Nepal (Everest & Annapurna), Nepal
Teahouse trekking to Everest Base Camp or around Annapurna for the price of a coffee a day. Clear skies Oct–Nov and Mar–Apr.
Best time to visit
Weather by month
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -32° | -41° | 43 mm | |
| Feb | -32° | -40° | 49 mm | |
| Mar | -29° | -38° | 43 mm | prime |
| Apr | -24° | -33° | 35 mm | prime |
| May | -19° | -27° | 67 mm | |
| Jun | -15° | -21° | 95 mm | |
| Jul | -14° | -19° | 165 mm | |
| Aug | -15° | -19° | 135 mm | |
| Sep | -16° | -22° | 101 mm | |
| Oct | -22° | -29° | 50 mm | prime |
| Nov | -26° | -35° | 16 mm | prime |
| Dec | -29° | -37° | 25 mm |
30-year averages (1995–2024) from ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo. Rain is the monthly total.
Cost
Serves travellers at Backpacker→Premium level. Typically around $40 a day on the ground.
Ranges are typical costs, not quotes. Check the real price before you book.
What's on
Holi March
Colour festival
Dashain October
Nepal's biggest festival
Worth knowing
On foot, once you are out there. Domestic flights, buses and shared jeeps connect the trailheads, and every published journey time is optimistic.
getting around · editorial
Kathmandu for both. The Everest side starts with a short mountain flight to Lukla that is weather-dependent and routinely delayed; the Annapurna side starts with a drive or a short flight to Pokhara.
getting there · editorial
Trekking permits and a TIMS card are required and are checked at posts along the trail. Altitude is the real constraint: Thorong La and Base Camp both sit above 5,000 metres, and acclimatisation days are part of the itinerary, not padding.
know before · editorial
Cash beyond the last road. Machines stop at Pokhara and Namche; teahouses take rupees only, and everything costs more the higher it has been carried.
money · editorial
The monsoon, roughly June to September, brings leeches, landslides and cloud where the mountains should be. Deep winter snows in the high passes.
when not to go · editorial
Teahouses the whole way on both trails, simple and unheated above the tree line. Thamel in Kathmandu for gear and logistics, Lakeside in Pokhara for the Annapurna end.
where to stay · editorial
Quests
Icon
Boudhanath
The largest stupa in Nepal. Walk around it clockwise, with everyone else.
Pashupatinath
Cremations on the bank of the Bagmati, in the open, every day. Watch with respect.
Patan Durbar Square
Newari temples of carved wood, put back together after 2015.
Swayambhunath
365 steps, monkeys the whole way, and the eyes of the Buddha at the top.
Namche Bazaar
3,440 metres. The amphitheatre town where everyone acclimatises.
Tengboche Monastery
3,867 metres, facing Ama Dablam. Sit in on the morning puja.
See
See Annapurna from Poon Hill at dawn
Eat
Eat dal bhat and accept the second helping
Dal bhat with refills
The refill is always included. The porters eat it twice a day.
Steamed momo
With tomato and chilli sauce. Every valley has its own filling.
Yak butter tea
Salty, not sweet. It makes sense at four thousand metres.
Moment
Drink tea in a teahouse at 3,000 m with the door open
The first sight of Everest from Namche
A dark triangle behind Nuptse. Smaller than the mountain in front of it.
A suspension bridge strung with prayer flags
A hundred metres of cable over a glacial river, with yaks crossing first.
Trail
Everest Base Camp
5,364 metres, twelve days there and back, and no shortcut through the acclimatisation.