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When to Trek to Everest Base Camp


A view from Gokyo Ri on the Everest 3 Passes trek
A view from Gokyo Ri

When to do the Everest Base Camp trek is probably the most important decision to make when planning your trek. Some months are far too busy with trekkers and other months are affected by the cold, the monsoon, haze and cloud. This blog give you the facts to enable you to make the right decision.


Click here to read my other blogs about the Everest Base Camp and Everest 3 Passes treks.


Contents



 

1. Everest Base Camp Trek from Mid December to Mid March


This is the off-season due to the cold winter weather and the increased risk of heavy snowfall. This period has become more popular with independent trekkers recently. Very few groups will do the Everest Base Camp trek at this time of year which is very appealing! There is also a greater chance of clear skies and crisp views.


Many lodges on the Everest Base Camp trek will close during the winter due to the cold so even though there are fewer trekkers the lodges will often be busy. There should be at least 1 lodge open at each location, but the few trekkers around will be funnelled into them.


Toilets and water pipes will often be frozen and the bedrooms will be very cold. Another important factor to take into account, apart from the cold, is that the days are much shorter.


 

2. Everest Base Camp Trek from Mid March to Start of May


The Spring peak season is probably from about 20th March to about the 7th May. It is almost as busy as the autumn season as per the Sagamatha Park Monthly Trekker Numbers chart. The sky will not be as clear as in the autumn peak season which comes after the monsoon.


In recent years there has been terrible air pollution in Kathmandu, and the lower elevations of the Everest region, from wild fires in late March and April. See reports in the Kathmandu Post and on the TripAdvisor Forum.


During April the lodges on the Everest Base Camp trek will be very busy and some will be full. Single trekkers may find it difficult to get their own room. So there is pressure to rush from one location to the next to obtain a room.


You will always find a place to sleep, even if it is in the dining room. Lobuche and Gorak Shep are the 2 locations where the accommodation will be the most limited.


Groups either pre-book the accommodation or send a guide or porter ahead to reserve rooms. Independent trekkers get the remaining rooms! See my blog Lodges & Tea Houses on the Everest Base Camp Trek for recommended tea houses.


 

3. Everest Base Camp Trek in May


I have trekked to Everest Base Camp in May twice and haven't had a problem with air pollution. The first week of May could still be busy but after that the number of trekkers drops off. There are less trekkers in May than March, April, October or November.


May is pre-monsoon but it is also the month when most climbers summit Everest. You need reasonable weather to do that! Most climbers summit Everest between May 10 and 20. My logic has been that May should be a reasonable month for trekking. May is also reasonably warm and the days are long.


When we did the standard Everest Base Camp trek in May 2014 we had incredible weather. We only had a bit of drizzle in the afternoon of the acclimatization day in Namche Bazaar and some mist in afternoon when descending from Lobuche to Pheriche. It was so nice and warm at the top of Kalar Patthar that I sat at the summit for over an hour!


In May 2022 when I did the Everest 3 passes trek over 17 days the weather wasn't as good. The locals said that the weather was unusually bad for May. However, it only rained 1 day and clouds spoiled the view for a further 3 days.


If you are going to do the Everest Base Camp trek in May I recommend going after the first weekend to avoid the crowds. The number of international groups decreases substantially after that. Try and fly into Lukla from the Wednesday after that weekend as a lot of trekkers fly into Kathmandu at the weekend and then fly to Lukla after two nights in Kathmandu.


 

4. Everest Base Camp Trek from June to September


I would definitely recommend not doing the Everest Base Camp trek from mid June to the end of September as it is the monsoon season. The monsoon used to end in September, but the Nepal Monsoon Date chart below shows that it now ends in October due to climate change.


Rain isn't necessarily a problem as it can be for just a short period or at night. There is little point in trekking if clouds constantly block views of the mountains. There will also be leeches at lower altitude and dengue fever is a big problem in Kathmandu from July to October.


In the first half of June the weather could be okay. If so then that would be a fantastic time to trek with few trekkers, nice temperatures and long days. I have trekked twice up to the 12th June in the Annapurna and Nar Phu regions and have had good weather both times. I have never done the Everest Base Camp trek during this period.


 

5. Everest Base Camp Trek from October to Mid December


October was regarded as the best trekking month in Nepal as the temperatures weren't yet too cold and the air was clear after the monsoon. In recent years the monsoon hasn't ended until almost mid October as per the Nepal Monsoon Dates chart.


Also cyclones originating in the Bay of Bengal have hit Nepal several times in the first half of October. On 14 October 2014 cyclone Hudhud resulted in the death of 21 trekkers on the Annapurna circuit. In early October 2022 a cyclone hit the western and central parts of Nepal and caused great disruption to trekkers.


I started a trek in Lower Dolpo in mid October 2022 and there was so much snow on the passes that we couldn't cross them. A blog by ResponsibleAdventures.com highlights the bad October weather in 2018, 2019 and 2021.


The beginning of October to mid November is the busiest time of year for the Everest Base Camp trek. If you don't like crowded trails and busy lodges it would be better to start trekking after mid November. The later the better for quieter trails. With regard to weather it would be best to wait until after 20th October to commence the Everest Base Camp trek.


This video of the climb up to Namche Bazaar shows how busy the trail to Everest Base Camp can get at peak times! I don't think it is normal though. The video was taken on the 13th October 2023.


 

6. Monsoon Dates for the Everest Base Camp trek


These dates reflect when the monsoon first enters Nepal and finally exits the entire country. It should be taken into account that the monsoon enters and exits Nepal from the east when analysing these dates. Therefore for the Everest Base Camp trek the monsoon starts a few days later and ends a few days earlier.


I have personally experienced how these monsoon dates can be misleading because the monsoon takes time to cross Nepal. The 2022 monsoon start date was 5 June yet we had great weather trekking in the Annapurna region until it rained in the evening of 10 June.


The 2019 monsoon end date was 12 October but we had perfect weather in the Manaslu region from 10 October and the weather had been fairly good for about a week before that.

YEAR

START DATE

END DATE

2002

15 June

19 September

2003

16 June

30 September

2004

9 June

1 October

2005

20 June

2 October

2006

1 June

29 September

2007

7 June

9 October

2008

10 June

17 October

2009

23 June

15 October

2010

17 June

1 October

2011

15 June

7 October

2012

16 June

28 September

2013

14 June

19 October

2014

20 June

7 October

2015

13 June

3 October

2016

15 June

12 October

2017

12 June

16 October

2018

8 June

5 October

2019

20 June

12 October

2020

12 June

16 October

2021

11 June

11 October

2022

5 June

15 October

2023

14 June

15 October

2024

10 June

12 October



 

7. Monthly Trekker Numbers for the Everest Base Camp Trek


These numbers are recorded when trekkers enter the Sagarmatha National Park at Jorsale. Most trekkers going to Everest Base Camp are recorded as entering the park on the day after they fly into Lukla.


The Official Statistics of trekkers doing the Everest Base Camp trek at the Jorsale entrance to Sagarmatha Park.
The Official Statistics at the Jorsale entrance

I haven't shown the numbers for 2015 as they were affected by the earthquake. Likewise I haven't shown the numbers for 2020 to 2022 as they were affected by Covid. The number of trekkers doing the Everest Base Camp trek started to increase at the end of 2022 and 11,319 trekkers entered Sagarmatha National Park in October 2022.


When reviewing these numbers you should take into account that:

  • The majority of trekkers for March will start the Everest Base Camp trek in the last half of March. Therefore from the middle of March it will be busier than it appears.

  • There will be a lot of trekkers that enter Sagarmatha National Park at the end of April who will be doing the Everest Base Camp trek mainly in May.

  • October is very busy but most trekkers entering Sagarmatha National Park at the end of October will be doing the Everest Base Camp trek mainly in November.

  • Also most trekkers entering Sagarmatha National Park in November will do so in the first half of November. Therefore the first half of November will be busier for the Everest Base Camp trek than the statistics imply and the second half of November less so.

  • Foreign climbing expeditions aren't included in these statistics. Therefore early to mid April will be busier with climbers entering the park.


MONTH

2014 - 19 AVERAGE

2014

2016

2017

2018

2019

JANUARY

1072

930

589

1297

1466

1076

FEBRUARY

1265

975

1078

1363

1654

1256

MARCH

4980

3829

3804

5058

6609

5598

APRIL

8976

6808

5520

9592

10576

12386

MAY

3731

2397

3124

4487

4565

4082

JUNE

494

328

399

557

637

549

JULY

314

254

354

342

335

287

AUGUST

485

484

351

542

498

549

SEPTEMBER

3172

2788

313

4400

4818

3542

OCTOBER

11806

9463

10013

12479

12532

12542

NOVEMBER

7525

6496

6274

7687

8869

8300

DECEMBER

2507

2272

2467

2584

3080

2132


 

8. Weather Data & Forecasts for the Everest Base Camp Trek


Meteoblue provides historical weather data and weather forecasts for several locations on the trail to Everest Base Camp.


 

9. My Other Everest Base Camp Trek Blogs






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