Annapurna vs Everest Base Camp Trek

Everest base camp (EBC) and Annapurna base camp (ABC) both treks are adventurous trek. Every travelers wish to stand in front of Everest and Annapurna. The wish become dream and leads you towards destination—EBC and ABC. Both EBC and ABC are wonderful place once you most visit in your lifetime. We hope your visit will repeat number of times after seeing its attraction and beauty. There are some differences regarding to distance, duration, budget, permit and altitude between EBC and ABC trek. An attempt to include details of both ABC and EBC trek is done in this article with the aim of giving information of both EBC and ABC trek at once.

Is Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) or Everest Base Camp (EBC) tougher?

Annapurna Base Camp (ABC) and Everest Base Camp (EBC) both are mountain rides on foot.  Climbing up and up till you reach the base of Himalaya is not an easy task. EBC is at highest altitude than ABC, it takes long time to reach EBC than ABC. Thus EBC is tougher than ABC. To know which one either EBC or ABC is tough, let’s see separately about location, altitude and difficulties of EBC and ABC trek.

How difficult is Everest Base Camp (EBC) Trek?

EVEREST BASE CAMP (EBC) trek Location is Solukhumbu district, Province No.1- Nepal in Sagarmatha National Park.

EBC trek duration Everest (8848m) is the third pole of the world. It is one of the medium to be on the lap of Everest. EBC treks needs minimum 15 days. These 15 days include total time from arrival in Nepal to departure from Nepal. Day by day you will walk towards up hills and downhills enjoying the beauty of place fascinated by gorgeous Himalaya, variety of plants and animals, ethnic cultural beauty of Sherpa, monuments and many more.

EBC trek elevation – In EBC trek, walking begins from Lukla (2860m) and leads up to Everest base camp (5364m). The altitude rise is very high i.e. 2504m from Lukla to Everest base camp.

EBC trek challenges – This elevation rising with each day trek leads to altitude sickness and tiredness, the food of cold region may not suits you, you may caught cold and become sick. The rainy days doesn’t gives proper visibility, thick fog will decrease the charm of surrounding. Due to lack of internet connection in some places you will be out of contact from your families. Physical imbalance and atmospheric challenge may leads to incomplete trek sometime.

How difficult is Annapurna Base Camp(ABC) Trek?

ANNAPURNA BASE CAMP (ABC) trek location is Kaski district, Province no. 4 (Gandaki Province) Nepal in Annapurna conservation area.

Abc trek duration– Annapurna I (8091m) is the 10^Th highest mountain of the world. It is one of the medium which guides you on the base of Annapurna massif. ABC trek requires minimum 10 days. If you desire to go Ghorepani poonhill trek and Ghandruk along with Annapurna base camp then you need 14 days. These 14 days include days from arrival in Nepal to departure from Nepal. ABC trek route is not as difficult as EBC trek. Elevation rises day by day but doesn’t comprise more slanted uphills. The waterfall, amazing diversified flora, landscape with variety of soil texture, Local Gurung culture and hospitality is great part beyond walking.

ABC trek elevation – In ABC trek, walking begins from Nayapul (1070m) and leads up to Annapurna base camp (4,130m). The altitude difference from beginning to destination of trek is 3060m.

ABC trek challenges – Since ABC lies in low altitude than EBC, there will be less change of altitude sickness, the path is less steep so walking will be comparatively easier than  EBC trek. Due to low elevation than EBC trek, there will be less chance of suffering from cold and falling sick. Less problem in digestion and in-taking food. Chances of incomplete trek due to bad weather, physical illness will be less.

What is the best time to go to EBC?

The best time to visit Everest base camp is spring and autumn season. Spring season – 15^th February to 15^th May and autumn season- from 15^th September to 15^th December is best time to visit Everest because of pleasant weather, clear vision and less risk on path during these months.  Cheerful environment, panoramic view of mountains, burble of rivers and stream, blooming rhododendron energize you with joy and happiness. All hotels remain open, lots of trekkers on the path will encourage you to complete your journey.

EBC trek in monsoon is not preferred because you could not enjoy your trek due to rainfall. Parasite called leech spread more on path and they may bite you. Due to rainfall Path becomes sloppy, chances of falling down increases. You couldn’t see view properly due to thick fog and clouds on mountain.

EBC trek in winter is very dangerous, it is unpredictable that you could reach up to Everest base camp or not because of extremely low temperature. Temperature fall up to -17° C to – 20°C. Most of hotels remain close and proper food will not be available.

What is the best time to go to ABC Trek?

Best time to visit Annapurna base camp is spring and autumn season. It is analyze by trekkers that in case of low snow fall, Trek is possible in all months of the year even though spring (15^th February to 15^th may) and autumn (15^th September to 15^th December) is considered as the best. Because, in spring and autumn the weather remains perfect for trekking, days remains best with pleasant weather.  You can take full entertainment with your journey. The view of mountain ranges will be clear, path will not be wet and dangerous. All teahouse remain open, good food will be available.

ABC trek in monsoon is possible but high risk of wet path, rain coverage makes your trek joyless and difficult. You could not enjoy with the environment during trek due to rainfall or even snow fall. View remain unclear and mountain will hide inside cloud and fog.

ABC trek in winter is not selective because of low temperature and snowy path. It would be very difficult to reach your destination because of cold and snow cover everywhere. Most of the Tea houses remain close and would be difficult to get comfortable place to take rest as well.

How much does it Cost for The  Everest base camp trek?

EBC trek cost is 1000$ – 3500$ per person. The cost varies depending on days you want to spend during your trek and tea house where you stay during trekking and rest of the days of your visit.

EBC trek permit you should pay is Sagarmatha national park permit. The cost is Nrs 3000 for foreigners and Nrs 1500 for SAARC nationality. You should also pay 2000 NRS  for Pasang Lhambu Muncipility.

How much does it cost for Annapurna base camp trek?

ABC trek cost is 750$-1850$. Cost depends on the days you spend during trek and places you visit. Also on the tea house where you will stay during trek and your visit.

ABC trek permit you should pay is ACAP permit 28$ and TIMS permit 20$ per person.

(ACAP – Annapurna conservation area permit and TIMS – Trekker’s information management system)

Which is better Annapurna or Everest Base Camp Trek?

To remove confusion on choosing ABC or EBC trek, we have a tabular representation to compare ABC and EBC trek.

From the table it is clear that If you want to go on the highest altitude and spend more time on Himalayan region then EBC trek is better for you. If you haven’t done any mountainous trek then you should go for ABC trek first. From the view of expenses, ABC trek is cheaper than EBC trek. So you can choose ABC trek in case you want to do the cheaper and adventurous trek. If you are searching more challenging and remarkable trek, then EBC is the best choice cause EBC trek only can take you on the base of highest altitude of the world.

How to reach Annapurna and Everest base camp?

The table below gives full information about day wise activity for Annapurna and Everest base camp trek. It takes 13 days for ABC trek and 15 days for EBC trek. You should walk 3-7 hours regarding to destination per day in both trek ABC and EBC.

Itinerary for Annapurna and Everest Base camp Trek

Accommodations (tea houses/ hotels)

Air pressure reduces with increasing altitude and amount of oxygen in air become low which cause altitude sickness. To get recovered from altitude sickness your body demands rest for which proper accommodation is essential.

Everest base camp has better accommodation than Annapurna base camp. Annapurna base camp has only 4 hotels with seven rooms and GorkShep (Everest base camp) has five hotels with more than 40 rooms in each.

Annapurna trekking site has limited hotel with 7 rooms and four bed after Chommrong due to Annapurna conservation area but Everest trekking site has many hotels with more than 20 rooms in each. Hotels in Labuche has capacity of 60-70 person and Gorchep have 100 in each hotel.

Internet and charging facilities are available in hotels/ tea houses of both ABC and EBC trek but you have to pay extra charge for it.

Annapurna vs Everest Base Camp Altitude

Altitude variation occurs from step to step in ABC and EBC trek. The table below shows the altitude of major places of both EBC and ABC trek in comparative form.

Scenic beauty

Everest and Annapurna both are ranges (Mahalangur and Annapurna) of Hindu Kush Himalaya. Both places are fascinated with panoramic view of numerous mountain ranges, rhododendron with alpine vegetation, faunal diversity and ethnic culture of Sherpas, Tibetan and Gurung society. Somewhere you will see rocky mountain, somewhere snow capped mountains and somewhere you will see cold desert. The breathless beauty of EBC and ABC is unexplainable.

Nuptse (7861m), Lotshe (8561m),  AmaDablam (6812m),Thamserku (6623m), Mt.Pumori (7161m), Lobuche (6119m), Tabuche (6542m) etc. are seen in Everest base camp trek whereas Annapurna I (8,091m), Mt.Manaslu (8163m), Mt Dhaulagiri (8167m), Annapurna II (7937m), Annapurna III (7555m), and Annapurna IV (7525m), Ghangapurna (7455m), Annapurna south (7219m), Macchapuchre (6993m), Himchuli (6441m) Mardi Himal (5587m), and many more are seen from Annapurna region.

Trekking trail  video of Annapurna and Everest Base camp

Here we have a short Annapurna Base Camp Trek Video.

Here we have a short Everest Base Camp Trek Video.

Basic requirements for ABC and EBC trek

ABC and EBC trek constitute cold climatic zone and snowy pathways. Thus you should be careful on clothing and other trekking gears. Here is list of trekking requirements you should bring on both EBC or ABC trek.

Clothing

Warm jacket – down jacket,

Water and windproof jacket (alternatively bring a poncho or umbrella)

Long-sleeved synthetic fleece (windproof material, if possible)

Thermal underwear

Hat, a pair of gloves and a scarf

Comfortable hiking trousers (loose fitting)

Shorts and trousers, or a skirt

2 pairs of warm wool-blend socks

2 pairs of running socks or liner socks

Proper hiking boots

Running shoes and flip-flops

2-3 T-shirts

Water bottle

Snow glass

Hiking/trekking boots

Trekking Gear

Polarizing sun-glass to avoid potential snow blindness

Backpack and backpack cover to protect against rain and dust

Trekking map

Head torch or small torch, plus spare batteries

Sleeping bag and silk liner water bottle

 Miscellaneous

Toiletries (shampoo & Condition)

A small lightweight and quick daring towel

Bar & soap

Sunscreen

Earplugs

First aid Kid

Water filter or water purification tablets.

Some Diamox pills against potential altitude sickness

Toilet paper

A word from Mission summit treks and Expedition

Everest base camp and Annapurna base camp trek both are wonderful adventurous trekking. We suggest to choose ABC for beginners because of easy path and low altitude than EBC. After successful attempt of ABC trek never miss to have EBC trek because your trekking aspects would not be meaningful until you reach Everest Base Camp – the highest altitude of trekking trial.

Mission summit treks  stands by your side to make your trekking aim successful. Join with us, we will change your trekking aim into reality.