14-Day Everest Base Camp Trek — Self-Launched

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport and take a prepaid taxi or the airport bus to Thamel (taxi ~800-1,000 NPR / £5-6). Check into a budget guesthouse in Thamel. Use the afternoon to sort logistics: pick up your Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality permit (issued at the Nepal Tourism Board office or via the online portal, ~2,000 NPR / £12) and your Sagarmatha National Park entry permit (~3,000 NPR / £18). Buy or rent gear on Tridevi Marg — down jacket, sleeping bag, trekking poles, water purification tablets. Eat a proper dinner in Thamel and get an early night.

🚌Airport taxi ~£5; walking around Thamel

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (~£12-18/night)

• →Arrange Sagarmatha National Park and Khumbu municipality permits
• →Rent/buy trekking gear in Thamel
• →Evening wander around Thamel

Take the early morning flight from Kathmandu (or Ramechhap in peak season) to Lukla — book with Tara Air, Summit Air or Sita Air roughly £150-190 return, or arrange through a local Kathmandu agent. The 35-minute flight lands at Tenzing-Hillary Airport. Register at the Lukla checkpost, then walk ~3-4 hours downhill along the Dudh Koshi River through Ghat and Chheplung to Phakding. Teahouses are plentiful; pick one on arrival (~£6-10 for a twin room). Eat dal bhat for dinner.

🚌Flight Kathmandu–Lukla included in return ticket (~£150-190 return)

🛏Teahouse in Phakding (~£6-10)

• →Scenic mountain flight to Lukla
• →Trek Lukla to Phakding (3-4 hrs) along the Dudh Koshi

A big day: ~6-7 hours with the infamous Namche hill. Cross suspension bridges through Benkar, Monjo and Jorsale, show your Sagarmatha permit at the Monjo checkpost, then climb steadily. Stop at the Everest Viewpoint teahouse below Namche for your first proper Everest sighting, then push into Namche Bazaar (3,440m). Book two nights in a teahouse and start acclimatising — drink water, go slow.

🚌On foot (~6-7 hrs)

🛏Teahouse in Namche (~£8-12)

• →Trek through Benkar, Monjo and Jorsale
• →Cross Dudh Koshi suspension bridges
• →Sagarmatha National Park checkpost

Rest day at 3,440m. Do an active acclimatisation walk — the hike up to the Sagarmatha National Park Visitor Centre and the Everest View Hotel (or Khunde/Khumjung) takes 3-4 hours and rewards you with Makalu, Ama Dablam and Everest views. Back in Namche, browse the Saturday market if your timing works, stock up on snacks and cash (there are ATMs, but carry backup), and have a bakery coffee. Sleep low, climb high.

🚌On foot, short acclimatisation hike

🛏Teahouse in Namche (~£8-12)

• →Hike to Everest View Hotel / Khumjung
• →Sagarmatha National Park Visitor Centre
• →Namche market and bakeries

A stunning ~5-hour traverse high above the Dudh Koshi valley, with Ama Dablam dominating the skyline. Pass Phunki Thenga (lunch stop), then climb through pine and rhododendron forest to Tengboche (3,860m). Visit Tengboche Monastery — one of the most important in the Khumbu — and if you're there in the late afternoon you may catch the monks' prayer ceremony (small donation appreciated). Teahouses cluster around the monastery.

🚌On foot (~5 hrs)

🛏Teahouse in Tengboche (~£7-10)

• →Trek Namche to Tengboche via Phunki Thenga
• →Tengboche Monastery visit and evening prayers

A gentler 4-5 hour day through the villages of Somare and Orsho, leaving the treeline behind as you climb onto the open alpine plateau. Dingboche (4,410m) sits beneath Ama Dablam and the Lhotse wall — pick a teahouse with a sunny glass dining room and take it easy in the afternoon. Expect to feel the altitude here.

🚌On foot (~4-5 hrs)

🛏Teahouse in Dingboche (~£8-12)

• →Trek through Somare and Orsho
• →Settle into Dingboche (4,410m)

Second acclimatisation day. The standard self-launched option is the hike up to Nangkartshang Gompa (~4,700m) or, if you feel strong, the ridge towards Nangkartshang summit (~5,090m) — 3-4 hours return with huge views of Makalu, Ama Dablam and Island Peak. Come down, drink plenty, rest. Do not rush the altitude.

🚌On foot, acclimatisation hike

🛏Teahouse in Dingboche (~£8-12)

• →Hike to Nangkartshang Gompa / ridge viewpoint
• →Views of Makalu, Ama Dablam and Island Peak

A shorter but higher ~4-5 hour walk through Dughla and up over the Khumbu Glacier moraine. Stop at Chupki Lhara, the memorial site for climbers who have died on Everest, then continue to Lobuche (4,940m). This is where the altitude really bites — eat well, sleep early, and keep an eye on how you feel.

🚌On foot (~4-5 hrs)

🛏Teahouse in Lobuche (~£10-14)

• →Trek via Dughla
• →Chupki Lhara memorial site
• →Khumbu Glacier moraine

The big one. Walk to Gorak Shep (5,164m) in ~2 hours, drop your bag at a teahouse, then continue ~2-3 hours across the glacier moraine to Everest Base Camp (5,364m). Spend time at the Khumbu Icefall viewpoint, take the classic photo, and walk back to Gorak Shep for the night. This is a long, cold day at extreme altitude — start early and carry water and snacks.

🚌On foot (~6-7 hrs total)

🛏Teahouse in Gorak Shep (~£12-16)

• →Trek to Everest Base Camp (5,364m)
• →Khumbu Icefall viewpoint
• →Nuptse and Pumori views

Pre-dawn start (around 4:30am) for the 2-hour climb to Kala Patthar (5,545m) — the best close-up view of Everest's south face. Watch sunrise over the Khumbu, then descend all the way to Pheriche (4,270m) for a much easier night's sleep. The descent to thicker air feels wonderful.

🚌On foot (~7-8 hrs)

🛏Teahouse in Pheriche (~£8-12)

• →Sunrise climb of Kala Patthar (5,545m)
• →Everest south face views
• →Descend to Pheriche

A long descent day — ~7 hours back through rhododendron forest, Debouche, Tengboche and Phunki Thenga, then up the ridge to Namche Bazaar. Rebook a familiar teahouse, treat yourself to a hot shower (sometimes extra) and a proper meal. Altitude symptoms should ease quickly as you drop.

🚌On foot (~7 hrs)

🛏Teahouse in Namche (~£8-12)

• →Descend via Tengboche and Phunki Thenga
• →Rhododendron forest
• →Evening in Namche Bazaar

Retrace your steps back down the Namche hill, past Jorsale, Monjo and Phakding, and on to Lukla — about 7-8 hours but mostly downhill. Check in with the airline office in Lukla to confirm your flight out (flights can be delayed or moved to Ramechhap). Celebrate with a beer and a steak or dal bhat in one of Lukla's lodges.

🚌On foot (~7-8 hrs)

🛏Guesthouse in Lukla (~£8-12)

• →Trek back to Lukla via Phakding
• →Confirm onward flight

Morning flight back to Kathmandu (included in your return ticket). Check into a Thamel guesthouse, take the longest hot shower of your life, and spend the afternoon doing laundry, souvenir shopping and visiting Boudhanath or Swayambhunath if you have energy. Big dinner and a few drinks in Thamel to mark the trek.

🚌Flight Lukla–Kathmandu (part of return ticket)

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel (~£12-18)

• →Return mountain flight
• →Boudhanath stupa or Swayambhunath
• →Thamel dinner and celebration

Last breakfast in Thamel, a final bit of shopping if your flight is late, then take a taxi to Tribhuvan International Airport for your flight home. Allow extra time for the airport's international departures.

🚌Taxi to airport ~£5

🛏—

• →Final Thamel shopping
• →Airport transfer