Everest Base Camp and Island Peak Climbing, 18 Days is an 18-day trek and climb for fit walkers who want Everest Base Camp and a first 6,000 m summit in one trip. It reaches 6,165 m (Island Peak summit) and is graded Technically Challenging: a long walk on the Everest trail, then a glacier, a fixed-rope headwall and a narrow summit ridge. It costs from USD 4,420 per person (Budget, couple). The price per person is the same for a private trip and a group of the same size, and it falls as the group grows.
Everest Base Camp and Island Peak at a glance
| Duration | 18 days, Kathmandu to Kathmandu (16 days from Lukla to Lukla, one reserve day at base camp, one spare day at Lukla) |
|---|---|
| Maximum altitude | 6,165 m / 20,226 ft (Island Peak summit). Kala Patthar 5,545 m, Everest Base Camp 5,364 m |
| Grade | Technically Challenging. Excellent fitness needed. A glacier, fixed rope and a summit ridge |
| Best months | April and May, October and November |
| Group size | 1 to 20, always private |
| Starts and ends | Kathmandu. Fly to Lukla (Manthali in the busy weeks), fly back |
| Walking | 5 to 8 hours a day on the trail. Summit day is much longer |
| Permits | NMA climbing royalty, Sagarmatha National Park, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, TIMS. All included |
| Climbing team | A climbing Sherpa for every climber, all technical gear, oxygen, base camp food, USD 500 garbage fee |
| From price | USD 4,420 per person, Budget, couple. Standard USD 5,835, Luxury USD 11,670 |
Why I built it this way
Most people who ask me about Everest Base Camp are really asking two questions. Do I want to see Everest? And do I want to stand on something myself? This trip answers both. You walk the classic trail to Base Camp and Kala Patthar first, then turn east at Dingboche and climb Island Peak, 6,165 m. I did it in this order on purpose.
The order is the point. By the time you reach Chhukung you have slept at 4,410 m, 4,940 m and 5,164 m, and you have been to 5,545 m on Kala Patthar. Your body has had a long, slow lesson in altitude. That is the best preparation I know for a summit day, and it costs you four more days than our 14-day Island Peak climb. If you only want the mountain, our Island Peak climbing guide is shorter. If you want Everest as well, this is the one.
The summit day is a real climb. You cross a glacier in the dark, go up a steep headwall on fixed rope and walk a narrow ridge. You do not need to have climbed before, because your climbing Sherpa teaches you everything at base camp the afternoon before. You do need to be very fit and to have trekked at altitude. Read Can a Beginner Climb Island Peak? Difficulty and Experience Guide and Island Peak Training Plan: How to Prepare for Your First Himalayan Summit before you book, and tell me honestly what you have done.
The royalty, the permits, all the technical gear, the base camp food and the USD 500 garbage fee are in the price. Hotel nights in Kathmandu are not, so you choose your own. Every booking helps pay the teacher's salary at our Nagarjun Learning Center in Saldum. The Everest Holiday is a family company founded in 2016, from three generations of guiding in the Himalayas.
Best time to go, month by month
Rain and temperatures below are published station averages from our Everest weather guide, not forecasts. Above Dingboche there is no station, so I describe the trail from what our guides see.
| Month | What it is like | My verdict |
|---|---|---|
| January | Coldest month. Dingboche lows near -15 C (modelled), strong wind high up, some lodges shut above Dingboche. Clear skies. | Only with winter climbing experience |
| February | Same cold as January, a little more daylight. Dingboche lows still about -14 C (modelled). | Only with winter climbing experience |
| March | Cold early, warming through the month. The spring season starts and base camp fills up. | Good, with a warm sleeping bag |
| April | Warm days, rhododendrons below Namche, stable snow on the summit slope. Busy. | Best, with May |
| May | Warmest month, hazier afternoons, more rain at Lukla (127.6 mm). Start every day early. | Best, with April |
| June | Monsoon. Lukla gets 324.8 mm of rain, flights are unreliable, snow and avalanche risk on the approach. | No |
| July | Monsoon. Lukla gets 529.8 mm. Cloud hides the mountains. | No |
| August | Wettest month. Lukla gets 641.8 mm. | No |
| September | The monsoon is clearing but Lukla still gets 419.0 mm. Late in the month it improves. | Late September only, with spare days |
| October | The first properly dry month, clear and cold, the main autumn climbing season. Very busy. The last week can bring a late storm, so keep spare days. | Best, with November |
| November | Almost no rain, clear and colder. Dingboche lows near -11 C (modelled), and Gorak Shep nights colder still. Quieter as the month goes on. | Best, with October |
| December | Dry and very cold. Early December is the gentlest of the cold months. Few climbers. | Only with care |
One price applies all year. The Nepal Mountaineering Association charges USD 350 for Island Peak in spring and USD 175 in autumn, winter and summer, and we cost the spring figure, so you pay the same in any month. See the Best Time to Trek to Everest Base Camp in 2027: An Honest Month-by-Month Guide for more.
Permits and costs
We apply for every permit and pay for all of them. You send us your passport details early, because climbing permits need 48 hours, counted in government working days, so Nepali weekends and public holidays do not count.
| Permit or fee | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| NMA climbing royalty, Island Peak | USD 350 spring, USD 175 autumn, winter and summer | Nepal Mountaineering Association page, read 9 Oct 2026. Included, whatever the season |
| Sagarmatha National Park entry | NPR 3,000 (NPR 1,500 SAARC) | Included |
| Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality | NPR 3,000 | Included |
| TIMS card | NPR 2,000 (NPR 1,000 SAARC) | Included, we issue it through our agency |
| Garbage fee for the climb | USD 500 | Included on every tier |
The price per person falls as the group grows, and a child pays the same as an adult. Private or group, the price per person is the same. Here is the full table.
| Group size | Budget | Standard | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 guest (solo) | USD 6,040 | USD 6,890 | USD 12,025 |
| 2 to 4 guests | USD 4,420 | USD 5,835 | USD 11,670 |
| 5 to 8 guests | USD 4,115 | USD 5,620 | USD 11,150 |
| 9 to 12 guests | USD 3,890 | USD 5,300 | USD 10,635 |
| 13 to 20 guests | USD 3,715 | USD 5,095 | USD 10,220 |
Not included: international flights, your Nepal visa (USD 30 for 15 days or USD 50 for 30 days, paid in cash on arrival), Kathmandu hotel nights, travel insurance, tips, personal spending and any extra porter (USD 25 per day plus 13% VAT and the 3.5% bank charge). Our family homestay in Kathmandu is USD 15 per person per night. You pay a 10% deposit to book and the balance in Kathmandu. We take US dollars or euros, in cash or by card, and we cover the card fee on the deposit. If you pay the balance by card it carries a 3.5% bank charge. Cash in Kathmandu has no fee.
Getting there and getting back
You fly from Kathmandu to Lukla, a flight of about 40 minutes. Between roughly 15 March and 15 May and 25 September and 30 November the flights may leave from Manthali instead, and we include the road transfer. Luxury flies to Lukla and back by helicopter, on a shared seat. Read our Is the Lukla Flight Safe? An Honest Answer from Someone Who Flies It and Manthali (Ramechhap) Airport: Where Your Lukla Flight Leaves From in Peak Season before you choose your dates.
Lukla flights are the weak link, so we build in a spare day at Lukla and ask you to keep at least one more spare day before your international flight. Visa on arrival is USD 30 for 15 days or USD 50 for 30 days, and your passport must be valid for at least six months.
Safety and altitude
This trip goes higher than most people have been. You sleep at Gorak Shep (5,164 m) on day 8, then at base camp (5,087 m). Your guide checks your oxygen level and how you feel every day, with a pulse oximeter. If you are not acclimatising, we do not go higher. The Himalayan Rescue Association aid post at Pheriche is a few hours' walk from the main trail.
On the mountain your climbing Sherpa decides, and his word is final. We rope up on the headwall and turn back for weather, snow conditions or how you feel. Emergency oxygen stays with the climbing team. If you need rescue, it is paid from your travel insurance, so buy a policy at home that covers climbing to 6,500 m and helicopter evacuation. Read Is Island Peak Dangerous? Deaths, Risks, and Safety (Honest Guide) for the full picture.
What to pack
- Broken-in trekking boots for the trail (double mountaineering boots, crampons, harness, ice axe and helmet are provided)
- A warm sleeping bag rated to about -15 C, or ask us to lend one
- A down jacket, a fleece, thermal base layers and a windproof shell
- Warm gloves plus a thin pair, a warm hat, a buff and sunglasses with side shields
- Sun cream SPF 50 and lip balm
- A head torch and spare batteries (cold drains them)
- Two one-litre water bottles and purification tablets
- A daypack of about 30 litres. Your duffel goes with the porter
- Personal medicines and blister care
- Our full list is in What to Pack for Everest Base Camp: The Only List You Actually Need
Budget, Standard or Luxury
All three tiers climb the same mountain with the same Sherpa, gear and permits. What changes is how you live on the trail and how you get to Lukla.
| Budget | Standard | Luxury | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooms | Shared rooms in simple teahouses | Private twin rooms, attached bathroom where the lodge has one | Private deluxe rooms, ensuite where the lodge has one |
| Porter | None. You carry your own pack. An extra porter is USD 25 per day plus 13% VAT and the 3.5% bank charge | One porter for every two trekkers, 20 kg each in total. A solo guest has no porter: the guide carries up to 10 kg | One dedicated porter for every trekker |
| Meals | Not included on the trail. All food at base camp and above is included | Breakfast, lunch and dinner every day, tea or coffee and seasonal fruit once a day | All meals, fruit and nuts, tea, coffee, soft drinks, juice and water whenever you want |
| Lukla flight | Fixed-wing, Kathmandu or Manthali to Lukla and back | Fixed-wing, Kathmandu or Manthali to Lukla and back | Round-trip helicopter, Kathmandu to Lukla and back, shared seat |
| Guide | 1 guide, an assistant at 8 or more | 1 guide per 6, an assistant at 7 or more | 1 guide for every 2 trekkers |
| Climbing Sherpa | 1 for each climber | 1 for each climber | 1 for each climber |
| Gear, royalty, garbage fee, oxygen | Included | Included | Included |
Read before you book
- Island Peak Climbing: Your First Summit Above Six Thousand Metres
- Island Peak Climbing Cost 2027: Budget Breakdown
- Island Peak Training Plan: How to Prepare for Your First Himalayan Summit
- EBC Altitude Profile: Where Trekkers Struggle and Why
- Nepal Peak Climbing Permit Fees 2027: NMA Rates, Royalties, and What You Actually Pay
- Chhukung (4,730m): Gateway to the Kongma La and Island Peak
The Everest Holiday is a family company founded in 2016, from three generations of guiding in the Himalayas.
Secure payment by Himalayan Bank.
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