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Makalu Base Camp trek

A typical plan runs 18 days from Kathmandu and back, up to Makalu Base Camp at 4,870 m, with 3 rest days on the way.

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Rated 4.9 from 21 reviews on TripAdvisorMember of the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal
Makalu Base Camp trek, base camp 4,870 m: the route drawn through its overnight stops in Sankhuwasabha District, NepalPrice on request
The drawing joins its overnight stops in Sankhuwasabha District, Koshi Province, with Makalu Base Camp marked in red. The Makalu Base Camp trek runs from Num and back through Makalu Barun National Park.

Trip facts

Days
18 days
High point
Makalu Base Camp, 4,870 m
Grade
To be confirmed
When to go
October to November and April to May
Starts
Num (about 1,560 m)
Finishes
Num
Days on the trail
16
Walking each day
4 to 7 hours

Typical figures for this route, checked on 1 October 2026. Narbin's team confirms the days, heights and grade for your dates.

Getting there

Fly Kathmandu to Tumlingtar (airstrip at about 518 m): about 35 to 45 minutes. Then by jeep on a rough, partly unpaved road via Khandbari and Chichila (police checkpoint where trekking permits are shown): about 3.5 hours to Num, or about 5 to 6 hours (80 to 85 km) to Seduwa. Flights are often delayed or cancelled by weather, especially in the monsoon and winter.

Getting back

Walk out to Seduwa or Num, jeep to Khandbari or Tumlingtar (about 3.5 hours from Num, 5 to 6 hours from Seduwa), then fly to Kathmandu (about 35 to 45 minutes). Tumlingtar flights leave in the morning, so most itineraries sleep near the airstrip or in Khandbari the night before.

Route and altitude

The map below shows every stop on the Makalu Base Camp trek, with its height.

Num 1,560 mSeduwa 1,500 mTashigaon2,100 mKhongmaDanda3,500 mYangle Kharka3,557 mKhandbari1,040 mLangmale Kharka 4,410 mMakalu Base Camp 4,870 m10 km
  1. Num, 1,560 m
  2. Seduwa, 1,500 m
  3. Tashigaon (Tashi Gaon), 2,100 m
  4. Khongma Danda, 3,500 m
  5. Khongma Danda (acclimatisation night), 3,500 m
  6. Yangle Kharka (Yangri or Yangla Kharka), 3,557 m
  7. Langmale Kharka, 4,410 m
  8. Langmale Kharka (acclimatisation night), 4,410 m
  9. Makalu Base Camp (मकालु आधार शिविर), 4,870 m, the high point
  10. Makalu Base Camp (exploration day) (मकालु आधार शिविर), 4,870 m, the high point
  11. Yangle Kharka, 3,557 m
  12. Khongma Danda, 3,500 m
  13. Tashigaon, 2,100 m
  14. Seduwa, 1,500 m
  15. Khandbari (after walking out to Num), 1,040 m
Each dot is a place you sleep, joined in the order you walk.

Heights on the way

Passes, viewpoints, camps and side trips, highest first.

Makalu (main summit)
8,485 m
Makalu View Point (optional hike)
5,700 m
Makalu expedition base camp (for climbers, higher up the glacier)
5,600 m
Ridge above Makalu Base Camp (optional hike)
5,300 m
मकालु आधार शिविरMakalu Base Camp
4,870 m
Shershong (Sherson)
4,630 m
Keke La
4,170 m
Shipton La (Shipton's Pass, also called Tutu La)
4,125 m
Sano Pokhari Danda
4,105 m
Kalo Pokhari (lake between Shipton La and Keke La)
4,080 m
Khongma La
3,890 m
Arun river crossing between Num and Seduwa
760 m
Tumlingtar airstrip
518 m
Altitude by dayEach dot is where you sleep that night. On rest days you stay at the same height.
Altitude each night on the Makalu Base Camp trek. The high point is Makalu Base Camp, 4,870 m, on day 10.
DayOvernightAltitude
1Num1,560 m
2Seduwa1,500 m
3Tashigaon2,100 m
4Khongma Danda3,500 m
5Khongma Danda, rest day3,500 m
6Dobato3,860 m
7Yangle Kharka3,557 m
8Langmale Kharka4,410 m
9Langmale Kharka, rest day4,410 m
10Makalu Base Camp4,870 m
11Makalu Base Camp, rest day4,870 m
12Yangle Kharka3,557 m
13Dobato3,860 m
14Khongma Danda3,500 m
15Tashigaon2,100 m
16Seduwa1,500 m
17Khandbari1,040 m

Day by day

A typical plan. The team adjusts it to the weather, the flights and how the group is doing.

  1. Day 1

    Route
    Kathmandu to Num
    Overnight
    Num
    Altitude
    1,560 m
    Walking
    Travel day, no trekking

  2. Day 2

    Route
    Num to Seduwa
    Overnight
    Seduwa
    Altitude
    1,500 m
    Walking
    4.5 to 6 hours

  3. Day 3

    Route
    Seduwa to Tashigaon
    Overnight
    Tashigaon
    Altitude
    2,100 m
    Walking
    3.5 to 6 hours

  4. Day 4

    Route
    Tashigaon to Khongma Danda
    Overnight
    Khongma Danda
    Altitude
    3,500 m
    Walking
    6 to 8 hours

  5. Day 5

    Route
    Rest and acclimatise: Khongma Danda
    Overnight
    Khongma Danda
    Altitude
    3,500 m
    Walking
    about 1 hour each way (optional walk to Khongma La)

  6. Day 6

    Route
    Khongma Danda to Dobato (Dobate)
    Overnight
    Dobato
    Altitude
    3,860 m
    Walking
    6 to 8 hours

  7. Day 7

    Route
    Dobato to Yangle Kharka
    Overnight
    Yangle Kharka
    Altitude
    3,557 m
    Walking
    5 to 7 hours

  8. Day 8

    Route
    Yangle Kharka to Langmale Kharka
    Overnight
    Langmale Kharka
    Altitude
    4,410 m
    Walking
    5 to 6 hours

  9. Day 9

    Route
    Rest and acclimatise: Langmale Kharka
    Overnight
    Langmale Kharka
    Altitude
    4,410 m
    Walking
    Travel day, no trekking

  10. Day 10

    Route
    Langmale Kharka to Makalu Base Camp (4,870 m)
    Overnight
    Makalu Base Camp
    Altitude
    4,870 m
    Walking
    4.5 to 6 hours

  11. Day 11

    Route
    Rest and acclimatise: Makalu Base Camp
    Overnight
    Makalu Base Camp
    Altitude
    4,870 m
    Walking
    4 to 5 hours (optional ridge walk)

  12. Day 12

    Route
    Makalu Base Camp to Yangle Kharka
    Overnight
    Yangle Kharka
    Altitude
    3,557 m
    Walking
    6 to 7 hours

  13. Day 13

    Route
    Yangle Kharka to Dobato
    Overnight
    Dobato
    Altitude
    3,860 m
    Walking
    5 to 6 hours

  14. Day 14

    Route
    Dobato to Khongma Danda
    Overnight
    Khongma Danda
    Altitude
    3,500 m
    Walking
    6 to 7 hours

  15. Day 15

    Route
    Khongma Danda to Tashigaon
    Overnight
    Tashigaon
    Altitude
    2,100 m
    Walking
    5 hours

  16. Day 16

    Route
    Tashigaon to Seduwa
    Overnight
    Seduwa
    Altitude
    1,500 m
    Walking
    4 to 5 hours

  17. Day 17

    Route
    Seduwa to Num, then by jeep to Khandbari
    Overnight
    Khandbari
    Altitude
    1,040 m
    Walking
    5 to 6 hours

  18. Day 18

    Route
    Khandbari to Kathmandu
    Overnight
    Kathmandu
    Walking
    Travel day, no trekking

What is included

We confirm what is included in your quote, for your dates and your group.

Permits and rules

We arrange these permits for your trek. Fees are as the issuing office lists them, with the date we checked.

  • Makalu Barun National Park entry permit

    Issued by Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation

    Foreign visitors
    NPR 3,000person per entry
    Citizens of SAARC countries
    NPR 1,500person per entry
    Nepali citizens
    NPR 100person per entry

    Issued by Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation; paid at the Tourist Service Centre, Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu, or at the park entry points. Children under 10: free.

    Source: Nepal Tourism Board (figures supplied by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation), checked 1 October 2026

  • TIMS card (Trekkers' Information Management System)

    Issued by Nepal Tourism Board

    Foreign visitors
    NPR 2,000person
    Citizens of SAARC countries
    NPR 1,000person

    Issued by Nepal Tourism Board with the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, through government-registered trekking agencies only since 2023.

    Source: Nepal Tourism Board, checked 1 October 2026

Rules on this route

  • Since 1 April 2023 foreign trekkers in national parks and conservation areas must trek with a licensed guide arranged through a registered agency, and get the TIMS card through that agency.

    The Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality does not apply it in the Everest region; news in 2025 still reports the Everest region as the exception.

    Source: The Kathmandu Post, checked 1 October 2026

  • Show and register the national park permit at Seduwa (park headquarters) on the way in.

    Source: The Great Himalaya Trail (trail information site), checked 1 October 2026

Is this trip right for you?

A strenuous trek with no climbing: about two weeks of mostly 4 to 7 hour days on rough, steep, often stepped trails with limited signage. Big height changes early on (an 800 m drop and climb across the Arun, then about 1,400 m up to Khongma Danda), a long day over Shipton La and Keke La (about 4,100 to 4,200 m), loose landslide sections in the Barun valley and two nights at about 4,870 m. Very remote: few settlements above Tashigaon and no phone coverage expected above it.

Compared with our other base camp treks

Of the five base camp treks we run, only the Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek takes longer than this one's typical 18 days. None has more days on foot: 16 here. Everest Base Camp and Kanchenjunga Base Camp go higher, to 5,644 m and 5,140 m, so this trek is hard for its length more than for its height.

Ask us if this trek suits you
Walking each day
4 to 7 hours
Highest night
Makalu Base Camp, 4,870 m
Rest days in the plan
3
High point
4,870 m

Price and booking

Price on request

Ask us for this season's price for the Makalu Base Camp trek. It depends on the size of your group, the season and whether you travel privately or join a group.

The permits for this trek cost NPR 5,000 for a foreign trekker (the Makalu Barun National Park entry permit and the TIMS card), or NPR 2,500 for citizens of SAARC countries, India among them.

We confirm payment terms in your quote. Nothing is paid online.

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