Nepal trekking permits and fees (2023)

Please note that this blog post gives details on the permits and fees necessary for high-altitude trekking, not mountaineering. If you're going to be summiting mountain peaks, your permits and fees will be different.

Everyone who goes high-altitude trekking in Nepal needs to purchase certain permits to be allowed entrance to the trek routes. These are:

You don't need all of the above for a given trek, and further on we state exactly which are needed for each of Nepal's most popular high-altitude treks.

Note that on a few treks, like the Everest Base Camp trek, you must also purchase one or more:

A tour operator like Follow Alice is very useful when trekking in Nepal, as we organise and pay for all of these things on your behalf. These fees are included in your trekking package fee.

But whether trekking on your own or with a tour operator, it's useful to know what each of these fees are about, and how much they actually touch your wallet (it's not a lot), so please read on ...

Sonam, our local leader in Nepal, purchases all permits for our trekkers

Many of Nepal's trek routes – including the Annapurna Circuit and Everest Base Camp treks – require you to obtain a Trekking Information Management System (TIMS) card. Or they do at least in theory – post Covid-19 the park officials no longer actually check for this.

TIMS is administered by the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal. It gathers trekkers' information with the aim of regulating the trekking industry as well as securing trekkers' safety.

Here's what you can expect to pay for a TIMS card depending if you're a solo trekker or trekking in a group, and also based on whether or not you live in a country that's part of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) ...

The best place to get your TIMS card (if you don't have a tour operator doing it for you) is the Tourist Service Centre in Kathmandu. The office is a 15-minute walk from Thamel, and can be found on Pradarshani Marg (Street).

If you're organising your own trek, we recommend heading to the Tourist Service Centre as you should be able to purchase not only your TIMS card but also all other necessary trekking permits.

Office hours are officially 10 am to 5 pm, with a lunch closure usually between 1 pm and 2 pm.

Your TIMS card and most other permits can be obtained in Kathmandu upon arrival

Your card contains information like your country of residence, your trek route, your trek company, and a local emergency contact number.

So with this in mind, please note that you cannot apply for a TIMS card until you have the following:

You'll also need to supply the following:

You usually don't need a TIMS card if you're trekking in a restricted area like the Lower Dolpo or Nar–Phu region. Instead, you need to purchase a restricted-area trekking permit.

Some restricted areas charge a daily fee, others a weekly fee, and still others a combination of the two. Upper Mustang, for instance, requires $500 for the first 10 days, after which you're charged $50 for every subsequent day. (We list the permit fees per restricted area further on in this post.)

Restricted-area trekking permits are needed when you plan to walk in one of the following regions:

The Nar and Phu Valleys require a restricted-area permit

Your tour operator will obtain any restricted-area permits for you. You can't trek in a restricted area on your own.

This means that if you're a solo traveller wanting to visit a restricted area, you'll need to find a tour operator to put you with at least one other trekker wishing to hike the same route. That's something we at Follow Alice love doing – putting travel-loving strangers together on epic treks, and hearing about the awesome bonds that developed over the course of the adventure!

Every high-altitude trek in Nepal takes place within a national park or a conservation area. The Annapurna Circuit, for instance, takes place within the Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA). And the Everest Base Camp trek takes place almost entirely within Sagarmatha National Park.

The fee is also the same for every national park: NPR 3,000 (or around $25). You also pay the fee just once, regardless of how long you stay in the park. And no profile photos are required. All very easy and inexpensive.

It's incredibly affordable to trek in Nepal compared to many other countries

In terms of national parks, an entry permit is easy obtain. You can purchase it:

When paying the fee in advance, you're issued your permit on the spot, so there's no to-ing and fro-ing involved. How civilised.

To be allowed to enter a national park, you'll need to provide the following:

Similarly to national parks, you simply need to pay a once-off fee to obtain an entry permit for a conservation area. This fee is a super modest NRP 3,000 (or around $25). And again, your permit is issued on the spot.

The most famous – and largest – conservation area in Nepal is the Annapurna Conservation Area (as you can see in the map below).

Map of Nepal's national parks and conservation areas

You do, however, need to provide two passport-style photos of yourself to obtain the permit.

You can obtain a conservation area entry permit at:

While you can pay the fee at a checkpoint, you'll be charged double the usual amount. So it's better to organise it in advance at one of the above-mentioned offices.

The Annapurna mountains are part of the Annapurna Conservation Area

To be allowed to enter a conservation area, you'll need to provide the following:

Some municipalities charge trekkers an additional fee. Notably, those trekking to Everest Base Camp must purchase the Khumbu Rural Municipality Permit. At NRP 2,000 (or $17), this isn't a headache at all.

Aerial view of Namche Bazaar, an acclimatisation stopover point on the EBC trek

Municipality trekking permits are obtained at the checkpoint to each municipality. So no forward planning is needed for these. Though again, if you're trekking with a tour operator, any municipality trekking fees will be obtained on your behalf.

Let's now look at each of Nepal's most popular treks and what permits and fees are required for each to help you plan and budget. We've placed them in alphabetical order to help you scroll and find the ones that interest you.

* Please note that Nepali and SAARC citizens pay lower rates than those stated below.

Sunrise over Poonhill

Here's what you'll pay for permits and fees to do any one of the following Annapurna Conservation Area treks:

The Annapurna Circuit is one of the Nepal treks we offer at Follow Alice

And here's what you'll pay for the Nar–Phu and Annapurna Circuit trek:

The Nar–Phu and Annapurna Circuit is our newest Nepal trekking adventure

Finally, here's what you'll pay for the Upper Mustang trek:

The Upper Mustang trek takes you into an incredibly remote and culturally rich area

Here's what you'll pay for permits and fees for any of the following Everest Base Camp treks:

Our tech whiz Marco with friends on the EBC and Three Passes trek

Here's what you'll pay for permits and fees for the following treks inside Langtang National Park:

The scenery on the Helambu trek is very, very pretty

Here's what you'll pay for the Kanchenjunga Base Camp trek:

Here's what you'll pay to do the Kagmara La trek:

And here's what you'll pay for permits and fees to do any of these other treks inside Shey Phoksundo National Park:

Finally, here's what you'll pay to do the expensive Upper Dolpo trek:

To do the Makalu Base Camp trek, you should budget:

Here's what you'll pay to do the Manaslu Circuit trek:

And here's what you'll pay to do the Tsum Valley trek:

Sunrise over Mt Manaslu, the eighth-highest mountain in the world

You can look at Nepal's Department of Immigration website to check for any updates or further info with regards to trekking permits and fees.