Location · Everest Region
A river-side village 250 metres below Lukla, and the standard first night on the Everest trail — deliberately lower than where you landed.
Phakding is an unremarkable string of lodges along the Dudh Kosi, and that is exactly the point. Landing at Lukla puts you at 2,860 m within an hour of leaving Kathmandu; walking three hours downhill to sleep at 2,610 m is the first and easiest acclimatisation decision of the trek.
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Trek
Fourteen days from Kathmandu to the moraine beneath the Khumbu Icefall and back, on the best-supported trekking route in the world. No technical skill required — but 5,364 metres asks a great deal of your acclimatisation.
Everest Region · Nepal14 daysModerate5,545 m
Trek
The full Khumbu circuit: Kongma La, Cho La and Renjo La, plus Base Camp, Kala Patthar and the Gokyo lakes. Twenty days, three 5,300 m-plus passes, and the most complete way to see the Everest region.
Everest Region · Nepal20 daysStrenuous5,545 m
Itinerary
The standard fourteen-day EBC plan with both acclimatisation days intact, a built-in weather buffer, and honest costs for each stage.
Nepal14 daysAdventure
Travel Guide
How Lukla flights actually work: the Manthali switch, why cancellations happen, what a helicopter costs, and how many buffer days you really need.
Everest Region · NepalPractical guide