end of the trip. If delays run longer, a shared helicopter between Lukla and Kathmandu or Ramechhap is usually possible at extra cost, and we can arrange it.
It is graded challenging. The trail is not technical, but you walk five to eight hours on most days and sleep at up to 5,164 m at Gorak Shep. The altitude, not the distance, is what makes it hard. Regular walkers who train for a couple of months and follow the slow ascent profile manage it well.
Not really. The summit is hidden behind the Nuptse ridge from base camp itself. The best view of Everest is from Kala Patthar, which we climb at dawn the next morning, and there are distant views on the way from the Everest View Hotel and from Tengboche.
October and November bring the clearest skies and are the busiest months. March to May is warmer, with rhododendron in bloom lower down and expedition tents at base camp, though afternoon cloud is more common. December to February is possible but very cold. June to September is monsoon, with frequent flight cancellations and cloud.
Teahouses with twin rooms, foam mattresses and shared toilets. Lower villages such as Phakding, Namche and Lukla often have rooms with attached bathrooms and hot showers. Above Dingboche rooms are basic and unheated, and everyone gathers in the stove-heated dining room in the evening.
Nepal introduced a rule in 2023 requiring foreign trekkers in national parks to hire a licensed guide, though the Khumbu municipality has not enforced it strictly. All our treks are fully guided by licensed guides, who also handle permits, lodges and altitude monitoring.
Nepal Telecom and Ncell work in parts of the valley up to Gorak Shep, though coverage is patchy. Most teahouses sell wifi access, often through prepaid cards that work across many lodges.
Everest Base Camp Trek
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