Nepal visas and trekking permits explained

Fees are payable in US dollars and some other major currencies. Cards are sometimes accepted, but machines and counters can be unreliable, so we suggest carrying the exact amount in clean US dollar notes. Your passport needs at least six months of validity and a blank page. A few nationalities cannot get a visa on arrival and must apply at a Nepali embassy before travel.

Visas can be extended at the Department of Immigration offices in Kathmandu and Pokhara for a daily fee, up to a yearly limit. Fees, forms and eligibility change from time to time, so check current status before you travel. We send every guest a short note on the latest rules a month before departure. Keep the visa receipt safe until you leave Nepal; overstays are charged per day at departure.

Indian nationals do not need a visa for Nepal. To board a flight and to clear immigration at Kathmandu, carry a valid Indian passport or a voter ID card (the Election Commission photo identity card). Other documents may be accepted for minors or at land borders, but for a smooth arrival by air we always recommend the passport. Airlines in India can be strict about identity documents, so check the rules with your carrier too.

Indian travellers also pay lower entry fees at many sites and parks as SAARC nationals: the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit, for example, is NPR 1,000 rather than NPR 3,000. Indian rupee notes of 100 and below are widely accepted in Nepal; rules on higher-denomination Indian notes have changed several times, so check current status before you travel rather than relying on ₹500 notes. Indian nationals travelling by road can cross at border points such as Sunauli for Bhairahawa and Lumbini, Raxaul for Birgunj and Rupaidiha for Nepalgunj; permits for Indian-registered cars are issued at the border customs office (check current status before you travel).

Nationals of most other SAARC countries have been eligible for a free tourist visa on arrival for their first visit of up to 30 days in a calendar year, paying the standard fee after that (check current status before you travel).

All fees are per person and per entry, and all of them change, so check current status before you travel. We arrange every permit for our guests in advance; you send us a passport copy and, for some permits, photographs. Keep phone photos of every permit as well, as checkpoints may ask to see them on the trail.

Any walk in the Annapurna Conservation Area needs an Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP). That includes the short walks from Pokhara to Dhampus and Australian Camp, the Poon Hill loop through Ghorepani and Ghandruk, and travel to Jomsom, Kagbeni and Muktinath in Lower Mustang. The fee is NPR 3,000 for foreigners and NPR 1,000 for SAARC nationals, valid for a single entry. Checkpoints along the trail record your details, so the permit stays with your guide in a waterproof pouch.

The TIMS card (Trekkers' Information Management System) is a registration record kept by the trekking authorities, used to know who is on which trail in case of an accident or a storm. Since 2023 it has been issued through registered trekking agencies, alongside the licensed guide requirement. The fee has changed several times, so check current status before you travel.

Day visits in and around Pokhara itself, such as Sarangkot, the World Peace Pagoda or a lakeside walk, need no permit. Our guides confirm before each walk whether it crosses into the conservation area. If you fly to Jomsom for a stay at Shinta Mani Mustang, the ACAP is still required, as Jomsom lies inside the conservation area.

Walking or staying overnight in the Khumbu needs two payments. The first is the Sagarmatha National Park entry fee, NPR 3,000 for foreigners, paid in Kathmandu or at the park gate at Monjo. The second is the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality fee, NPR 2,000, collected on arrival in the region. Since the municipality fee was introduced in 2018, a TIMS card has not been needed on the main Everest trails. Both rules can change, so check current status before you travel.

These fees apply to our short walk from Lukla to Namche Bazaar, to the Yeti Mountain Home lodge-to-lodge trek, and to anyone staying at Hotel Everest View. For a helicopter tour, the operator tells us which fees apply to your landing points. An Everest mountain flight, which never lands, needs no permit at all.

Make sure your travel insurance covers walking to the altitude on your itinerary and helicopter evacuation, as most of the Khumbu has no road access and rescue is by air.

North of Kagbeni, the former kingdom of Lo is a restricted area. To enter Upper Mustang, including the walled capital of Lo Manthang at about 3,840 m, foreigners need a restricted area permit costing USD 500 per person for the first 10 days and USD 50 per person for each extra day. It can only be issued through a registered Nepali trekking agency, with a licensed guide, for a group of at least two travellers. You also need an ACAP, because Upper Mustang lies within the Annapurna Conservation Area.

The permit is issued in Kathmandu by the Department of Immigration before departure, so we need passport scans and fixed travel dates well ahead. It is checked at Kagbeni and again on the way north. The permit names the dates and the members of the group, so changes after issue are difficult. Lower Mustang, including Jomsom, Marpha, Kagbeni and Muktinath, needs only ACAP and TIMS.

Our 10-night Mustang journey based at Shinta Mani Mustang in Jomsom includes three nights in Lo Manthang, so the permit is built into the trip. Fees and group rules change, so check current status before you travel.

Since April 2023, foreign trekkers in most of Nepal's national parks and conservation areas must walk with a government-licensed guide arranged through a registered agency. Independent solo trekking on routes such as Poon Hill is no longer allowed for most foreign nationals. Enforcement has varied by area, and the Khumbu's local authority has at times taken its own position, so check current status before you travel.

For our guests the rule changes little. Every walk we plan, from a two-hour village walk above Dhulikhel to nine nights in the Khumbu, is led by a licensed guide, with porters carrying your bags. The guide also holds your permits and handles checkpoint paperwork. A short checklist:

• Passport valid for at least six months, with a blank page
• Scans of passport and visa sent to us at least three weeks before travel
• Travel insurance that names walking to your highest altitude and helicopter rescue
• Exact US dollar notes for the visa on arrival
• For Upper Mustang, at least two travellers and dates fixed well in advance