Self-Launched Everest Base Camp Trek (17 Days)

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM) and take a prepaid airport taxi to Thamel (NPR 800–1,000, ~£5–6). Check into a Thamel hostel or guesthouse. Spend the afternoon on the practical stuff: buy a TIMS card and apply for the Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality permit at the Nepal Tourism Board office (Exhibition Road) or via the official online portal, and confirm your Lukla flight. Ask your hostel to hold a bag for the trek.

🚌Airport taxi ~£6

🛏Hostel private room or budget guesthouse, Thamel (~£15)

• →Prepaid airport taxi to Thamel
• →Apply for Khumbu Pasanglhamu permit & TIMS card
• →Confirm Lukla flight with airline (Sita/Tara/Summit Air)
• →Evening wander & momo dinner in Thamel

Self-guided or join a small-group day tour through GetYourGuide/Klook. Do it yourself with a taxi and NPR 1,000 combined-entry tickets: Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple) in the morning, then Patan or the Boudhanath stupa and Pashupatinath ghats in the afternoon. Boudhanath at dusk, with butter lamps and kora-circumambulating pilgrims, is the highlight. Eat a big dinner of dal bhat and get a full night's sleep before altitude.

🚌Taxis across the valley ~£10

🛏Hostel private room or budget guesthouse, Thamel (~£15)

• →Swayambhunath (Monkey Temple)
• →Boudhanath Stupa kora circuit
• →Pashupatinath ghats
• →Option: Patan Durbar Square

Be at the domestic terminal by 6am — Lukla flights are weather-dependent and often delayed, so build in slack. A 35-minute flight in a 15-seater lands on the world's most famous airstrip (return fares ~£215–260 booked direct with Sita Air or Tara Air, or ask your Kathmandu guesthouse to arrange). From Lukla, walk 3–4 hours downhill along the Dudh Koshi to Phakding (2,610m). Overnight in a teahouse — expect a shared bathroom and a hot shower for a small surcharge.

🚌Flight KTM–Lukla included in return fare

🛏Teahouse, Phakding (included in room+meals rate, ~£12/night with food)

• →Scenic flight Kathmandu–Lukla
• →Trek Lukla to Phakding (~8km, 3–4h)
• →Dudh Koshi river valley walk

The big day: 6–7 hours, two suspension bridges over the Dudh Koshi, then the infamous switchback climb to Namche (3,440m). You'll pass the Sagarmatha National Park checkpoint at Monjo — bring your permits and passport. Watch for your first Everest sighting from the ridge just before town. Namche has bakeries, an ATM, gear shops and espresso, so treat yourself.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Namche Bazaar (~£15/night with food)

• →Trek Phakding to Namche (~11km, 6–7h)
• →Sagarmatha National Park checkpoint
• →First Everest viewpoint on the ridge

Climb high, sleep low: hike 2 hours up to the Everest View Hotel at Syangboche (3,880m) for your first proper panorama of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam — a pot of tea on the terrace costs around £6 and is worth it. Come back down, browse the Saturday market if it's running, and visit the Sherpa Culture Museum. Rest early; tomorrow is a long one.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Namche Bazaar (~£15/night with food)

• →Acclimatisation hike to Everest View Hotel
• →Sherpa Culture Museum
• →Namche bazaar wander

A beautiful traverse above the Dudh Koshi with Thamserku and Ama Dablam ahead, dropping to Phunki Tenga for lunch before the forest climb to Tengboche (3,860m). Time your arrival for afternoon prayers at Tengboche Monastery, the largest gompa in Khumbu. Alternative: continue 20 minutes down to Deboche for a warmer, quieter night.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Tengboche or Deboche (~£14/night with food)

• →Trek Namche to Tengboche (~10km, 5h)
• →Tengboche Monastery afternoon puja
• →Phunki Tenga lunch stop

Emerge above the treeline into the Imja Khola valley, passing Pangboche and its gompa, then the long gradual climb onto the open plateau at Dingboche (4,410m). From here, everything feels thinner and colder — layer up, drink more than you think you need, and check in with how your body is doing. Days get shorter and pace slows.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Dingboche (~£14/night with food)

• →Trek Tengboche to Dingboche (~11km, 5–6h)
• →Pangboche village & gompa
• →Khumbu Valley views

Second rest day, done properly: walk up the valley towards Chukhung (up to ~5,000m if you feel good) and return to Dingboche to sleep low. Views into the Imja and Amphu Lapcha peaks. Afternoon: a hot bucket shower (NPR 500–800), card games in the dining hall and an early dinner.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Dingboche (~£14/night with food)

• →Acclimatisation hike toward Chukhung
• →Hot bucket shower
• →Teahouse evening

Climb out of Dingboche past Pheriche and up to Thokla Pass (4,830m), where memorial cairns to fallen climbers line the ridge — a sobering, beautiful spot. Then a rolling 1.5 hours along the Khumbu Glacier moraine to Lobuche (4,940m). Short day but tough on the body; sleep will be broken at this altitude.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Lobuche (~£16/night with food)

• →Trek Dingboche to Lobuche (~8km, 4–5h)
• →Thokla Pass memorial cairns
• →Khumbu Glacier views

The day it all happens. Walk to Gorak Shep (5,164m) in the morning, drop your bag, then follow the glacier moraine 3–4 hours to Everest Base Camp (5,364m) — prayer flags, Khumbu Icefall and the scale of the place hitting you at once. Return to Gorak Shep to sleep. Alternative from the original tour: stay at Gorak Shep and climb Kala Patthar for sunset instead. This is the hardest day for AMS — if you feel bad, turn around.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Gorak Shep (~£18/night with food — priciest beds on the trail)

• →Trek Lobuche to Gorak Shep (~5km, 3h)
• →Hike to Everest Base Camp (5,364m)
• →Optional Kala Patthar sunset

Head-torch start at ~4am for the 2-hour climb to Kala Patthar (5,555m) to catch the sun hitting Everest's south face — the single best view of the trek. Back down for breakfast at Gorak Shep, then a long, knee-testing descent to Dingboche via Thokla Pass.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Dingboche (~£14/night with food)

• →Kala Patthar sunrise hike (5,555m)
• →Descend Gorak Shep to Dingboche (~14km, 6–7h)
• →Thokla Pass southbound

Descent day — oxygen comes back, legs feel light. Walk down through Pangboche and its 500-year-old gompa, crossing the Imja Khola, and overnight at Deboche (3,820m) among rhododendron forest, or push to Tengboche if you're feeling strong.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Deboche (~£13/night with food)

• →Trek Dingboche to Deboche (~10km, 4–5h)
• →Pangboche Gompa visit
• →Forest camp, treeline regained

Re-climb briefly to Tengboche, then the long contour and descent to Phunki Tenga before the steep haul out and down into Namche. By now you'll know every bridge. Reward yourself with a bakery cinnamon roll and a hot shower — Namche teahouses and bakeries are the best on the route.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Namche Bazaar (~£14/night with food)

• →Trek Deboche to Namche (~10km, 5h)
• →Tengboche re-visit
• →Namche bakery stop & hot shower

A relaxed final big descent, dropping off the ridge through Junbesi-style pine and rhododendron to the Dudh Koshi and back among the suspension bridges to Phakding. Lower altitude means better sleep — enjoy it.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse, Phakding (~£12/night with food)

• →Trek Namche to Phakding (~11km, 5h)
• →Dudh Koshi valley descent
• →Suspension bridge crossings

Short 3-hour uphill to Lukla and you're done. Check in with your airline to confirm tomorrow's flight, take lunch in the Everest Bakery, and celebrate with your teahouse crew — dal bhat, apple pie and, if you're lucky, a bit of singing and dancing.

🚌On foot

🛏Guesthouse, Lukla (~£14/night with food)

• →Trek Phakding to Lukla (~8km, 3h)
• →Confirm return flight
• →Farewell dinner in Lukla

Morning flight to Kathmandu (included in your return ticket). Flight delays out of Lukla are more common than delays in — keep a buffer day in your itinerary and don't book an onward international flight for the same day. Transfer to Thamel, shower endlessly, and enjoy a rooftop dinner with a cold Everest beer.

🚌Airport transfer ~£6 (flight pre-paid)

🛏Hostel private room or budget guesthouse, Thamel (~£15)

• →Lukla–Kathmandu flight
• →Thamel free time & shopping
• →Celebratory dinner

Optional extra: a day trip to Bhaktapur Durbar Square (taxi ~£12, entry NPR 1,500) or Patan if your flight is later. Otherwise, airport taxi and home — with the Khumbu in your legs.

🚌Taxi to airport ~£6

🛏N/A (departure day)

• →Optional Bhaktapur day trip
• →Airport transfer