Everest Base Camp Trek (Self-Launched)

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport and make your own way to Thamel by prepaid airport taxi (fixed rate ~500-800 NPR / £3-5) or book a hotel that includes pickup. Check into a budget guesthouse in Thamel or Paknajang. Spend the afternoon getting your TIMS card and Sagarmatha National Park permit at the Nepal Tourism Board office in Bhrikutimandu (bring passport photos and cash — roughly £40 total), pick up or hire any gear you're missing on Thamel's trekking shops, and grab a dal bhat dinner.

🚌Airport taxi ~£4; walking around Thamel

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (~£12-15/night, twin room)

• →Arrive and settle into Thamel
• →Buy TIMS card and Sagarmatha National Park permit
• →Gear shopping and hiring in Thamel

Do your own walking tour of the Kathmandu Valley's big four, booking an English-speaking local guide or joining a small-group GetYourGuide/Klook city tour if you want context. Start at Kathmandu Durbar Square, then take a short taxi to Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple), then Boudhanath Stupa for lunch in a rooftop café, and finish at Pashupatinath for the evening aarti. Entry tickets are cheap if paid direct. Spend the evening repacking for the trek and confirming your Lukla flight.

🚌Taxis between sites ~£2-3 each; total ~£10

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (~£12-15/night)

• →Kathmandu Durbar Square (entry ~£8)
• →Swayambhunath entry ~£1.60
• →Boudhanath entry ~£3
• →Pashupatinath entry ~£8; optional local guide ~£25

Book your Kathmandu–Lukla flight yourself (Tara Air, Summit Air or Sita Air, roughly £170-200 return; ask your guesthouse to help and always keep 2 buffer days in your return plans as Lukla weather cancellations are common). The 35-minute flight into Tenzing-Hillary Airport is an experience in itself. Breakfast in Lukla, then walk north along the Dudh Koshi river through Cheplung to Phakding — about 3-4 hours, mostly gentle descent.

🚌Domestic flight Kathmandu–Lukla ~£170-200 return; trek 8km

🛏Tea house in Phakding (~£5-8/night for a basic twin, sometimes free/discounted if you eat all meals there)

• →Scenic Lukla flight
• →Trek Lukla to Phakding along the Dudh Koshi
• →Register at Sagarmatha National Park checkpoint

A big climbing day — roughly 6-7 hours, 800m of ascent. Cross the famous high suspension bridges over the Dudh Koshi, pass Monjo's national park checkpoint, then climb the long switchbacks to Namche Bazaar (3,440m). If you want support, you can hire a freelance guide or porter in Namche or arrange in advance via agencies in Kathmandu — roughly £20-25/day for a guide and £15/day for a porter. Arrive, eat well, and take it easy at altitude.

🚌Trek 11km, 6-7 hours

🛏Tea house in Namche (~£6-10/night)

• →High suspension bridge crossings
• →Monjo national park checkpoint
• →Steep climb into Namche Bazaar

Do the classic self-guided acclimatisation hike to the Everest View Hotel (3,880m) — about 2 hours up, with your first panoramas of Everest, Ama Dablam and Lhotse. Have tea on the terrace, then walk back down to Namche. Use the afternoon for the Saturday market if your timing lines up, visit the Sherpa Culture Museum, or just rest. Stay a second night at the same tea house to keep costs down.

🚌Walking only

🛏Tea house in Namche (~£6-10/night)

• →Acclimatisation hike to Everest View Hotel
• →Sherpa Culture Museum (small entry fee)
• →Namche market (weekend)

Trek roughly 5 hours on a beautiful balcony trail high above the Dudh Koshi, with Ama Dablam dominating the skyline. Descend to Phunki Tenga for lunch, then climb through pine and rhododendron forest to Tengboche (3,860m). Visit Tengboche Monastery, the largest in the Khumbu region — the late-afternoon prayer ceremony is open to visitors for a small donation.

🚌Trek 10km, ~5 hours

🛏Tea house in Tengboche (~£6-9/night)

• →Balcony trail with Ama Dablam views
• →Tengboche Monastery and prayer ceremony

About 5-6 hours through rhododendron forests and past mani walls into the Imja Valley, with constant views of Ama Dablam, Kantega and Island Peak ahead. The trail undulates past Pangboche (the region's oldest monastery, worth a short detour) and then climbs gently to Dingboche (4,410m). Start feeling the altitude now — drink lots of water and walk slowly.

🚌Trek 12km, ~5-6 hours

🛏Tea house in Dingboche (~£6-9/night)

• →Rhododendron forest walk
• →Mani wall and stupa visits
• →Imja Valley views

Self-guided acclimatisation hike into the Chhukung Valley toward Chhukung village or the Chhukung Ri base, gaining 400-500m before returning to Dingboche. The north face of Ama Dablam and Island Peak fill the view. Keep it easy, nap in the afternoon, and get an early night ahead of the climb to Lobuche.

🚌Walking only

🛏Tea house in Dingboche (~£6-9/night)

• →Chhukung Valley acclimatisation hike
• →Ama Dablam north face and Island Peak views

A shorter but high day — around 4-5 hours to Lobuche (4,940m). Climb to the Thukla Pass, marked by a field of memorial cairns to climbers who died on Everest, then follow the broad valley past the Khumbu glacier's snout with Pumori rising ahead. Check into a tea house in Lobuche and take it very easy in the afternoon.

🚌Trek 8km, ~4-5 hours

🛏Tea house in Lobuche (~£7-10/night)

• →Thukla Pass memorial cairns
• →Dughla Valley and frozen river stretch
• →Khumbu glacier views

The big day: 3 hours up to Gorakshep (5,164m), drop your bags at a tea house, then hike 3-4 hours out along the Khumbu Glacier to Everest Base Camp (5,364m). In climbing season you'll see the tent city and icefall doctors at work. This is a long, tiring day — if you've hired a local guide this is the one day it's genuinely useful. Return to Gorakshep for the night.

🚌Trek 13km round trip, 7-8 hours total

🛏Tea house in Gorakshep (~£10-15/night, basic but the only option)

• →Everest Base Camp (5,364m)
• →Khumbu Glacier walk
• →Base Camp tent city views in season

Set an alarm for 4am and hike 2 hours up in the dark to Kala Patthar (5,545m) for sunrise over Everest — the best view you'll get of the summit without climbing. Back down to Gorakshep for breakfast, then descend steadily to Pheriche (or Dingboche) for the night, dropping altitude as fast as is comfortable. Note the original tour descends to Namche in one long day; splitting it here is kinder on the knees.

🚌Trek ~14km, 7-8 hours including Kala Patthar

🛏Tea house in Pheriche (~£6-9/night)

• →Sunrise hike to Kala Patthar
• →Everest panorama at dawn
• →Descent through Dughla

A long but satisfying descent — 6-7 hours back through Tengboche, Phunki Tenga and the Dudh Koshi valley to Namche Bazaar. Altitude symptoms disappear fast as you drop. Celebrate with a hot shower, a proper meal and a beer at one of Namche's bakeries or bars.

🚌Trek 15km, ~6-7 hours

🛏Tea house in Namche (~£6-10/night)

• →Descent via Tengboche
• →Namche bakery and evening bars

The final trekking day: 7-8 hours retracing the trail down through Monjo, Phakding and the suspension bridges to Lukla. Arrive in the afternoon, confirm your flight for the morning (or the day after as a buffer), and enjoy a well-earned dinner in Lukla's trekker bars.

🚌Trek 19km, ~7-8 hours

🛏Guesthouse in Lukla (~£6-9/night)

• →Final descent through the Dudh Koshi valley
• →Sagarmatha checkpoint sign-out
• →Lukla evening

Take the morning flight back to Kathmandu — sit on the left side of the plane for Everest views. Check back into a Thamel guesthouse, then spend the afternoon on a self-guided wander: Garden of Dreams, a massage, and a proper meal. If your flight is cancelled due to weather, don't panic — hire a shared jeep to Salleri or Jiri and take the bus, or wait it out; this is exactly why you build in buffer days.

🚌Lukla–Kathmandu flight (included in return fare); airport taxi ~£4

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (~£12-15/night)

• →Scenic return flight
• →Garden of Dreams
• →Thamel evening

Breakfast at your guesthouse, last-minute souvenir shopping for pashminas or singing bowls in Thamel, then a prepaid taxi to Tribhuvan International Airport for your international flight. If you've got spare days, add a trip to Bhaktapur or Patan Durbar Square, or head to Pokhara by tourist bus (~£8, 7 hours).

🚌Airport taxi ~£4

🛏None (departure day)

• →Souvenir shopping in Thamel
• →Airport transfer