The 4 different Everest Base Camp routes

The Everest Base Camp trek is a truly exhilarating and once-in-a-lifetime experience. The few different routes that you can choose from all take you deep into the Himalayas, where you enjoy fantastic views of Mount Everest as well as some of the world’s other mighty peaks.

Not only do you come into close proximity with some of the world's highest and most famous mountains on the Everest Base Camp trek, you also see glaciers, forests, lakes, waterfalls, and wild animals. And you do all this while staying in traditional villages and experiencing the unique Sherpa culture.

But of course you have many questions, like:

We answer all of these questions and more, so please read on!

Here are the four most common routes that you can take to and from Everest Base Camp ...

The classic or traditional Everest Base Camp route involves trekking along a trail that is 53 km (33 mile) from the town of Lukla to Everest Base Camp. You then retrace your steps on the return journey. So the total trek distance is 106 km (66 miles).

Most people also do a hike on their acclimatisation day in Namche Bazaar. And they also climb Kala Patthar ('Black Rock') the morning after visiting base camp to see Mt Everest. This short but taxing climb is a 2.4 km roundtrip hike.

Everest and Lhotse

Most of the EBC trek takes place within Sagarmatha National Park. This is a region where the famous Sherpa people live and the villages and towns you visit and stay in belong to the Sherpa.

The route starts in a lush, forested and beautiful area and then ascends into a dry and unforgiving rain shadow area.

The Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes trek route is a popular alternative to the classic Everest Base camp route. It involves trekking the usual route to Everest Base Camp, but then taking a detour to the Gokyo Lakes on the return journey. 

There are a few pros to doing the Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes trek:

Tonak Pokhari, one of the Gokyo Lakes, is a glorious sight in any season

We tell you more about this trek route in a moment, but first, let’s look at the EBC and Three Passes trek route ...

The Everest Base Camp and Three Passes trek sees you do a big loop through the Himalayas, stopping to visit Everest Base Camp en route.

The three mountain passes you must cross make this the toughest of the EBC trek routes, as you have climb to high elevations on multiple occasions. You must also navigate tricky landscapes that include snow, loose rocks, boulders and scree. Snow shoes are good idea.

The three mountain passes that you climb and descend on the trek route are:

View of Everest from Renjo La

From these three passes you enjoy views of Mt Everest and Mt Lhotse, Ngozumpa and Khumbu glaciers, and Gokyo Lakes.

This is an exhilarating trek into some of the wildest and quietest corners of Sagarmatha National Park. And if offers the very best views of all the different EBC trek routes!

Finally, you have the option of trekking to Everest Base Camp along the classic route and then hopping into a helicopter for a breathtaking ride back to Lukla (the starting point of the trek route)!

This option has three main advantages:

A Follow Alice trek group after their flight back to Lukla

The Everest Base Camp trek takes anywhere between eight and 15 days depending, on the route that you choose. This is the number of days that you're actually on the trail. And while we've outlined below what we feel are the ideal number of days per route, it's very doable for us to customise the trip to include more days. 🤓

There's plenty of time to get to know your crew and fellow trekkers really well!

Let's now look at the four most popular trek routes and the duration of each ...

The Everest Base Camp trek is 53 km each way when you walk the most direct route. This is the traditional – or classic – trek route.

This route usually requires you to be on the trail for 12 days. We say "on the trail for 12 days" and not "trek for 12 days", as we're including an important acclimatisation day on the ascent.

Walking along the classic EBC trek route

When you factor in the time needed to travel to the trailhead from Kathmandu and then back again, you need a total of 16 days for this trip.

There are, however, variations to this classic EBC trek route, a common one being the Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes trek. This is a slightly longer trek, as you hike to base camp on the classic route, but then take a detour on the return journey.

You're on the trail for 13 days on this trek. And when you factor in the time needed to travel there and back from Kathmandu, the entire trip requires a commitment of 17 days.

The small lakeside village of Gokyo

You can also opt for the famous Everest Base Camp and Three Passes route.

This is the toughest route, and also the longest – you're on the trail for 15 days. We include two acclimatisation days on this trek. However, there are fantastic day hikes that you can do on each day, so they don't need to be idle days if you don't want them to be.

When you factor in travel times to and from Kathmandu, this trip requires 19 days in total.

Finally, there's our very popular EBC trek and helicopter itinerary. Here, you trek the shortest route to EBC, then fly back to the starting point. You're on the trail for just 8 days with this itinerary.

When you include travel times to and from the trailhead, this trip requires 12 days in total.

The relief of a helicopter ride for tired EBC trekkers!

Proper acclimatisation is an important aspect of any high-altitude trek.

Altitude can start to be a problem from anywhere above 3,000 m. As we discuss in detail in Altitude gain on the EBC trek, you climb to well above 5,000 m on this famous trail.

You need to have at least one acclimatisation day on the classic EBC trek. This is usually taken in Namche Bazaar, as you make a big jump in altitude to reach it that day. On the EBC and Three Passes trek, we recommend including two acclimatisation days, as you go even higher on this trek.

These acclimatisation days are included in our proposed itineraries.

The Everest Base Camp trek isn't easy. You trek for roughly five to eight hours a day. The path is often uneven, rocky and loose. There are plenty of steps to conquer, and some of the climbs are long and steep. Furthermore, the higher you ascend, the harder everything becomes as you’re working off less oxygen.

You don’t, however, have to carry a heavy rucksack, as we’ve organised porters to transport our belongings. This means you only need to carry a daypack containing your water, snacks and other essential trekking items. (Learn more in How hard is the Everest Base Camp?)

The climb up Kala Patthar is a particularly tiring stint of any EBC trek

The classic route with a helicopter return is a much more manageable route than the Gokyo Lakes or Three Passes routes. The latter require you to trek for many more days, and so we recommend those only for the fitter traveller.

But while the Everest Base Camp route isn’t easy from a physical viewpoint, you don’t need any special equipment or training to do it. There’s no rock climbing involved. And you always walk along a well-marked path. All that’s needed to do the trek is a decently strong pair of legs, as well as some essential gear like good trekking boots and winter trekking clothes.

That said, we do recommend packing detachable crampons for the EBC and Three Passes route, just in case.

To learn more about what you'll need, read our blog post Everest Base Camp packing list. You might also like to download our packing checklist PDF on offer below.

Finally, we also want to point out that the trek route can be tough in terms of its altitude. While you might easily hike the same distance and duration at lower elevation, things are much tougher at such high altitude, where you must exert yourself much more to achieve the same output. You also often feel a bit wonky at high altitude. Common altitude symptoms include headaches, nausea and sleeplessness. It's better to know this going into the trek, since forewarned is forearmed.

We discuss this topic further in How hard is Everest Base Camp?

And that’s it, folks! If you’d like to know anything more about the Everest Base Camp route, or the trek in general, please contact us. We’d love to hear from you. Or if you’re ready to take the plunge, book your spot on the Everest Base Camp trek now!