How Much Does the Everest Three Passes Trek Cost in 2027?

Written by Shreejan Simkhada, CEO of The Everest Holiday and third-generation Himalayan guide. TAAN Member #1586. Prices on this page were read from our live package page on 15 October 2026.

The short answer: our 17-day Everest Three Passes trek costs US$1,855 to US$4,999 per person for two to four travellers (US$2,755 to US$6,180 for one traveller), and less per person for bigger groups. Budget starts at US$1,855, Standard at US$3,540 and Luxury at US$5,645. Those prices include the Lukla flights (a helicopter both ways on Luxury), the three Khumbu permits and your guide. They do not include your international flight, your Kathmandu hotel, your visa, tips or insurance. Our website prices hold for 2027, so the table below applies to either year.

The Three Passes route crosses Renjo La (5,360 m), Cho La (5,420 m) and Kongma La (5,535 m), and takes in Gokyo, Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar. This page is about cost only. It also tells you plainly why the trip costs more than Everest Base Camp, what happens if a pass is closed, and the two things I can't put a firm number on: food on the Budget tier, and tips. For the route day by day, read our Three Passes trek guide.

How much does the Everest Three Passes trek cost per person?

Pricing is the same for a private trip and a group. What changes the price is how many travellers are in your party. These are the live per-person prices for the 17-day itinerary, in US dollars.

Travellers	Budget	Standard	Luxury
1	1,855	3,540	5,645
2 to 4	1,855	3,540	5,645
5 to 8	1,405	3,190	5,645
9 to 12	1,380	3,125	5,620
13 to 20	1,285	3,095	5,560

Source: our Everest Three Passes package page, group-price table, read 2 October 2026. A solo traveller is welcome; the minimum is one person. We run every trip privately for your group, even if that is one person. We never merge separate private bookings. Our booking system also lists open fixed departures on 4 and 12 October 2026 and on 5, 12, 19 and 26 April and 5, 12, 19 and 26 May 2027 (read 2 October 2026). For any other dates, contact us.

What is included in each tier?

All three tiers follow the same 17-day route. The tier decides who carries your bag, what you eat, where you sleep and how you reach Lukla.

Line item	Budget	Standard	Luxury
Airport pick-up and drop-off	Included	Included	Included, private luxury vehicle
Flights to and from Lukla	Fixed-wing, included (from Kathmandu or Manthali)	Fixed-wing, included (from Kathmandu or Manthali)	Helicopter, round trip, included
Sagarmatha National Park permit, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu fee, TIMS	Included	Included	Included
Guide	One guide per group, assistant guide at 8 or more	One guide per 6 trekkers, assistant at 7 or more	One guide per 2 trekkers, plus an assistant for each extra 2
Porter	None. You carry your own bag	One porter per 2 trekkers, 20 kg shared load	One porter per trekker, 20 kg
Meals on the trek	Not included	Three meals a day, daily fruit, tea or coffee with meals, 2 litres of warm water	Three luxury meals with fruit, dry fruits and nuts, tea, coffee, soft drinks, juices and mineral water (no alcohol)
Rooms	Shared	Twin room, with attached bathroom where possible	Private deluxe room with attached bathroom, hot showers, charging, bed heater and internet covered
Sleeping bag and down jacket	Free on request	Free on request, plus duffel bag	Free on request, plus duffel bag
First-aid kit with oximeter, T-shirt and cap, farewell meal, certificate, free luggage storage, SIM card	Included	Included, SIM with limited data	Included, SIM with unlimited data

Source: the inclusions on the live package page, read 2 October 2026. Two points on porters. On a solo booking, Luxury still gets its own porter. Standard does not: porters are shared one for two, so a single Standard trekker has no porter and the guide carries up to 10 kg of the bag. Budget never has a porter. If you want one on Budget, an extra porter costs US$25 a day, plus 13 per cent VAT and 3.5 per cent bank charge on top. Related: Luxury Nepal trekking: premium lodges, helicopter transfers and what the luxury tier really includes.

Why does the Three Passes trek cost more than Everest Base Camp?

Mostly because it is five days longer, and every day carries a crew. This is my own calculation on live prices for one traveller, Budget tier.

Trek (one traveller, Budget)	Days	Price (US$)	Price per day (US$)
Everest Base Camp	12	1,399	116.58
Everest Base Camp with Gokyo Ri	15	1,699	113.27
Everest Three Passes	17	1,855	97.00

Read that table twice. The Three Passes trek costs US$250 more than Everest Base Camp for five more days, and per day it is the cheapest of the three, because the flights, the Kathmandu transfers and the first days to Namche cost the same whatever the length. On Standard it is US$3,540 against US$2,785, and on Luxury US$4,999 against US$4,999, so for a solo Luxury traveller the Three Passes price is actually the lower of the two. What you are really paying for is the extra crew time on days when the weather can change the plan: pass days start before dawn, and our guides decide on the morning whether a pass is safe. The Everest Base Camp price comparison is in our Everest Base Camp cost guide, and the shorter lakes trek is in our Gokyo Lakes cost guide.

What is not included?

These are the exclusions on the package page, plus the costs that sit outside any trek price.

• Your international flight to and from Kathmandu.
• Your Nepal visa. Our package page lists US$30 for 15 days, US$50 for 30 days and US$125 for 90 days, payable in US dollars on arrival. The 15-day visa is shorter than the 17-day trek, so you will need the 30-day one. Confirm the fees against the immigration department's own page before you travel.
• Kathmandu hotels before and after the trek. Kathmandu hotels are not included in any trek tier, so we quote them separately. Our family homestay is US$15 per person per night, and it supports our learning centre.
• Tips for your guide and porters. They are customary and up to you. I won't print a figure, because there is no published norm.
• Extra porters and excess luggage, at the rates above.
• Drinks outside your tier. Budget has no food or drinks included, Standard excludes drinks outside meals, and Luxury excludes alcohol.
• Extra costs from delays outside our control, such as landslides, weather, strikes, flight changes or a pass that is closed.
• Travel insurance. Buy it in your home country, not in Nepal, and make sure it covers trekking and helicopter evacuation up to 6,000 m. That is set above the highest point of the route (Kala Patthar is 5,545 m and Kongma La is 5,535 m) because a rescue helicopter has to fly higher than you are standing in order to reach you. Rescue is funded by your insurance.

What do the permits cost, and are they in the price?

They are in the price, on every tier. For your information, the figures are:

Permit	Fee for foreigners	Source
Sagarmatha National Park entry	NPR 3,000	Nepal Tourism Board park entry fees page (ntb.gov.np), read 4 September 2026
Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality fee	NPR 3,000	Local fee collected at Lukla or Monjo. There is no official web page for it; the figure is the one our own team pays on the trail, raised from NPR 2,000 in 2024
TIMS card	NPR 2,000	Nepal Tourism Board, ntb.gov.np TIMS page, read 2 October 2026

That is NPR 8,000 per person in total. I have not converted it to dollars, because the rate moves. We buy the TIMS card for every trekker through our agency registration, because TIMS is a safety record that names you, your guide and your route.

How much is the Lukla flight, and what does the helicopter option cost?

On Budget and Standard, the round-trip fixed-wing flight is in your price. In the Ramechhap season the flight leaves from Manthali, a pre-dawn drive from Kathmandu, and we include that transfer. The civil aviation authority sets the windows, roughly 25 September to 30 November and about 15 March to 15 May, as set out in our domestic flights guide. Lukla's runway has no go-around, so weather holds are routine. There is no published Lukla cancellation rate for the other months. A 17-day trip with the return flight on day 17 needs a spare day before your international flight.

On Luxury, the price includes a helicopter both ways. If you are on Budget or Standard and want to swap, the shared-seat sell prices we publish in the flights guide are US$640 from Kathmandu to Lukla and US$710 from Lukla to Kathmandu, which is US$1,350 for both legs. Those prices include government tax, bank charges and the fuel supplement, and a shared seat depends on availability and weather. If you swap, the value of your fixed-wing ticket can be moved to the helicopter seat, less the airline's cancellation charge, bank charges and tax, so ask us for the net figure for your dates. If a flight is delayed, the guest pays for the extra nights and for any helicopter that you choose to take.

What does food cost on the Budget tier?

This is the one number I can't give you firmly. Budget has no meals included, and there is no published price list for teahouse menus in the Khumbu. Our package page tells Budget guests to plan about US$20 a day for personal expenses, which covers snacks, showers and small extras, but that is a general planning figure, not a menu price. Prices rise with altitude because everything is carried up, and over 17 days that adds up. Ask us before you book. If food cost worries you more than the saving, Standard puts all meals into the price. The step from Budget to Standard is US$1,010 for one traveller and US$1,100 for two to four, and it also buys you a twin room and, for two or more trekkers, a shared porter.

What happens if a pass is closed?

All three passes are above 5,300 m and are crossed in the day's first hours. The itinerary on the package page puts Renjo La on day 6, Cho La on day 9 and Kongma La on day 13. Snow or ice can close a pass for a day or more. The guide has the final say on safety over the itinerary. If a pass is not safe, we change the route before we push into it, and the cost of any change that comes from weather or snow falls under the exclusion for delays outside our control, so a helicopter or extra nights would be at your cost. I would rather tell you that now than after you arrive. Insurance that covers helicopter evacuation is not optional on this route.

How hard is the route, and who should not book it?

The itinerary climbs from Namche (3,440 m) to Thame (3,820 m), Lungden (4,500 m), then over Renjo La to Gokyo (4,790 m). It then goes over Cho La to Dzongla (4,830 m), on to Lobuche (4,940 m), Everest Base Camp (5,364 m) and Kala Patthar (5,545 m), and over Kongma La to Chhukung (4,730 m). The general guideline in the altitude-sickness literature is to increase your sleeping altitude by no more than about 300 m a day once you are high. Our itinerary has a rest day in Namche on day 3 and another at Gokyo on day 7 for Gokyo Ri (5,357 m). Thame to Lungden is a 680 m gain, and our guides check you with an oximeter. If you want a slower schedule, ask us and we will quote an extra day.

Skip this trek if you have never walked more than a few days in a row, if you are not happy with cold dining rooms at 4,800 m, or if you have no spare days in your plan. If you are new to the Himalaya, Everest Base Camp is the better first trek; read our first Himalayan trek guide and our altitude sickness guide. For the seasons, read Everest Base Camp weather month by month.

Is the Everest region open right now?

As of 29 September 2026, our flood update listed the Everest region as open and unaffected, and no damage has been reported since. Lukla and four other airports were closed for poor visibility on 25 September, which was a weather hold, not damage (Kathmandu Post, 25 September). We confirm the situation 48 hours before you depart, and if a road or flight is not working we find an alternative.

How do the deposit, the balance and cancellation work?

A 10 per cent deposit holds your dates and the balance is paid in Kathmandu. Card payment of the balance carries a 3.5 per cent charge; cash in Kathmandu does not. We take US dollars or card, not Nepali rupees, from foreign clients. If you need to move, you can reschedule free, with at least 72 hours' notice, to any date within one year. The deposit itself is not refunded if you cancel. If we cannot run the trip, we refund what you paid less taxes, bank and card charges and any money already spent on permits or flights.

To get a quote for your dates and group size, message me on WhatsApp or write to [email protected].

Sources

Sources: our live Everest Three Passes package page, group-price table and departures table (prices, tiers, inclusions, exclusions, itinerary, altitudes, departures and visa figures); Nepal Tourism Board TIMS page and park entry fees page (ntb.gov.np); Khumbu Pasang Lhamu fee: our own team, confirmed 30 September 2026, no official web page found. Flights and helicopter prices, Ramechhap windows and delay rule: our domestic flights guide. Route status: Kathmandu Post, 25 September 2026, and our flood update of 29 September 2026. Per-day prices and the Budget-to-Standard step are worked out from the live prices, with the Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Ri prices from our live package pages for those treks.

We are a family company in Kathmandu, three generations of Himalayan guides, registered in 2016 and a member of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, number 1586. Every booking helps fund our Nagarjun Learning Center at Saldum, where 70 children learn with a teacher I pay for personally.