HOW MUCH DOES IT COST FOR A FOREIGNER TO TREK IN THE KHUMBU REGION?

The Khumbu region (or the Everest region) is considered to be the most expensive region to trek in Nepal. This is mainly due to the high cost of food at higher altitudes. Transporting food to such high regions is long and difficult, and therefore it naturally raises the cost. The other reason is that, in remote areas, there are only a handful of hotels and restaurants, and since they tend to be fully booked during peak season, they tend to overcharge for food and accommodation. A mere bottle of hot water could cost you above Rs. 300.

Nevertheless, trekking in Khumbu need not be as expensive and daunting as it looks. Compared to urban areas, the cost of the room is quite cheap. Being a remote region, there are also not many distractions on the way to make you shell out more money. If you spend your money judiciously, you can do the trek quite cheaply. However, it is important to be aware that traveling on a budget might not be the best option while trekking in Khumbu. Likewise, hiring a cheap trekking company also may not always be a wise decision. Doing so actually might ruin your trek and leave you with a bitter experience or it might end up costing you much more or, at worst, end up costing you your life.

There are mainly two ways to do trek in the Khumbu region: camping trek and teahouse trek. Camping treks can cost significantly higher than teahouse treks as they require carrying camping equipment as well as food all through the trek. As that requires a lot of staff, the cost ends being usually much higher than teahouses. With teahouses, the cost mainly goes on hotels, food, and your guide and porter. Since the logistics of doing a camping trek is quite complicated and also since it is not common, we will just talk about the cost of doing a teahouse trek. While different trekking offices charge you different prices, we can nevertheless do a rough estimate of the total cost for the Khumbu trek.

If you plan to stay in a normal/average hotel throughout your trip, the cost of a basic room usually ranges from Rs. 500 to1500. Your food (breakfast, lunch, dinner) should cost you at least Rs. 2000-3000 per day. Next, guide cum porter usually cost about Rs. 2000 per day. This brings your total to around Rs. 5000-7000 per day. A normal Khumbu trek usually takes about 14 days. Therefore, your total cost for the trek will be around Rs. 70,000 to 100,000. Remember that this is the bare minimum. The actual cost often ends up being way higher than this.  

Flight from Kathmandu to Lukla and back to Kathmandu costs around Rs. 40,000. You need basically 3 main permits: TIMS card (Rs. 2000), Sagarmatha National Park Permit (Rs. 3000), and Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Permit (Rs. 3000).

So, at bare minimum, your grand total for an average 14-day Khumbu trek will be around Rs. 120,000 to 150,000.

Note: This is just a rough estimate and just the bare minimum cost. The above cost does not include your stay in Kathmandu and your personal expenses. It also doesn't include any additional cost your trekking agencies might charge you.

Another important thing to note is that it only includes the cost of one guide (who also acts as a porter), with you having to carry a lot of extra stuff by yourself. Usually, you need one guide and one porter, which significantly increases your total cost. It also doesn't include the tips you give to your guides, porters, and waiters. If we add all this, your total cost for a Khumbu trek way over Rs. 200,000. Due to inflation and other reasons, the price tends to increase every year, so make sure to plan your budget accordingly.