What are the different Everest Base Camp trek routes?

The Everest Base Camp trek is a truly exhilarating and once-in-a-lifetime experience. There are various routes you can trek there and back, and you can even opt to fly back after reaching base camp.

Here's an outline of each of the four different Everest Base Camp (EBC) trek routes offered by us at Follow Alice. We discuss the pros of each to help you decide which suits you best in terms of duration, difficulty, cost, variety of scenery and more!

The traditional or classic Everest Base Camp trek route involves hiking a trail that is 53 km (33 mile) from the airport 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). This is the shortest EBC trek you can do.

At Follow Alice, we include two small deviations on the return route in order to show you more diversified scenery and let you overnight in some different, quieter villages. You can see these detours on the map above.

The classic EBC trek package that we offer has you on the trail for 11 days. We say "on the trail for 11 days" and not "trek for 11 days", as we're including an important rest and acclimatisation day in the middle of the ascent. (Though you can opt to do a rewarding roundtrip hike on that day if you're feeling up to it!) The whole trip with us, however, lasts 14 days, as it includes your travel to and from Kathmandu.

We recommend this version of the trek for those with limited time and budget for the adventure but who still want to challenge themselves to complete the full roundtrip EBC trek. In other words, the three main advantages of this EBC variation are:

But for those with even less free time in their calendar, or who might find an 11-day trek too taxing, we recommend hiking the classic route to base camp but then catching a helicopter ride back ...

Excitingly, 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 two main advantages:

Please read Everest Base Camp trek and helicopter return for a detailed description of the route you would trek. You can also check out our EBC trek and helicopter return package for a breakdown of the trip itinerary. You'll notice that this option is quite a bit more expensive – this is because helicopter rides through the Himalayas don't come cheap!

Finally, note that you're on the trail for just eight days with this EBC itinerary. This includes an important acclimatisation day.

One of the most popular variations of the classic EBC trek (and for good reasons!) is the Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes trek. On this trek you follow the traditional route to base camp, but then make a big detour on the return journey to visit the exceptionally beautiful Gokyo Lakes.

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

Note that you're on the trail for 13 days with this EBC variation, which includes important acclimatisation and rest days. Please read Everest Base Camp and Gokyo Lakes trek route for a detailed day-by-day description of the route.

The famous Everest Base Camp and Three Passes route can be thought of as an extension of the EBC and Gokyo Lakes trek route – the trail you trek to Everest Base Camp is just longer and harder, as it includes two mountain pass crossings.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, this EBC trek variation is the hardest of all on offer, and so we recommend it for seasoned high-altitude trekkers looking for a supersized Himalayan adventure!

The advantages of the EBC and Three Passes trek route are:

You're on the trail for 15 days on this variation of the EBC trek. This includes two acclimatisation days. 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.

For a detailed day-by-day description of the route, please read Everest Base Camp and Three Passes trek route.

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, no matter which variation you trek.

You need to include at least one acclimatisation day on the classic EBC trek. Two is even better, especially on the longer treks. Acclimatisation days are included in all of our proposed itineraries.

And that’s it, folks! If you’d like to know anything further about one or more of the Everest Base Camp routes, or about 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 an Everest Base Camp trek now!