Last updated 7 October 2026. Euro amounts use the European Central Bank reference rate of 6 October 2026, US$1 = EUR 0.887, which changes every day. You pay us in US dollars or euros. Flights, the Irish passport at the airport and the full Everest total are on the Dublin cost page; this page helps you choose which trek to book.
Someone who has walked the Irish hills for years already owns the habits that matter in Nepal: long days, wet feet, changing weather. What you do not have is a feel for altitude, and altitude is what separates one Nepali trek from the next. So this guide sets six of our treks beside each other and asks which one suits your leave, your legs and the month you want to go.
Six treks, side by side
These are prices per person for one to four trekkers, from our booking system on 7 October 2026, in euros rounded to the nearest 5. They hold for 2026 and 2027. Larger groups pay less, and one person can book alone.
| Trek | Days | Highest point | Grade | Budget | Standard | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everest Base Camp | 12 | Kala Patthar, 5,545 m | Strenuous | EUR 1,240 | EUR 2,220 | EUR 4,435 |
| Annapurna Base Camp | 9 | Annapurna Base Camp, 4,130 m | Moderate | EUR 445 | EUR 710 | EUR 1,240 |
| Ghorepani Poon Hill | 6 | Poon Hill, 3,210 m | Easy | EUR 445 | EUR 665 | EUR 1,095 |
| Langtang Valley | 8 | Tserko Ri, about 4,984 m | Moderate | EUR 325 | EUR 575 | EUR 885 |
| Manaslu Circuit | 12 | Larkya La, 5,160 m | Very strenuous | EUR 710 | EUR 1,420 | EUR 1,865 |
| Mardi Himal | 7 | Mardi Himal Base Camp, 4,500 m | Moderate | EUR 405 | EUR 755 | EUR 985 |
Choosing by days of leave
The days in the table are trekking days in Nepal. The flights come on top. Dublin had no nonstop flight in my 7 October search, so count a travel day each way, and add one spare day at the end for a late Lukla flight if you choose Everest.
- Six days or fewer: Ghorepani Poon Hill. A sunrise viewpoint at 3,210 m with Dhaulagiri (8,167 m) and Annapurna I (8,091 m) in view, and the only trek here graded easy.
- Seven or eight days: Mardi Himal for a narrow ridge above the forest, or Langtang for a valley north of Kathmandu.
- Nine days: Annapurna Base Camp, a walk into a ring of high peaks.
- Twelve days: Everest Base Camp for the famous one, or Manaslu for a quieter and much harder circuit that crosses Larkya La at 5,160 m.
How hard they really are
Most days on every trek are five to seven hours of walking. What changes is where you sleep. Poon Hill stays low. Mardi Himal and Annapurna Base Camp take you above 4,000 m. On Everest you sleep at 5,164 m in Gorak Shep and climb Kala Patthar from there. Manaslu is graded very strenuous: it crosses a pass and runs through restricted-area country. Langtang's highest point is the Tserko Ri viewpoint, a climb above the valley.
Good hill fitness helps your legs, but it does nothing for thin air, so the itineraries build in rest days and a slow pace. Train with stairs, a loaded pack and back-to-back days out, as in how fit you need to be.
A day on the trail
On the Everest trek the day starts early: breakfast, then walking by 7:00 or 8:00. The morning is three to four hours, followed by a long lunch in a teahouse, and the afternoon is two or three hours more, so you reach the night's lodge by mid-afternoon in time for tea. You spend 11 nights in traditional teahouses. Some have wifi, charging points and hot showers, which cost a little extra the higher you go. We give you a Nepali SIM in Kathmandu, and the signal is reliable up to Namche Bazaar and weaker above it. Carry a day pack of 20 to 30 litres, and anything you do not need on the trek can stay free of charge at our Kathmandu office.
Which month
October to mid November and March to April are the two settled seasons. On the Everest route, autumn days reach about 25 degrees Celsius with nights near minus 10 at height, and spring days sit near 20 degrees with nights around minus 5. Autumn is clearer and busier. Spring is warmer, with rhododendrons in the lower forests. December to February is quiet, with clear skies and nights that can fall to minus 20, and suits the lower treks best. From June to mid September the monsoon makes trails wet and views poor.
Dashain falls on 17 to 23 October this year and Tihar on 8 to 12 November. Government offices shut for both, so allow 48 working hours for permits. During the busiest weeks Lukla flights are sometimes moved to Manthali, a four to five hour drive from Kathmandu, with a pick-up between midnight and 2 am.
Nepal's visa, in two lines
Irish passports are not on the immigration department's list of twelve nationalities that must apply in advance, so you buy a visa at Tribhuvan airport: US$30 for 15 days, US$50 for 30 days (about EUR 45) or US$125 for 90 days. The online arrival form asks for a passport valid for at least six months. Steps are in our visa on arrival guide and e-visa guide.
Cover, gear and the daily routine
Standard holiday insurance often stops at a lower altitude than the trail reaches. Your policy needs to name trekking to 6,000 m for Everest, Manaslu or Langtang, and 5,000 m is enough for Annapurna Base Camp, Mardi Himal and Poon Hill, as our package pages say. It also needs helicopter rescue, a very large bill if you are uninsured, and illness cover. Our guide to helicopter cover to 6,000 m explains the wording. If you email me the policy I will tell you what I think of it, free of charge.
Bring your own boots and waterproofs, because those are personal. We lend a down jacket and a sleeping bag rated to minus 15, and one duffel bag per trekker, so tell us at the online briefing if you need them. Your main bag travels with the porter and you carry a day pack. Your guide checks your blood oxygen with an oximeter in the first-aid kit.
What the tiers change
What separates the tiers is who carries the bags and who feeds you, not where you walk. On Budget you carry your own pack, share a room and buy meals as you go. Standard includes all meals and a private room, and a porter is shared between two trekkers, which means one person travelling alone gets no porter and the guide takes up to 10 kg. Luxury has a dedicated porter, a deluxe private room with its own bathroom, fruit and nuts, soft drinks without limit and, on Everest, helicopter flights to and from Lukla. Every tier includes permits, a licensed guide and a lent down jacket and sleeping bag rated to minus 15. Hotels in Kathmandu are not included at any level.
Paying us
A 10 per cent deposit holds your dates. The balance is due when you arrive in Kathmandu, in US dollars or euros, cash without any fee or card with a 3.5 per cent charge. Nepali rupees are not accepted from foreign guests. Should you cancel, the deposit stays with us and nothing else is refunded, though you may shift the trek to any date in the following twelve months for free if we hear from you 72 hours beforehand (seven days for restricted areas, Tibet and Kailash). If we cannot run the trip, you receive what you have paid, less taxes, card and bank charges and money we have already spent on permits or flights.
Looking us up
You should check us before trusting us. We registered in Kathmandu in 2016 (registration 147653/072/073, trekking licence 2090/072), we are TAAN member 1586, and the family has guided for three generations. Over 300 people have written reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Trustpilot. Each of the registrations can be looked up with the issuing body. Since licensed operators have also been caught out in scams, a video call before any payment is a fair thing to ask for. Part of each booking goes to the Nagarjun Learning Center.
Related: Everest Base Camp from Ireland, all in, the day-by-day itinerary and permits and fees.
To talk through which trek fits your dates, message me on WhatsApp +977 9810351300 or [email protected].
Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday. TAAN 1586.
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