- Way upLukla 2,840 → Phakding 2,610 → Namche 3,440 (+ rest day) → Tengboche 3,860 → Dingboche 4,410 (+ rest day) → Lobuche 4,910 → Gorak Shep 5,164 / base camp 5,364 → Kala Patthar 5,545 · 8 days · ≈ 65 km
- Way downGorak Shep → Pheriche 4,200 → Namche → Lukla · 3 days · ≈ 65 km · or helicopter Gorak Shep–Lukla in 20 minutes
- Walking times5–8 hours a day; base camp day 7–8, Kala Patthar day 7–8 (ascent before sunrise plus descent to Pheriche)
- Package duration11–12 days from the Lukla flight · 14 days from Kathmandu · 15 with buffer or city day · 17 via Gokyo and Cho La
- FlightKathmandu–Lukla 35 minutes; March–May and October–November from Manthali (Ramechhap), 4–6 hours' drive, departing at night
12, 14, 15 or 17 days: what the number in the title means
The trek takes eleven days from Lukla to Lukla with every operator – eight up with two rest days, three down. What distinguishes the packages is the frame around it. Twelve days (Incredible, Scenic, Outfitter, Mount Face with eleven) begin on the morning of the Lukla flight and end with the return flight; you organise Kathmandu before and after yourself, and the operator picks you up at the domestic airport. Fourteen days (Ace, Nepal Hiking Team, Alpine Ramble, Green Valley, Himalayan Recreation, Nirvana, Accessible, Sunrise) count arrival and departure – whether the hotel nights are then included is another question. Fifteen days have either a buffer day at the end (Himalayan Leisure) or a free day in Kathmandu (Unique, Explore). Seventeen days is Ace's Gokyo circuit: via the Gokyo lakes and Gokyo Ri, Cho La at 5,300 m, then Lobuche and the main route – 14 trekking days, no path walked twice.
What cannot be cut: the two acclimatisation days in Namche and Dingboche. Eleven-day programmes that drop them save at the wrong end. With Mount Face, Incredible and Outfitter no itinerary is available – ask before booking.
The stages
Eight sections as they appear in the itineraries. Altitudes per Ace the Himalaya and Accessible Adventure; operators differ by up to 100 m (Dingboche 4,350 to 4,460, Kala Patthar 5,545 to 5,555).
The runway is 527 m long, climbs twelve per cent and ends at a hillside.
Everything begins with the flight to Lukla, and everything depends on it: 35 minutes in a Twin Otter, visual flight, only in clear weather. In peak season – March to May, October, November – the planes leave not from Kathmandu but from Manthali (Ramechhap), four to six hours' drive away, because Kathmandu airport is too crowded. When clouds hang low, nothing flies; then hundreds wait, and the packages include no substitute. Ace, Nepal Hiking Team, Scenic and Unique name Manthali expressly; Himalayan Leisure is the only product with a built-in buffer day.
Five suspension bridges, then 600 m of ascent, then a town in a semicircle on the hillside.
The trail follows the Dudh Kosi, the milk river, over suspension bridges full of prayer flags; at Monjo the national park checks permits. After the last, highest bridge – the Hillary Bridge – the path climbs in switchbacks through pine forest, and somewhere along it the tip of Everest appears for the first time behind the Nuptse-Lhotse ridge. Namche Bazaar at 3,440 m is the Sherpa capital: bakeries, gear shops, ATMs, bars – and the place where everyone stays a day to get used to the altitude.
The monastery stands on a saddle, and Ama Dablam stands behind it as if someone had placed it there.
From Namche along the hillside with views of Everest and Ama Dablam, down to the river at Phunki Tenga, then 600 m up to Tengboche Monastery, the largest in the Khumbu. In the afternoon there is puja, and the monks let visitors watch. The lodges sit around the meadow in front of the monastery; for more quiet, go ten minutes further down to Debuche. From here the nights get cold – and from here the sleeping bag, lent by nine products, becomes the most important piece of gear.
Above the tree line: stone walls, potato fields, yaks, and minus ten in the room at night.
Beyond Pangboche the forest ends, and the Imja Khola valley opens to Dingboche: a village of stone walls below Lhotse, Island Peak and Ama Dablam, at 4,410 m. This is where the second acclimatisation day falls, and it is the most important: Ace, Alpine Ramble, Himalayan Leisure, Unique, Accessible and the other 14-day programmes climb Nangkartshang (5,083 m) or into the Chhukung valley and sleep in Dingboche again. Green Valley instead takes two short stages via Duglha. The 11- and 12-day programmes without an itinerary in the data – Incredible, Outfitter, Mount Face – leave open whether this day is included.
On the pass above Duglha stand the memorials, and everyone reads the names.
The trail climbs the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier; above Duglha stand the chortens for those who died on Everest – Scott Fischer, Babu Chiri Sherpa, many names nobody knows. Lobuche is a handful of lodges at 4,910 m, the coldest and most basic of the route; Ace expressly calls them “basic guesthouse”. Headache is now normal, loss of appetite too. The guides measure oxygen saturation morning and evening – with Scenic, Unique, Accessible and Ace Heli the oximeter is in the list.
You cannot see Everest from base camp. You see the icefall, and that is enough.
From Lobuche three hours over rubble to Gorak Shep, the last settlement at 5,164 m, lunch, then on across the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier to base camp. There is a boulder with prayer flags, a sign, and in spring a tent city of expeditions; Everest itself is hidden behind Nuptse and the west shoulder. Two to three hours back to Gorak Shep, where the lodges are full and nobody sleeps well.
Off at five in the dark, at half past six the sun stands on Everest.
Kala Patthar, the “black rock”, is a hill above Gorak Shep – 400 m of ascent that feels like 1,000 at 5,500 m. From the top Everest stands free: south-west face, summit ridge, Hillary Step, plus Nuptse, Lhotse, Pumori right behind you, the Khumbu Glacier below. This is the picture you come for; base camp was the place. The operators give the altitude as 5,545 to 5,555 m. Then the descent begins: with the classic programmes three days on foot to Lukla, with Ace Heli and Luxury Holidays 20 minutes by helicopter.
Three days downhill, a degree warmer every evening, and in Namche there is cake again.
The descent is long, but the air gets thicker every day: Pheriche, then the long day to Namche, then Lukla. On the last evening crew and guests celebrate, and this is where the tips are handed over – expressly extra with 16 of 19 products, “it is expected”, as Ace writes. In the morning the flight to Kathmandu or Manthali; the hotel night is included with eleven products, not with eight.
The route in stages: altitudes and itineraries from the operator data, photos illustrate the places. The boxes show where the four compared offers differ at the same spot.
Day-by-day itineraries of the products
Three itineraries from the Viator data: the 14-day classic (Ace), the helicopter version (Ace Heli) and the Gokyo circuit (Ace Gokyo). The other classics follow the first pattern; Green Valley goes via Phortse instead of Tengboche and splits Dingboche–Lobuche into two short days.
Ace the Himalaya · 14 days, all in 14 days · 13 nights
Pickup with a sign, transfer to the hotel, trek briefing – the next morning if you arrive after 4 pm.
☾ 3-Sterne-Hotel 1.400 mEarly flight to Lukla, in peak season from Manthali (4–6 hours' drive). Briefing at the airport, meet the porters, easy descent along the Dudh Kosi to Phakding.
☾ Lodge 2.610 mSuspension bridges over the Dudh Kosi, entry into Sagarmatha National Park at Monjo, then the steep climb to Namche – with a first view of Everest in clear weather.
☾ Lodge 3.441 mAcclimatisation day: Sherpa museum, climb to the Syangboche airstrip and the Everest View Hotel, back to Namche.
☾ Lodge 3.441 mAlong the hillside, down to the river, up to Tengboche Monastery with Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Everest in view; evening puja at the monastery.
☾ Lodge 3.860 mVia Debuche and Pangboche, the tree line falls behind, Dingboche sits among stone walls below Lhotse, Island Peak and Ama Dablam.
☾ Lodge 4.350 mSecond acclimatisation day: climb to Nangkartshang at 5,083 m with a view of Ama Dablam, afternoon free.
☾ Lodge 4.350 mVia Duglha and the memorials to climbers who died, along the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier to Lobuche. The air becomes noticeably thin.
☾ Lodge 4.910 mThe big day: to Gorak Shep, lunch, then across the glacier to base camp at 5,364 m with a view into the Khumbu Icefall; in spring the expedition tents are up. Back to Gorak Shep.
☾ Lodge 5.180 mBefore sunrise up Kala Patthar (5,555 m per Ace): Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Pumori, Changtse. Then a long descent via Lobuche to Pheriche.
☾ Lodge 4.200 mVia Pangboche and Tengboche back to Namche.
☾ Lodge 3.441 mThe last trekking day back to Lukla, afternoon free, evening celebration with the crew.
☾ Lodge 2.804 mFlight to Kathmandu or Manthali plus drive, transfer to the hotel.
☾ 3-Sterne-HotelTransfer to the international airport.
Ace the Himalaya · 12 days with helicopter from Gorak Shep 12 days · 11 nights
Pickup, hotel, pre-trip meeting with the guide.
☾ 3-Sterne-HotelFlight to Lukla, meet the porters, to Phakding.
☾ Lodge 2.610 mSuspension bridges, national park, climb to Namche.
☾ Lodge 3.441 mAcclimatisation with a short loop above Namche.
☾ Lodge 3.441 mTo Tengboche Monastery.
☾ Lodge 3.860 mVia Debuche and Pangboche to Dingboche.
☾ Lodge 4.350 mAcclimatisation on Nangkartshang.
☾ Lodge 4.350 mMoraine and memorials, Lobuche.
☾ Einfache Lodge 4.910 mBase camp and back to Gorak Shep.
☾ Einfache Lodge 5.180 mMorning on Kala Patthar, back to Gorak Shep, shared helicopter to Lukla in 20 minutes – three days of descent saved.
☾ Lodge LuklaScheduled flight to Kathmandu or Manthali, farewell dinner.
☾ 3-Sterne-HotelTransfer for departure.
Ace the Himalaya · 17 days via Gokyo and Cho La 17 days · 16 nights
Arrival, hotel, pre-trek meeting at the office.
☾ 3-Sterne-HotelFlight to Lukla, to Phakding.
☾ Lodge 2.610 mTo Namche.
☾ Lodge 3.441 mAcclimatisation, Everest View Hotel.
☾ Lodge 3.441 mInstead of Tengboche into the Gokyo valley: through rhododendron forest and yak pastures.
☾ Lodge 3.680 mOver a ridge with views of Cho Oyu, to the terminal moraine of the Ngozumpa Glacier.
☾ Lodge 4.470 mTo the Gokyo lakes, two nights.
☾ Lodge 4.790 mEarly up Gokyo Ri: Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu and Nepal's largest glacier underfoot.
☾ Lodge 4.790 mAcross the glacier to the foot of Cho La; only dormitories in Thangna.
☾ Schlafsaal 4.500 mOff at 4 or 5 am, pass by 9 or 10 am, steep on rock and glacier, diversion in fresh snow.
☾ Lodge 4.710 mShort day to Lobuche, joining the main route.
☾ Lodge 4.910 mBase camp and Gorak Shep.
☾ Lodge 5.180 mKala Patthar in the morning, descent to Pheriche.
☾ Lodge 4.200 mTo Namche.
☾ Lodge 3.441 mTo Lukla, celebration.
☾ Lodge 2.804 mFlight to Kathmandu.
☾ 3-Sterne-HotelDeparture.
Stops and walking times from the operator's Viator product data, edited for length. Maps and figures illustrate the route and are not for navigation.
The Lukla flight: Manthali, cloud, buffer days
Lukla airport sits at 2,840 m on a hillside, the runway is 527 m long and climbs twelve per cent; flying is by visual rules, in the morning, before the clouds build. In peak season – March to May, October and November – the aviation authority moves the Lukla flights to Manthali in Ramechhap district, four to six hours' drive east of Kathmandu. That means: departure at two or three in the morning, flight at sunrise. Ace, Nepal Hiking Team, Scenic, Unique, Nirvana and Luxury Holidays name Manthali in their lists; the others write “Kathmandu–Lukla” and in season mean the same.
In fog or wind nothing flies, sometimes for days. Then hundreds of trekkers pile up in Lukla or Kathmandu, and the packages include no substitute: Explore Himalaya puts it most clearly – no refund, helicopter at a surcharge if available. Himalayan Recreation advises one or two buffer days, Himalayan Leisure is the only product with one built in. Booking the long-haul flight for the day after the planned return flight is gambling with the weather.