Classic treks · Everest & Khumbu
Everest Base Camp, the quieter way
- 15 daysDuration
- 5,545 mHighest point
- ChallengingDifficulty
- ★ 4.9184 reviews
Take the celebrated trail at a human pace, with an acclimatisation-first route, family-run lodges and a guide who knows every doorway in the valley.
The standard Everest Base Camp itinerary is twelve days and moves too fast. Ours is fifteen, and the three extra days are all spent at altitude: a second night in Namche, a full rest day in Dingboche with a climb to Nangkartshang, and a contingency day at the end for the Lukla flight.
The route itself is the classic one, because it is genuinely the best walking in the valley. What changes is how you experience it — leaving lodges before the mid-morning wave, taking the Phortse trail rather than the highway on the way down, and staying in places our guides have worked with for a decade.
- Sunrise over Everest from Kala Patthar at 5,545 m
- Two nights in Namche Bazaar rather than the usual rushed one
- Tengboche monastery, with Ama Dablam directly behind it
- The quieter Phortse trail on the walk out
The essentials
- Duration
- 15 days
- Highest point
- 5,545 m
- Group size
- Max 10
- Style
- Lodge trek
- Starts and ends
- Kathmandu to Kathmandu
- Best season
- Mar–May · Oct–Nov
- Accommodation
- 12 nights in mountain lodges, 2 nights in a Kathmandu hotel
- Meals
- All breakfasts, lunches and dinners on trek
- Transport
- Return flights Kathmandu–Lukla, airport transfers
- Permits
- Sagarmatha National Park entry + Khumbu rural municipality fee
The shape of the journey
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
When to walk it
March to May and October to November. December is clear and brutally cold; the monsoon closes the high passes.
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Prime
- Shoulder
- Closed
Day by day
15 days, as they are actually walked. Your guide may reorder a day for weather — that is the point of having one.
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1
Arrive in Kathmandu
Airport pickup, a walk through Thamel, and the trip briefing with your guide over dinner. Kit check afterwards for anyone who wants one.
- 1,400 m
- Kathmandu hotel
- Dinner
-
2
Fly to Lukla, walk to Phakding
An early flight into the Khumbu, then an easy downhill afternoon along the Dudh Koshi to shake out the legs.
- 2,610 m
- 8 km
- 3–4 hr
- Phakding lodge
- All meals
-
3
Phakding to Namche Bazaar
Five suspension bridges, the national park checkpost, and then the long climb to Namche with the first sight of Everest from the ridge.
- 3,440 m
- 11 km
- 6 hr
- Namche lodge
- All meals
-
4
Acclimatisation day in Namche
A morning walk up to the Everest View Hotel and back down through Khumjung, then an afternoon in the Saturday market if the day lines up.
- 3,440 m
- 6 km
- 4 hr
- Namche lodge
- All meals
-
5
Namche to Tengboche
A level contour above the river, a steep hour up from Phunki Tenga, and arrival at the monastery in time for the afternoon prayers.
- 3,860 m
- 10 km
- 5 hr
- Tengboche lodge
- All meals
-
6
Tengboche to Dingboche
Through rhododendron forest to Pangboche, then out above the treeline into the Imja valley with Ama Dablam filling the sky.
- 4,410 m
- 12 km
- 5–6 hr
- Dingboche lodge
- All meals
-
7
Acclimatisation day in Dingboche
Up Nangkartshang ridge to 5,080 m for the view down both valleys, then back for an afternoon of doing very little.
- 4,410 m
- 5 km
- 4 hr
- Dingboche lodge
- All meals
-
8
Dingboche to Lobuche
A gentle climb to Thukla, then the steep pull to the memorial ridge where the Khumbu climbing community remembers its dead.
- 4,940 m
- 9 km
- 5 hr
- Lobuche lodge
- All meals
-
9
Lobuche to Gorak Shep and Base Camp
Moraine walking to Gorak Shep, lunch, then out along the glacier to Everest Base Camp and back before the light goes.
- 5,364 m
- 13 km
- 7–8 hr
- Gorak Shep lodge
- All meals
-
10
Kala Patthar at dawn, down to Pheriche
A cold pre-dawn climb for the view that makes the whole trip, then a long descent into thicker air and a proper night's sleep.
- 4,371 m
- 14 km
- 7 hr
- Pheriche lodge
- All meals
-
11
Pheriche to Phortse
Off the main trail onto the high traverse — a balcony route with Himalayan tahr on the slopes and almost nobody on it.
- 3,810 m
- 12 km
- 6 hr
- Phortse lodge
- All meals
-
12
Phortse to Namche Bazaar
Down through Mong La and back into Namche for a shower, a bakery and the first vegetables in a week.
- 3,440 m
- 11 km
- 5–6 hr
- Namche lodge
- All meals
-
13
Namche to Lukla
The long descent back down the Dudh Koshi, retracing the first two days in one, with a last dinner as a group.
- 2,840 m
- 19 km
- 7 hr
- Lukla lodge
- All meals
-
14
Fly to Kathmandu
Morning flight out of Lukla, afternoon free, and dinner somewhere with a tablecloth.
- 1,400 m
- Kathmandu hotel
- Breakfast, dinner
-
15
Departure, or a spare day
Airport transfer. If weather delayed the Lukla flight, this is the day that absorbs it — which is why it is in the itinerary.
- 1,400 m
- Breakfast
Is this trip for you?
You should be comfortable walking five to seven hours a day for two weeks, on consecutive days, carrying a daypack. No technical skill is needed. Three months of hill walking beforehand makes the difference between enduring this and enjoying it.
What is included
Included
- Licensed IFMGA or NMA guide and porter support (one porter per two travellers)
- Return Kathmandu–Lukla flights and all airport transfers
- All lodge accommodation on trek and two nights in Kathmandu
- All meals from Lukla to Lukla, plus tea and coffee with meals
- Sagarmatha National Park entry and Khumbu municipality permits
- Guide and porter insurance, wages and equipment
- Group first-aid kit, pulse oximeter and satellite communicator
Not included
- International flights and Nepal visa
- Travel and evacuation insurance (mandatory, to 6,000 m)
- Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu beyond the two listed meals
- Hot showers, device charging and wifi in lodges
- Personal trekking equipment and drinks
- Tips for the guide and porter team
What to bring
- Four-season sleeping bag rated to −15 °C
- Broken-in boots with ankle support
- Down jacket and a waterproof shell
- Thermal base layers, two sets
- Sun hat, warm hat, glacier sunglasses
- Headtorch with spare batteries
- 35–40 litre daypack
- Water treatment — tablets or a filter
Demo photography, from the region rather than this departure. Every image is CC0 or public domain.
Departures
20% deposit confirms your place. Balance due 45 days before departure.
| Dates | Availability | Price | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Oct – 18 Oct 2026 | Few places left · 2 left | $2,490 | |
| 18 Oct – 1 Nov 2026 | Places open | $2,490 | |
| 8 Nov – 22 Nov 2026 | Places open | $2,390 | |
| 14 Mar – 28 Mar 2027 | Places open | $2,490 | |
| 11 Apr – 25 Apr 2027 | Fully booked | $2,490 | Waitlist |
Your guide
Guide profiles are fictional. The photographs beside them show the terrain each guide works in — they do not depict the people described.
What travellers said
★ 4.9 from 184 fictional demo reviews.
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★★★★★
The extra days are the whole point
I had walked with a cheaper operator in the Annapurnas and spent half of it feeling awful. Fifteen days instead of twelve changed everything. Nima moved our schedule twice because of weather and both calls turned out right.
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★★★★★
Phortse made it
Everyone talks about Base Camp. The bit I keep thinking about is day eleven on the high traverse, when we did not see another group for four hours.
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★★★★★
Hard, honest, well run
It is a genuinely tough two weeks and the briefing did not pretend otherwise. Lodges were basic, which is what they are. The team was excellent.
Things to know
How likely is altitude sickness on this route?
Mild symptoms — headache, poor sleep, low appetite — are common above 4,000 m and usually pass. Serious altitude illness is rare on a fifteen-day profile. Your guide carries a pulse oximeter and checks the group each evening from Dingboche onwards.
What happens if the Lukla flight is cancelled?
Day 15 exists for this. If the delay runs longer, we move the group to a helicopter shuttle at cost, or reroute by road to Salleri. Neither is included in the trip price, so travel insurance that covers delay matters.
Do I need to carry my own pack?
No. One porter covers two travellers and carries up to 12 kg each of your kit. You walk with a daypack holding water, layers and a camera.
Is there wifi and phone signal?
Mobile data reaches most of the valley as far as Dingboche and is unreliable above it. Lodges sell wifi access. Your guide carries a satellite communicator for emergencies regardless.
Can I do this trip if I have never trekked at altitude?
Yes, and plenty of people on each departure have not. What matters more is walking fitness on consecutive days. If you can do three back-to-back six-hour hill days at home, you are ready.
You might also consider
Close relatives.
Same region or same spirit, different commitment.
Not quite right?
We will build it around you.
Different dates, a shorter version, a family pace or a route that is not on this site. Private departures start at the same price as scheduled ones.