Women's Everest Base Camp Trek: 15-Day Women-Only Departure

Arrival in Kathmandu (1,400 m) and a welcome dinner to meet the group and your female guide. The briefing covers permits, the acclimatisation plan, packing (including women-specific advice for the trail), and what to expect from a women-only departure.

The short flight to Lukla (2,860 m), then an easy downhill first day along the Dudh Koshi to Phakding (2,610 m) — a gentle start to find the group's rhythm on the trail.

The trail hugs the Dudh Koshi, threading a chain of prayer-flag-strung suspension bridges before the checkpoint at Monjo marks the edge of Sagarmatha National Park. From there the day's real work begins: a long switchback haul up through the pines to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m), where the guide sets a steady group tempo and the first acclimatisation stop begins.

A "climb high, sleep low" day up to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m) for the first views of Everest and Ama Dablam, then down through Khumjung and its Sherpa culture museum, returning to Namche for a second night.

The extra rest day that gives this women-only itinerary its relaxed pace. A full second day at Namche to adapt, explore the Saturday market, meet local women-run businesses and cooperatives, and simply enjoy the group's company before heading higher.

An early ridge-line traverse to Kyangjuma with Ama Dablam filling the skyline ahead, a knee-testing drop back to the river, then a shaded rhododendron climb to Tengboche (3,860 m). The group usually reaches the monastery in time for the afternoon prayers, the deep horns carrying across a courtyard framed by Everest, Nuptse, and Lhotse.

A gentle start through the mossy birch of Deboche and a bridge over the Imja Khola, then a climb past Pangboche's old gompa as the tree line falls away and the country opens into the wind-scoured barley fields of Dingboche (4,410 m). Now above 4,000 m, the guide moves the group onto twice-daily oxygen-saturation checks.

The key acclimatisation day. A steady group climb up the Nangkartshang ridge to around 5,083 m opens a wide panorama of Makalu, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam, before the descent back to sleep low at Dingboche (4,410 m) — the climb-high, sleep-low rule at work before the higher, colder stages.

A short but demanding day: the steep pull up to Dughla (4,620 m), then a sobering pause among the Chupki Lhara memorials to climbers lost on Everest, before the trail joins the Khumbu Glacier's lateral moraine and follows it to Lobuche (4,940 m), the last stop before Base Camp.

To Gorak Shep (5,164 m), then out across the glacier to Everest Base Camp (5,364 m) beneath the Khumbu Icefall. Reaching the Base Camp boulders together, as a group of women, is the emotional high point of the trek. Return to Gorak Shep for the night.

★ Everest Base Camp (5,364 m)

A head-torch start in the dark for the cold, slow climb to Kala Patthar (5,644 m), the trek's highest point and the moment Everest's summit finally reveals itself at first light. Then a long, knee-heavy descent to Pheriche (4,240 m) and its welcome, thicker air.

★ Kala Patthar (5,644 m)

A long descending day back through Tengboche to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m), easier walking in the richer air below 4,000 m, with hot showers and bakeries waiting at Namche.

The last trekking day down the valley through Monjo and Phakding, then the final climb to Lukla (2,860 m) for a celebratory group dinner and a chance to thank the female guide and porter team.

Morning flight back to Kathmandu (1,400 m), a free afternoon in Thamel, and a group farewell dinner. A buffer day is wise in case Lukla weather delays the flight.

International departure from Kathmandu, or onward travel in Nepal.