Everest Treks in Comfort

The best mountain lodges, the finest Everest trails – take your next Himalaya hike to new heights

Elevate your hiking adventure in the Himalaya, taking the most scenic trails in the Everest region, while staying in the best lodges around. Guided by true mountain experts, we walk among giants etched into adventure folklore, soak up Sherpa culture and witness the world’s highest peaks, including Everest, from the best viewpoints. Each evening, you’ll sleep easy with a comfortable room and a little luxury, allowing you to be refreshed and ready for another adventure the following day.

Why trek with Exodus?

• One of the highest staff-to-traveller ratios on the trek with one staff member to every four travellers
• More than 30 years’ experience organising treks in Nepal
• Carefully planned ascent rates and itineraries with built-in acclimatisation and contingency days
• Established protocol for Lukla flight delays
• Exodus annually commissions independent air-safety audits on domestic carriers in Nepal and only use those approved as part of the audit
• Experienced English-speaking local leaders who are qualified in first aid and trained to recognise and deal with altitude sickness
• All staff (leaders, guides and porters) are fully insured and paid a fair wage
• Staff carry oxygen, a first-aid kit, and self-assessment acute mountain sickness cards, used to monitor every traveller at altitude
• Speak to Exodus office staff who have done the trek themselves

Sustainability and Impact

As a certified B Corp, we’re on a mission to improve our social and environmental impact across all our adventures.

We do this through our innovative Thriving Nature, Thriving People plan.

This ‘nature positive’ approach is designed to help nature and communities thrive in harmony though practical solutions, such as reducing carbon and waste on our trips, supporting conservation projects through the Exodus Adventure Travels Foundation, and rewilding 100 square metres for every Exodus traveller.

Is this trip for you?

This trek is graded Activity Level 4 (Moderate & Challenging). For more information on our trip gradings, visit the Activity Level Guidelines page. If you have any queries about the difficulty of the trip, please contact us.

Altitude: The maximum altitude is 12,706ft (3,873m) and the average is 10,328ft (3,148m). Ample time is given for acclimatisation, but altitude is a factor and must be considered – please refer to the altitude warning in the Trip Notes.

Fitness and ability: You should have some trekking experience (preferably at altitude) before joining this adventure. If you do not regularly exercise or hill walk, you should train beforehand.

• On most days, we walk for approximately five to six hours, although there are some shorter and longer days.
• This trek is graded Activity Level 4 (Moderate & Challenging) due to the altitudes and some long days walking. However, it is graded a lower Activity Level than our Everest Base Camp Trek as it does not go above 13,123ft (4,000m) and only spends eight days at altitude.

Heights: The trail crosses several modern suspension bridges, all of which have mesh sides; some are quite long and high, so anyone with a strong fear of heights or vertigo may find them difficult.

Walking hours: Those stated within the itinerary are approximates only. Timings stated exclude lunch stops and vary depending on the group’s pace. There are seven days of walking with full porterage throughout – you need only carry your backpack for the day.

Nepal flight safety

Many of our treks in Nepal use domestic flights to reach the trekking areas. The mountainous Nepalese terrain is subject to changeable weather, which makes flying conditions complex and challenging, and unfortunately there are significantly more incidents here than in other countries, including fatalities. The EU highlighted the poor safety record in Nepal by including all Nepalese-registered airlines on the EU banned list, which prevents them from flying in EU airspace. While no Nepalese-registered airlines currently fly within the EU, the EU instigated this ban to highlight the risk of flying in Nepal to EU citizens. Nepalese airlines are unlikely to be members of any internationally recognised safety audit systems and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Nepal does not operate to the same standards as those of Western nations.

Flying within Nepal is therefore a known risk, and we strongly encourage you to consider this carefully before booking. We suggest you refer to the following sources:

• The current travel advice for Nepal issued by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
• The Air Safety Network entry for Nepal

In response to concerns over this safety record, we arrange for independent air-safety auditors to visit Nepal annually to assess the suitability of the available carriers. We then restrict our use to only those approved as part of this audit. In emergency situations, we will need to use helicopters, so we also have a list of approved helicopter carriers. Should concerns arise regarding the safety of an airline on our approved list, we will remove the carrier from the list immediately; it would only be reinstated once our air-safety auditors are confident the airline meets acceptable safety standards.

We appreciate you may have concerns about flying within Nepal, so we ask that you please consider all the information above when deciding to book this trip.

Internal flight delays

Adverse weather conditions at Lukla airport occasionally mean that flights to/from Manthali or Kathmandu cannot operate. Please read the Important Information section of the Trip Notes for more information.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

Nepal

There are no required vaccinations. However, recommended vaccinations include tetanus, typhoid, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, cholera, Japanese encephalitis, rabies and tuberculosis. You will also need a yellow fever vaccination certificate if you’re arriving from a country with risk of yellow fever transmission or transiting for more than 12 hours through a country with risk of yellow fever transmission. Some travellers may also need proof of a polio vaccination. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

There is little to no risk of malaria in Nepal; therefore, antimalarial tablets are not usually advised although may be considered for certain high-risk groups. You may wish to consult your doctor or travel clinic for further advice.

Additionally, dengue fever and chikungunya are known risks in Nepal. Both are tropical viral diseases spread by daytime biting mosquitoes. There is currently no vaccine or prophylaxis available for either, and therefore the best form of prevention is to avoid being bitten. We recommend you take the usual precautions to avoid mosquito bites.

Most of our trips to Nepal go to high altitudes where there is a risk of being affected by Acute Mountain Sickness. Our itineraries are designed to enable everyone to acclimatise to these altitudes, but you should be aware that it is still possible for you to be affected. Please refer to the Altitude Warning within the Trip Notes for further advice on AMS.

When trekking at altitude, and particularly in cold weather, there is a higher chance of developing a cough (sometimes referred to here as the Khumbu cough) or cold symptoms. These symptoms could be a result of inhaling cold mountain air or dust (in the Everest region). You can mitigate against picking up coughs and colds by washing your hands with soap and water at available opportunities and using hand sanitiser. Also wear a buff over your neck and mouth when walking at altitude, particularly in colder weather, which will help limit cold, dry air entering your airways and keep your neck and chest warm.

Visa

Nepal

You can obtain your visa in advance or on arrival. The Immigration Department of Nepal has suspended visas on arrival for certain nationalities – please check if this applies to you with your nearest embassy or consulate.

Visa in advance

Apply for this through your local consulate or embassy. Further details on this option can be found here:

• For UK passport holders: https://uk.nepalembassy.gov.np/visa/
• For US passport holders: https://us.nepalembassy.gov.np/tourist-visa/

When applying for your visa in advance, the Nepalese government has an online application system (see links above for more info), but it is currently only accepting payments through Nepalese payment channels. Once the online form is completed, the applicant is required to print out the form and either send it, together with the passport, to the embassy, or attend in person.

Visa on arrival

1. When you arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, there will be three lines. If you have already secured your visa, go straight to the Immigration line. If not:
   Fill in a tourist visa form at the electronic kiosks. After inserting your passport, the machine will automatically fill out an application form, take an electronic photograph of you and print a paper slip. If the machine won’t read your passport, complete the details manually using the touchscreen. We recommend taking a passport photo with you just in case.
   Top tip: This process can be completed through the online immigration portal (click ‘Visa On-Arrival’) within 14-days prior to arrival in Kathmandu, helping you to avoid lengthy queues at the kiosks when you come through immigration – ensure you print and bring the confirmation with you. If you have completed your visa on arrival form in advance, go directly to the visa fees counters with your printed confirmation and skip the kiosk queues.
2. Proceed to the visa fees collection counter and pay the visa fee (in cash, if possible). Make sure to keep the receipt. Card payments are not always possible, so paying in cash is easiest, most currencies are accepted but US dollars are preferred.
3. Go to the relevant immigration desk and present your tourist visa form, payment receipt and passport to obtain your 15-, 30- or 90-day visa stamp. Please check you have been given the correct visa duration.

Food & Drink

Breakfast is included throughout the trip, as are eight dinners (a welcome dinner in Kathmandu and half-board on trek).

Lunches are taken at lodges en route – sometimes one of your guides will go ahead with the group’s order to make it more expedient.

Breakfast and dinners in the lodges range from traditional Nepalese food to Chinese and Western dishes. The food is good quality and usually buffet style. You are provided with safe drinking water on trek.

Meat is available in the lodges, but we advise against eating it. Meat is often carried in the heat for several days before reaching the lodges and can cause stomach upsets or illness. Germs can also be spread by handling dirty money – we recommend using hand sanitiser.

Dietary requirements

• Gluten-free diets: We strongly recommend you bring extra food and snacks with you to supplement the food on trek as there will be little variety available to you, particularly for breakfast. Even many of the soups are powdered and contain gluten. Gluten-free breakfast options are limited to vegetable fried rice and a choice of egg. On specific days only, a trekkers breakfast (without the toast/with an extra egg) will be served.
• Vegan diets: Breakfasts are limited to a choice of muesli/porridge made with water each day, and on specific days only, a trekkers breakfast (without the egg) or vegetable fried rice.
• Lactose-free diet: The same will apply although you will also have a choice of egg each day.

Drinking water

Staying hydrated is vital at altitude, where it is generally recommended to drink at least 0.7gal to 1gal (three to four litres) per day.

We strongly encourage you not to buy bottled water on trek as this contributes to the growing plastic pollution problem in Nepal.

All lodges provide free cold water. This should not be drunk untreated, so we recommend you bring a reusable bottle/water bladder/CamelBak (ideally two and wide mouth) and use an effective form of water treatment. There are a wide range of products available including Steripens or purification tablets, which are the quickest and easiest options to use on trek – we recommend talking to an outdoor retailer for the latest advice as technologies are improving all the time. Make sure to check the product’s performance in cold/freezing conditions and consider battery life (lithium batteries are best in cold conditions).

Exodus has partnered with Water-to-Go, a filtration system that eliminates more than 99.99 percent of all microbiological contaminants from any non-saltwater source – visit Water-to-Go for more information. Exodus customers can claim 15 percent off their first order and, better still, 15 percent of the purchase value will be donated to the Exodus Travels Foundation. These bottles filter the water as you drink, though the spout may not be the most efficient while moving on trek. Please note, if the water freezes it will clog up the filter. In this event, defrost before use by sitting the filter in lukewarm water for 10-15 minutes.

Weather

The main trekking season in Nepal is from October to mid-May when daytime temperatures at most altitudes are generally comfortable for walking, the sky is clear much of the time and rain and snow are occasional occurrences. Daytime temperatures will vary from 15C to 35C (59F to 95F) in the Kathmandu Valley to around 10C (50F) at 11,810ft (3,600m) and progressively lower the higher we go. Different seasons offer different advantages for trekking.

Post-monsoon/autumn: Mid-September to November

The main trekking season in Nepal. Day temperatures in Kathmandu are approximately above 20C (68F). Skies are usually clear and days on trek are sunny and mild with clear mountain views. Nights will be colder with temperatures dropping as low as -10C (14F) at the highest altitudes.

Winter: December to end of February

Despite the cooler conditions, this is an ideal time to trek in Nepal. Skies are usually very clear, especially in December, and the mountain views are at their best. Nights are very cold with temperatures down to -20C (-4F) at the highest altitudes but days are pleasant and sunny. The trails are also much less busy at this time of year. In Kathmandu, maximum daytime temperatures are 19C (66F).

Pre-monsoon/spring: March to May

Both day and night temperatures are warmer in general but often a haze builds in the afternoons. It is very hot in the lowlands and temperatures rise to 35C (95F) in Kathmandu. Flowers bloom in this season, one of the reasons people chose to trek in spring.

Snow should be expected on any departure, usually at the higher altitudes.

Please remember, the weather is never wholly predictable in any mountain area, and you should be equipped to deal with any differences in weather beyond the conditions described above.