Everest Base Camp is a hard trip, and it is not for everyone. We would rather you find that out now, before you buy a flight, than on the trail above Dingboche.
There is no score at the end. These are the questions we would ask you on a call, and your answers show whether this trek fits the way you like to travel, or whether another of our Nepal trips would suit you better.
What the trek asks of you
Our Everest Base Camp trek is 18 days, with 13 nights in lodges on the trail. You walk 5 to 7 hours most days, up to 8 on the longest, several days in a row, up and down the Khumbu valley.
Then there is the altitude. You sleep as high as Gorak Shep, at 5,140 m (16,863 ft), and Everest Base Camp sits at 5,364 m (17,598 ft), at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall. The optional climb to Kala Patthar, at 5,550 m (18,208 ft), starts in the cold and dark before sunrise and takes two to three hours at altitude pace.
The route gives your body time to adjust, with acclimatization days at Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) and Dingboche (4,410 m). The trek starts with a flight in a small plane to Lukla, at 2,840 m (9,317 ft), and ends with the flight back. Those flights go only when the weather allows.
| On the way up | Altitude |
|---|---|
| Kathmandu | 1,400 m (4,593 ft) |
| Lukla | 2,840 m (9,317 ft) |
| Namche Bazaar | 3,440 m (11,286 ft) |
| Khumjung | 3,780 m (12,401 ft) |
| Tyangboche | 3,860 m (12,664 ft) |
| Dingboche | 4,410 m (14,468 ft) |
| Lobuche | 4,930 m (16,174 ft) |
| Gorak Shep, the highest night | 5,140 m (16,863 ft) |
| Kala Patthar, an optional climb | 5,550 m (18,208 ft) |
| Everest Base Camp | 5,364 m (17,598 ft) |
From Namche Bazaar, the acclimatization walk goes up to the Sherpa village of Khumjung. From Dingboche there is an optional walk toward Chukhung, at 4,730 m.
Some things are easier than people expect. Porters carry your main bag, one porter for every two guests, so you walk with a day pack. Every meal on the trek is included, and an English-speaking Sherpa guide walks with the group.
Eight questions before you book
Answer each one yes or no. The next section explains what your answers mean.
- Can you walk 5 to 7 hours most days, up to 8 on the longest, several days in a row? You do not need to be an athlete, but the days are long and much of the trail is steep, up and down.
- Do you have 8 to 12 weeks to train? Cardio, stairs or hills, and one long walk a week in your trekking boots.
- Have you been to high altitude before, and how did it go? A hard time before is not an automatic no. Tell your clinician, and tell us.
- Have you talked with a clinician? Seek advice from a clinician familiar with your health and altitude travel. Take the trek’s highest altitudes with you: 5,140 m for sleeping and 5,550 m on the Kala Patthar climb.
- Can you get the travel insurance the trip requires? It must cover emergency medical treatment, evacuation, trip cancellation and interruption, and repatriation, up to 5,550 m.
- Can you take 18 days, plus a spare day or two before your flight home? The Lukla flights depend on the weather, so the plan needs some room.
- Are you happy with 13 nights in mountain lodges and some early starts?
- Is reaching base camp the point for you? Or is it seeing the Himalaya, Nepal’s temples and its people? Be honest with this one. It matters more than the others.
What your answers tell you
If you answered yes to most of them
Everest Base Camp is likely a good fit. The 18-day trek is $3,975 per person. In 2027 it leaves March 24, April 14 and May 5 in spring, and October 14 and November 4 in autumn. Scheduled departures have no group minimum.
If a long walk at altitude is not for you
You can still see the Himalaya and Nepal at a gentler pace. Our 9-Day Nepal Highlights Premium Tour, $2,675 per person, is rated Easy: sightseeing with short walks, and no trekking. It covers the Kathmandu Valley, Bhaktapur and Dhulikhel, a safari in Chitwan National Park and sunrise at Sarangkot above Pokhara, with boutique hotels, a private vehicle and an English-speaking guide. In 2027 it leaves April 5, October 5 and November 2.
The Nepal tours page also has a 13-day tour that adds the mountain view from Nagarkot and the caves at Pharping. Or we can plan a private trip around your walking limit, like the 9-Day Solu Mountain Views Tour: four nights at a lodge base in Solu, with short village walks and distant mountain views.
If the trek is right but the dates or the group are not
Any Everest Base Camp departure can run as a private trip for your group, on your dates and at your pace. A private trip is confirmed with 30% of the trip price. Scheduled groups have up to 10 guests.
If you are in your fifties or sixties
Many of the people who ask us about this trek are in their fifties or sixties, and the first thing they ask is whether they are too old. Age on its own is not a reason to say no. It changes how you prepare.
You would be in good company on the trail. A 2016 study in the Journal of Travel Medicine surveyed 670 trekkers on the Everest Base Camp route. Their average age was 48 and the oldest was 76. A third had a medical condition before they came, most often high blood pressure, high cholesterol, migraines or thyroid problems, and trekkers over 50 were more likely than younger ones to take regular medication.
Age does not make altitude sickness more likely. The CDC Yellow Book, the CDC's guide to travel health, says people over 50 have slightly less risk than younger people, and that training and fitness do not change the risk. A slow climb is what protects you. That is why our route keeps its two acclimatization days, at Namche Bazaar and Dingboche, and we would not skip them at any age.
Plan for the descents too. Long downhill stretches are hard on knees, so bring trekking poles, and practice walking downhill as well as up when you train. Once or twice before you go, take long walks on two days in a row.
See your clinician before you start training, and say exactly how high you are going. The CDC says travelers with coronary artery disease, chronic lung disease, low blood oxygen, obstructive sleep apnea or sickle cell trait should see a doctor who knows altitude medicine before a trip like this, even if the condition is well controlled. Questions worth bringing:
- Is acetazolamide (Diamox) right for me?
- Do any of my regular medicines interact with it, or work differently at altitude?
- Do I need any tests before I start training?
Pack enough of every medicine for the whole trip and a few extra days, in your carry-on. The US Embassy in Nepal tells travelers to bring the medicines they need, and notes that even hospitals in Kathmandu may lack some medicines. If you would like a slower plan, any departure can also run as a private trip at your pace.
Talk with Sam or Gyalgin
Our family has worked in these mountains for about 70 years. Today Sam and his father, Gyalgin Sherpa, plan every trip themselves.
If you are not sure where you land, tell us how you like to travel, and we will tell you plainly whether this trek fits or whether another trip would suit you better. Send us a note or call +1 (855) 743-7725. We reply within one business day.
To keep the self-check with you, download it as a printable PDF (3.3 MB). It has a box to tick for each of the eight questions.
Sources and date checked
Checked October 14, 2026, against our Everest Base Camp trek page, our Nepal tours page and section 8 of our terms, version SH-TC-2026-10-14.
The section for trekkers in their fifties and sixties was checked October 15, 2026, against the CDC Yellow Book 2026 chapter on high-altitude travel (April 23, 2025), the 2016 Journal of Travel Medicine study of trekkers in Nepal and the US Embassy in Nepal travel advisory of August 31, 2026.
