Annapurna Base Camp vs Everest Base Camp

We run six base camp treks, from 9 days to Annapurna North Base Camp to 20 days around Kanchenjunga. Three of them keep you above 4,000 m for one night; Makalu Base Camp, Everest Base Camp and Kanchenjunga Base Camp keep you there for four, five and six.

All six share the two main seasons, autumn and spring, and our guide to the best time to trek in Nepal gives each trek’s months.

No. Everest Base Camp is the harder trek: its base camp is about 5,364 m against 4,130 m, the trek takes 12 days against 10, and you sleep above 4,000 m on five nights against one. Annapurna Base Camp has hard days of its own: thousands of stone steps around Chhomrong and Jhinu, and snow and ice above Deurali in winter.

If you have about 10 days, or this is your first time above 4,000 m, Annapurna Base Camp fits. If you have 12 days or more and want to stand below Everest, choose Everest Base Camp, and keep a spare day for the Lukla flight.

Neither trek needs climbing skills. On Annapurna Base Camp you walk with a licensed guide arranged through an agency, a rule in force since 1 April 2023 that the Everest region does not apply. Permits for a foreign trekker come to NPR 5,000 for Annapurna Base Camp and NPR 6,000 for Everest Base Camp.

Annapurna Base Camp starts with a road or a short flight to Pokhara and a jeep to Ghandruk; Everest Base Camp with a flight to Lukla, from Manthali after a long drive in busy seasons. Everest Base Camp is from US$1,419, our 2023 price for 16 days; Annapurna Base Camp is priced on request. The mountains themselves are 8,091 m for Annapurna I and 8,848.86 m for Everest.

More on each: Annapurna Base Camp trek, Everest Base Camp trek, Everest Base Camp trek difficulty, Annapurna Base Camp trek cost, Everest Base Camp trek cost and Annapurna Base Camp weather.

It depends on what you find hard. For altitude it is Everest Base Camp, with the highest base camp and the highest nights, at Gorak Shep (5,164 m). For length and remoteness it is Kanchenjunga: 20 days, six nights above 4,000 m and one day over three passes with no shelter between them.

Makalu comes close, with 16 walking days, two passes above 4,000 m, Shipton La at 4,125 m and Keke La at 4,170 m, and basic lodges near the top. The Manaslu Circuit has the highest pass of the six, Larkya La at 5,106 m, crossed on one long day. K2 is in the Karakoram range, on the border between Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan and China; it is outside Nepal and not a trek we run.

See the Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek, the Makalu Base Camp trek, the Manaslu Circuit trek and our guide to Everest Base Camp trek difficulty.

They are hard in different ways. The Manaslu Circuit crosses Larkya La at 5,106 m on one day of 8 to 10 hours but sleeps above 4,000 m only once, at Dharamsala (4,460 m). Everest Base Camp has no pass, climbs higher, to Kala Patthar at 5,644 m, and sleeps above 4,000 m on five nights.

Manaslu is a restricted area, so the permit comes only through a registered agency and you walk with a licensed guide; since 22 March 2026 a single trekker can get one. You reach it by road, about 7 hours by private jeep or 8 to 10 by bus, to Machha Khola. Permits come to NPR 8,000 for a foreign trekker, plus the restricted-area permit in US dollars (September to November: US$100 for the first week, then US$15 a day; December to August: US$75 for the first week, then US$10 a day). Ask us whether your dates include the side trip from Samagaun to Manaslu Base Camp.

See the Manaslu Circuit trek and the Everest Base Camp trek.

They are two different treks. Annapurna Base Camp walks into the Annapurna Sanctuary and back, to 4,130 m in 10 days; the Annapurna Circuit goes round the massif and crosses Thorong La at 5,416 m in 11 days, with two nights above 4,000 m.

If you are weighing the Circuit against Everest Base Camp, the Circuit crosses one high pass; Everest Base Camp climbs higher, to Kala Patthar at 5,644 m, and keeps you above 4,000 m for five nights against two. See the Annapurna Circuit trek and the Annapurna Base Camp trek.

Each trek has its own page with the day-by-day plan, the route map and its price, or a quote on request.