Everest Base Camp Trek - 12 Days

In short: the 12-day Everest Base Camp trek suits fit walkers, first-timers included, who want to stand at the foot of the highest mountain on earth without any technical climbing. It runs 12 days from Kathmandu, reaches Base Camp at 5,364 m and Kala Patthar at 5,545 m, and is graded strenuous. Prices start from USD 1,399 per person on Budget, USD 2,499 on Standard and USD 4,999 on Luxury, with permits and the Lukla flights included.

The morning air at 5,364 metres (17,598ft) is thin and cold, and the silence is so deep you can hear your own heartbeat. Then the sun breaks over the ridge, and Everest fills the sky. This is not a photograph. You are standing here.

The 12-day Everest Base Camp Trek takes you through the heart of the Khumbu, across suspension bridges strung above glacial rivers, past ancient Sherpa monasteries where monks chant at dawn, and through villages where prayer flags snap in the mountain wind. You will walk beneath four of the world’s fourteen highest peaks: Everest (8,849m / 29,032ft), Lhotse (8,516m / 27,940ft), Makalu (8,485m / 27,838ft), and Cho Oyu (8,188m / 26,864ft). You will sleep in teahouses warmed by yak-dung stoves, eat dal bhat with families who have lived in these mountains for generations, and wake each morning to views that most people only see in documentaries.

Everest Base Camp Trek Highlights

• Stand at Kala Patthar (5,545m / 18,192ft) at sunrise, the most famous viewpoint of Everest, where four of the world’s highest peaks surround you
• Walk through Sagarmatha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to snow leopards, Himalayan tahr, musk deer, and over 100 species of birds
• Visit Tengboche Monastery, the spiritual heart of the Khumbu, with Everest and Ama Dablam framed behind it
• Cross suspension bridges draped in prayer flags over the Dudh Koshi River, some of the highest in the world
• Experience Sherpa hospitality in centuries-old villages where Buddhist prayer wheels spin at every corner
• See the Khumbu Glacier up close, the largest glacier in the Everest region, stretching 12 kilometres
• Land at Lukla, one of the world’s most dramatic airports at 2,860m (9,383ft), where the runway ends at a mountain wall
• Acclimatise in Namche Bazaar (3,440m / 11,286ft), the lively Sherpa capital with markets, bakeries, and the best apple pie in the Himalayas
• Hike to Everest View Hotel (3,880m / 12,730ft) on your rest day, your first clear view of Everest, with a hot cup of tea in your hand
• Pass the Thukla memorial cairns, a quiet, powerful tribute to the climbers who gave everything to these mountains
• Stand at Everest Base Camp (5,364m / 17,598ft), where the world’s greatest mountaineering expeditions begin, on the edge of the Khumbu Icefall

Why I built this trek the way I did

I am Shreejan, the founder of The Everest Holiday. I am a third-generation guide. My father and grandfather both walked these trails before me, and I designed the 12-day Everest Base Camp route around one principle that most operators get wrong on EBC: the slow trekker is not the problem trekker. We tell every first-time client the Nepali phrase "Bistarai, bistarai" (slowly, slowly). That is how we walk this route by default. Not because we tolerate slow pace, but because that is the pace that gets people safely to 5,545m and back.

The 12-day schedule is built around two acclimatisation rest days: Namche Bazaar at 3,440m on day 3, and Dingboche at 4,410m on day 6. We do not skip either to save a day for a cheaper price. The Dingboche rest is where most AMS appears on operators who try to push through. Our rest day there includes an acclimatisation hike to Nagarjun Hill at 5,083m, which sleeps you higher for one afternoon so the night at 4,410m feels easier. That single move changes the success rate on the Lobuche to Gorakshep push.

On Lukla flights: I will not pretend the weather risk is gone. October and April are the cleanest months for the flight, but delays still happen. The 12-day itinerary itself has no spare day, so we recommend you keep two buffer days between landing back in Kathmandu and your international flight home. If you cannot, ask us about the helicopter Kathmandu-to-Lukla return option in our Luxury tier. It removes the flight weather risk entirely.

We run this as a private trek by default, and we never add strangers to your booking. If you would rather have company on the trail, you can choose to join one of our fixed departures instead. Either way the price per person is the same. Your pace, your rest days, your conversations at dinner. We do not change the guide-to-porter ratio when the group is smaller. Your guide and porter are with you whether you are two people or six.

Every booking on this trip helps us pay the teacher’s salary at our Nagarjun Learning Center in Saldum, where 70 children get free education. The salary is currently funded out of my own pocket. Your trek is what makes that sustainable.

“I have been back to Nepal five times since 2018. Every time I have traveled there I book with The Everest Holiday. As a local business run by a local family, they have the knowledge and experience to ensure your time in Nepal is amazing.”

— Jon Daskam · Trustpilot, August 2025

12-Day Everest Base Camp Trek Overview

Twelve days. That's all it takes to walk from Lukla airstrip to the foot of the highest mountain on earth and back. Most trekkers say those twelve days changed how they see the world.

The route follows the Dudh Koshi River valley through Sagarmatha National Park, climbing steadily from Phakding (2,610m / 8,563ft) through Namche Bazaar (3,440m / 11,286ft), Tengboche (3,860m / 12,664ft), Dingboche (4,410m / 14,469ft), and Lobuche (4,940m / 16,207ft) before reaching Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres (17,598ft). Along the way, the scenery transforms from rhododendron forests alive with birdsong to the stark, windswept moraines of the Khumbu Glacier, where nothing grows and the only sound is ice shifting beneath your feet.

Two acclimatisation days are built into the itinerary, one at Namche Bazaar and one at Dingboche, because rushing altitude is dangerous, and we will never compromise your safety for schedule. These rest days are not wasted days. At Namche, you hike to the Everest View Hotel (3,880m / 12,730ft) for your first clear view of the summit. At Dingboche, you climb to a ridge where Island Peak, Makalu, and Lhotse fill the horizon.

The summit day is not the peak itself; it is Kala Patthar (5,545m / 18,192ft), a rocky viewpoint where you stand before dawn in freezing darkness, waiting. Then the sun hits Everest. That moment is why people come here.

The walk back to Lukla takes three days of descending through familiar villages where teahouse owners now greet you by name. The final evening in Kathmandu is a farewell dinner with your guide and team, a chance to look back at what you did and realise you are not the same person who landed at Tribhuvan Airport twelve days ago.

Before You Arrive

Please arrive in Kathmandu by 4 PM the day before your trek. This gives you time for a final gear check, a briefing with your guide, and a good night’s rest before the early morning start.

Your Online Briefing

Think of this as our first coffee together, but online. After you book, we will schedule a video call where we walk you through every detail: what to pack, what each day on the trail looks like, how the altitude will feel, and anything else on your mind. No question is too small.

This phase is also when we learn about you. Our trek itinerary does not include your hotel in Kathmandu. During the briefing, please share your preferences and budget, and we will arrange accommodation that fits your needs. Whether you want a simple guesthouse in Thamel or a five-star hotel, we will set it up for you.

Lukla Flight — What You Need to Know

The flight to Lukla is one of the most dramatic in the world, a short ride between mountain peaks that ends on a runway carved into a hillside at 2,860m (9,383ft). From Kathmandu, it takes about 40 minutes. From Manthali, it takes about 20 minutes. It is also weather-dependent. Fog, cloud, or wind can delay flights, sometimes for a full day. This is normal in the Himalayas and nothing to worry about, but it is something to plan for.

We strongly recommend keeping two buffer days at the end of your trip before your international flight home. This protects your connection if weather delays your return from Lukla.

During peak trekking season (roughly 15 March–15 May and 25 September–30 November), flights to Lukla operate from Manthali Airport (Ramechhap) instead of Kathmandu to reduce congestion on Kathmandu’s single runway. If your flight leaves Manthali, we will pick you up from your hotel around midnight and drive you there (4–5 hours).

For your return, you fly from Lukla back to Kathmandu or Manthali. If your return flight lands at Manthali, we drive you back to Kathmandu (4–6 hours). All ground transportation is included in every package.

Your Trek, Your Way

Every trek we run is private by default, your group only, with no strangers added. That is how most of our clients travel and how most of our bookings actually run. If you would prefer company on the trail, you can choose one of our scheduled group departures instead. Whether you choose Budget, Standard, or Luxury, the mountains are yours and your companions’ alone. This is not a conveyor belt. This is your personal Himalayan experience.

Your hotel in Kathmandu is not included in the trek package, and that is intentional. Kathmandu has everything from USD 10 guesthouses in Thamel to five-star hotels with rooftop views of the city. During the online briefing, tell us what you prefer, and we will arrange it for you. Your trek package begins the moment you leave Kathmandu for the mountains.

Difficulty: Strenuous

You will walk 5-8 hours a day over mountain trails, gaining altitude each day until you reach 5,545m (18,192ft). The paths are well-established but uneven; stone steps, river crossings, and steep ascents are part of every day. No previous trekking experience is required, but you should be comfortable walking for extended periods and be in reasonable physical health. The two acclimatisation days help your body adjust, and our guides monitor your condition throughout.

Compare Our Three Packages

Himalayas for Every Budget: the same expert guides, the same safety, and three comfort levels.

Everest Base Camp at a glance

Best time to trek to Everest Base Camp

Month by month: when to go

Night lows are station averages, and the Dingboche figures are modelled, so treat them as a guide to the cold and not a forecast. Rain is the Lukla record. The crowd notes and our view are our own, from running Everest treks since 2016. The full tables are in Everest Base Camp weather month by month and the best time to trek to Everest Base Camp.

Permits

The Khumbu is not a restricted area, so there is no special permit. You need the three below. We arrange all three and include them in your trek price.

What the price covers, and what it does not

You need three permits: Sagarmatha National Park (NPR 3,000), the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality fee (NPR 3,000) and a TIMS card (NPR 2,000). That is NPR 8,000 per foreign trekker, and we arrange all three and include them in your price. The Khumbu is not a restricted area, so there is no special permit and no restricted-area fee. Our permit guide has the details.

Not in the price: your international flights, your Nepal visa (USD 50 for 30 days on arrival), travel insurance bought at home, your Kathmandu hotel, tips for the team, and on Budget your meals at the teahouses (about USD 15 to 25 a day). Plan on around USD 20 a day for snacks, hot showers and charging.

Getting there

You fly from Kathmandu to Lukla (2,860 m), about 40 minutes. In the busy seasons, roughly 15 March to 15 May and 25 September to 30 November, flights leave from Manthali (Ramechhap) instead. Then we collect you from your hotel around midnight, drive 4 to 5 hours, and the flight takes about 20 minutes. The way back is the same in reverse. The Lukla flight depends on the weather, and a day of delay is normal, so keep two spare days before your flight home. Our Lukla flight or road guide and Manthali airport guide explain both. On Luxury you fly by helicopter both ways, so Manthali and flight delays do not touch you.

Safety and altitude

Altitude is the real risk on this trek, and it can affect anyone, however fit. You go from Lukla at 2,860 m to Namche at 3,440 m, rest there, sleep at Dingboche (4,410 m) and rest there too, then Lobuche (4,940 m), Base Camp (5,364 m) and Kala Patthar (5,545 m). Your guide checks your oxygen level and heart rate each morning and evening, and if you show real symptoms we go down, with no waiting to see. Walk slowly (we say bistarai, bistarai), drink 3 litres or more a day and tell your guide the moment you feel off. Your insurance must cover trekking to 6,000 m and helicopter evacuation, and we ask for a copy before you go. Read where people struggle on the Everest trail and our altitude sickness guide before you pack.

Packing basics

Boots you have already walked in, a fleece, a down jacket and a waterproof shell, thermal layers, a warm hat and gloves, sunglasses, SPF 50 and a 20 to 30 litre daypack. Your main bag goes with the porter or, on Budget, with you. If you do not own a sleeping bag or down jacket, tell us at your online briefing and we will lend you ones. Poles help your knees on the descents. We send the full list when you book, and the packing list and the packing mistakes to avoid are worth a read.

Budget, Standard or Luxury: what actually changes

If you are going alone, Luxury still gives you your own dedicated porter. On Standard there is no porter, because porters are shared one between two trekkers, so your guide carries up to 10 kg of your bag instead. Budget never has a porter. You can add a porter of your own on any tier for USD 25 per day, plus 13% VAT and the 3.5% bank charge on top. On the Everest trek your guide joins you from Lukla, so there is no single supplement.

Kathmandu hotel nights are not included in any trek tier, so tell us your budget at the online briefing and we will book them for you. We name your guide once you have booked.

Trekking as a group?

Bring your own group — friends, family, a club, a university society, your workplace, or a cause you are raising money for — and any of the three comfort levels can run as a private group on your own dates. Private or group, the price per person is the same; we never put strangers in your group. The more of you there are, the less each person pays:

The organiser treks free. Get fourteen or more paying trekkers together and whoever organised the group joins the trek free. The one thing the organiser still pays is their own flights and permits, since those are fixed costs we pay out for every person and cannot absorb, and we cover the rest. Your departure is guaranteed on your own dates — from a solo traveller up to a group of twenty, and we never merge you into another trip.

Planning a group? Message me on WhatsApp with the trek, roughly when, and how many of you, and I will send you a price and a plan.

Booking, deposit and rescheduling, honestly

A 10 per cent deposit confirms your dates; it goes by card through Himalayan Bank's secure gateway and the balance is paid in Kathmandu. If your plans change we move your trek to any date within a year, free, with 72 hours' notice. The deposit itself is not refunded if you cancel. Book early for October: Lukla seats and lodge rooms on the corridor fill weeks ahead, and the price you see is the price you pay, this year or next.

Not sure which Everest trek fits, or whether the 12 days work with your flights? Message me on WhatsApp with your dates, your fitness and how many of you there are, and I will tell you plainly, including if the answer is a different trek.

Which Everest trek should you book?

The twelve-day trek on this page is the classic and the right first choice for most people. If you have more days, three variants trade a little time for a lot less crowd. Everest Base Camp with Gokyo Lakes via Cho La, 15 days, follows the quiet Gokyo side, which carries about a fifth of the traffic of the main corridor. Everest Three Passes, 17 days, is the full circuit for people who want the hardest and finest version. Everest Base Camp by road, 15 days, has no Lukla flight at all, which some choose for the budget and some for the nerves.

If you have fewer days, or want Everest without the full walk, Ama Dablam Base Camp, 8 days, is the quieter Khumbu trek with the finest single mountain view in Nepal, and the Everest View trek, 7 days, turns around at Tengboche with Everest already in sight and never sleeps above 3,900 metres. For the helicopter options, the Everest Base Camp trek with helicopter return, 10 days, walks in and flies out, the short trek to Namche with a heli tour to Base Camp, 5 days, is the gentlest way to stand above the Khumbu, and the one-day Everest Base Camp helicopter tour leaves Kathmandu before dawn and has you back for lunch. Message me on WhatsApp with your dates and how many of you there are, and I will tell you honestly which one fits.

The bookings that built a school

The Everest Base Camp trek is the most-booked trip on our website, and it pays for the most schooling. Every booking funnels a fixed share into the Nagarjun Learning Center, the village school we set up in Saldum in 2019 to give seventy children free classes and two warm meals each day. The center is verified on the UN Partner Portal and run by my mother and her sister. When you book a trek with us, you are not making a donation—you are funding part of a school year, automatically.

Plan your Everest Base Camp Trek

• Everest Base Camp Trek cost (2026)
• How long is the trek? Distance & elevation
• How hard is the Everest Base Camp Trek?
• Everest Base Camp Trek packing list
• Best time & weather, month by month
• How to train for the trek
• Do you need a guide? (2027 rules)

More to read before you book

• Solo Everest Base Camp trek: cost and the single supplement
• Everest Base Camp helicopter return: cost and when it makes sense
• 12-week Everest Base Camp training plan
• Best time to trek to Everest Base Camp