Everest Region Treks

Which Everest region trek fits your time and experience?

The classic Everest Base Camp Trek takes 12 to 16 days and suits first-time high-altitude trekkers who acclimatize properly. The Gokyo Lakes route trades base camp for the turquoise lakes and Gokyo Ri's 5,357 m summit panorama, at similar difficulty. The Three Passes Circuit crosses Kongma La (5,535 m), Cho La (5,420 m), and Renjo La (5,360 m) over 18 to 20 days and demands prior altitude experience. Trekkers short on time can walk to base camp and fly back by helicopter, cutting the return leg to a 40-minute flight.

Every route shares the same entry logistics: the Lukla flight, the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit, and the Sagarmatha National Park entry. Those are covered in the permit and flight guides below, written by the team members who process them and fly them every season.

What else should you know before trekking in the Everest region?

Beyond permits and flights, most first-time Khumbu trekkers have the same handful of questions before booking: is the Everest Base Camp trek actually worth it, what's the realistic chance of reaching base camp, and why do some trekkers turn back short of the goal. Namche Bazaar, the region's trading hub and mandatory acclimatization stop, and the difference between Kala Patthar and Everest Base Camp as viewpoints are two of the most-asked questions once an itinerary is booked.

Specific traveler situations get their own guides too: trekking with children, a solo female trekker's safety guide, and what changes if you go in winter rather than the main seasons. For the people and places behind the trek, see our guides to who Sherpa guides actually are, porter wages and welfare, responsible trekking practices, and what you'll actually eat along the trail.

What should you know about Everest itself, beyond the trek?

Everest draws questions that have nothing to do with booking a trek: exactly where the mountain sits on the Nepal-China border, how it compares to the world's 13 other 8,000 m peaks, and why bodies remain near the summit, a topic worth understanding since it has no bearing on the Base Camp trek itself. The mountain's own story runs from early expeditions and the unresolved Mallory-Irvine mystery to Hillary and Norgay's 1953 summit and the records that followed.

The Khumbu is more than the trail underfoot, too: read about the region's wildlife, from Himalayan tahr to the elusive snow leopard, and how the Khumbu Glacier is changing beneath Base Camp itself.