Makalu Base Camp Trek

Tumlingtar · Nepal

Challenging20 daysAsia~£4,200 est.

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Overview

Makalu Base Camp is what Khumbu trekking looked like forty years ago: a three-week route through Makalu Barun National Park that sees fewer trekkers in a season than Everest Base Camp sees in a weekend. From the airstrip at Tumlingtar the trail climbs from rice terraces at 400 m through Rai and Sherpa villages, crosses the Shipton La at 4,125 m, then follows the Barun River beneath vast granite walls to base camp at 4,870 m, where Makalu's south face — at 8,485 m the world's fifth-highest mountain — fills the head of the valley above the Barun Glacier. The altitude profile is the trap: the route gains height fast beyond Khongma, and retreat is limited once you are over the Shipton La in poor weather, so build in acclimatisation days. Basic lodges now cover the route in season, but carry a proper down bag and reserve food. Go late March–May or October–November; the monsoon buries the trail and winter closes the passes. From around £2,000 per person guided with a local operator — roughly double with a Western outfit.