Two weeks to Everest Base Camp, one slow step at a time
Flying into Lukla, two rest days to acclimatise and a pre-dawn climb of Kala Patthar: what 14 days on the Everest Base Camp trail felt like for a first-time trekker travelling solo.
Hannah Weber
6 May 2026 1 min read
- When April 2026
- Length 14 days
- Travelled Solo
- Spent USD 2,100 in total
In this story5 sections
I booked the flight to Lukla before I had thought about what 5,545 metres would do to me. The plane lands on a short sloping runway cut into a hillside, and ten minutes later I was drinking tea in Phakding wondering whether I had ever been this far from a road.
The rhythm of the trail
Days settle into a pattern: breakfast by seven, walk until early afternoon, a long lunch, a short wander, early dinner, bed by eight. The climb out of the Dudh Kosi gorge to Namche Bazaar is the first real test, and the village, packed into a bowl of rock at 3,440 metres, is the best reward. I spent two nights there, and the rest-day hike toward the Everest View Hotel was my first proper look at the big peaks.
Beyond Tengboche the valley opens up and the trees give way to stone walls and yak pastures. At Dingboche I took a second rest day at 4,410 metres. I did not think I needed it. By evening my head told me otherwise.
Gorak Shep and the long way up
From Lobuche the trail follows the moraine to Gorak Shep, the last settlement, at 5,164 metres. Everest Base Camp itself is more a place than a view: prayer flags, tents, a shifting glacier. The better view is the next morning from Kala Patthar. We left in the dark with head torches, and I reached the top as the light turned the summit pyramid orange. It was cold, quiet and entirely worth the effort.
The way down is quick. By the second afternoon I was back in Namche, breathing normally and eating like a horse, and four days later I was in the Lukla departure lounge with nothing to do but wait for weather. That wait is part of the trip too: leave a spare day at the end.
At a glance
- When
- April 2026
- Length
- 14 days
- Travelled
- Solo
- Spent
- USD 2,100 in total
- Getting around
- Flight Kathmandu to Lukla and back, then on foot all the way.
- Stayed
- Teahouses, a simple room each night with meals in the shared dining room.
As Hannah Weber describes the trip; details may have changed.
The route
- 1
Day 1
Lukla to Phakding
A gentle first afternoon, sleeping at 2,610 m.
- 2
Day 2
Namche Bazaar
Two nights at 3,440 m, with a rest-day hike above town.
- 3
Day 3
Tengboche
The monastery at 3,860 m, with Ama Dablam in view.
- 4
Day 4
Dingboche
Another rest day at 4,410 m.
- 5
Day 5
Lobuche and Gorak Shep
Up to 5,164 m for Everest Base Camp.
- 6
Day 6
Kala Patthar
The 5,545 m viewpoint, climbed before sunrise.
Hannah Weber’s tips
- Take both rest days (Namche and Dingboche) and keep them genuinely easy.
- Drink far more water than feels natural; thirst lags behind the altitude.
- Carry small cash: card machines stop working above Namche.
- Pack a warm layer for Gorak Shep; nights at 5,164 m are properly cold.
What I would do differently
I would walk slower on days three and four. I felt strong and pushed ahead, and a headache at Dingboche was the price. The rest days are not optional extras, they are the plan.
Written by
Hannah Weber
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