Both treks end at the foot of a giant, both use teahouses all the way, and both are busiest in spring and autumn. The differences are in how high you sleep, for how long, and how you get there.
The short answer
- Choose Annapurna Base Camp if it’s your first Himalayan trek, you have about a week and a half in Nepal, or you’d rather avoid mountain flights.
- Choose Everest Base Camp if you want the most famous trek in the world, have two weeks or more, and are ready for many nights at high altitude.
Altitude: the real difference
On our itineraries, Annapurna Base Camp spends 2 nights above 3,000 m and tops out at 4,130 m. Everest Base Camp spends 9 nights above 3,000 m, sleeps at 5,164 m at Gorak Shep and reaches 5,545 m on Kala Patthar. That’s why the Everest itinerary includes two rest days, and why it feels much harder even for fit walkers. Our compare page shows all our treks side by side.
Getting there
Annapurna Base Camp starts and ends in Pokhara, a short drive from the trailhead. Everest Base Camp starts with a flight to Lukla, which is often delayed by weather, so you need a spare day or two at the end.
The trail
The Annapurna Base Camp trail climbs through Gurung villages, terraced fields and rhododendron and bamboo forest, with long stone staircases around Chhomrong, into the Annapurna Sanctuary, a basin ringed by peaks. The Everest trail follows the Dudh Koshi into the Khumbu, through Sherpa villages, monasteries and, higher up, glacier moraine.
Cost
Everest Base Camp usually costs more: the Lukla flights, more days on the trail and higher prices for food and lodging the further you go. See our cost guides for Annapurna Base Camp and Everest Base Camp.
