Everest Base Camp Twelve Days Through the Khumbu
The walk to the foot of Everest
Lukla to base camp and back on foot, sleeping in teahouses the whole way, with both acclimatisation days kept in. The walk is not the hard part. The altitude is.
Excellent itinerary planner! Detail oriented with thoughtful tips for my family’s trip.
18 stops on a real mapEvery stop pinned in order→Every stop is a real pin, in order.
Lukla to Everest Base Camp and back
Plan and book your 12 days in EBC, one step at a time
How 12 days in EBC split up
Everest Base Camp is a teahouse trek, not an expedition. You sleep in lodges, eat cooked food, and carry a day pack. There is no technical ground, no crampons and no climbing. What there is, is thin air: base camp sits at 5,364 m and Kala Patthar, the viewpoint above it, at 5,545 m.
Day 1: Fly to Lukla, walk to Phakding
3 stops · Day one
Day 2: Phakding to Namche Bazaar
2 stops · Day two
Day 3: Acclimatisation day in Namche
1 stops · Day three
Day 4: Namche to Tengboche
1 stops · Day four
Day 5: Tengboche to Dingboche
1 stops · Day five
Day 6: Acclimatisation day at Dingboche
1 stops · Day six
Day 7: Dingboche to Lobuche
2 stops · Day seven
Day 8: Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp
2 stops · Day eight
Day 9: Kala Patthar at dawn, then down to Pheriche
2 stops · Day nine
Day 10: Pheriche to Namche Bazaar
1 stops · Day ten
Day 11: Namche to Lukla
1 stops · Day eleven
Day 12: Fly back to Kathmandu
1 stops · Day twelve
Fly to Lukla, walk to Phakding
The flight into Lukla takes about 35 minutes and lands uphill on a very short runway against a mountainside. It is the most talked-about part of the trip and it is over quickly.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Fly from
35 min to Lukla · Drive - Lukla
2,860 m · night 11 · tips tonight · lodge - Phakding
2,610 m · night 1 · lodge
Phakding to Namche Bazaar
The first hard day. You cross the Dudh Koshi repeatedly on suspension bridges, enter Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo, then climb 600 m up a relentless zigzag to Namche.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Monjo park entrance
Sagarmatha permit check · Viewpoint - Namche Bazaar
3,440 m · night 10 · lodge
Acclimatisation day in Namche
A rest day that is not restful. You walk up to the Everest View Hotel at around 3,880 m, look at Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam over breakfast, and come back down to sleep at 3,440 m.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Everest View Hotel
3,880 m · climb high, sleep low · Hike
Namche to Tengboche
A traverse with a sting: level walking along the valley side with Ama Dablam ahead the whole way, then a steep 600 m climb from the river up to Tengboche at 3,867 m.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Tengboche Monastery
3,867 m · night 4 · lodgeThe spiritual centre of the Khumbu, ringed by Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.
Tengboche to Dingboche
Through rhododendron forest to Pangboche, then out above the treeline entirely. The landscape turns to rock, moss and stone-walled fields. Dingboche at 4,410 m sits in a broad valley under Ama Dablam.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Dingboche
4,410 m · night 5 · lodge
Acclimatisation day at Dingboche
The second acclimatisation day, and the one cheap itineraries cut. You climb Nangkartshang Peak above the village to around 5,000 m, then come back down to sleep at 4,410 m.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Nangkartshang Peak
~5,000 m · the day that earns base camp · Hike
Dingboche to Lobuche
Up onto the moraine of the Khumbu glacier, past the memorials at Thukla Pass to climbers who died on Everest. It is a sobering stretch and worth slowing down for.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Thukla Pass memorials
Cairns for lost climbers · Viewpoint - Lobuche
4,940 m · night 7 · lodge
Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp
The big day. Two or three hours over the moraine to Gorak Shep at 5,164 m, drop your pack, then another two to three hours out along the glacier to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 m.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Gorak Shep
5,164 m · night 8 · last lodges · lodge - Everest Base Camp
5,364 m · the Khumbu Icefall · ViewpointThe foot of the highest mountain on earth. You will not see the summit from here.
Kala Patthar at dawn, then down to Pheriche
Up in the dark for Kala Patthar, 5,545 m, the highest point of the trek and the reason you came. It is a steep, slow, breathless hour and a half, and the sunrise hits Everest, Nuptse and Pumori head-on. This is where you actually see the mountain.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Kala Patthar
5,545 m · sunrise on Everest · HikeThe highest point of the trek and the view the whole thing is for.
- Pheriche
4,371 m · night 9 · lodge
Pheriche to Namche Bazaar
A long descending day back through Tengboche and along the valley to Namche. It goes quickly, everything is easier at this altitude now, and the forest and birdsong come back.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Namche Bazaar
3,440 m · night 10 · lodge
Namche to Lukla
The last walking day, and longer than it looks: back down the zigzag, along the river, over the suspension bridges and up the final sting to Lukla at 2,860 m.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Lukla
2,860 m · night 11 · tips tonight · lodge
Fly back to Kathmandu
The Lukla flight goes early or not at all. Weather cancellations are common and can run several days in a row, which is exactly why you built two buffer days into the end of this trip.
Not the order you want? Drag a stop, or use the arrows beside it. Stops move between days too.
- Kathmandu
Back at 1,400 m · lodge
Book the 11 nights
Beds near the trailheads are the one thing on this trip that genuinely runs out. Everything else can be decided later.
Tell us your dates and we will do the calling. We check every booking site, put your points and card perks against the cash price, and email you this plan back with the best room we can find for each night. Nothing is charged and you decide at the end.
Request to bookWhat to pack for EBC
Built from this route, not a generic list. Every line says why it is here.
On every day of this trip
On your feet
Because you are sleeping indoors
For the driving days
What actually gets you to base camp
Keep both acclimatisation days
Namche and Dingboche. Itineraries that cut them are cheaper and get more people evacuated. Neither day is restful and both are the reason you arrive at base camp healthy.
Kala Patthar, not base camp, is the view
Everest hides behind Nuptse from base camp itself. Kala Patthar at 5,545 m is where you see the mountain. Do not treat it as optional.
Build two buffer days
Lukla flights cancel for weather regularly, sometimes for days. Book your international flight home with at least two spare days after the trek ends, or budget for a helicopter.
Two permits, no TIMS card
Sagarmatha National Park entry and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit. The old TIMS card is not used on this route any more. Both are bought en route.
Eat vegetarian above Namche
Meat is carried up unrefrigerated for days. Dal bhat is endless, free refills, and what the guides eat for a reason.
Know the descent rule
Headache, nausea or breathlessness that does not clear with rest and water means going down, not up. Pheriche has a rescue clinic. Altitude is the only real risk on this trek.
Everest Base Camp questions
Everything you'll actually want to know before a EBC trip.
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.
We'll find the cheapest way to do this trip.
Tell us your dates and we price the plan you just built: every booking site, the hotels direct, and your own points and card perks against the cash price. You get it back by email with a link for each night and what it saved you.
- It is free. The hotel pays us, not you. You pay their normal price.
- Nothing is charged and nothing is held. You decide at the end, or you walk away.
- Beds near trailheads are the part that runs out. Everything else can wait.
The figures below are estimates from local nightly rates, so you know the ballpark before you ask. The real number comes back once we have checked what is free.
- 11 nights, campsite near EBC
Book directat source
- 11 nights, rooms along the route
11 × $58$638
- Everything in Glamped, plus a local guide
- Airport pickup, every drive, all the gear
- Weather turns, they rewrite the day
Written and walked by Yulia Vasilyeva · Co-founder · Lead planner and guide
Builds every custom itinerary herself and leads guided hikes in the Pacific Northwest, rated 5.0 by 20+ verified guests. Based in Seattle.
Booking EBC
Everything below is booked with the operators direct. We earn a commission on some of them, which is what keeps the itineraries free to read.
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What adventurers say about us.
All reviews are from verified guests. ★★★★★ 5.0 average from 20+ bookings.
"Felt like going out with a really knowledgeable friend who just happens to know everything about the area. No awkward tour-guide energy, just a magnificent day."
"Yulia is an incredible guide. She knew every trail, every viewpoint, and exactly how to pace the day for our group. The photos she took of us were stunning. 100% booking again."
"I was visiting Seattle solo and this was the best decision I made on the trip. Yulia picked me up, had snacks, and took us to a trail I never would have found on my own. Absolute must-do."
"We did this as a couple's trip and it was perfect. Yulia adapted everything to us, our pace, our interests, our photo obsession. The mountain views were unreal."
"Phenomenal experience. Yulia has deep local knowledge and a real passion for the outdoors. She went out of her way to show us the hidden gems tourists never see. Will remember this forever."
"I've done a few guided hikes and this was by far the best. Yulia is warm, funny, and genuinely expert. The trail she chose had the most insane wildflower bloom, we got so lucky."
Fees, reservation windows, shuttle dates and trail closures are planning estimates. Confirm hours, road status and any reservations with the land manager before you go.
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One tap. It goes straight to Yulia and Margarita.
You can't hike it if you can't get the permit.
The best hikes in America run on lotteries that open once a year and sell out in minutes. Every trail runs on its own calendar. Pick the ones you want and we do the watching.
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How it works
- An email the morning each window opens, never the day after.
- A 14-day heads-up so you can line up your group and dates.
- Win odds and a ranked backup plan for every trail you pick.
Didn't win? We keep watching. We check recreation.gov every day for The Enchantments, Half Dome and Angels Landing, and email you the moment a sold-out date frees up. Cancellations are the second chance most people never hear about.
Excellent itinerary planner! Detail oriented with thoughtful tips for my family's trip.