Ama Dablam Base Camp Trek — Self-Launched

Land at Tribhuvan International Airport (KTM), grab a prepaid taxi from the official desk outside arrivals (NPR 800–1,000, ~£5–6) into Thamel. Check into a budget guesthouse and spend the afternoon sorting logistics: buy or top up a Nepal Telecom/Ncell SIM with data (NPR 500, ~£3), draw cash from an ATM (Khumbu ATMs are unreliable above Namche — carry NPR 40,000–50,000), and buy your Sagarmatha National Park permit and Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality fee at the Nepal Tourism Board office (Bhrikutimandap) or the TIMS counter — total around NPR 5,000 (~£30). Eat dal bhat on a Thamel rooftop and sleep early; altitude starts tomorrow.

🚌Prepaid airport taxi to Thamel, ~£5–6

🛏Budget guesthouse in Thamel, twin/double with hot water (~£12–18)

• →Collect TIMS card + Sagarmatha National Park permit (~£30)
• →Buy Nepal SIM card
• →ATM cash run
• →Optional: hire licensed guide/porter via a Thamel agency or direct (~£20–25/day shared)

Take the 30-minute morning STOL flight from Kathmandu to Tenzing–Hillary Airport, Lukla (book direct with Tara Air, Summit Air or Sita Air, roughly £140–190 one way; book weeks ahead and keep a buffer day — weather cancellations are normal). If flights are full or cancelled, the fallback is a shared jeep from Kathmandu to Salleri/Surke (~10–12 hrs, £15–20) then a day's walk in. From Lukla walk downhill through Chaurikharka to Phakding (8 km, ~3 hrs), crossing the Dudh Koshi on the first of many suspension bridges. Pay teahouse rates night by night — rooms are cheap or free if you eat dinner and breakfast there.

🚌Kathmandu–Lukla flight ~£140–190 one way; alternative shared jeep to Salleri ~£15–20

🛏Teahouse in Phakding, twin room (~£4–6, often free with meals)

• →Flight into Lukla (Tenzing–Hillary Airport)
• →Trek 8 km to Phakding
• →Suspension bridge crossings over the Dudh Koshi

Trek 10–12 km (~6 hrs) up the Dudh Koshi valley, showing your national park permit at the Monjo checkpost, then climbing the infamous Namche hill with its stepped switchbacks. Take it slow — you're going from 2,600m to 3,440m. Arrive in Namche Bazaar, the Sherpa capital: gear shops, bakeries, an Everest Photo Gallery and German Bakery coffee. Register at the Sagarmatha National Park visitor centre on arrival. Teahouse dinner is included in your room deal; expect to pay separately for hot showers and device charging (NPR 200–400 each).

🚌On foot — no transport

🛏Teahouse in Namche Bazaar (~£5–8, usually free with meals)

• →Sagarmatha National Park permit check at Monjo
• →Trek 10–12 km with 800m ascent
• →Register at the park visitor centre
• →Browse Namche gear shops and bakeries

Mandatory rest/acclimatisation day. Walk 2–3 hrs up to the Everest View Hotel at Syangboche (~3,880m) for the first proper panorama of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam — tea on the terrace is pricey (NPR 600) but worth it once. Come back via the Sherpa Museum and Everest Photo Gallery in Namche. Drink 3–4 litres of water, skip alcohol, and use the afternoon to hire a porter or guide in Namche if you haven't already (a porter is ~£18–22/day including food and lodging, and can be arranged directly or through the Khumbu Pasanglhamu rural municipality office).

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse in Namche Bazaar (~£5–8)

• →Hike to Everest View Hotel / Syangboche viewpoint
• →Sherpa Museum and Everest Photo Gallery
• →Optional: hire porter/guide locally

A stunning contour trail 10–11 km (~5 hrs) high above the Dudh Koshi, dropping steeply to Phungi Thanka for lunch by the river, then a hard 600m climb through rhododendron forest to Tengboche (3,860m). Visit Tengboche Monastery — the largest in Khumbu — and if you're lucky catch the late-afternoon puja (around 3–4pm, small donation appreciated). Stay in a teahouse beside the monastery; mornings here give you Ama Dablam framed right behind the gompa.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse at Tengboche (~£5–8)

• →Trek 10–11 km via Phungi Thanka
• →Tengboche Monastery visit and afternoon puja
• →Cross the Imja Khola

Leave the Everest highway and climb above Tengboche through conifer forest, breaking out above the tree line into summer yak pastures and the small herder settlement of Mingbo (approx. 4,200m). This is the quiet alternative to the busy Deboche–Pangboche stretch, with Kantega and Taboche dominating the skyline. Mingbo has very limited lodging — one or two basic herder/teahouse rooms — so carry snacks, a headtorch and cash, and confirm with your lodge in Tengboche that rooms are open before committing. If Mingbo is closed, the standard fallback is Deboche or Pangboche.

🚌On foot

🛏Basic herder teahouse at Mingbo (~£5–8); fallback Pangboche or Deboche

• →Trek above the tree line to Mingbo
• →Yak pastures and Omega settlement
• →Views of Kantega and Taboche

The highlight. Trek up from Mingbo to Ama Dablam Base Camp (~4,600m) — a rough 3–4 hrs on moraine and grassy slopes, arriving under the mountain's huge hanging glacier. Have lunch at base camp among the expedition tents (climbing parties April–May and October–November), then descend on the main trail to Pangboche (3,980m), crossing the Imja Khola on a steel suspension bridge. Pangboche has the oldest monastery in Khumbu and better-value, warmer teahouses than the higher villages.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse in Pangboche (~£5–7)

• →Ama Dablam Base Camp (approx. 4,600m)
• →Lunch at base camp
• →Cross Imja Khola suspension bridge
• →Optional: Pangboche Monastery

Easy descending day through traditional Sherpa villages and terraced buckwheat and potato fields, with Kantega, Thamserku, Taweche, Khumbila and Kongde Ri all in view. Portse Tenga sits in the forest by the river — quieter and lower (3,600m) than Tengboche, which makes for a much better night's sleep. Short day: 3–4 hrs, so take a long lunch and photograph everything.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse at Portse Tenga (~£5–7)

• →Village and terraced-field walk
• →Mountain viewpoints: Thamserku, Kantega, Kongde Ri
• →Short 3–4 hr descent

Down the valley and back up the far side to Namche (4–5 hrs). You're back in relative civilisation: proper coffee, showers, Wi-Fi, and the chance to repack and offload anything you don't need. Treat yourself to a bakery lunch and a hot shower, and settle your porter/guide's final days if they're walking you out to Lukla. Evening is a good time to confirm your Lukla–Kathmandu flight for day 11 online or via your airline's Kathmandu office.

🚌On foot

🛏Teahouse/guesthouse in Namche Bazaar (~£5–8)

• →Trek down-valley to Namche
• →Confirm return Lukla flight
• →Namche bakeries and gear shops

A long but mostly downhill final trek day (7–8 hrs, ~20 km) retracing the trail through Jorsale, Monjo and Phakding, crossing and recrossing the Dudh Koshi on high suspension bridges. Buy snacks in Monjo and keep moving — afternoon cloud and rain are common. In Lukla, pay your porter's tip (budget ~£30–50 total for the trek if you hired one), eat a celebratory dal bhat and get an early night before the flight.

🚌On foot, ~20 km

🛏Teahouse/lodge in Lukla (~£6–9)

• →Final trek day through Jorsale and Monjo
• →Dudh Koshi suspension bridges
• →Porter tip and farewell dinner

Morning flight back to Kathmandu over forests and villages (~30 mins, £140–190). If your flight is cancelled by weather, use the buffer day and take a shared jeep from Lukla/Surke if the road is running, or rebook the first available slot — build one spare day into your own itinerary. Back in Thamel: hot shower, laundry (~£3), a proper meal, and last-minute souvenir shopping in Asan or the Thamel craft shops.

🚌Lukla–Kathmandu flight ~£140–190; airport taxi ~£5

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

• →Scenic return flight
• →Laundry and rest
• →Thamel/Asan souvenir shopping

Breakfast, then a prepaid taxi to Tribhuvan International Airport (allow 3 hrs before an international flight — traffic and terminal queues are real). If you have a late flight, squeeze in a half-day city walk: Swayambhunath stupa (NPR 200 entry) or Patan Durbar Square by taxi (~£3 each way). Extra days in Kathmandu are easy to add on a self-launched trip — just extend the guesthouse booking.

🚌Taxi to KTM airport ~£5

🛏—

• →Optional Swayambhunath or Patan Durbar Square
• →Departure