Everest Base Camp vs Annapurna Circuit: Which to Choose

Short answer: choose Everest Base Camp if you want to stand under the world's highest mountain, have about two weeks including flights, and accept that you depend on the weather-prone Lukla flight. Choose the Annapurna Circuit if you want a journey that crosses a high pass and changes landscape and culture every few days, and you are happy to share some lower stretches with a jeep road.

Every figure below comes from our Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Circuit trek pages, checked against at least two independent sources, including the Nepal Tourism Board's fee tables and Nepali newspapers. Where sources disagree, we say so. Fees and flights change, so confirm them with your agency before you pay.

Everest Base Camp and the Annapurna Circuit at a glance

Dollar figures are converted at about NPR 154 per US dollar.

The routes

Everest Base Camp: up the Khumbu and back

You fly to Lukla, at about 2,850 m, and walk up the Dudh Koshi valley to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m), the main town of the Khumbu. From there the trail climbs past Tengboche monastery to Dingboche (4,410 m), Lobuche (4,940 m) and Gorak Shep (about 5,160 m), the last lodges before the moraine. Base camp lies a few hours beyond, at the foot of the Khumbu Icefall. Most people climb Kala Patthar above Gorak Shep the next morning, because base camp itself has no view of Everest's summit. You return the same way, faster.

Annapurna Circuit: a loop over the Thorong La

The Circuit starts low, at Besisahar (760 m), and follows the Marsyangdi river north and west around the Annapurna massif. It passes through Chame, Pisang and Manang (3,540 m), a high, dry valley with a Tibetan feel, then climbs to Thorong Phedi and crosses the Thorong La at 5,416 m. On the far side you drop about 1,700 m to Muktinath, a temple site sacred to Hindus and Buddhists, then down the Kali Gandaki valley through Jomsom. Many itineraries, ours included, finish over Ghorepani and Poon Hill before reaching Pokhara.

Altitude and difficulty

Neither trek is technical; altitude is what makes them hard.

Everest Base Camp puts you at high altitude quickly. You start at about 2,850 m and need two acclimatisation days, in Namche and Dingboche, to climb safely. You then spend two nights above 4,900 m, and the day you reach base camp and the morning on Kala Patthar are the hardest of the trip. Our itinerary has most days at 5–6 hours of walking, with 7–8 hours on the base camp and Kala Patthar days.

The Annapurna Circuit gains height more gradually, because it starts below 1,000 m and climbs over a week to Manang. The sting is the pass day: a climb of roughly 1,000 m from Thorong Phedi to the Thorong La, starting before dawn, then the long descent to Muktinath. Our itinerary puts it at 8–10 hours, the longest day of either trek. Other days are mostly 5–7 hours.

The bigger difference is what happens if things go wrong. On the EBC trail, the answer to altitude sickness is always to go down the way you came. On the Circuit, once you leave Manang the only ways out are back down the valley or over the pass, so the acclimatisation day in Manang and an honest decision at Thorong Phedi matter. The pass can also be closed by snow. In October 2014 a sudden storm killed dozens of trekkers, guides and porters around the Thorong La, which is why guides watch the forecast closely before a crossing.

So EBC has the higher sleeping altitude and the Circuit the single hardest day. Both suit fit walkers without altitude experience who follow a sensible itinerary.

Getting there

The Lukla flight and Manthali

EBC starts with a flight of about 25–35 minutes from Kathmandu to Lukla, one of the best-known mountain airstrips in the world. In busy seasons, though, the aviation authority moves most Lukla flights to Manthali airport in Ramechhap, to ease congestion at Kathmandu's international airport. It first did this in 2019 and resumed after the pandemic. The drive to Manthali takes four to five hours, usually leaving in the small hours to catch a morning flight. In October 2026 Ekantipur reported Manthali–Lukla flights running in numbers again for the autumn season, so check with your agency where your flight leaves from.

Either way, cloud and wind regularly ground flights for a day or more, so leave one or two spare days at the end and avoid tight international connections. Our guide-cost article covers the fare, including your guide's ticket.

The road to Besisahar, and the road beyond it

The Circuit begins with a bus or jeep ride of six to eight hours from Kathmandu to Besisahar. From there a rough road now runs up the Marsyangdi as far as Manang, and on the western side another reaches Muktinath and Jomsom. Only the Thorong La itself and the Ghorepani section remain without a motor road.

Most groups now take a jeep for the first day or two, to Dharapani or Chame, and walk from there; our itinerary also rides from Jomsom to Tatopani. Some trekkers dislike sections where jeeps and motorbikes pass regularly. The Natural Annapurna Trekking Trails (NATT), marked in blue and red, keep you off the road for much of the way, though reviews say some sections run close to it. Ask your guide which NATT variants they use; it is the best way to keep the Circuit feeling like a trek.

At the end you can fly from Jomsom to Pokhara, a short morning flight often cancelled by afternoon wind, or take a jeep down the valley.

Permits and fees

Everest Base Camp needs two local fees and often a third:

• Sagarmatha National Park: NPR 3,000 (≈ US$19), paid in Kathmandu or at the Monjo gate.
• Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality fee: NPR 3,000 (≈ US$19) for most foreigners, NPR 2,000 for SAARC and Chinese nationals, collected at Lukla or Monjo. It rose from NPR 2,000 in 2024.
• TIMS card: NPR 2,000 (≈ US$13). The Tourism Board lists the Everest routes as needing one, but the municipality does not recognise it (see below). Many agencies issue one anyway.

That is NPR 6,000 (≈ US$39) without the TIMS card or NPR 8,000 (≈ US$52) with it.

The Annapurna Circuit needs:

• Annapurna Conservation Area permit (ACAP): NPR 3,000 (≈ US$19), checked at Chame, Manang and again after the pass.
• TIMS card: NPR 2,000 (≈ US$13), issued through the registered agency that provides your guide.

That is NPR 5,000 (≈ US$32). Our Nepal trekking permits guide lists every rate and the totals for all our treks.

Do you need a guide?

Here the two treks differ. Since April 2023 the Nepal Tourism Board has required foreign trekkers on the routes it lists to walk with a licensed guide and carry a TIMS card bought through a registered agency. The Annapurna Circuit is on that list, and so is Everest Base Camp.

The difference is local. The Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, the local government on the Everest trails, said in 2023 that it would keep welcoming independent trekkers, and we have found no later report that changes that. It still recommends a guide. On the Annapurna Circuit there is no such exception, even though reports suggest the rule is not checked consistently. Our article Do you need a guide to trek in Nepal? covers the rule, the dispute and the proposed changes in detail.

When to go

Our pages recommend March to May and October to November for both treks. Autumn usually has the clearest skies; spring brings warmer days and rhododendrons lower down.

The seasons outside those months differ. In winter, Thorong La is often snowbound, so the Circuit is a gamble from December to March. EBC is possible in winter for well-equipped trekkers, but it is very cold at Gorak Shep. In the monsoon, the upper Circuit around Manang and Mustang lies in a rain shadow and stays relatively dry, but the approach roads below are prone to landslides. The Khumbu is wet and cloudy, and Lukla flights are often grounded. April also brings the Everest climbing season, when base camp fills with expedition tents. Our month-by-month guide shows how each month compares.

Lodges, crowds and comfort

Both are teahouse treks: simple twin rooms and a shared dining room around a stove. Lodges get more basic, and food and charging dearer, the higher you go. Gorak Shep and Thorong Phedi are cold and crowded in peak season.

EBC has the more developed lodge chain, and Namche Bazaar has bakeries, shops and gear hire. The trail is busy in October and April, and because it is out and back you meet everyone twice.

The Circuit is quieter on foot than its numbers suggest. The Annapurna Conservation Area recorded about 300,000 foreign visitors in 2025, but that covers the whole region, including Annapurna Base Camp, Poon Hill and pilgrims driving to Muktinath. Trekkers on the Circuit bunch up mainly in Manang and at Thorong Phedi the night before the pass.

Scenery and culture

EBC is about big mountains at close range: Ama Dablam above Tengboche, then Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse from Kala Patthar. The culture is that of the Khumbu's Sherpa villages, with monasteries, mani walls and prayer flags.

The Circuit is about variety. You start among rice terraces, climb through pine forest into the arid Manang valley, then cross the pass into the Kali Gandaki between the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri ranges. Villages shift from Hindu to Tibetan Buddhist and back again.

Side trips: Gokyo and Tilicho

Both treks have a famous detour.

• Gokyo: above Namche, a second valley leads to the Gokyo lakes and Gokyo Ri (5,357 m), with views many trekkers rate above Kala Patthar's. You can do it on its own as the Gokyo Ri trek, or link it to base camp over the Cho La pass. The full loop with all three passes is the Everest Three Passes trek, about 18 days in our itinerary and much harder.
• Tilicho Lake: from Manang, a side trail leads to Tilicho Lake, usually given as 4,919 m, one of the highest lakes in Nepal, before rejoining the Circuit below Thorong Phedi. Our Tilicho Lake trek adds about three days to the walk. The traverse to Tilicho Base Camp crosses a slope prone to rockfall, so cross it early in the day.

Which should you choose?

• You have under two weeks: Everest Base Camp. The Circuit is better with at least 15 days.
• You want to see Everest itself: EBC, and Kala Patthar or Gokyo Ri for the best view.
• You want variety and a sense of a journey: the Annapurna Circuit.
• You'd rather not rely on mountain flights: the Circuit, which you can do entirely by road.
• You want to walk without a guide: EBC is the only one of the two where the local authority accepts independent trekkers, though we still recommend a guide on both.
• You're on a tight budget: the Circuit. Its permits are cheaper, and road transport costs far less than the Lukla flight.
• You want a quieter trail: the Circuit, especially if you use the NATT trails and avoid late October.

Both treks are listed with others on our Everest region and Annapurna region pages.

Finding a guide

On the Annapurna Circuit you need a licensed guide and an agency-issued TIMS card. On the EBC trail a guide is your choice, but one will manage the altitude, the lodges and the Lukla rebooking for you. Every guide on xTrekka has had their trekking licence and citizenship document checked by our team before their profile goes live. Browse guides by region and language, read reviews from trekkers they've led, and write to the guide directly to ask how they handle acclimatisation, the Thorong La or Kala Patthar morning, and flight delays. You agree the route, dates and price with them, and xTrekka takes no cut of a trek you arrange that way.

Sources

• Nepal Tourism Board: park entry fees, TIMS card and guide requirement
• Khumbu Pasang Lhamu fee: Himal Press, July 2024, Republica, Third Rock Adventures
• Everest guide exception: Kathmandu Post, April 2023, The Himalayan Times, Third Rock Adventures
• Lukla and Manthali flights: Onlinekhabar, September 2022, Onlinekhabar, October 2019, The Himalayan Times, The Himalayan Times on weather delays, Ekantipur, October 2026, Nepal Hiking Team
• Altitudes: Wikipedia, Kala Patthar, Marvel Treks, Kala Patthar, Wikipedia, Everest base camps, Wikipedia, Gokyo Ri, Wikipedia, Tilicho Lake, Nepal Traveller, Thorong La
• Annapurna Circuit route, roads and NATT: Wikipedia, Annapurna Circuit, Onlinekhabar on roads and trails, Nepali Times, Explorersweb
• Distances: Nepal Hiking Team, EBC, Peregrine Treks, EBC, Follow Alice, Annapurna Circuit
• 2014 Thorong La storm: National Geographic, Backpacker
• Annapurna visitor numbers: Onlinekhabar, January 2026, Ekantipur, February 2026
• Exchange rate: Nepal Rastra Bank reference rates

Last checked 20 October 2026.