Day 1
Kathmandu to Kathmandu
0 hrs0 kmsleep 1,400 m
Api Himal · Challenging
API Himal Base Camp Trek itinerary, day by day
Every stage from Makarigadh to Kathmandu, with the walking hours, distance and sleeping altitude for each day.
Days
12
Highest sleep
4,100 m
Distance
96 km
Rest days
0
Altitude profile
Where you sleep each night
The single biggest safety factor on a high trek is how fast your sleeping altitude rises - not how high the route eventually goes.
Stages
The full schedule
Day 2
Kathmandu to Makarigadh
0 hrs0 kmsleep 1,300 m
Day 3
Makarigadh to Naupata
7 hrs11 kmsleep 1,800 m
Day 4
Naupata to Siti Gaun
7 hrs10 kmsleep 2,400 m
Day 5
Siti Gaun to Dhauliodhar
7 hrs11 kmsleep 3,200 m
Sleeping altitude rises 800 m on this night, above 3,000 m. That is more than the commonly cited 500 m guideline - worth a look if you have spare days to place.
Day 6
Dhauliodhar to API Base Camp
7 hrs10 kmsleep 4,100 m
Sleeping altitude rises 900 m on this night, above 3,000 m. That is more than the commonly cited 500 m guideline - worth a look if you have spare days to place.
Day 7
API Base Camp to Dhauliodhar
8 hrs13 kmsleep 3,200 m
Day 8
Dhauliodhar to Ghusa Gaun
6 hrs12 kmsleep 2,000 m
Day 9
Ghusa Gaun to Naupata
5 hrs8 kmsleep 1,800 m
Day 10
Naupata to Attariya
8 hrs21 kmsleep 150 m
Day 11
Attariya to Kathmandu
0 hrs0 kmsleep 1,400 m
Day 12
Kathmandu to Kathmandu
0 hrs0 kmsleep 1,400 m
API Himal Base Camp Trek itinerary questions
Answers computed from the published day-by-day data for this route.
How many days is the API Himal Base Camp Trek?
12 days as published here, covering 96 km with 55 hours of walking in total.
What is the highest sleeping altitude on the API Himal Base Camp Trek?
4,100 m. The highest point reached on the route is 4,200 m, which is not the same thing - what your body has to adapt to is where you sleep.
Which day of the API Himal Base Camp Trek climbs the most?
Day 11, Attariya to Kathmandu, gains 1,250 m of sleeping altitude.
Does the API Himal Base Camp Trek itinerary allow enough time to acclimatise?
There are 2 nights above 3,000 m where sleeping altitude rises by more than 500 m, which is more than the commonly cited guideline. That does not make the itinerary wrong, but those are the nights to look at first if you are adding spare days.
Test a different schedule
Add rest days and see how the sleeping-altitude profile changes before you commit to a booking.
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