The Cost of an Everest Base Camp Trek

There has recently been  a flurry of articles on the internet and also in print medium on the cost of climbing Mount Everest as part of a guided group with full support.

But, more often that not, I am asked the question" how much does it cost to trek to Everest Base Camp?"

So this post attempts to answer that question given the many options available! I have assumed that the trekker will fly in and out of Lukla as that is the route majority of trekkers would take. In case you walk in and out of Jiri you would save your air fare but spend another ten days or so on lodge accommodation, food and porters/guides!

1 Luxury Trek with  an  International Trekking Company
These treks are usually run by leading  international companies and provide you with all the frills:

• Five star accommodation in Kathmandu
• Best lodges in Namche often with plush attached toilets, abundant hot showers for free and heated electric blankets!
• Best possible lodges on the trail many with attached bathrooms and nice sunny rooms
•  Knowledgeable English speaking guides from overseas, many of whom have done the Everest route many times and once in a while you may get an Everest summiteer guiding you!
• Special food, snacks, freshly ground coffee from overseas to supplement the lodge meals - once in Gokyo I found that cognac was also being served after dinner!
• Boiled or filtered water would be provided every day to the group!

The cost of one of these treks could range between US $ 3000 to 4000 depending on the facilities!

Kwangde from the airstrip of Shyanboche

2 Trek with Local Nepal Trekking Company
These treks are usually run by Kathmandu based trekking companies. They could be fixed departure treks where you sign on to an existing trek or they could be customised for your group only provided you have a decent number - four is usually acceptable.
You would usually get:

• Three star hotels in Kathmandu usually located in Thamel.
• Reasonable lodges on the route, some with attached bathrooms in Namche and Lukla usually.
• A local Nepali guide who would lead the team along with the porters to carry your bags - he would speak some English!
• Meals would be usually at the lodges and would be fixed in some manner. 
• Flights in and out to Lukla, airport transfers, permits etc would all be covered.

The cost of one of these treks would be between US $ 1500 to 2500 depending on the company concerned!

3 Do it Yourself Trek hiring a Guide/Porter as you need
You could decide to do your own trek to EBC and work out your own cost as under:

• Sagarmatha Permits and TIMS-  US $35 for foreigners and US $15 for SAARC citizens; TIMS US $20 for independent foreign trekkers and US $10 for SAARC citizens.
• Flight to and fro Lukla return - US $356 for foreign passports holders and USD $212 for  Indian citizens presently.
• Room at lodges - can vary from US $ 5 to 35 per night depending on where you stay - this excludes the top end lodges like Yeti Mountain Home, Summit Lodges etc. In Namche good lodges like Hotel Namche would charge between $25 to $35 for rooms with attached bathrooms, hot showers etc.
• Food at lodges - You can budget US $ 25-30 per day on an average, This does not include cokes, beer, apple pies and yak steaks! It includes three good meals, tea, coffee, hot water etc.
• Guide - the cost of a guide with his meals and stay included would be between US $ 25 to 30 per day. A guide would not carry your load.
• Porters - The cost of a porter would be US $ 18 to 20 per day with meals and stay.

So if two trekkers are doing a fifteen day Kathmandu to Kathmandu trek with one guide and one porter and sharing an ordinary  room,  the cost should be around US $ 1300-1400 per head or so per person. For Indian/Nepali  trekkers you can budget US $ 1100-1200 per head. Hotels in Kathmandu are not covered in this cost. If you take the guide from Kathmandu then you have to add his Lukla return fare as well!

4 Do it Yourself Trek carrying your own Backpack
You could eliminate the cost of the guide/porter from No 3 above- for two persons it would be US $ 900-1000 per  person  and for  Indian/Nepali citizens US $ 800-900 per person due to the differential in the Lukla air fare.

View from Luza - Thamserku

5 Speciality Photography Treks and Workshops 

• These treks to the Everest region are often conducted by companies who specialize in photography tours, treks and workshops. They are sometimes conducted by individual photographers who have vast experience in the Himalayas in general and Everest in particular. Like the luxury treks these treks are top end as they provide for fifteen days, the services of a dedicated top notch photographer on the trail who mentors and assists the team of trekkers. Other than the photography leader, the  team would have a Nepali guide and porters who would look after local logistics, loads, lodges, meals and other creature comforts for the team! The photography leader would know the best spots for photographs, the time of the day, off the beaten track locations, local colour, interaction with the local population, monastery interiors, night photography etc.

These photo treks would be around US $ 3000 to 4500 per person including hotels in Kathmandu on the way in and out and would include most of the luxuries of No 1 above maybe with the cognac left out!

So which of the options is for you?
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South Col Expeditions runs treks and photo workshops in the Everest region every year personally led by Sujoy Das. Our next Everest trek is November 11th to 24th 2018.   For more details do visit www.southcol.com.