Everest Region

Lukla, at about 2,860 metres, is the gateway to the Khumbu, and its airport, named after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, is one of the most talked-about airstrips in the world: a short, sloping runway carved into a hillside, with a mountain wall at one end and a steep drop at the other. Small twin-engine aircraft land uphill and take off downhill, only in good visibility, which is why flights are concentrated in the early morning, before cloud builds up the valley. The town itself is a long street of lodges, bakeries, gear shops and trekking offices, where the municipality's permit counter and the first checkpoints of the trek are found.

For several years Nepal's aviation authority has moved most Lukla flights in the busy spring and autumn seasons away from Kathmandu to Manthali airport in Ramechhap district, to ease congestion at the capital's single runway. That means a pre-dawn drive of four to five hours, or more, from Kathmandu to Manthali, followed by a flight of around twenty minutes. In autumn 2026 the Manthali to Lukla service was again carrying most of the traffic, with airlines adding flights as the season built, and preparations were reported for scheduled Kathmandu to Ramechhap flights to replace part of the drive. Direct Kathmandu to Lukla flights may run outside the peak months; airlines confirm their departure airport close to the date.

TipWeather delays and cancellations are normal, sometimes for several days in a row. Build at least one or two spare days into your plans at the end of the trek, and keep your international flight home flexible. Helicopter seats are sometimes sold when planes are grounded, at a much higher price.

Most trekkers spend their first night at Phakding, a few hours' walk from Lukla and slightly lower, at about 2,610 metres, which is deliberate: it gives the body a gentle start before the real climbing begins. The village strings along both banks of the milky Dudh Kosi, the "milk river", joined by suspension bridges strung with prayer flags. The trail here passes carved mani stones and painted boulders inscribed with the Tibetan prayer om mani padme hum; walk to the left of them, keeping them on your right, as local custom requires.

TipPine forest, blue pine and rhododendron line this lower stretch. It's the warmest part of the trek, so start in light layers.

Just beyond the village of Monjo, a stone gateway marks the entrance to Sagarmatha National Park, set up in 1976 and listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1979. It protects more than 1,100 square kilometres of high mountains, glaciers and deep valleys, including Everest and several other peaks above 8,000 metres. In the lower forests live Himalayan tahr, musk deer and the colourful danphe, or Himalayan monal, Nepal's national bird; snow leopards roam the remote upper slopes, though sightings are rare. Sherpa villages inside the park keep their farmland and grazing rights, and the landscape is as much cultural as natural.

TipThe park entry fee is checked at the Monjo gate, where you can also pay it if you didn't buy it in Kathmandu. Keep the ticket with your passport; it's checked again further up.

After crossing the high Hillary Suspension Bridge over the confluence of the Dudh Kosi and Bhote Kosi, the trail climbs steeply for a couple of hours to Namche Bazaar, the commercial capital of the Khumbu, at about 3,440 metres. Its lodges, cafés, bakeries and outfitters rise in tiers around a horseshoe-shaped hollow, facing the peaks of Kongde Ri and Thamserku. It was historically a trading post where Sherpas exchanged goods with Tibetan traders who came over the Nangpa La, and a weekly market still draws porters and traders from lower villages.

Nearly everyone spends two nights here to acclimatise. On the rest day, the rule is to climb high and sleep low: walk up to the national park headquarters and museum on the ridge above town, where the first full view of Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam opens out on a clear morning, and look into the small Sherpa culture museum nearby.

TipNamche is the last place with a wide choice of shops, ATMs and repairs. Stock up on snacks, cash and any missing warm kit here; prices rise with every day you climb.

Perched on a ridge above Namche at roughly 3,880 metres, the Everest View Hotel was built in the early 1970s by a Japanese developer and has long been promoted as one of the highest-placed hotels in the world. Its terrace has a panoramic outlook up the valley to Everest, Lhotse, Ama Dablam and Thamserku, and it makes a popular goal for the acclimatisation day from Namche, a steep climb of around two hours past the old airstrip at Syangboche.

TipSleeping here straight after arriving from Lukla is a bad idea for most people because of the altitude; the terrace for a hot drink and the view is the better plan.

Over the ridge from the Everest View Hotel lies Khumjung, one of the largest Sherpa villages in the Khumbu, spread across a broad valley floor of stone-walled fields beneath the sacred peak of Khumbi Yul Lha. The Khumjung school was the first founded by Edmund Hillary's Himalayan Trust, in 1961, and the village monastery is known for keeping what is said to be a yeti scalp. Neighbouring Khunde has a hospital also founded with Hillary's help. A loop from Namche through Syangboche, Khumjung and Khunde makes an excellent acclimatisation walk.

After dropping to the river at Phunki Tenga, the trail climbs through forest to Tengboche, at about 3,860 metres, where the largest monastery in the Khumbu sits on a saddle with Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and Ama Dablam ranged behind it. Founded in 1916, it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1934 and rebuilt, then burned in 1989 and rebuilt again with international support. Visitors can usually attend the afternoon prayers, when monks chant to the sound of horns, drums and cymbals. In autumn, the Mani Rimdu festival brings masked dances and blessings over several days, drawing Sherpas from across the region.

TipSit quietly at the back during prayers, don't use flash, and ask before photographing monks. A small donation is appreciated.

Pangboche, at around 3,985 metres, is one of the oldest Sherpa settlements in the Khumbu, and its small upper gompa is often described as the oldest monastery in the valley, traditionally linked to the saint Lama Sangwa Dorje. Ancient juniper trees grow around it, said to have sprung from his hair. The village faces Ama Dablam almost head-on, and many climbing Sherpas live here. Above it, the trees thin out and the trail enters open, high pastures.

Dingboche, at about 4,410 metres, is the second major acclimatisation stop on the Base Camp trek, a village of lodges and stone-walled fields of barley and potatoes in the Imja valley, with views of Ama Dablam, Island Peak and the great south face of Lhotse. A rest day here usually means a climb up the ridge of Nangkartshang behind the village, gaining several hundred metres for a view across to Makalu on clear days, before returning to sleep.

TipThe Himalayan Rescue Association runs a seasonal aid post in nearby Pheriche, on the alternative trail, with volunteer doctors and daily talks on altitude sickness during the main trekking seasons. They're well worth attending.

The climb to Lobuche passes the Thukla pass, where a hillside of stone cairns and prayer flags remembers climbers and Sherpas who died on Everest. Lobuche itself, at almost 4,950 metres, is a cluster of lodges beside the lateral moraine of the Khumbu Glacier, cold and basic, with Nuptse looming close. Nights here are often hard on sleep, so it's a place to watch for symptoms of altitude sickness in yourself and others.

The last settlement on the trail, Gorak Shep sits at about 5,160 metres on the edge of a frozen, sand-covered lake bed, ringed by moraine and ice. It was the base camp of early Everest expeditions, and today it is a handful of lodges serving trekkers heading to Base Camp and Kala Patthar. Most people arrive late morning from Lobuche, walk on to Base Camp and back in the afternoon, then climb Kala Patthar at dawn the next day.

TipBring a charged power bank and a warm sleeping bag; electricity and heating are limited and expensive this high.

Base Camp, at roughly 5,360 metres on the moving rubble of the Khumbu Glacier, is less a viewpoint than a place of pilgrimage: Everest's summit is hidden behind its own shoulder from here. In the spring climbing season, from about April to late May, it becomes a temporary tent city for expeditions, at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall, the chaotic tumble of seracs that climbers must cross on their way to the mountain. Outside that season it can be almost empty, marked by a boulder covered in prayer flags and painted messages. The walk from Gorak Shep follows the moraine for around two to three hours each way.

TipTrekkers aren't allowed to stay overnight in expedition camps; visit and return to Gorak Shep. Take it slowly, drink plenty and turn back if you feel unwell.

The "black rock" is a dark, rounded hump on the flank of Pumori above Gorak Shep, topping out at around 5,640 metres, and it gives the best close view of Everest on the whole trek: the black summit pyramid, the South Col and the Khumbu Icefall laid out below. Most people climb it before dawn, in bitter cold, to watch the sun light up Everest and Nuptse, though late afternoon light can be equally good and less crowded. The climb takes around two hours from Gorak Shep, and it's the highest point most trekkers reach.

West of the main trail, the Gokyo valley rises beside the Ngozumpa Glacier, one of the longest in the Himalaya, to a chain of brilliant turquoise lakes fed by glacial meltwater, protected as a Ramsar wetland. The village of Gokyo stands beside the third and largest lake at about 4,790 metres. Above it, Gokyo Ri, at about 5,360 metres, is a steep two- to three-hour climb that many trekkers consider the finest viewpoint in the Khumbu, with four 8,000-metre peaks in sight: Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu, above the vast, grey, rubble-strewn glacier. The valley can be walked as its own trek from Namche, via Dole and Machhermo, or combined with Base Camp over the Cho La, a glaciated pass of around 5,420 metres that needs good conditions, sure footing and, often, a guide.

TipThe Gokyo route is quieter than the Base Camp trail and gains height quickly, so follow the same slow acclimatisation rules.