Are you among those looking to trek in Nepal in the most favored season of the year? How Wonderful is this? We will be with you, helping you to choose among the best trekking destinations in the land of the snow-capped peaks offering thousands of trekkers to explore them every year. You can look for two of the most traveled destination, Everest Base Camp or the Annapurna Circuit. We can discuss the duration, difficulty, climate, cost, and more about the Everest Base Camp and Annapurna Circuit to help you choose the best! Both of the treks are highly preferred by many enthusiast trekkers, which has made both of the destinations to be on the top of the list. 

Everest Base Camp Trek

Mostly, trekkers with a high enthusiasm to explore and tour the Himalayas of the country dream of reaching the great, Everest Base Camp, the base camp to the highest peak in the world. Trekkers who are in good and sound physical and mental health are recommended for the 20-day trek where they’ll be exploring the country’s unique natural and cultural wonders. Besides the 20-day trek, Nepal Vision offers you a 14-day trek to the base camp of the peak.

We offer you a specially designed schedule for the Everest base camp trek where you’ll be taken up to the mesmerizing place Kala Pattar (5,550m/18,204ft), where you can get a beautiful view of Mt. Everest with its surrounding peaks. The memorable journey to Everest Base Camp begins with the Himalayan flight to the mountain that lands at Lukla Airport, the deadliest Airport in the world. This route takes you through the well-known Sherpa village of Phakding which is followed by the trek through the entrance to Mt Everest, Namche Bazaar, a very well-known place due to its beauty and uniqueness. You can also explore the Tengboche Buddhist monastery, which is the highest point in the globe, a big part of the Everest expedition.

Annapurna Circuit Trek

The Annapurna Circuit trek is a trek combining trekking, hiking, sightseeing, and multiple cultural excursions into one comprehensive travel experience to enjoy the satisfying experience of adventure, a cultural tour for wanderlust. During the trek, you’ll enjoy the beautiful view of multiple mountains like Dhaulagiri, and Fish-tail besides the Annapurna itself. With this, you’ll also enjoy a first-hand look at the local customs, cuisines, and civilizations.

The Annapurna Circuit trek helps you gain the immense culture of the Himalayan area built with the unique architecture of the Gurung, Magar, and Thakali people who resides in the region. If you have packed your bags for a long trek, you can also take the 21- days trek to the Annapurna Circuit which goes for a long and deep journey in the Annapurna region. Also, you can enjoy the local festivals and culture of the people where you will get a huge opportunity to enjoy the authentic cultural immersion. In the Annapurna Circuit Trek, you’ll be going for Thorong-La Pass at the highest elevation in the trek at 5,416m. The trek begins from the town of Besisahar, the outskirts of Pokhara. The section part of the trek begins from the alpine village of Manag which will be followed by the trail through Muktinath.

Everest Base Camp Vs Annapurna Circuit 

Let’s compare the multiple factors to choose between the two destinations:

Trip Duration

Before choosing the trek, you must answer the question wisely yourself, “How many days can I afford to be away from nature?”. By the time and pace of the trip, you can choose the trek. If you are willing to take the 20 days trek rather than the 16 days, Everest Base Camp Trek suits you the best. Alternatively, if you don’t have a few days to spare, you should hike to Annapurna Circuit and take a flight the next day to return to your starting point as it is a short trek comparatively. Also, you must consider the time needed for international flights. In Nepal, the journeys to the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp last 12 and 16 days on average,  respectively (including arrival and departure days). 

Best Time to Visit

In Nepal, the seasons of March to May and October to November are the ideal times to visit both the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp. Due to the pleasant weather and excellent views of the Himalayas, these months are regarded as the best places to trek in Nepal due to the favorable season and environment. Between June to August, Nepal has its monsoon season, while between December to February, snow covers many of the treks and passes making the trek difficult in the two seasons.

Difficulty

The climb to Everest Base Camp is unquestionably more difficult than the trek to Annapurna Circuit. The greatest element for the difficulty is height. There is a considerable likelihood of developing altitude sickness as the altitude rises in the Everest region. On the two days of the Everest Base Camp trip, you will ascend 3,420 meters above sea level, which will be a little higher than the average altitude. On the sixth day of the Annapurna circuit, you arrive at this elevation. This simply shows that Everest Base Camp Trek is comparatively challenging.

There are several different trekking routes available in the Annapurna region. You can go for a brief, simple hike that doesn't get above 2000 meters. But you must be physically fit to complete the trek. Also, you don't need any form of professional training for this. However, you can include yourself in fundamental exercises like jogging, running, or any other aerobic activity which will be helping you to enable you to gain endurance while trekking and gain a huge distance in a little time.

Crowds

Comparing the audience sizes on the two hikes is quite challenging. As the number of trekkers mostly depends on the trekking season and weather, the number of people going for trek differs yearly on both of the destinations. Usually, a lot of hikers are attracted by the beautiful weather every year in the Spring and Autumn season. Everest Base Camp trek is typically more packed, being popular all over the world, and is often traveled by a large group of people. If you want to avoid crowds in this region, you should consider trekking to Everest Base Camp at the start of the season. Most hikers at the Annapurna Circuit travel in pairs or small groups, which makes the area less crowdy than the EBC. The Annapurna circuit is less busy in the off-season, and Hamlet felt more genuine.

Cost

The cost during the trek depends mostly on the fact about the expenses you prepare. Most of the treks are a little expensive as the transportation, permit, flooding, and lodging cost with the altitude increase. With Nepal Vision Treks & Expedition you get a very reasonable price for your services. The cost for the Everest Base Camp Trek and Annapurna Circuit trek is listed in the following table:

Safety

A jeep road that connects the majority of the Annapurna Circuit is one of the important features that the Everest Base Camp Trek does not have. A jeep could transport you if you are ill or injured enough to want to descend in height without a helicopter while trekking in the Annapurna Circuit but the only option in the Everest Base Camp is a donkey.

Helicopter evacuations are available in both regions, however, it is more difficult to arrange one in the Everest Region. You might have to wait one or two days in the Everest region for the weather to clear up sufficiently for a helicopter to pick you up. The Annapurna Circuit offers a faster means of escape from the Himalayas in the event of an emergency than Everest Base Camp.

Weather

In the high Himalayas, unfavorable weather conditions play a significant role in the success of trekking and hiking. The weather fluctuates according to the mountain range's height as well. The temperature gets colder the higher you go up the mountain. The Everest Base Camp Trek is significantly colder than the Annapurna Circuit Trek because of its higher altitude. 
 

In order to reach Everest Base Camp, a trekker must spend long days and nights at greater altitudes. The trek begins around 2800 meters from Lukla but in the Annapurna Circuit, the highest altitude ranges up to 4200m only starting from 1000m. Backpackers will have warmer nights while trekking to Annapurna Circuit, and you will spend fewer nights at higher altitudes.

Landscapes and Navigability

Everest Base Camp is preferred to Annapurna Circuit as the trekkers have straight forward ability to follow the group and the simpler trip, scenery, and navigability due to easily accessible trails. The Annapurna trail exhibits a great deal of distinctive brilliance while recalling the endlessly flowing canal.  On this path, you won't be relatively knowing where you are heading until you know the flow of the river. The path is quite confusing as both sides of the riverbanks contain Thakali and Gurung communities which makes the trekkers quite confused about exactly differentiating the path.

For instance, the Everest Base Camp trek starts in Lukla, which is hard to ignore given how commercialized the region has become due to the highly demanded trek. There are people everywhere at first, and there is only one route that passes through every town to reach the next destination. The roadways continue to be consistently wide, and Everest Base Camp remains on one side of the river which makes the trek easily navigable.

Conclusion

Choosing among the two most featured treks in the country the Himalayas is a confusing task. Hence, looking at the multiple circumstances of the Everest Base Camp Trek and Annapurna Circuit Trek, you can choose the trek as per your availability in the factors like weather, landscapes, costs, season, and duration many more. Explore the Himalayas of Nepal with the best, Nepal Vision Treks & Expedition.