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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. Mid December to Mid March Trekking
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. Mid March to beginning of May Trekking
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. May Trekking
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 afterrnoon 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. June to September Trekking
I would definitely recommend not hiking in the Everest region 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 trekked in the Khumbu during this period.
5. October to Mid December Trekking
October was regarded as the best trekking month 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 in the Everest region. 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. Nepal Monsoon Dates
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 analyzing 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 | |
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 are recorded as entering the park on the day after they fly into Lukla.
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 trekker numbers 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 trekking mainly in May.
October is very busy but most trekkers entering Sagarmatha National Park at the end of October will be trekking 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 and Weather Forecasts
Meteoblue provides historical weather data and weather forecasts for several locations on the trail to Everest Base Camp.
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