12 Day Everest Base Camp Trek

Included in the $955

The listing includes the return domestic flight between Kathmandu and Lukla, national park permits with Sagarmatha National Park entrance and TIMS card fees and all necessary paperwork, lodges and tea houses during the trek, a night in Kathmandu after the return flight, standard meals at breakfast, lunch and dinner during the trek, and an experienced guide whose salary, food, accommodation and insurance are covered. Hotel pickup in Kathmandu is part of the deal.

The Honest Note on the Price

The $955 does not cover everything you will spend. Drinks, showers, wifi, insurance, tips and the optional porter all come out of your own pocket, and meals in Kathmandu before and after the trek are not named as included. Teahouse extras are real money on this trail, with one guide estimating a hot shower at $4 to $6, device charging at $3 to $7 and a wifi card at $20 to $30.

Budget for them before you book rather than after. To see how this listing sits against the others, compare it on the Everest tours overview, and read the Everest Base Camp trek guide for the trail itself.

The Trail in Order

You are picked up at your Kathmandu hotel and transferred to Tribhuvan International Airport for the flight to Lukla, where the walking starts. The trail passes through Phakding and climbs to Namche Bazaar, where the first acclimatisation day sits. Higher up, Dingboche holds the second rest day before the push to Gorakshep, Everest Base Camp and the climb of Kala Patthar, the highest point of the trip at 5,545 m.

The return retraces the route to Lukla for the flight back to Kathmandu and the included overnight there. No summit is promised on any fixed day, because weather and altitude decide both the Kala Patthar climb and the Lukla flights.

Stated Limits

The listing states no minimum age, no fitness level and no difficulty rating, which means you must judge these yourself against the altitude. It is not suitable for pregnant women or people with heart problems, and not suitable for wheelchair users. Luggage or large bags are not allowed on the trip, and you need to bring a passport for the permits and flights. A jacket, sleeping bag and duffle bag can be used if requested.

The practical limits sit around the schedule and the price. 12 days is at the bottom of the usual 12 to 18 day range for the round trip from Lukla, so the two rest days carry all the acclimatisation work. The from-price also excludes drinks, showers, internet, insurance, tips and the porter, so the true trip cost is higher than $955. If any of that argues for a slower pace, the 14 day Everest Base Camp trek has 1,656 reviews and two more days for $1,800, and the lodge to lodge trek runs 14 days with a 15 to 70 age band.

Who Should Book Something Else

If you want to skip the walk out, the EBC trek with helicopter return flies from Gorakshep to Lukla in 12 days. If you would rather reach base camp by road on the Tibetan plateau, the Tibet Everest Base Camp tour runs 8 days from Lhasa to the north side at 5,200 m. If 5,545 m sounds too high altogether, the Everest Panorama trek tops out at Tengboche at 3,870 m (12,694 ft).

Season

The Everest region has two trekking seasons, spring from March to May and autumn from September to November. Nights at base camp are cold in both: one operator guide lists lows of -17C in March, -8C in May and -9C in October, and another lists -15C in March and -18C in November. Monsoon runs June to August, and December to February is the off-season.

Altitude and the 12 Day Trade-off

Altitude sickness typically occurs above 2,500 m and symptoms often show within ten hours of ascent. The common advice is to limit the height you sleep at, gaining about 300 to 500 m per day above 3,000 m, and to use climb high, sleep low, with one acclimatisation day for roughly every 1,000 m gained. This 12 day itinerary uses its two rest days at Namche Bazaar at 3,440 m and Dingboche at 4,260 m.

That is the standard pair of acclimatisation stops, but with fewer total days than the usual 12 to 18 day range for the round trip, the schedule is tighter than a 14 day version. Go slow above Namche, drink more water than feels natural, and turn back or descend if symptoms worsen, because no itinerary overrides how your body reacts.

Lukla Flights

The Kathmandu to Lukla flight takes about 35 minutes into Tenzing-Hillary Airport, whose runway is 527 m (1,729 ft) long with an 11.7% gradient. Strong southwest winds usually close the airport from mid to late morning, so flights run early. Visibility closes Lukla about half the time during the monsoon.

In busy seasons flights can be redirected through Ramechhap, about 140 km and roughly 5 hours by road from Kathmandu. Weather cancellations are a normal part of this trip, and one operator suggests keeping about $500 one way available for a helicopter if a flight is cancelled. Neither the flight nor the summit view is guaranteed.

Permits, Visa and Insurance

This trek includes its permits, which are the Sagarmatha National Park entry permit, listed at NPR 3,000 for foreigners, and the TIMS card fees. The Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality fee is listed at NPR 2,000 by one source and NPR 3,000 since 2026 by another, and this listing names only all necessary paperwork. Nepal's tourist visa on arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport costs $30 (USD 30) for 15 days, $50 (USD 50) for 30 days and $125 (USD 125) for 90 days.

Travel insurance is not included, so buy a policy that covers trekking to at least 6,000 m, because helicopter evacuation above 5,000 m costs roughly $6,000 to $10,000 or more. Read the Everest Base Camp guide and the Sagarmatha National Park guide before you go.