Everest Base Camp Vs Annapurna Base Camp: Which Trek Is Better For You?

The Everest Base Camp was far more challenging, and the mood was more of survival than happiness. The altitude, the length of the trek, and the basic hygiene conditions for almost two weeks get to you hard. It is one of the treks that really pushes your limits.

When it comes to deciding between Everest Base Camp or Annapurna Base Camp, you should consider factors such as the duration, costs, and most importantly, the mental strength you need for a trek.

Everest Base Camp vs Annapurna Base Camp: Quick Comparison

	Everest Base Camp	Annapurna Base Camp
Duration	14 Days	7 Days
Difficulty Level	Strenuous: lots of days trekking in high altitude above 4,000 m (13,123 ft)	Moderate: lots of stairs going up and down
Highest Altitude	EBC: 5,364 m (17,598 ft), Kala Patthar: 5,643 m (18, 514 ft)	Annapurna Base Camp 4,130 m (13,550 ft)
Views	Mt. Everest, Ama Dablam, Lhotse, Nuptse, Pumori, Thamserku	Annapurna I, Annapurna South, Machhapuchhre
Permits	Sagarmatha National Park Permit, Khumbu Pasanglhamu Municipality Permit	Annapurna Conservation Area Permit
Crowds	Busy with trekking groups in peak trekking seasons (autumn, spring)	Busy in trekking seasons, but not as crowded as EBC
Costs	USD 26 (Rs. 4,000) per day excluding flights to Lukla, guide and porter costs	USD 22 (Rs. 3,000) per day for excluding flight to Pokhara, guide and porter costs

How to Choose Which Trek is Better for You

When deciding which trek to choose, consider how much time you have to go on a trek, the costs, and if it’s been on your bucket list to tick off Everest Base Camp.

The Everest Base Camp (EBC) takes almost double the time to complete than the Annapurna Base Camp (ABC). EBC being a longer trek, you also need to budget more money for the trek.

If it’s your once in a lifetime trek in Nepal, and you really want to see Mount Everest, then choosing EBC is the way to go.

For me, surprisingly, I loved ABC more. I loved that ABC was challenging, but not as tiring as EBC. The views were also great. I stayed the night at ABC, and the vibe was great. People were happy and excited at ABC.

On the Everest Base Camp, anywhere in Lobuche and above, the mood was not that happy. People were trying to stay strong and fight against altitude. I saw several people who simply stopped on the trail and could not continue their trek anymore.

If you trek EBC, I recommend taking acclimatization into account, and have acclimatization days built into your trek, so that you can complete your trek successfully. Altitude is less of a problem on the ABC trek, but still, you should follow an itinerary that does not rush you up in 2-3 days.

Detailed Comparison

Distance & Duration

The Everest Base Camp Trek covers 130 km (80 miles) from starting and ending in Lukla (including hike to Kala Patthar). Most itineraries cover this route in 14 days (12 days of trekking, 2 days of travel). On most days you walk around 5-6 hours, sometimes even 8-9 hours.

The Annapurna Base Camp trek covers around 70 km (44 miles) if you trek to ABC from Ghandruk without going to Poon Hill. If you include Poon Hill in your trek, the distance is around 110 km (68 miles). You can complete ABC in 7 days with around 5 hours trekking each day.

The Everest Base Camp trek is not only longer, but also goes in higher altitude, making it more tiring. You have to stay really strong mentally to complete EBC, but also to accept to turn back in case you feel unwell.

Altitude

Altitude is the biggest challenge on the EBC trek as you spend half of the trek above 4,000 m (13,123 ft). EBC was my first trek where I spent this much time at high altitude, and I didn’t realize how tiring it could be.

I know that my body doesn’t acclimatize fast, so I started taking Diamox the night before reaching Namche Bazaar. I also did two acclimatization days (one in Namche, and another one in Dingboche), and even though I then adjusted fine to altitude, the trek was still exhausting.

Even the way down from EBC is hard as you are still in high altitude. I thought that on the way down, I could walk down easier to Namche, but it was not that case. I made it nevertheless, but altitude is the ultimate challenge on the EBC trek.

The altitude does not get to you that much on the Annapurna Base Camp trek. It is a shorter trek, and the highest you go is 4,130 m (13,550 ft). You also have the option to stay at MBC at 3,700 m (12,139 ft), and go up to ABC early next morning.

I stayed at ABC for the night, and it was a good decision. It was not that hard on my body, and the next morning, I got amazing views, then after breakfast I could start my way back to Pokhara.

I also loved the vibes at ABC. Everyone was chatty and happy after reaching ABC in the afternoon, and although it was cold and cloudy, we all hoped for a clear morning. On EBC, most people are trying to stay strong either against altitude or stomach bugs.

Trek Start Point

The Annapurna Base Camp starts near Pokhara which is the most popular holiday town in Nepal. Pokhara is really chill, and I could spend loads of time here and not get bored. There are many trekking routes that starts from Pokhara, including ABC, Poon Hill, and Mardi Himal.

Pokhara is such a nice place that if you are visiting Nepal, you really shouldn’t skip it. There are lots of restaurants, bars, amazing views (if the weather is clear), and hiking routes nearby. Pokhara can be reached by plane or bus from Kathmandu.

The Everest Base Camp starts in Lukla that is around 140 km (87 miles) east of Kathmandu. Lukla is known as one of the most dangerous airports in the world, and it’s a 30-minutes scary flight at the beginning and the end of the trek.

There is also an option to travel by road for the EBC trek. In this case, you have to take a bus/jeep from Kathmandu to Salleri, and then take another jeep from Salleri to Surke. It’s two days of travel but it’s a good option if you are on a budget.

I also travelled by road to Surke, and while it was budget-friendly, it was also very tiring. The road is pretty bad from Salleri to Surke, and other passengers in my jeep described it as the “death road”.

If I went to EBC again, I could still go to Surke by jeep on the way, but on my return trip, I would take a flight back to Kathmandu. Traveling by road both ways is very tiring, especially after you complete EBC, you just want to get back to Kathmandu as fast as possible to recharge.

Best Time to Trek

The best time to trek in Nepal is in late autumn and spring, but weather can be unpredictable in the mountains.

The main trekking season used to run in the autumn from September to November, but in recent years, the monsoon season lasted until the end of September, so I recommend planning treks from mid-October onwards.

The beginning of December is also a good time for trekking. Usually, there isn’t that much snow yet, and there are less trekkers so it’s quieter on the trail.

Spring is the second best time to trek in Nepal but in recent years the visibility has been reduced due to smog, especially around Pokhara and the Annapurna Region. In the spring, there is controlled burning of grass by farmers, plus the air pollution creates a lot of smog.

The smog has been really bad in and around Pokhara, and you have less chance of clear views of mountains at this time. I found the Everest Region and Langtang are less affected, so in the spring, I recommend trekking routes outside the Annapurna Region.

If you have the option to choose, I would choose to trek Annapurna Base Camp in the autumn. For Everest Base Camp, both autumn and spring are great times. In the spring, you can see the tents set up at EBC for the expeditions.

Crowds

Both the Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Base Camp treks are busy with trekkers in the main trekking seasons, but still, Everest Base Camp is more crowded.

A good time to trek either route is in late November – early December. During that time the crowds are less, and the weather is still good for treks.

I trekked EBC in the main autumn trekking season, and ABC in the spring season, and what I found is that while it’s manageable, the number of big trekking groups on EBC makes it less enjoyable.

Trekking Permit

For Annapurna Base Camp trek, you only need one permit, the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit. You can get it at the permit offices in Kathmandu or Pokhara. It takes around 10 minutes to get it, and it costs Rs. 3,000 (USD 22).

For the Everest Base Camp trek, you need two permits: Sagarmatha National Park Permit, and Khumbu Pasanglhamu Municipality Permit. Each cost Rs 3,000 (USD 22). You can get the permit in Kathmandu, or on the trek.

There is an office to buy the permits in Monjo village during the EBC trek. You usually reach Monjo on Day 2. when trekking from Phakding to Namche. I also got my permits here. There was a short queue and some problem with the computer but all in all, I got my permits withint 10-15 minutes.

If you book a trek package with a trekking agency, then usually they include the permits in the trek packages, in which case, they will organize the permits for you and you don’t have to get it yourself.

Teahouses

Teahouses are basic accommodation on trekking routes in Nepal. Usually, it’s a twin room, with two simple beds and a table where you can put your stuff.

In each teahouse there are some rooms that come with attached toilets, but other rooms don’t have private toilets and then you have to use the shared toilets.

On the Annapurna Base Camp trek, the teahouses are only one floor (ground floor) with 8-10 rooms. The toilets are usually squat toilets and are shared. I found western style toilets are rare on the Annapurna Base Camp trek, so you must get used to the squat toilets.

The teahouses are much bigger on the Everest Base Camp trek. They are 2-3 floor houses with at least 10 rooms on each floor. I found them really big in comparison to the teahouses on the Annapurna Base Camp Trek. Even if you are trekking without a guide, you can book a teahouse on the spot as there are so many teahouses each with many rooms available.

I really thought that the teahouses on the Everest Base Camp trek were built taking into consideration the high number of trekkers that visit each season. The teahouses are also built better, many with insulation to make it warmer inside from the cold.

Most toilets are western toilets on the Everest Base Camp Trek (even the shared ones), but in Gorakshep it’s mainly squat toilets only. I usually booked the rooms with shared toilets to cut the cost of my trek, but looking back I would book the rooms with private toilets as it’s more hygienic.

Views

On any trek in Nepal, you start at a low altitude where you can barely see a mountain. Once I am one or two days into the trek and start to see the mountains, it finally hits me that I am about to see some epic views!

There is a general tendency, that even if the weather is cloudy during the day, it is usually clear in the morning. So, you best chance for clear mountain views is always in the mornings.

When I trekked the Annapurna Base Camp the views were a bit cloudy, and I was legit worried that I might not get good views once I reach ABC (even in the morning).

I reached ABC in the afternoon, and it was totally cloudy. The hope was that it would clear the next morning – and luckily it was, so I could see epic views of Annapurna I, Annapurna South, and Machhapuchhre (nicknamed “Fishtail”).

The weather was better when I trekked Everest Base Camp and I had clear mountain views all throughout the trek. Finally, I was on a trek with proper views! Even if you trek it when it’s cloudy, there is a high chance that the mornings will be clear with good views.

One complain you always get is that from EBC you get very minimal views of Mount Everest, and that you have to hike to Kala Patthar for the best Everest Views. Otherwise, I loved the views along the EBC trek, especially of Ama Dablam.

Guided vs Solo Trekking

In 2023, Nepal tried to ban solo trekking but in reality, it was never enforced. Since then, I have done multiple solo treks (Langtang, Mardi Himal, ABC, EBC) without any issues.

But I only recommend solo trekking for experienced trekkers. By the time I started trekking solo, I have already done a trek with a guide, and some with friends.

By the time I got to trek Everest Base Camp, I have already done seven other treks in Nepal, so I had a good idea how to prepare, what itinerary to follow to acclimatize properly, what to pack, and how much my body can handle in high altitude.

If you plan solo trekking, I recommend it is better to go for Annapurna Base Camp as it is challenging yet rewarding. It can be a good warm up before going on treks like Everest Base Camp that goes higher in altitude.

For first-time trekkers, hiring a guide is useful. Make sure to hire a guide through a reputable trekking agency, and one that can speak English well. Having a guide is great if you need help planning your itinerary, and also, they can give advice on what to pack, support you in case of altitude sickness, and tell you about Nepali culture.

Sometimes you can get a guide that’s not so knowledgeable, so the best is to for a guide that is either through an experienced trekking agency or recommended by other trekkers.

Safety

Both Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Base Camp has well-marked trekking trails that are easy to follow. Even if you trek solo, it is pretty straightforward which way to go, but in case you are not sure, it’s always the best to ask other trekkers or villagers.

ABC and EBC are the two most popular trekking routes in Nepal, so you always meet many other people on the trail. But make sure to do your own research for the trekking route and buy a travel insurance for any unforeseen circumstances.

When choosing your travel insurance, make sure that it covers trekking and helicopter evacuation up to the highest altitude of your trek. That’s 6,000 m (19,685 ft) for Everest Base Camp, and 4,500-5,000 m (14,764-16,404) for Annapurna Base Camp.

Make sure to clarify all questions with the insurance company, as if you don’t fit the criteria for reimbursement, you can get stuck with a huge bill.

Helicopter evacuation is the most important when choosing the insurance company. If it comes to having to being evacuated from EBC due to illness, you need to submit the insurance company the itinerary you planned with the trekking agency. If your insurance only covers you up to 4,500 m (14,764 ft) but your EBC trek itinerary includes trek to EBC and Kala Patthar (both higher above 4,500 m), then the insurance company won’t reimburse you.

Travel insurance is one of the things I always get for all my treks in Nepal, as sometimes even the best plans can go wrong.

However, ABC doesn’t go up as high as EBC in altitude, so ABC is easier. I found Everest Base Camp harder as you spend half of the trek above 4,000 m (13,123 ft) and the lower level of oxygen make it harder to walk. The risk of altitude sickness is also higher on EBC.