Everest Base Camp Trek: 14 Days, Nepal

Highlights

• Everest Base Camp (5,364m)
• Kala Patthar sunrise on Everest
• Namche Bazaar + Tengboche monastery
• Full teahouse + porter support
• Altitude-trained guides, oximeters

Is it right for you?

Seniors

Not advised for seniors: The trek climbs past 5,000 metres on consecutive days, a demanding altitude gain even for fit, experienced seniors

Getting around

A lot of walking; Not wheelchair accessible

Children

The high altitude and long trekking days make this unsuitable for young children

From our own trip notes. Tell your captain about anyone's mobility, age or food needs and we confirm the details for your dates.

The story

Your journey outline

Each stage can cover one or more days. Tell us what you would change; your final itinerary is agreed before booking.

1. Stage 01 Kathmandu

   Arrive in Kathmandu and check into Thamel. The afternoon is the gear check, which is a real inspection rather than a formality: boots, layers, sleeping bag rating, and anything missing is hired or bought here where it costs a fraction of what it does at home. Full briefing in the evening.

2. Stage 02 Fly Lukla

   The flight to Lukla, into a 527-metre runway built on a slope against a mountainside, which is the most talked-about airstrip in the world for good reasons. Flights go early because the wind gets up later, and they are weather-dependent. Then a gentle three-hour walk downhill to Phakding at 2,610 metres.

3. Stage 03 Namche

   The climb to Namche Bazaar at 3,440 metres, which is the hardest day so far: several suspension bridges over the Dudh Koshi, then a long steep haul with the first view of Everest from partway up, if the cloud allows. Namche is a horseshoe of a town built into the hillside and is the Sherpa capital.

4. Stage 04 Acclimatise

   An acclimatisation day, which does not mean a rest day. You climb several hundred metres up to the Everest View Hotel at 3,880 metres, have tea looking at Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam, and come back down to sleep low. Climb high, sleep low, is the entire principle keeping you safe.

5. Stage 05 Tengboche

   On to Tengboche at 3,867 metres, through rhododendron forest that flowers scarlet in spring, with a steep descent to the river and a long climb out the other side. The monastery at the top is the spiritual centre of the Khumbu, and the afternoon prayers are open to walkers who sit quietly.

6. Stage 06 Dingboche

   Up to Dingboche at 4,410 metres and a second acclimatisation stop. The tree line is now behind you and the landscape turns to stone walls, yak pasture and moraine. There is an afternoon climb up the ridge for the height gain, and oxygen saturation is checked every evening from here on.

7. Stage 07 Lobuche

   To Lobuche at 4,940 metres, crossing the Thukla Pass where memorial cairns stand for climbers who did not come back from Everest, including a number of Sherpas. It is a sobering hour and the right one to have before the last push. Short day, thin air, early night.

8. Stage 08 Base Camp

   Base Camp. Along the Khumbu glacier moraine to Gorak Shep at 5,164 metres, drop the pack, then out to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres, where the icefall tumbles down at the head of the valley. In climbing season it is a small city of tents; out of season it is ice and silence.

9. Stage 09 Kala Patthar

   Up before dawn for Kala Patthar at 5,545 metres, which is the highest you will stand and the one place that gives you Everest entire, from base to summit, as the first light hits it. Then the long descent begins, down to Pheriche at 4,371 metres, where the air feels thick and generous.

10. Stage 10 Descend

    The walk out, which covers days 10–12: back down through Pheriche and Tengboche to Namche, and on towards Lukla. Descending is faster and much harder on the knees than anyone expects, and every village you drop into feels wealthier in oxygen than it did on the way up.

11. Stage 11 Fly Out

    The early flight out of Lukla back to Kathmandu, weather permitting, with a contingency day built into this trip precisely because it sometimes does not. A shower, a real bed, and a celebration dinner in Thamel that has been earned in a way few dinners are.

12. Stage 12 The Return

    Fly home. Fourteen days, around 130 kilometres on foot, a high point of 5,545 metres, and a walk that stays in your legs for about a week and in your head considerably longer.

Know before you go

• No visa stress for Indian nationals — carry a valid photo ID/passport
• Trek routes need basic-to-good fitness; we grade each package clearly
• Mountain weather owns the schedule — buffer days are built in
• AMS is real on high treks: captains carry oximeters and a descent plan

Policies

Why book with Travelers Clan

• Your own itinerary. This is a starting point — we agree your route and pace before booking.
• Paperwork guidance. Visa requirements and applicable taxes confirmed in your quote.
• Clear payment terms. Deposit and cancellation conditions set out before payment.
• Know your support. Your final plan confirms local contacts and any guide or trip-captain services.