Day 1
Num to Seduwa
6 hrs10 kmsleep 1,500 m
Makalu · Challenging
Makalu Base Camp Trek itinerary, day by day
Every stage from Num to Num, with the walking hours, distance and sleeping altitude for each day.
Days
18
Highest sleep
4,870 m
Distance
130 km
Rest days
2
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
Seduwa to Tashigaon
5 hrs8 kmsleep 2,100 m
Day 3
Tashigaon to Khongma Danda
7 hrs10 kmsleep 3,500 m
Sleeping altitude rises 1,400 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 4
Khongma Danda acclimatisation
4 hrs5 kmsleep 3,500 m
Day 5
Khongma Danda to Mumbuk
6 hrs9 kmsleep 3,570 m
Day 6
Mumbuk to Nehe Kharka
5 hrs8 kmsleep 3,660 m
Day 7
Nehe Kharka to Sherson
6 hrs8 kmsleep 4,165 m
Sleeping altitude rises 505 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 8
Sherson to Makalu Base Camp
5 hrs6 kmsleep 4,870 m
Sleeping altitude rises 705 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 9
Makalu Base Camp acclimatisation
5 hrs6 kmsleep 4,870 m
Day 10
Makalu Base Camp to Mumbuk
7 hrs16 kmsleep 3,570 m
Day 11
Mumbuk to Khongma Danda
6 hrs9 kmsleep 3,500 m
Day 12
Khongma Danda to Tashigaon
5 hrs10 kmsleep 2,100 m
Day 13
Tashigaon to Num
6 hrs12 kmsleep 1,560 m
Makalu Base Camp Trek itinerary questions
Answers computed from the published day-by-day data for this route.
How many days is the Makalu Base Camp Trek?
18 days as published here, covering 130 km with 73 hours of walking in total and 2 acclimatisation days built in.
What is the highest sleeping altitude on the Makalu Base Camp Trek?
4,870 m. The highest point reached on the route is 4,870 m, which is not the same thing - what your body has to adapt to is where you sleep.
Which day of the Makalu Base Camp Trek climbs the most?
Day 3, Tashigaon to Khongma Danda, gains 1,400 m of sleeping altitude.
Does the Makalu Base Camp Trek itinerary allow enough time to acclimatise?
There are 3 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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