Everest Base Camp Twelve Days Through the Khumbu

About 130 km or 80 miles round trip from Lukla, and twelve days including two acclimatisation days and the flight days at each end. The distance is very manageable, around 10 to 12 km a day. It is the altitude that sets the pace, not the mileage.

Two. The Sagarmatha National Park entry permit, bought at Monjo on day two, and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit, bought in Lukla. The old TIMS card is no longer required on this route. Both are straightforward and any guide or agency will handle them, but keep them on you because they are checked repeatedly.

Everest Base Camp sits at 5,364 m, which is 17,598 feet. Kala Patthar, the viewpoint above it that this itinerary includes, is higher at 5,545 m or 18,192 feet. For comparison, that is well above the summit of Mont Blanc and around 700 m higher than Kilimanjaro base.

No, and this surprises people. From base camp itself the summit is hidden behind the Nuptse ridge. You see the Khumbu Icefall and the surrounding walls, which are spectacular, but not Everest. The classic view of the mountain comes from Kala Patthar at dawn the following morning, which is why it is built into this itinerary.

Two seasons, either side of the monsoon. Spring, March to May, is warmer, with rhododendrons in bloom and climbing teams at base camp. Autumn, late September to November, has the clearest and most stable weather and is the most popular. Avoid the June to August monsoon, when the trail is wet and the Lukla flights are worse, and midwinter, when it is very cold and many lodges close.

The walking is moderate: well made trails, 10 to 12 km a day, no technical ground, and a teahouse bed and cooked meal every night. The difficulty is altitude, cold and duration. You sleep above 4,000 m for several nights and above 5,000 m once. If you can walk uphill for six hours a day and repeat that, the trek is within reach with the right acclimatisation.

Nepal now requires trekkers to use a licensed guide in most areas, and the Khumbu is heavily regulated, so plan on a guide. Beyond the rules, a guide handles permits, books teahouses in peak season when lodges fill, and, most importantly, watches for altitude symptoms you may talk yourself out of noticing.

Budget roughly 1,400 to 2,500 US dollars per person for a twelve-day trek, covering permits, the Lukla flights, guide, porter, teahouse accommodation and meals. Add tips of about 10 to 15 dollars per day for a guide and 8 to 10 for a porter, plus international flights and Kathmandu nights. Teahouse rooms are cheap; food, charging and wifi get steadily more expensive with altitude.

Yes. Tell us your dates and we check what is still open for the plan on this page, then send it back with a booking link for each night and the total. Nothing is charged and nothing is held, and you pay the normal rate.