Namche Bazaar at dusk, with Khumbu peaks above the town, Nepal
Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam above the trail to Everest Base Camp
Everest, Lhotse and Ama Dablam above the trail to Everest Base Camp
Namche Bazaar at dusk, with Khumbu peaks above the town, Nepal
A stupa on a Khumbu trail with Ama Dablam behind, Nepal
Everest and Lhotse seen through pine trees in the Khumbu, Nepal
A carved mani-stone wall on a Khumbu trail, Nepal
Snow-capped mountain peak with a clear blue sky

12 DaysChallenging

Everest by Lodge and Helicopter

From $19,875 per person, based on two travelers sharing

  • A private journey, planned around you.
Duration
12 Days
Best season
Spring & Autumn
Max altitude
5,550 m (18,209 ft), Kala Patthar by helicopter
Difficulty
Challenging

Challenging: 5 to 8 hours of walking a day for two weeks or more, with nights up to about 5,200 m (17,000 ft) and a pass or viewpoint above 5,000 m (16,400 ft). Read your trip's walking demands, highest daytime and sleeping altitudes, terrain, technical requirements and gear list before booking.

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We reply within one business day. Nothing is paid on this page.
Sherpa guides
Written proposal and contract
Your party only, on your dates
Planned with the family

The climb to Everest Base Camp

Fly to Lukla at 2,840 m, then walk to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 m, with rest days on the way up. A private helicopter flies you out, stopping on Kala Patthar at 5,550 m (18,209 ft) when conditions allow, and back to Kathmandu.

  • On foot
  • By plane
  • By helicopter
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Everest Base Camp on foot, then a private helicopter home.

This is a sample private itinerary, not a fixed departure. Sam and Gyalgin plan the route, pace and stays around you before you book. Walking times are estimates. Weather can change the plan and mountain views are not guaranteed.

Fly to Lukla and walk the standard route up the Khumbu with a senior Sherpa guide and an assistant guide for your party: Namche, Tyangboche, Dingboche and Lobuche, with rest days at Namche and Dingboche. Walk to Everest Base Camp from Gorak Shep. The next morning a private helicopter lifts you out, stopping on Kala Patthar when conditions allow, and flies you back to Kathmandu.

The helicopter replaces the walk back, so the journey takes 12 days instead of the 18 of our Everest Base Camp trek.

This is a Challenging trek, not a helicopter tour. Most days have 5-7 hours of walking with steep climbs. You sleep as high as 5,140 m at Gorak Shep and reach 5,364 m at base camp on foot. Phakding to Namche raises sleeping altitude by about 830 m, above the usual 500 m-per-night guidance over 3,000 m, and the Namche rest day follows it. The helicopter then takes you to Kala Patthar at 5,550 m before descending. We discuss your experience and ascent plan before booking; seek advice from a clinician familiar with altitude travel.

Kathmandu nights are planned at Dwarika's Hotel. On the trail you stay with Yeti Mountain Home or Mountain Lodges of Nepal where the route has their lodges, and in the best room we can hold in each higher village, where lodges are simpler. Gorak Shep rooms are basic. Named hotels and lodges are the ones we plan to hold for you. If one is full on your dates we offer a comparable stay, and your written proposal names every stay before you pay anything. Nothing is paid on this page.

High-altitude travel can cause serious illness, even in fit travelers. Acclimatization reduces risk but cannot eliminate it. Tell your guide promptly about symptoms. Your guide may stop an ascent, change the route or arrange descent. Rescue and medical treatment depend on location, weather, access and available resources and cannot be guaranteed.

SherpaHolidays Terms and Conditions SH-TC-2026-10-14. Your accepted booking version and mandatory rights remain in effect.

Prices are in US dollars. Prices are per person, based on two travelers sharing a room. Private sample itineraries and from prices are not confirmed reservations; we agree the final plan and price with you in a written proposal before booking. International flights are excluded unless your written itinerary expressly includes them.

Comprehensive travel insurance is a condition of every booking. Your policy must cover emergency medical treatment, emergency evacuation, trip cancellation and interruption, and repatriation. Confirm with your insurer that it covers your itinerary's activities and maximum altitude, including helicopter evacuation.

12 Days to Everest Base Camp, Back by Helicopter

Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu

Day 2: A private heritage morning in Patan and trek preparation

Day 3: Fly to Lukla and walk to Phakding

Day 4: Climb to Namche

Day 5: Namche rest day

Day 6: Walk to Tyangboche

Day 7: Walk to Dingboche

Day 8: Dingboche rest day

Day 9: Walk to Lobuche

Day 10: Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp

Day 11: Private helicopter to Kathmandu, with a Kala Patthar stop when conditions allow

Day 12: Departure

Day by Day

This is a sample private itinerary, not a fixed departure. Sam and Gyalgin plan the route, pace and stays around you before you book. Walking times are estimates. Weather can change the plan and mountain views are not guaranteed.

Day 1: Arrive in Kathmandu

A private transfer to Dwarika's Hotel and time to rest. Walking: 0-0.5 hour. Sleep: about 1,400 m.

Day 2: Patan and trek preparation

A private guide and car for a heritage morning in Patan Durbar Square. In the afternoon, a briefing on gear, insurance, walking and ascent with your Sherpa guide. Lukla flights may leave from Ramechhap, which means an early road transfer; this routing is set in your plan. Walking: 1-2 hours. Sleep: about 1,400 m.

Day 3: To Lukla and Phakding

Fly to Lukla at 2,840 m. Flights depend on conditions; if scheduled flights are held up by weather, the weather reserve can pay for a helicopter seat to Lukla. Walk down the river valley to Phakding. Walking: 3-4 hours. Sleep: about 2,610 m. Day high: 2,840 m. Meals at the lodge.

Day 4: The climb to Namche

Cross the suspension bridges of the Dudh Kosi, pass the park entrance at Monjo and climb steeply to Namche. Walking: 6-7 hours, possibly longer at your pace. Sleep: 3,440 m. The roughly 830 m rise in sleeping altitude from Phakding is a large step, not made risk-free by private pacing; the rest day follows it. Dinner at the lodge.

Day 5: Rest in Namche

A rest day. If you feel well, walk up toward Khumjung or the Everest View viewpoint at 3,880 m and come back down to sleep. Walking: 2-4 hours. Sleep: 3,440 m. Meals at the lodge.

Day 6: Namche to Tyangboche

Drop to the river and climb through forest to the saddle at Tyangboche and its monastery, with Ama Dablam above. Walking: 5-6 hours. Sleep: about 3,860 m. Meals at the lodge.

Day 7: Tyangboche to Dingboche

Above the tree line into the Imja valley. Walking: 5-6 hours. Sleep: 4,410 m. Meals at the lodge.

Day 8: Rest in Dingboche

A second rest day. If you feel well, walk higher toward Chukhung (4,730 m) and come back down. Walking: 2-4 hours. Sleep: 4,410 m. Meals at the lodge.

Day 9: Dingboche to Lobuche

Along the moraine of the Khumbu Glacier to Lobuche. Walking: 5-6 hours. Sleep: about 4,930 m. Meals at the lodge.

Day 10: Gorak Shep and Everest Base Camp

Walk to Gorak Shep at 5,140 m, then on to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 m at the foot of the icefall, and back to Gorak Shep for the night. Walking: 7-8 hours. Sleep: 5,140 m, the highest night of the journey, in a basic room. Skip the base camp walk with symptoms or unsuitable conditions.

Day 11: Helicopter to Kathmandu

Early in the morning, a private helicopter from Gorak Shep. When conditions allow it stops on Kala Patthar (5,550 m) for the view of Everest, then flies you down. If weather holds the helicopter, the weather reserve pays for extra nights or a standby. Back at Dwarika's Hotel for the afternoon. Walking: 0-0.5 hour. Sleep: about 1,400 m.

Day 12: Departure

Airport transfer. If the helicopter was delayed, this day may be needed, so keep your international ticket changeable. No overnight stay.

From $19,875 per person. Based on two travelers sharing a room. International flights are not included. The final price is set in your written proposal.

Planned inclusions

  • Three Kathmandu nights at Dwarika's Hotel with breakfast, and private airport transfers.
  • A private guide and car for a heritage morning in Patan.
  • Eight trail-lodge nights with all meals: Yeti Mountain Home or Mountain Lodges of Nepal where the route has them, and the best room we can hold in each higher village.
  • A senior Sherpa guide and an assistant Sherpa guide for your party, with porters for your luggage.
  • The flight to Lukla, from Kathmandu or from Ramechhap with the road transfer when that routing applies.
  • A private helicopter from Gorak Shep to Kathmandu, with a Kala Patthar stop when conditions allow.
  • Supplemental oxygen, a pulse oximeter and a satellite messenger carried by your guide.
  • An evacuation membership for each traveler.
  • A weather reserve for extra nights or a helicopter on standby if weather holds you.
  • Sagarmatha National Park and Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permits.

Not included

  • International flights, the Nepal visa, required travel insurance, tips, alcohol, personal trekking clothes and boots, and single-room supplements.
  • Named stays are planned until your written proposal confirms them; a comparable stay is offered if one is full on your dates.

Five Highlights

Everest Base Camp on Foot

The walk from Gorak Shep to base camp at 5,364 m, at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall.

A Private Helicopter Out

Your own helicopter from Gorak Shep to Kathmandu, with a Kala Patthar stop when conditions allow.

Two Sherpa Guides for Your Party

A senior Sherpa guide and an assistant guide, so neither of you walks the hard days alone.

The Best Rooms on the Trail

Yeti Mountain Home or Mountain Lodges of Nepal where the route has them, and the best room we can hold higher up.

Two Rest Days on the Way Up

Acclimatization days at Namche and Dingboche.

A private journey, planned by people

Sherpa Signature journeys are sold by a call and a written proposal, not a cart. Nothing is paid on this page.

  • A planning call: About 30 minutes with Sam or Gyalgin about who is traveling, when, and how much walking feels right.
  • A written proposal: Your day-by-day plan, the stays we can hold and the full price, in writing.
  • A contract: You read the plan and our Terms and Conditions before you commit to anything.
  • A payment schedule: Your contract sets out what is paid and when.

Named stays

Named hotels and lodges are the ones we plan to hold for you, or comparable ones if they are full on your dates. Your proposal confirms every stay, flight and price. Hotel and lodge photos are not shown here; ask us and we will send them.

Weather and helicopters

Weather and the operator's rules decide when a helicopter flies and where it can land. Flights can be delayed, rerouted or shortened. The weather reserve pays for extra nights or a helicopter on standby, and we suggest an international ticket you can change.

Plan with our family

Sam and Gyalgin Sherpa, son and father, run SherpaHolidays. Sam is based in the US. You speak with the family about the journey, not a call center.

Gyalgin worked on Everest. His father, San Tsopel Sherpa, helped Hillary's school-building work.

Sam's grandfather, Gyalgin's father, San Tsopel Sherpa: Cooked for Sir Edmund Hillary and his team throughout their work building schools for the Sherpa community.

Call first

Talk to Sam or Gyalgin

A Signature journey starts with a conversation. Call us, or send a short note through our inquiry form and we will call you back.

See all Sherpa Signature journeys

+1 (855) 743-7725 info@sherpaholidays.com
Call us Send an inquiry

We reply within one business day. Nothing is paid on this page.

Things guests ask before booking

Straight answers about walking, altitude, helicopters and how a Signature journey is planned.

  • On the two Everest journeys, yes. They walk the standard route to Everest Base Camp with steep climbs and several hours on foot most days, and sleep up to 5,140 m at Gorak Shep. The helicopter replaces the walk back, not the walk up.

  • No. High-altitude travel can cause serious illness, even in fit travelers, and a helicopter takes you high very quickly. Acclimatization reduces risk but cannot eliminate it. We go over the ascent plan and landing times with you before you book; talk to a clinician familiar with altitude travel.

  • Weather and the operator's rules decide when a helicopter flies and where it can land. Flights can be delayed, rerouted or shortened, and a landing stop happens only when conditions allow. The weather reserve pays for extra nights or a helicopter on standby. Keep your international ticket changeable.

  • They are the ones we plan to hold for you. If one is full on your dates we offer a comparable stay, and your written proposal names every stay before you pay anything.

  • The from price is per person for two traveling together. Dates, room choices and party size change it. Your proposal states the full price, what is included and what is not.

  • International flights, the Nepal visa, travel insurance, tips, alcohol and a single-room supplement. Travel insurance is a condition of every booking and must cover emergency medical treatment and evacuation, including by helicopter, at the journey's highest altitude.

  • Call us on +1 (855) 743-7725, or send a short note through our inquiry form and we will call you back. We reply within one business day.