Everest Base Camp Trek Itinerary: Day by Day, With Altitudes and Walking Times

Last checked 4 October 2026. Every altitude, walking time and distance below comes from our live 12-day Everest Base Camp itinerary. The weather figures come from our month-by-month weather guide, and I name the source wherever I use one from outside.

The Everest Base Camp trek takes 12 days from Kathmandu to Kathmandu if you fly to Lukla, and you spend nine of them on the trail. You fly in on Day 1, climb for five trekking days to Dingboche at 4,410 metres, rest there on Day 6, then climb on to Gorak Shep at 5,164 metres, visit Base Camp at 5,364 metres on Day 8 and stand on Kala Patthar at 5,545 metres at sunrise on Day 9. Then you walk back down, and you fly out on Day 12. Two of the 12 days are rest days, and you need both of them.

Most day-by-day pages give you the route and the village names. This one gives you the bit that decides whether you reach the top: where you sleep each night, how much higher that is than the night before, how long each day takes and what is really hard about it. At the end there is a section on what other guides do not tell you, written from our own days on this trail.

What does the 12-day itinerary look like at a glance?

Day	Route	Sleep at	Altitude (m)	Walking time	Distance
1	Fly to Lukla, walk to Phakding	Phakding	2,610 (Lukla 2,860)	3 hours	6.2 km
2	Phakding to Namche Bazaar	Namche	3,440	6 to 7 hours	12 km
3	Rest day at Namche, short hike	Namche	3,440	2 to 3 hours	3 to 4 km
4	Namche to Tengboche	Tengboche	3,860	5 to 6 hours	10 km
5	Tengboche to Dingboche	Dingboche	4,410	5 to 6 hours	11 km
6	Rest day at Dingboche, hike above the village	Dingboche	4,410	Acclimatisation hike	Not listed
7	Dingboche to Lobuche	Lobuche	4,940	5 to 6 hours	10 km
8	Lobuche to Gorak Shep, then Everest Base Camp and back	Gorak Shep	5,164 (Base Camp 5,364)	7 to 8 hours	14 km
9	Kala Patthar at sunrise, then down to Pangboche	Pangboche	3,985 (Kala Patthar 5,545)	7 to 8 hours	16.5 km
10	Pangboche to Namche Bazaar	Namche	3,440	6 to 7 hours	13.5 km
11	Namche to Lukla	Lukla	2,860	5 to 6 hours	21 km
12	Fly Lukla to Kathmandu	Kathmandu	1,350	40 minute flight	Not applicable

You will see slightly different distances on other pages, including our own distance guide, which gives 8 kilometres for Day 1 and 11 for Day 2. Trail distances are estimates, and GPS watches disagree with each other. The numbers above are the ones on our package page. For the full picture, read how far you walk each day.

How many days do you need for Everest Base Camp?

Twelve is the shortest plan I am happy to run, and it already has two rest days and the flight at both ends. If you can spare two more days, take 14. The extra days go at Namche and Dingboche, where they do the most good, and they give you slack if a flight is delayed. We have written about flying versus the road route and starting at Jiri, which adds about a week. If you want Everest Base Camp inside a longer holiday, our 21-day Nepal itinerary puts it between Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan.

Anything shorter than 12 days is either a helicopter trip or a plan that skips acclimatisation. I do not sell the second kind.

What happens on each day of the trek?

Day 1: Fly to Lukla and walk to Phakding

The flight to Lukla takes 40 minutes from Kathmandu. In the busy windows, roughly 15 March to 15 May and 25 September to 30 November, most Lukla flights leave from Manthali airport at Ramechhap instead, which is about 130 kilometres and a four to five hour drive from Kathmandu. We collect you from your Kathmandu hotel between midnight and one in the morning, you fly from Manthali in about 20 minutes, and you reach Lukla early. Our guide to Ramechhap versus Lukla explains why and what the fares are.

The walk to Phakding is short on purpose. It is about three hours from Lukla at 2,860 metres down to Phakding at 2,610 metres, along the Dudh Koshi river. Your guide asks you simple questions from the first evening: how do you feel, any headache, how much water have you drunk. Those questions will be asked every day. Read about Phakding.

Day 2: Phakding to Namche Bazaar

This is the steepest day of the trek and the one that surprises people most. It is 12 kilometres and 6 to 7 hours, and you climb 830 metres to sleep at 3,440 metres. You enter Sagarmatha National Park near Monjo, where your guide handles the permit. After the last suspension bridge comes a long climb of about 600 metres. On a clear day you may get your first glimpse of Everest through a gap in the trees, but cloud is common, and I would not promise it. Namche is a town built in an amphitheatre on the hillside. Our guide to Namche Bazaar covers where to eat and what to buy.

Day 3: Rest day at Namche

You do not walk to the next village. You walk up and then back down, which is the rule at altitude: climb high, sleep low. The usual hike goes to the Everest View Hotel, a 90 minute ascent of about 440 metres to 3,880 metres, and you return to Namche to sleep. You also have the afternoon to rest, drink water and look around town. Our guide to what happens on a rest day says more.

Day 4: Namche to Tengboche

Ten kilometres, 5 to 6 hours. The trail contours above the river, gentle for the first two hours, then climbs steadily to Tengboche at 3,860 metres, which is only 420 metres higher than Namche. Tengboche has a well-known monastery, rebuilt after a fire in 1989, and on a clear day the views take in Everest and its neighbours. Take shoes off before you go inside, and be quiet if there is a prayer session.

Day 5: Tengboche to Dingboche

Eleven kilometres, 5 to 6 hours. You drop through forest, cross the Imja Khola, and climb into a drier, wider valley. Pangboche is halfway, and the trees thin out. Dingboche at 4,410 metres is open and cold, and the wind is constant. Your appetite will have changed, and I tell everyone to eat more than they feel like. Many people get a mild headache in the late afternoon. That is why tomorrow is a rest day. Read about Dingboche.

Day 6: Rest day at Dingboche

This is the day that matters most for your chances. You climb the ridge above the village toward Nangkartshang, which our Dingboche guide gives as 5,083 metres, for about two hours and return to sleep at 4,410 metres. At the top your guide checks your oxygen reading with a pulse oximeter. If you feel well, you go on. If you do not, we talk about turning back, and I would rather have that conversation here than at 5,000 metres on the glacier. Drink plenty of water today.

Day 7: Dingboche to Lobuche

Ten kilometres, 5 to 6 hours, ending at 4,940 metres. The landscape changes to grey moraine, with no trees at all. The steepest climb of the day is to Thukla Pass at 4,830 metres, where memorials stand for climbers and Sherpas who died on Everest and the peaks around it, and Lobuche is a short way beyond. This is a quiet night. People talk less. Read about Lobuche.

Day 8: Lobuche to Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp

Fourteen kilometres and 7 to 8 hours, and for many people the hardest day. You walk beside the Khumbu Glacier to Gorak Shep at 5,164 metres, leave your heavy bag at the lodge, then walk on to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 metres, over rock rubble on the glacier, and return to Gorak Shep to sleep. That makes Gorak Shep the highest night of the trek. Base Camp itself is an area of flat glacier where expedition teams camp in the climbing season, with the Khumbu Icefall above it. Read about Gorak Shep and the Khumbu Glacier.

Day 9: Kala Patthar at sunrise, then down to Pangboche

The wake-up call is at about three in the morning. Kala Patthar is 381 metres above Gorak Shep, which is about 90 minutes of climbing in the dark with a headlamp, to 5,545 metres, the highest point of the trek. You watch the sun reach Everest, then come down to Gorak Shep, eat and keep going. By the end of the day you are at Pangboche at 3,985 metres, after 16.5 kilometres and 7 to 8 hours. For many people it is the longest day of the trek, and the thicker air at the end is a physical relief.

Day 10: Pangboche to Namche Bazaar

Thirteen and a half kilometres, 6 to 7 hours. The trail is faster going down, and you see the places you passed a week ago from the other side.

Day 11: Namche to Lukla

The last full trekking day, 21 kilometres and 5 to 6 hours of descent to Lukla. It is easy on the lungs and hard on the knees, so use your poles.

Day 12: Fly Lukla to Kathmandu

The flight takes 40 minutes. In the busy windows the flight lands at Manthali, and the road back takes four to six hours. Keep the rest of the day free. A delay for weather is possible, so I advise trekkers not to book an onward international flight for the same evening. Our domestic flights guide explains what happens when flights are cancelled.

Which is the hardest day of the Everest Base Camp trek?

It depends on what you mean by hard, and our table shows five different answers.

Kind of hard	Day	Why
Steepest climb	Day 2	+830 metres from Phakding to Namche in one day
Biggest altitude decision	Day 6	Dingboche rest day, where we decide whether you go on
Highest night, hardest sleep	Day 8	You sleep at 5,164 metres at Gorak Shep after 7 to 8 hours of walking
Longest day	Day 9	3am start, Kala Patthar, then 16.5 kilometres down
Hardest on the knees	Day 11	21 kilometres of descent

If I had to pick one, it is Day 8 into Day 9: the highest night, the least sleep and the earliest start, then the longest walk. After Day 9 the trek is downhill, in thicker air, and most people find the descent easier.

How hard is the sleeping altitude gain each night?

Here is the sleeping gain each night, which is what the body notices most.

Night	Sleep at	Altitude (m)	Gain on night before (m)
1	Phakding	2,610	Below Lukla
2	Namche	3,440	+830
3	Namche	3,440	0 (rest)
4	Tengboche	3,860	+420
5	Dingboche	4,410	+550
6	Dingboche	4,410	0 (rest)
7	Lobuche	4,940	+530
8	Gorak Shep	5,164	+224

The CDC Yellow Book advises that above 3,000 metres you should raise your sleeping altitude by no more than about 500 metres a day, with a rest day every few days. By my own arithmetic the 12-day plan is close to that, and over it on the first big jump to Namche, which starts below 3,000 metres. That is why I prefer 14 days when people can spare them. You can read the long version in our guides to altitude sickness and acclimatisation.

What is the weather like on each part of the trail?

It depends on the month. Here are the average daily highs and lows in degrees Celsius at three places on the route, from our weather guide. Dingboche is modelled data, not an instrument record, and there is no long-term record at Base Camp itself.

Month	Lukla 2,786 m	Namche 3,450 m	Dingboche 4,410 m
February	8.9 / -1.6	6.4 / -6.5	1.5 / -14.2
March	13.3 / 2.6	9.6 / -3.0	4.7 / -10.5
April	16.6 / 5.7	12.8 / 0.8	8.5 / -7.0
May	16.7 / 8.0	14.3 / 3.7	11.1 / -3.5
October	16.8 / 7.4	12.5 / 1.2	8.9 / -5.3
November	13.8 / 2.4	9.1 / -3.8	5.3 / -11.0

Gorak Shep is higher and colder than any of these. Pack for nights well below those Dingboche figures. For the full year and the pros and cons of each month, see our weather by month guide, our autumn guide and our November guide.

What does the trek cost and what is included?

The 12-day trek has three tiers, and the itinerary above is the same on all of them. What changes is how you are looked after.

	Budget	Standard	Luxury
Price, from one trekker	US$1,399	US$2,499	US$4,999
Porters	None, you carry your own bag	One porter for every two trekkers	A dedicated porter for each trekker
Meals on the trek	Not included	All meals	All meals, fruit and nuts, unlimited soft drinks
Rooms	Shared	Private	Private deluxe, en suite
Lukla flights	Fixed-wing	Fixed-wing	Round-trip helicopter

Kathmandu hotels are not included in any trek, so we quote them separately. Our family homestay is US$15 per person per night. If you are trekking alone on Standard, there is no porter, because porters are shared one for every two, and your guide carries up to 10 kilograms of your kit. On Luxury you always have your own. Our Everest Base Camp trek cost guide goes through every line.

The permits come to NPR 8,000 in total: Sagarmatha National Park NPR 3,000, the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu rural municipality NPR 3,000 and a TIMS card at NPR 2,000. Your guide handles the permits.

Is Everest Base Camp harder than Kilimanjaro?

They are different kinds of hard. Kilimanjaro is higher but much shorter, and Everest Base Camp is lower but longer.

	Everest Base Camp trek	Kilimanjaro
Highest point	5,545 m at Kala Patthar, 5,364 m at Base Camp	5,895 m at Uhuru Peak
Time on the mountain	12 days from Kathmandu, 9 on the trail	The Machame route takes 6 to 7 days and the Lemosho 6 to 8
Highest night	5,164 m at Gorak Shep	Depends on the route
Technical climbing	None	Not as technical as similar mountains, but with a serious altitude risk
Summit success	No comparable figure that I can cite	The average across all routes is 70 to 80 per cent

The Kilimanjaro facts come from Wikipedia's article on the mountain. Uhuru Peak is about 350 metres higher than Kala Patthar, and the usual routes take 6 to 8 days, so you have fewer days to adapt. On the Everest trail you spend four nights at or above 4,400 metres: two at Dingboche, then Lobuche and Gorak Shep. In my opinion, the two treks demand different things: Kilimanjaro asks for one hard summit night, and Everest Base Camp asks for patience for nine days. I would not call either easy.

What do other guides not tell you?

• The itinerary is a plan, not a promise. Weather, a headache or a delayed flight can change a day. Build in a spare day at the end.
• Day 1 can start at midnight. In the busy windows you get up before 1am for the drive to Ramechhap. It is tiring, and it is the price of a short flight in good light.
• The rest days are the trek. People who skip the hike on Days 3 and 6 because they feel fine are the people we send back down on Day 8.
• Eat and drink more than you want to. Your appetite drops above Dingboche. Our guides keep asking, because eating is part of acclimatising.
• The coldest part is the night, not the day. Look at the Dingboche column in the weather table. Pack for it.
• Turning back is part of the plan. The guide uses a pulse oximeter and watches your breathing, appetite and how you walk, and the decision to go down is his.

What is the 2pm rule on Everest?

It is a turnaround time that climbers on the Everest summit push use, meaning that if you have not reached the top by a fixed hour you turn around however close you are. I have not checked an official source for the exact hour, and it does not apply to the Base Camp trek. For trekkers, the useful habit is simply to start early each day and be in the lodge before the afternoon, because cloud and wind often build later.

What if I need to change my dates?

The deposit is non-refundable, but you can reschedule free of charge with at least 72 hours' notice, to any date within one year. If we cannot run the trip ourselves, we refund what you paid, less taxes, bank and card charges and any money already spent on your behalf, such as permits and flights. We are a family company, started in 2016, with three generations of family guides behind us and over 300 reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Trustpilot.

Frequently asked questions

How many days is the Everest Base Camp trek?

Twelve days from Kathmandu to Kathmandu on our standard plan, with nine of those on the trail and two rest days. Fourteen days is better if you can spare them.

What is the hardest day on the Everest Base Camp trek?

Most people say Day 8 or Day 9, the highest night at Gorak Shep and the 3am start to Kala Patthar. Day 2 is the steepest, and Day 11 is the hardest on the knees.

How far do you walk each day?

Between 10 and 21 kilometres on trek days, with two rest days. See the table above and our distance guide.

Where do you sleep on the Everest Base Camp trek?

In teahouses along the trail. Phakding, Namche, Tengboche, Dingboche, Lobuche and Gorak Shep on the way up, and Pangboche, Namche and Lukla on the way down. See our guide to the best teahouses.

Do I fly from Kathmandu or Ramechhap?

In the busy windows, from 15 March to 15 May and from 25 September to 30 November, most flights go from Manthali at Ramechhap, and you leave Kathmandu around midnight. At other times some flights still go from Kathmandu. We explain it in our Ramechhap guide.

Can I do Everest Base Camp in less than 12 days?

Not safely on foot. Shorter plans skip the rest days or use a helicopter.

Is Kilimanjaro harder than Everest Base Camp?

They are different. Kilimanjaro is higher and shorter, and Everest Base Camp is longer with more days at altitude. See the table above.

Sources

Our live 12-day Everest Base Camp itinerary (altitudes, walking times, distances and day descriptions, read 4 October 2026). Our own guides to the trek distance, the Ramechhap flights, the weather by month and each village on the route. Wikipedia, "Mount Kilimanjaro" (height, route lengths, success rates). The CDC Yellow Book, High-Altitude Travel and Altitude Illness (the 500 metre rule). For permits, the Nepal Tourism Board fee tables for Sagarmatha National Park and TIMS. For weather, the station data tabulated in our weather guide.

If you want to talk through the itinerary before you book, message me on WhatsApp on +977 9810351300. You can also look at our 12-day Everest Base Camp trek.

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation Himalayan guide. TAAN Member #1586.