Everest Base Camp Trek (12 Day Hike)

Please see the section above for trip inclusions and exclusions.

March to May, and September to December are considered the best months for trekking in Nepal. Trekking is doable throughout the year. However, some months are better than others. June to August is monsoon season, so there might be some rain showers in these months. January and February are the winter months, and it’s usually much colder in higher areas.

If you are reasonably fit and have multi-day hiking experience, you will do just fine on this route. You should be able to walk for 6-7 hours every day, some of it up steep gradients. The Everest Base Camp trail itself is not extremely difficult and does not have technical sections. However, the low Oxygen levels at altitude make this a tough hike. It is recommended to get into a good fitness regime at least 3-months prior to this trek.

Below is a list of essential gear for trekking EBC: - Waterproof trekking boots - Flip Flops (to wear at the tea house accommodation) - Socks - Undergarments - Shorts - Trekking pants - Quick dry T-shirts - Long sleeve shirts - Fleece (Lower / Upper) - Rain/wind jacket - Down jackets - Backpack / Day Pack - Sleeping bag (rated to -15C or 5F) - Water bottles or camel bag - Water purification tablets/filter - Sunscreen Hat or balaclava - Trekking poles - First aid kit - Hand sanitizer - Toilet paper / Tissue paper - Quick dry towel - Soap / Shampoo - Headlight / Flashlight - Camera - Sleeping bag liner - Light / heavy gloves - Toothbrush / Toothpaste - Shampoo / Soap or Bath gel - Female hygiene product

All foreign nationals (except Indians) require a visa to enter Nepal. You can get your Visa from your local embassy before you travel. If you are prepared to wait in the queue, you can also get a Visa on arrival at Kathmandu Airport. Currently, Visas cost between US$30 (15 days ) and $50 (30 days) visa. You need the following for a visa on arrival: 1) A barcode that you receive by doing the application for Online International Travel Arrival Form. See link below 2) Vaccination certificate or negative COVID-19 PCR test result, obtained within 72 hours of the departure. Guests are responsible for arranging their own visas and should check their travel requirements on an official government website or with their local embassy.

Generally we recommend about US$ 10 to US$ 15 per person per day for the personal expenses such as drinks, hot shower, WiFi, battery charging etc.

Trekking poles can be bought at a small price in Kathmandu (a reasonable quality pair starts around US$ 20). Occasionally, items are available for rent in Lukla and Namche, but availability is limited. We recommend you sort out the equipment you need in Kathmandu.

Yes, you can book a private room for this trek. The cost of the single supplement is USD 144 for the whole trek (standard room) or USD 224 for a room with a private toilet and hot shower included.

Yes! Travel insurance for trekking in Nepal is not only essential for healthn related incidents but also to cover you in the scenario that you need to use a helicopter. Helicopters can cost up to $600 per person and are not covered by the operator as part of this trip. You may need a helicopter flight if it is not possible to safely trek back from Base Camp or, if internal flights are cancelled and you need to get back to Kathmandu in time to make your international return flight. Please make sure you have travel insurance for your own financial protection. We recommend speaking to the provider beforehand to check that they cover this scenario (Make sure the insurer specifically covers EBC).

Unfortunately no. There are no lodges or guest houses at the base camp. The nearest place where lodges are available is Gorakshep. It takes approximately 5 hours to go to the Everest Base Camp and return back to Gorakshep. Only climbers stay at the base camp during the climbing season (usually in late April / May).

Food is included with the lodge/ tea house accommodation. Generally, rice, noodles, pasta, vegetables, curry, potatoes, eggs, sandwiches, burgers, etc. are available. Meat is available but we generally recommended to avoid it as a health precaution.

Get up in the morning, get fresh, and take a warm breakfast before we start our walk. Generally, breakfast will be between 7 to 8 AM and we will start the hike after 8. We will walk for about 6 - 7 hours every day covering approximately 2 kilometers per hour on average. We will have lunch along the trail approximately halfway. The guide will be walking together with the group however porters will follow their own pace and meet you only upon reaching the tea house.

We recommend our guests have a couple of buffer days after the trek so in case our flights are canceled we can postpone the flights for the following day. In some cases, the flights for the following date can be fully booked and we may need to use a chopper or go via road. The road option will need 3 additional days. Unfortunately the trip does not incude cover for a helicopter return or missed/ rescheduled international flight. You need to make sure that your personal insurance covers these events.

From Lukla to Everest Base Camp we will be staying in lodges / traditional Nepal tea houses. In most cases, we will provide you with a private room or twin sharing rooms. However, in rare cases, you may need to share the rooms with other travellers (especially if you are travelling alone). There are several teahouses on route so where we stay depends on availability. Generally, hot showers a available for about 9 nights of the trek. It’s not available in Lobuche and Gorakshep.

In Nepal, it's not recommended to drink tap water. You can refill bottles from the tap but need to use purification tablets or a filtration device. We can provide complimentary purification/iodine tabs, please let us know in Kathmandu during the tour briefing. Popular filtration products to use are Lifestraw and Steripen. You can buy bottled water from the tea houses but it does work out more expensive.

Tipping is at your own discretion but our guests often ask us what is the general policy for tipping. 10% of the total amount is a reasonable amount. It’s hard to give exact figures as this depends on customer satisfaction.

On the internal Kathmandu to Lukla return flight, you get 15kg/33lbs, including hand luggage.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of fraudulent/unnecessary helicopter evacuation claims in the EBC region that have made insurers hesitant to cover helicopter evacuation. The following is good to know; In the rare event that emergency evacuation is required, we will generally talk with the rescue agency and they will collaborate with the insurance companies to process the evacuation. Usually, it takes about 3 - 4 hours to approve or deny the evacuation by the insurance companies. Some insurance providers ask the customers to make an upfront payment and submit the claim upon return. In this case, there is no guarantee that the customer will get paid by the insurance company, they will approve or deny the claim based on the documents provided. We strongly recommend checking your insurance conditions directly with the insurer, before embarking on this trek.

During high season (March – April and October – November) the flights to Lukla are redirected from Ramechhap Airport. This means we need to drive from Kathmandu to Ramechhap to catch our internal flight and make the reverse journey at the end of the trip. This added road transfer is between 3 to 5 hours each way (from and to Kathmandu).

Families with children are welcome! We take bookings for this trek for people over 6 years old. We recommend that families with children contact us for a private booking.

As local operators, we started out as porters and guides. We understand the struggles in this industry and take pride in treating our team fairly in terms of pay and trekking conditions. All our trekking staff (guides, porters, chefs, and assistants) receive all meals, accommodation, salary, and insurance. Sherpas carry a maximum of 25kg per person (government-recommended weight).

Porters are not included in the trip price. If you would like to hire a porter, the cost is USD 256 for the whole trek. This is usually shared by 2 people if the total combined weight is not more than 25 kilograms. This amount is payable direct to the local operator, in Kathmandu. Please message your guide if you would like to arrange a porter.

Our guides are experienced from 8 to 20 years. They speak great English but we are not from English-speaking countries, we may not be fluent. The guides are capable of communicating with the clients and assisting you during an emergency situation. We only have guides who are highly rated by the guests.

We usually work with Hotel Thamel Park and have rooms from US$ 35 to US$ 65 per night. Online prices can be higher, so we do not recommend booking online, you can message us directly, and we'll help you make the booking. Other hotels that we recommend; - Hotel Mulberry - Fairfield by Marriott - Aloft Kathmandu - Kantipur Temple House

In the main travel season, March, April, May, October, and November, the flights to Lukla are rerouted from Ramechhap Airport. This is approximately 130 km and takes about 4 hours to drive. We will arrange the drive on a shared vehicle if needed without additional costs.