Lukla

Lukla is a village in Khumbu and home to the region's main airport. Most travelers visiting the region will enter and exit from here.

Lukla is basically just an airport and a strip of hotels. There are two expensive, up-scale places which offer such luxuries as hot tubs, while the other hotels are largely the same. Lukla is 2,860 m above sea level.

There are few driveable roads to or in the Khumbu region and none to Lukla or onward. Most people will fly in.

Jiri, with buses from Kathmandu, is the commonly used roadhead, 5–10 trekking days west of Lukla. Some buses continue to Shivalaya, a bit closer. The journey to Jiri takes about 9 hr, Shivalaya a few hours more.

Salleri, with Phaplu Airport (PPL ^IATA), lies 2–3 days south-south-west of Lukla. Nowadays there is a driveable road there or even to to Surka: take the bus (or jeep) to Salleri, overnight there and trek to Lukla, or take a jeep from Sallari to Surka the next day and walk only the remaining distance. The last leg to Salleri is on unsealed bumpy roads, and onwards to Surka, the road is still worse.

There are numerous flights flying the busy Kathmandu–Lukla route, though with a much reduced service during the off-season months. Since 2022, most flights use Ramechhap Airport (RHP  ^IATA) in Manthali instead of Kathmandu, a 3–4-hr drive from there and closer to Lukla. Flights leave early in the morning because of the daily wind patterns. Flights from Kathmandu take around 25 minutes. During the summer rainy season there may be substantial delays, and even a wait of one week is not uncommon. Tenzing-Hillary Airport is often named one of the most dangerous airports in the world due to its position against the side of the mountain.

• 27.687586.7313891 Tenzing-Hillary Airport (Lukla Airport; LUA  ^IATA).  

The only way you can get around Lukla is by foot. There are neither roads nor any other means of modern transport.

There are plenty of impressive mountainous views around Lukla.

You can see the hospitals.

See also the lodges in Sleep below. Inside the village, there are two more bakeries with good cakes and coffee.

• German bakery (across from the entrance to the airport). Serves delicious "apple cheese cake" and good coffee. (updated Jan 2017)

Lukla has several accommodations so you can be selective.

• Eco Paradise Lodge. Spotlessly clean, albeit simple rooms, and a very warm and cosy lounge/dining room with views over the airport and mountains beyond for a very reasonable price (it is a good place to have breakfast on the outward journey). In addition, the owner can help purchase airline tickets and assist with the check in at the airport. (updated Jun 2007)
• K2 Lodge (near the "Starbucks). Rooms are clean, though uninteresting. Food is quite cheap in comparison to most guesthouses in town and pretty tasty. The owner Dawa is friendly and seemingly always has a smile on his face. Room with bathroom Rs. 100 if you eat at the lodge. (updated Dec 2011)
• North Face Resort (straight down the main street after exiting the airport, about 200m on the left), ☏ +977 19-626016. Check-in: 12:00, check-out: 10:00. Good place at the end of trekking to spend a night before leaving Lukla in the morning for Kathmandu. Comfortable rooms, with en-suite bathrooms and a restaurant serving wholesome food. The balcony has a good view of the runway. (updated Apr 2012)

Altitude sickness is an issue. One out of five gets symptoms already at 2,500 m, if they didn't acclimatise, and the airport is at 2,850 m (9,350 ft) – and most people coming here will continue to higher elevations.

The hospitals are well equipped with modern facilities. Funded by tourist dollars, they provide free medical services to the locals.

• Namche Bazaar – the unofficial capital of the Khumbu region, a 2-day trek away.
• Everest Base Camp Trek – Lukla is the usual starting point.
• Chheplung, Ghat and Phakding – the next villages on the base camp trek, the latter of which have good selections of lodges and restaurants, less than 5 hr away.