The highest point on Earth
No point on the planet's surface is farther above sea level than the summit of Everest. The official height of 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft) was announced jointly by the foreign ministers of Nepal and China on 8 December 2020, after a Nepali survey team carried instruments to the top in May 2019 and a Chinese team followed in 2020. Earlier figures were 8,848 m (Survey of India, 1950s, confirmed by China in 1975) and a Chinese rock height of 8,844.43 m measured in 2005 without the snow cap. The mountain is still rising by a few millimetres a year as the Indian plate pushes under Asia.
Everest is a summit of records. It is the highest of the fourteen eight-thousanders and of the Seven Summits, the first eight-thousander climbed in winter (by the Poles Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy on 17 February 1980), and by far the most climbed of them. By the end of 2024 the Himalayan Database counted just under 13,000 ascents by about 7,200 people; Nepal's Department of Tourism alone recorded 9,825 summiteers from its side by December 2025. In May 2026 the Sherpa guide Kami Rita reached the top for the 32nd time, and Lhakpa Sherpa for the 11th, a record for a woman.
The rock at the very top is Ordovician limestone that formed on the floor of a shallow sea; fragments of trilobites and crinoids have been found in samples from near the summit.
Where it is and how to get there
On the Nepalese side Everest lies in Sagarmatha National Park (1,148 km², founded in 1976 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979) in the Solukhumbu district; on the Chinese side it is protected in the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve. Its closest neighbours are Lhotse (8,516 m), Nuptse (7,855 m) and Changtse (7,580 m).
Almost everyone heading for the south side flies to Lukla (Tenzing–Hillary Airport, 2,860 m), a 527 m runway on a slope that is often closed by cloud. Since 2024 most flights leave from Manthali (Ramechhap), a three- to four-hour drive from Kathmandu, rather than from Kathmandu itself. The slower alternatives are to fly to Phaplu or walk in from Jiri (about five to seven days). There is no road to Lukla, so everything above it travels by plane, porter or yak. The north side is reached by a paved road from the Friendship Highway to the Rongbuk Monastery and North Base Camp (5,150 m); since 2019 visitors without a climbing permit may only go as far as Rongbuk.
The Everest Base Camp trek
The classic trek follows the Dudh Kosi valley from Lukla through Phakding and Monjo, where the park entrance is, to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m), the Sherpa trading town with ATMs, bakeries and a Saturday market. Most itineraries take a rest day here, then continue via the monastery at Tengboche (3,870 m), Pangboche, Dingboche or Pheriche (about 4,250 m, a second rest day), Lobuche (4,930 m) and Gorak Shep (5,160 m). From Gorak Shep trekkers walk to base camp on the Khumbu Glacier (5,364 m) and climb Kala Patthar (about 5,550–5,640 m), the hill that gives the classic view of the summit, which cannot be seen well from base camp itself.
Plan eight to ten days up and three or four down, or 14–16 days in total with spare days for weather at Lukla. The walking is not technical, but every night above 3,000 m should add no more than 300–500 m of sleeping altitude. Lodges (teahouses) cover the whole route, so no tent is needed; above Tengboche many close in winter. Popular variations are the Gokyo lakes, the Cho La pass (5,370 m) and the Three Passes trek.
Climbing routes
Southeast Ridge (Nepal). This is the route of 1953 and the most used. Expeditions spend several weeks at South Base Camp while the "Icefall Doctors", a team of Sherpas, fix ladders and ropes through the Khumbu Icefall, a chaos of seracs and crevasses that moves about a metre a day. Climbers cross it before dawn, when the cold holds the ice in place. Above it are Camp I (about 6,065 m) and, at the head of the Western Cwm under the Lhotse Face, Camp II (about 6,500 m). Fixed ropes lead up the Lhotse Face to Camp III (about 7,470 m) and across the Yellow Band and the Geneva Spur to Camp IV on the South Col (about 7,920 m). The summit push starts around midnight: the Balcony (8,400 m), the South Summit (8,750 m), the exposed Cornice Traverse and the former Hillary Step (8,790 m), a 12 m rock wall that was largely destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, then easier snow to the top. About 95 per cent of summiteers use bottled oxygen, mostly above 8,000 m; a summit day usually means 10–12 hours up and the same night back at the South Col.
North Ridge (Tibet). From North Base Camp (about 5,150–5,180 m) climbers move up the East Rongbuk Glacier to Advanced Base Camp (about 6,500 m) and climb fixed ropes to the North Col (7,010 m). Camps follow on the North Ridge (about 7,775 m) and at the foot of the Yellow Band (about 8,230 m). On summit day the route crosses the First Step and the Second Step (8,577–8,626 m), where a ladder first fixed by Chinese climbers in 1975 has been used ever since, then the Third Step and a 50° snow slope to the summit ridge. This was the line of the British attempts of the 1920s; the first ascent from the north was made by the Chinese climbers Wang Fuzhou, Gonpo and Qu Yinhua on 25 May 1960.
More than a dozen other routes exist, among them the Southwest Face (first climbed in 1975) and the West Ridge, but they see few ascents.
Permits, costs and rules
Nepal charges a royalty per foreign climber on the normal route. According to the Department of Tourism's 2026 figures it is US$15,000 in spring (March–May), US$7,500 in autumn and US$3,750 in winter or summer; other routes cost US$10,000 in spring. Each expedition also deposits US$4,000 for garbage management, must take a government liaison officer, and every climber and staff member must bring at least 8 kg of rubbish back to base camp; teams register with the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee in Namche. In 2025 Nepal announced a plan to require an earlier ascent of a 7,000 m peak in Nepal before an Everest permit is granted; as of mid-2026 it had not been formally approved. Nepal issued a record 492 Everest permits in 2026. With guiding, oxygen and logistics, a full expedition costs tens of thousands of dollars per person.
Trekkers pay the Sagarmatha National Park entry fee (NPR 3,000 for foreigners) plus a local permit from the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality, both sold in Lukla or Kathmandu. The Nepal Tourism Board lists the Everest region among the routes where a licensed guide has been required since 2023, but the local authorities issue their own permit and independent trekkers still walk the trail; check the current rule before you book. Drones need separate permits. On the Tibetan side climbing is organised through Chinese authorities and permits are not always issued (none for foreigners in 2008, 2009 and 2020).
When to go and weather
Most summits happen in May, when the jet stream moves north before the monsoon and opens windows of calm, often just a few days long. Autumn ascents are rarer because of new snow. In January the summit averages about −36 °C and winds of 160 km/h are common; a gust of 280 km/h was recorded in February 2004. For trekkers, March to mid-May (rhododendrons in bloom, more haze) and late September to mid-November (clearest views) are the best seasons; the monsoon from June to September brings cloud, rain and cancelled flights, and winter brings snow above Tengboche.
Water on the trek
Every village has teahouses selling bottled water, boiled water and tea, and prices rise with altitude: bottled water costs several hundred rupees a litre high up. There is no recycling of plastic bottles in the Khumbu, so the better choice is to carry one or two reusable bottles and buy boiled water at lodges or treat tap and stream water with a filter, UV pen or tablets. Do not drink untreated water, however clean it looks. Fill up before the long climbs from the Dudh Kosi bridges to Namche and from Phunki Thanga to Tengboche, which have no teahouses. Aim for three to four litres a day at altitude; dehydration worsens altitude sickness.
Mobile coverage and internet
Coverage on the trek is far better than its remoteness suggests. In 2010 Ncell built a 3G network along the route with its highest base station near base camp at about 5,200 m, and Nepal Telecom SIM cards are generally considered to work better in remote areas. Everest Link, a local provider founded in 2014, runs a solar-powered Wi-Fi network of dozens of towers between Lukla and base camp; its prepaid cards are sold in shops and lodges in Lukla, Namche, Dingboche and Gokyo. Lodges charge for Wi-Fi and battery charging. Signals drop out in deep valleys and in bad weather, so download maps and weather before leaving Namche. On the Tibetan side China Mobile installed masts at 5,200, 5,800 and 6,500 m in 2007. Expeditions in Nepal need official permission to use satellite phones. In an emergency dial 1144 (Tourist Police) or 100 (Police); the Himalayan Rescue Association runs an aid post in Pheriche (4,250 m) and the Everest ER clinic at base camp in the climbing season.
Altitude, dangers and safety
Altitude sickness is the main risk for trekkers: headache, nausea and dizziness above 2,500 m are a signal to stop climbing, and worsening symptoms mean descent. Helicopters fly rescues from base camp and lower, and travel insurance should cover evacuation. For climbers, the atmosphere at the summit has about a third of sea-level pressure; an unacclimatised person would lose consciousness within minutes. As of May 2024, 340 people had died on Everest and more than 200 bodies remained on the mountain. The worst disasters were the storm of 10–11 May 1996 (eight dead in one day, fifteen that season), the ice avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall on 18 April 2014 (16 Nepali guides killed) and the avalanche triggered by the earthquake of 25 April 2015, which struck base camp. The Himalayan Database records 44 deaths in the icefall between 1953 and 2016. Crowding near the summit on short weather windows, as in May 2019, adds to the danger.
History and names
In 1852 the Bengali mathematician Radhanath Sikdar identified "Peak XV" as the highest summit known; in 1856 Andrew Waugh announced it as 29,002 ft and proposed naming it after his predecessor, George Everest, who himself objected. The Nepali name Sagarmatha means roughly "head in the sky", while the Tibetan Chomolungma (Qomolangma) means "holy mother" and appears on a Chinese map of 1721.
The British attempts of the 1920s came from Tibet. In 1922 climbers first passed 8,000 m, and on 8 June 1924 George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared high on the Northeast Ridge; Mallory's body was found in 1999, and whether they reached the top is still debated. After Nepal opened its borders, the Swiss reached about 8,595 m in 1952 with Tenzing Norgay. The ninth British expedition, led by John Hunt, put the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay on the summit at 11:30 on 29 May 1953; the news reached London on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation. Later milestones include the first woman, Junko Tabei (16 May 1975), and the first ascent without bottled oxygen by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler (8 May 1978).
Interesting facts
- Measured from the centre of the Earth, Chimborazo in Ecuador reaches farther out; measured from its base, Mauna Kea is taller. Above sea level, Everest has no rival.
- In 2005 the French pilot Didier Delsalle landed a helicopter on the summit.
- A weather station on the South Col has run since 2008; the Balcony station at about 8,430 m, set up in 2019, was the highest on Earth.
- On 22 May 2019 a record 223 people reached the summit from Nepal in one day.
FAQ
How high is Mount Everest? 8,848.86 m (29,031.7 ft), according to the joint Nepal–China survey announced in 2020. It is the highest mountain on Earth above sea level.
How long does it take to climb Everest? A guided expedition usually lasts 50–60 days, most of it acclimatising between base camp and the higher camps; summit day from the South Col takes 10–12 hours up.
How long is the Everest Base Camp trek? Usually 12–16 days from Lukla and back: eight to ten days up with two rest days, three or four days down.
How difficult is it? The base camp trek is non-technical but high and long. Climbing the summit requires high-altitude experience, crampon and fixed-rope skills, bottled oxygen for most people and a large support team.
How much does an Everest permit cost? As of 2026, Nepal's royalty for a foreign climber on the normal route is US$15,000 in spring, US$7,500 in autumn and US$3,750 in winter or summer, plus deposits and liaison officer costs.
Is there water on the trek? Yes. Teahouses in every village sell bottled and boiled water; carry reusable bottles and a filter or tablets and never drink untreated water.
Is there mobile coverage and internet? Yes, on much of the route: Ncell and Nepal Telecom networks reach high up the valley, and Everest Link sells Wi-Fi cards for lodges all the way to base camp. Emergency numbers are 1144 and 100.
When is the best time to go? For climbing, May. For trekking, March to mid-May and late September to mid-November.