The world’s most iconic trek — done properly
Everest Base Camp is the trek that everyone knows and fewer than most imagine actually do. The route through the Khumbu — Lukla, Namche Bazaar, Thyangboche Monastery, Pheriche, Lobuche, Gorak Shep — is one of the great journeys on earth: through the heartland of the Sherpa people, past monasteries and mani walls, with Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse and Nuptse growing larger with every day.
CAT goes further than most. While many operators allocate a single night at Gorak Shep, we give you three — building in the acclimatisation that makes the difference between enduring the final days and genuinely enjoying them. And rather than turning around at base camp, we climb Kala Pattar (5,623m): the viewpoint where Everest’s southwest face fills the entire horizon and the Khumbu Glacier stretches away below in an unbroken panorama. For most guests, Kala Pattar is the moment of the trip.
This is the complete Everest experience — not a base camp photograph, but a genuine understanding of the mountain and the people who live in its shadow.
The Sherpa communities of the Khumbu Valley have been supported by Community Action Nepal for over 30 years. Your booking includes a £50 direct donation to CAN, contributing to the schools, health posts and porter welfare programmes that sustain life in this extraordinary landscape.
Land only · flights not included
Enquire to hold your place
Minimum 4 guests per departure. Maximum 12. Enquire to hold a provisional place — no payment required.
Everything taken care of
- 4 nights hotel in Kathmandu on arrival & departure
- 12 nights in the best local tea houses on the trail
- Full board throughout — all meals on the trail
- Welcome dinner in Kathmandu
- Farewell celebration dinner
- Domestic flights Kathmandu ↔ Lukla via Ramechhap
- Expert Sherpa lead guide throughout
- Assistant guides — 1:4 guide-to-guest ratio
- All porterage — your main pack carried daily
- All transfers by private vehicle throughout
- Sagarmatha National Park and conservation area fees
- All trekking permits
- Group first aid kit and emergency oxygen
- CAT pre-departure information pack and kit list
- £50 Community Action Nepal donation per person
What to budget for
- International flights to/from Kathmandu
- Nepal visa (approx. US$50 for 30 days, on arrival)
- Travel and trekking insurance (mandatory)
- Personal spending, tips and souvenirs (allow approx. £250)
- Alcoholic drinks and bottled water on trail
- Optional excursions in Kathmandu
- Single supplement for Kathmandu hotels
- Emergency evacuation costs (covered by your insurance)
Insurance is mandatory. Comprehensive travel insurance including emergency helicopter evacuation to 5,623m+ is required. We can recommend providers.
16 days to Everest Base Camp and Kala Pattar
Welcome meeting, kit checks, permits. Free day to explore Kathmandu temples and markets.
Arrival3am departure, drive to Ramechhap, 16-min flight to Lukla. First steps on the trail to Phakding.
2,600mSteady climb through the Dudh Kosi valley to Namche Bazaar — the Sherpa capital and gateway to the high Khumbu.
3,440mEssential rest day. Walk to Everest View Hotel for the first clear sighting of the world’s highest peak.
AcclimatisationAma Dablam appears to the east. The trail climbs to Thyangboche Monastery — one of the great Himalayan settings.
3,867mThrough rhododendron forest to Pangboche village and on to Pheriche in the high valley.
4,252mSecond acclimatisation day. Height-gain walk essential before pushing higher into the Khumbu.
AcclimatisationOver the terminal moraines of the Khumbu Glacier to Lobuche. The scale of the landscape grows with every step.
4,930mGorak Shep — site of the 1953 base camp. Then the hike to Everest Base Camp itself and back.
EBC: 5,364mThe highlight of the trek. The southwest face of Everest fills the sky. An unbroken panorama of ice and mountains. Descent to Pheriche.
5,623m SummitLong descent through the Khumbu Valley. Final views of Ama Dablam and Everest before the flight.
DescentFly to Ramechhap, drive to Kathmandu. Free day, celebration dinner and departure.
ReturnYour full Everest Base Camp itinerary
Namaste — and welcome to Kathmandu, where ornately carved balconies mingle with beautiful shrines and temples. Our team meets you at the exit gate of Tribhuvan International Airport with CAT’s traditional palm plate welcome and transfers you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to explore, or simply rest. We meet as a group in the evening for introductions and a welcome dinner.
A full day to explore Kathmandu — Boudhanath stupa, Pashupatinath, the old town of Thamel. We use the morning for kit checks and permit finalisation. Evening briefing from our guides on the adventure ahead.
We leave the hotel at 3am to drive to Ramechhap for the spectacular 16-minute flight to Lukla. The path winds along the hillside east of the Dudh Kosi River, past tea houses and lodges to Phakding. The adventure has begun.
A steady climb through the fertile Dudh Kosi valley with its many farms, suspension bridges and settlements. Namche Bazaar is the most important Sherpa town in the world — a horseshoe-shaped market town and former trading centre with Tibet. First views of Everest on the approach.
An essential acclimatisation day. Namche is well worth exploring — its Buddhist monastery, the Sherpa museum, the famous Saturday market, and the extraordinary variety of people who pass through this gateway to the high Khumbu. We recommend the half-day walk to the Everest View Hotel for the first clear sighting of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam.
Within an hour of leaving Namche, the towering summit of Ama Dablam appears to the east — one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Glimpses of Everest lure us onwards. The gentle trail crosses the Dudh Kosi river at Phunki Tenga before the long climb up to Thyangboche Monastery, set in a magical clearing with commanding views of Ama Dablam, Everest and Nuptse.
We descend to the Dudh Kosi through rhododendron forests before continuing to Pangboche — a village whose ancient monastery once held a yeti scalp. We continue up to Pheriche, a wind-swept settlement in the high valley above the treeline. The mountain views are increasingly extraordinary.
Our second dedicated acclimatisation day — vital before the push to 5,000m and above. We recommend a local walk to gain height during the day, returning to sleep at the same altitude. The Himalayan Rescue Association runs altitude sickness briefings at Pheriche that we encourage all guests to attend.
Leaving Pheriche, we head over dry grazing lands, climbing gradually to Duglha. The surrounding stony wastes are the terminal moraines of the mighty Khumbu Glacier. A row of memorial chortens on a ridge above Duglha commemorates climbers who have died on Everest. We climb over the moraines to Lobuche — a cluster of tea houses at the edge of the glacier world.
A three-hour walk from Lobuche brings us to Gorak Shep — the site of the 1953 expedition’s original base camp. After setting up and having lunch, we hike the final distance to Everest Base Camp itself: a vast expanse of boulders and glacial ice at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall, from where the world’s greatest mountaineers have launched their attempts on the summit above. We return to Gorak Shep for the night.
The day most guests describe as the most extraordinary of their lives. We set out in the dark for the steep but non-technical climb to the summit of Kala Pattar. In the rarefied air at 5,623m, we feast on what unfolds: the southwest face of Everest itself, seemingly close enough to touch; Nuptse towering to its right; the Khumbu Glacier stretching away below in an unbroken panorama of snowcapped mountains. We descend to Pheriche in the afternoon — a long, triumphant day.
Through Deboche and Thyangboche Monastery — its setting even more magical now that we know what lies beyond. Through woodland to Namche Bazaar. An optional evening walk gives us our last views of Everest. The descent is long but the legs are grateful for lower altitude.
The deep valley of the Dudh Khosi drops away as we retrace our steps to Lukla. The sounds of the Sherpa world accompany us: yak bells, prayer flags in the wind, Tibetan horns from the monastery above Namche. The trail ends at Lukla. The trek is complete.
Weather permitting, we fly from Lukla to Ramechhap and drive to Kathmandu with beautiful views along the way. Time for a little shopping in Thamel during the evening, or simply to relax at the hotel.
Time to explore Kathmandu, shop for presents and reflect on what you’ve just achieved. In the evening, a celebration dinner together — the best meal of the trip, for the best reason.
Transfer to Tribhuvan International Airport for your onward flight. Until next time, Nepal.
What you need to know before you book
This is a Demanding grade trek. You need a solid base of aerobic fitness and comfort with sustained uphill walking over consecutive days. No technical climbing is required but you must be able to walk 5–8 hours per day on rough terrain and recover well enough to do it again the next morning.
Kala Pattar reaches 5,623m — higher than any point in Europe and higher than the South Col of Everest in most people’s imagination. We build in two dedicated acclimatisation days and three nights at Gorak Shep precisely to ensure your body is ready. Altitude can affect anyone regardless of fitness.
No previous Himalayan experience is required, but multi-day trekking in mountain environments is a strong indicator of readiness. If you have walked in the Alps, Scottish Highlands or similar over several days, you are well prepared for this trek.
Three nights at Gorak Shep rather than one. A dedicated Kala Pattar summit day. Small groups of maximum 12. Expert Sherpa guides from the communities we pass through. And a £50 CAN donation with every booking. This is EBC done with the depth it deserves.
The majority of our guests travel solo. Shared twin accommodation is standard in all tea houses. The Khumbu Valley is one of the most sociable trekking environments in Nepal — you will not be short of company on the trail or at the tea house fire.
Autumn (October–November) delivers the famous post-monsoon clarity — Everest sharp against a deep blue sky. Spring (March–May) brings rhododendrons in bloom and the buzz of expedition season. Both are excellent. We avoid the monsoon months of June–September.
What our trekkers say
“Kala Pattar at dawn. Everest filling the entire horizon. I’ve been on many adventures in my life — nothing came close to that moment. The CAT team made every single day feel supported and meaningful.”
“I’d been to base camp before with another company and it was rushed and crowded. CAT’s approach — three nights at Gorak Shep, proper acclimatisation, a small group — made it a completely different experience. The right way to do EBC.”
“Our Sherpa guide knew every family in every village. The CAN health post connections were deeply moving. I came back understanding Nepal at a depth I hadn’t expected. A life-changing trip — and I don’t use that phrase lightly.”
Important notes
Most EBC operators allocate a single night at Gorak Shep (5,100m), which means guests are pushing to base camp and Kala Pattar back-to-back at extreme altitude with no recovery time. CAT allocates three nights, which allows a proper acclimatisation day, a full EBC day without time pressure, and a Kala Pattar summit day when your body is as prepared as it can be at altitude. The difference in experience is significant.
Lukla flights now depart from Ramechhap, not Kathmandu direct — a change introduced to reduce congestion at Kathmandu airport. This means a 3am departure from the hotel and a 3-hour drive to Ramechhap for the 16-minute flight to Lukla. It’s an early start but a spectacular flight with mountain views. All transfers are included and arranged by us. On the return, we fly from Lukla back to Ramechhap and drive to Kathmandu.
Kala Pattar at 5,623m is the highest point of the trek — significantly higher than Everest Base Camp itself. It is a steep but non-technical ascent on scree and rock. In the rarefied air you will need to stop frequently, move slowly and listen to your body. Our guides carry pulse oximeters and emergency oxygen throughout. If you are not well on summit day, our guides will make the honest call. Kala Pattar will still be there.
Nepal tourist visa required — US$50 for 30 days, obtainable online or on arrival. Bring the fee in cash if collecting on arrival plus two passport photos. Comprehensive travel insurance with helicopter evacuation cover to at least 5,700m is non-negotiable. Your policy must explicitly cover trekking at altitude. Providers such as Battleface, True Traveller and World Nomads offer suitable policies.
Full details in our Terms & Conditions. In summary: 141+ days: full refund less deposit. 85–140 days: 50% refund less deposit. 84 days or fewer: no refund. Travel insurance with cancellation cover is strongly recommended at time of booking.
Our team has walked every step of this route. Whether you want to know what Kala Pattar at dawn actually feels like, how the acclimatisation works, or whether you’re fit enough — we’re here for honest answers.
Or email us at hello@catreks.com — we reply within 24 hours.