Hiking 50 miles to Everest Base Camp in Nepal
Asia · Nepal
Everest Base Camp
Khumbu, Nepal
- Distance
- 52.6 mi84.7 km
- Days
- 9 days
- Elevation gain
- 17,293 ft5,271 m
- High point
- 17,618 ft5,370 m
- Season
- October to November or March to May
- Lodging
- Teahouses
Hikes / Asia / Everest Base Camp
In late October 2021 I went back to Nepal for my second trip there and hiked to Everest Base Camp. You start in the lush green valleys, work your way up past the alpine zone, and end up surrounded by glaciers and peaks, and of course Everest. Getting to see that for a moment in your life is enough to make the trek worth it. I highly recommend it.
Kraig Adams
Effort at this pace: Hard · about 6 mi (9 km) and 1,921 ft (586 m) of climbing a day over 9 days, up to 17,618 ft (5,370 m). Our grade for the days given, worked out from distance, climbing and altitude a day; it isn't the trail's usual difficulty rating (under Basics) and doesn't rate exposure, terrain or weather.
Where these numbers come from
From Kraig Adams's GPS recording and guide.
From Kraig Adams's GPS
The route, day by day
Elevation8,379–17,598 ft52.6 mi
From Kraig Adams's GPS. Terrain: Mapzen Terrain Tiles (SRTM, GMTED) on AWS · Glaciers, rivers & lakes © OpenStreetMap contributors
Tap a day for his map of it
Download GPX1.5 MB · free
Each day and variant (9 files)
- Day 1: Lukla to Phakding (5.8 mi / 9.3 km) 161 KB
- Day 2: Phakding to Namche Bazaar (7.8 mi / 12.5 km) 220 KB
- Day 3: Namche up to the ridge above Khumjung (2.7 mi / 4.4 km, the way up only) 79 KB
- Day 4: Namche to Khumjung over the same ridge (3.5 mi / 5.6 km, two segments) 98 KB
- Day 5: Khumjung to Pangboche via Tengboche (7.5 mi / 12.0 km, three segments) 210 KB
- Day 6: Pangboche to Pheriche (4.5 mi / 7.3 km) 121 KB
- Day 7: Pheriche to Gorak Shep, with my walk up Kala Patthar (11.0 mi / 17.7 km) 314 KB
- Day 8: Gorak Shep to Everest Base Camp (2.1 mi / 3.3 km, one way) 61 KB
- Day 9: Gorak Shep back down to Pheriche (7.9 mi / 12.6 km) 224 KB
The film
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Hiking 50 miles to Everest Base Camp in Nepal
Before you go
The basics
- Start
- Lukla, after a 30-minute flight from Kathmandu
- Finish
- Everest Base Camp on Day 8; I walked down to Pheriche and flew out by helicopter
- Usual difficulty
- Not technical, but high: the last three nights are above 13,900 ft (4,240 m)
- Best time
- October to November or March to May. I walked in late October
- Permits
- Sagarmatha National Park and the Khumbu municipality: NPR 3,000 each in 2026
- Getting there
- The invitation. In 2020, after my Mardi Himal trek, someone saw me at the Kathmandu airport as I was leaving Nepal and invited me for a drink. He wanted to bring a group of creators to Nepal to hike to Everest Base Camp, film a show about it, and have us compete with vlogs. Two years later he made it happen. The World Vlog Challenge confirmed my place in August 2021, and I flew out on October 20.
- Lodging
- Teahouses
From Kraig Adams's guide
Costs and gear
What Kraig carried
a day bag · a duffel of trekking gear from the organizers · a warm jacket with a hood · a headlamp · Hyperlite Mountain Gear Waypoint 35 · Hyperlite Mountain Gear 20° Mummy Bag · Arc’teryx Cerium Hoody · PATH Projects Lynx PD Base Liner and 18 more.
From Kraig Adams's guide
Safety
Rescue numbers
- Emergency numbers in Nepal (checked October 2026): 100 police, 1144 tourist police (toll free).
Phone signal
- Lodges sell Wi-Fi: I had an Everest Link Wi-Fi card in Pheriche.
- Bring a power bank.
Insurance
- Rescue from the upper Khumbu is by helicopter, and it's expensive: have insurance that covers helicopter evacuation, and carry the policy details.
- The US State Department also tells travelers to get insurance that covers medical evacuation.
Bail-out points
- Day 1, Lukla to Phakding. You're a couple of hours below Lukla. Walk back up the way you came.
- Day 2, Phakding to Namche Bazaar. Back down the valley to Phakding and Lukla, all on the main trail.
- Day 3, Namche Bazaar to the Khumjung ridge. You're above Namche: go back down.
- Day 4, Namche Bazaar to Khumjung. Namche is about an hour back over the ridge, and everything below it is on the main trail.
- Day 5, Khumjung to Pangboche. Down the way you came to the river, and back to Namche by the main trail (about the same distance as this day).
- Day 6, Pangboche to Pheriche. Back down to Pangboche and Tengboche. If you're unwell, the aid post in Pheriche is the place to go first.
- Day 7, Pheriche to Gorak Shep. Down. Lobuche, Thukla and Pheriche are all on the main trail. This is the day to turn back if you feel unwell: don't go higher with a headache that's getting worse.
- Day 8, Gorak Shep to Everest Base Camp. Back to Gorak Shep, then down to Lobuche and Pheriche.
- Day 9, Gorak Shep to Pheriche. You're heading the right way. The aid post in Pheriche is on the way.
From Kraig Adams's guide. For planning, not navigation: check before you go.
Their films and versions
Creators who've done it
1 creator so far: Kraig, 9 days, teahouses.
Hiking 50 miles to Everest Base Camp in Nepal
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Typical: 9 days (the hike's facts).
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Planning questions about Everest Base Camp, answered only from this page's facts, the creators' versions and hikers' public tracks, with where each answer comes from. When the data doesn't say, the answer says "not given".
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Answered from the data
Questions people ask
How many days do you need for Everest Base Camp?
I walked 9 days on foot from Lukla to Everest Base Camp in October 2021, 52.6 miles on my GPS up to Base Camp and down to Pheriche, and flew out by helicopter. I skipped a night most people spend at Lobuche or Dingboche. Plan on about 13 or 14 days for the round trip on foot from Lukla, plus spare days in Kathmandu for the Lukla flights.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How much does Everest Base Camp cost?
The show paid for my trip, so my records only hold my two permit receipts: NPR 2,000 for the Khumbu fee and NPR 3,000 for the national park in 2021. Both are NPR 3,000 in 2026. See Permits and fees.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
When is the best time to hike Everest Base Camp?
October to November or March to May. December to February is cold with snow, and June to September is the monsoon. I walked in late October: mostly clear, cold mornings, and the busy season on the trail.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Do you need a permit for Everest Base Camp?
Two in 2026: the Sagarmatha National Park entrance permit, NPR 3,000 for foreigners, and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Trek-Card, NPR 3,000 for most foreigners, issued in Lukla. In 2021 I paid NPR 3,000 and NPR 2,000. They're checked on the trail.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How high is Everest Base Camp?
Everest Base Camp is published at 17,598 ft (5,364 m). My highest night was Gorak Shep, 16,996 ft (5,181 m) on my GPS, and my high point was 17,618 ft (5,370 m) on the slope of Kala Patthar. Lukla, where the trek starts, is about 9,400 ft (2,860 m).
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
Do you need a guide for Everest Base Camp?
It's disputed. Since March 31, 2023, the Nepal Tourism Board has required foreign trekkers on the Everest Base Camp trek to go with a licensed guide and carry an agency TIMS card. The Khumbu municipality says a guide isn't mandatory in its area and issues its own Trek-Card. I found no settlement as of October 2026; hiring a licensed guide through a registered agency is the safe choice.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.
How do you avoid altitude sickness on the Everest Base Camp trek?
Go slowly. The CDC's guidance is not to raise your sleeping height by more than 500 m (1,650 ft) a night above 3,000 m, with an extra night for every 1,000 m. On this trail that means two nights in Namche and in Pheriche or Dingboche, and nights at Thukla and Lobuche before Gorak Shep. I went from Pheriche straight to Gorak Shep; don't copy that.
From Kraig Adams's trip and guide.