The menu in a high teahouse lists the same dal bhat, noodle soup and black tea you ordered lower down, only dearer. Up there, the rice, the cooking gas and the bottled drinks all came up the trail on a porter's back or a pack animal, and the bill shows it.
By Uncover Nepal Team · Checked by our Kathmandu travel team · Last checked 2 November 2026
The cost of trekking in Nepal is the sum of a few lines: permits, transport, rooms and meals, a guide and porter, gear, insurance and spare days. Our five trek cost guides estimate a whole trek at about USD 290 to 2,669 per person. These are market estimates, not our prices. For the wider trip, see our Nepal travel guide.
Key facts
- Everest region entry
- Sagarmatha National Park NPR 3,000 plus Khumbu Trek-Card NPR 3,000: NPR 6,000, about USD 39, for a foreign trekker (NTB; Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality (2 Nov 2026))
- Annapurna Conservation Area permit
- NPR 3,000 foreign, NPR 1,000 SAARC; double at a trail checkpost (NTNC e-permit portal; NTB (2 Nov 2026))
- Teahouse room
- About NPR 500 to 800 a night lower down, NPR 800 to 1,500 higher up (Third Rock Adventures, May 2026 (2 Nov 2026))
- Kathmandu to Lukla flight
- About USD 236 to 254 one way, foreign passport (Market range, not our price: Nepal Hiking, Oct 2026; The Everest Holiday, Sep 2026 (2 Nov 2026))
- TAAN standard wages (staff pay)
- NPR 3,100 a day for a guide, NPR 2,400 for a porter (Onlinekhabar, 20 Jun 2023 (2 Nov 2026))
- Exchange rate used
- NPR 152.23 to USD 1 (Nepal Rastra Bank sell rate, 1 Nov 2026 (2 Nov 2026))
In this guide
- What makes up the cost of trekking in Nepal?
- How much do trekking permits cost in each region?
- How much does it cost to reach the trailhead?
- What do teahouse rooms and meals cost, and why do prices rise with altitude?
- Which extras add up on the trail?
- What does a guide or porter cost in Nepal?
- What does trekking gear cost to rent?
- Do you need travel insurance, and what does a rescue cost?
- What does the Nepal visa cost?
- How do our five trek cost guides compare?
- How should you carry money and budget for delays?
- How can you trek in Nepal cheaply without cutting corners?
- Frequently asked questions
- Plan your trek
What makes up the cost of trekking in Nepal?
Almost every trek budget has the same lines: permits, transport to the trailhead and back, a room each night, meals, small extras such as showers and charging, a guide and porter, gear and insurance. Add the visa if you need one, and a spare day. Flights and the number of days you walk move the total most.
Permits, transport, insurance and the visa are paid once. Room, food, extras and staff wages are paid every day you walk, which is why a day lost to weather is never free.
What do trekkers spend per day?
One 2026 planner puts a budget trekker with no guide at about NPR 3,000 to 5,000 a day, roughly USD 20 to 33, and a mid-range trekker at NPR 5,000 to 8,000, roughly USD 33 to 53. Another agency guide puts room and meals alone at about USD 25 to 40 a day in the lower Annapurna, rising to USD 35 to 65 in the Everest region (Nepal Hiking Team, October 2026). A guide and porter come on top.
How much do trekking permits cost in each region?
Most teahouse treks need one or two entry permits, and the main park and conservation-area permits cost NPR 3,000 each for a foreign trekker. Restricted areas such as Manaslu and Upper Mustang add a permit priced in US dollars by the week or the day. SAARC nationals, including Indian trekkers, pay less for park and conservation-area entry.
| Region or trek | Permit | Foreign trekker | SAARC national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everest (Everest Base Camp, Gokyo) | Sagarmatha National Park entry | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,500 |
| Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Trek-Card | NPR 3,000 | NPR 2,000, also for China | |
| Annapurna (Annapurna Base Camp, Annapurna Circuit, Poon Hill, Mardi Himal) | Annapurna Conservation Area permit (ACAP) | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,000 |
| Poon Hill viewpoint local ticket | NPR 150 | not stated | |
| Langtang | Langtang National Park entry | NPR 3,000 | NPR 1,500 |
| Manaslu Circuit | Manaslu Conservation Area permit (MCAP) plus ACAP, as the route ends in the Annapurna area | NPR 3,000 each | NPR 1,000 each |
| Restricted-area permit | Sep to Nov: USD 100 first week, then USD 15 a day. Dec to Aug: USD 75 first week, then USD 10 a day | same | |
| Local rural municipality fee | we arrange it | ||
| Tsum Valley (from Manaslu) | Its own restricted-area permit | Sep to Nov: USD 40 a week plus USD 7 a day. Dec to Aug: USD 30 a week plus USD 7 a day | same |
| Upper Mustang | Restricted-area permit, plus ACAP | USD 50 per person per day | same |
Official fees, checked 2 November 2026. The Poon Hill ticket is the municipal fee reported in the Nepali press in 2025.
What the table does not show
- Everest in dollars. The two Everest fees come to NPR 6,000, about USD 39. The Trek-Card is issued in Lukla with your passport and a recent photo, in about 15 minutes.
- Buy conservation-area permits before you go. The permit portal of the National Trust for Nature Conservation says: "Double fees will be charged for permits issued at Check-Posts." Paying online adds a 2.9% gateway charge; the counter adds nothing.
- Restricted areas. The permit is issued only through a registered trekking agency, and a licensed guide must accompany you. Since 22 March 2026 a solo trekker can be issued one.
We arrange the permits your trek needs before you start. For what each covers, read our Nepal trekking permits guide.
How much does it cost to reach the trailhead?
Getting to the start can be your cheapest line or your dearest. A shared jeep seat to a trailhead near Pokhara costs a few US dollars, while operators report a one-way Lukla flight on a foreign passport at about USD 236 to 254. Domestic airlines also charge foreign passport holders more than Nepali citizens on the same flight.
| Route | Option | Market range, one way (not our prices) |
|---|---|---|
| Kathmandu to Lukla (Everest) | Flight | About USD 236 to 254 |
| Ramechhap (Manthali) to Lukla | Flight | About USD 188 to 209 |
| Kathmandu to Pokhara | Flight (about 30 minutes) or tourist bus (often six to nine hours) | About USD 80 to 150 by air, USD 10 to 25 by bus |
| Kathmandu to the Langtang trailheads (Syabrubesi, Thulo Syabru) | Shared jeep seat or local bus | About USD 15 to 20 by jeep, USD 5 to 12 by bus |
| Kathmandu to Machha Khola (Manaslu) | Shared jeep seat or bus | About USD 15 to 40 by jeep, USD 10 to 20 by bus |
| Pokhara to Kande (Mardi Himal) | Shared jeep seat | About USD 5 to 8 |
Sources: Nepal Hiking (October 2026), The Everest Holiday (September 2026) and Nepal Hiking Team (July 2026) for the Lukla and Ramechhap fares; PriceNepal (May 2026), HopNepal (April 2026), Himalayan Hero (January 2026) and Nepal Hiking Team (October 2026) for Pokhara and Langtang; our Manaslu, Mardi Himal and Annapurna Base Camp cost guides for the other rows. Airlines revise fares with fuel prices.
The Everest flight, honestly
In the busiest months many Lukla flights leave from Ramechhap (Manthali), not Kathmandu, and every one depends on the weather. This autumn they have run from Manthali since about 29 September 2026. The road from Kathmandu is about 130 km, usually four to five hours, starting before dawn, and a detour may add hours in late 2026, so ask us for the current drive time. The Ramechhap fare is lower, but the drive is part of the cost. More in our Lukla airport guide.
"Internal flights in high mountain areas can be delayed by poor weather conditions and cancellations are common."
UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Nepal travel advice, accessed 2 November 2026
On the Annapurna side, regular Pokhara to Jomsom flights were suspended in October 2026, with no restart date announced, so plan to leave the Annapurna Circuit by road.
What do teahouse rooms and meals cost, and why do prices rise with altitude?
A teahouse is a family-run trail lodge with simple rooms and a shared dining room. A basic room costs about NPR 500 to 800 a night lower down and NPR 800 to 1,500 higher up. Agency guides put food and drink at USD 25 to 50 a day. Prices climb with altitude because supplies above the road are carried up.
Meal prices roughly double between the lower villages and the high lodges. Dal bhat, the rice, lentil and vegetable set meal, costs about NPR 500 to 800 low on the trail and NPR 1,000 to 1,200 or more at the highest teahouses. One operator's 2026 menus on the Annapurna Circuit show the pattern:
| Item | Chame (lower) | Thorong High Camp (last lodge before the pass) |
|---|---|---|
| Black tea | NPR 100 | NPR 200 |
| Dal bhat | NPR 800 | NPR 1,200 |
So the days just below a pass or a base camp cost the most, and most of your daily spend goes on food rather than the room. On the Everest trail, Lobuche and Gorak Shep are the dearest stops.
Which extras add up on the trail?
Small paid extras add up over a long trek. A hot shower usually costs a few hundred rupees, more higher up. Charging, Wi-Fi and drinking water are paid in most lodges, and all cost more the higher you sleep. A power bank, a water bottle and purification tablets cut most of this, and keep plastic off the trail.
| Extra | Typical market price (not ours) |
|---|---|
| Hot shower | About NPR 300 to 700 (Third Rock Adventures, May 2026) |
| Charging a phone or battery | About NPR 100 to 500 a time, highest at altitude |
| Lodge Wi-Fi | Around NPR 300 to 500 a session |
| Boiled or filtered water | About NPR 100 to 250 a litre lower down, up to about NPR 450 at Gorak Shep |
| Bottled water above 4,000 m | About NPR 300 to 500 a litre |
Around Everest, many trekkers buy an Everest Link data card instead of lodge Wi-Fi; it is reported at about USD 20 to 30 for 10 to 20 GB, valid 30 days.
What does a guide or porter cost in Nepal?
Hiring through an agency, trekkers typically pay about USD 25 to 45 a day for a licensed guide and USD 15 to 35 for a porter. Those are agency rates to the trekker. What staff are paid follows the standard wages set by TAAN, the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal, from 17 July 2023.
| Staff role | TAAN standard daily wage | About, in USD at 1 Nov 2026 rate |
|---|---|---|
| Guide | NPR 3,100 | USD 20 |
| Assistant guide | NPR 2,800 | USD 18 |
| Porter-guide | NPR 2,500 | USD 16 |
| Porter | NPR 2,400 | USD 16 |
"the rates have now been standardised to ensure equal pay across all trekking regions"
Onlinekhabar English, 20 June 2023
Ask any agency, us included, what its day rate covers beyond the wage. A guide's rate is shared across the group, so it weighs less per person when two or more of you walk together. A porter is optional.
Whether a guide is required depends on where you walk: the Nepal Tourism Board says foreign independent trekkers should walk with a licensed guide, under a rule in force from 1 April 2023; in the Everest region, the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality says a guide is not compulsory in the Khumbu and issues its Trek-Card to solo trekkers. In restricted areas a licensed guide is required. A licensed guide walks with you on every trek we run. See our guide to hiring a guide and porter and our solo trekking guide.
What does trekking gear cost to rent?
Renting is the cheapest way to cover bulky warm kit you will use once. Shops in Thamel, Kathmandu's trekking district, rent sleeping bags and down jackets for roughly NPR 200 to 400 a day each, usually against a deposit, and trekking poles for about NPR 100 to 200. Buy or bring anything that touches your feet.
Worth renting: a sleeping bag for the coldest night on your route, a down jacket, trekking poles.
Bring from home:
- Boots you have walked in for weeks
- Socks and base layers
- Headtorch, water bottle, purification tablets, power bank
Check zips, loft and size in the shop before you pay.
Do you need travel insurance, and what does a rescue cost?
Yes. Get travel insurance that covers trekking at the altitude you will reach and helicopter evacuation. Premiums vary with age, nationality, trip length and maximum altitude, so we do not quote one, and we do not sell insurance. The UK Foreign Office prices a helicopter evacuation by the flying hour, as below.
"This usually costs between £1,000 and £2,000 or more per flying hour."
UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Nepal travel advice (Health), on helicopter evacuation, updated 1 October 2026
Before you buy:
- Check the maximum altitude covered against the highest point of your trek.
- Check that helicopter evacuation is named in the policy.
- With an existing medical condition, see your doctor before a trek at altitude.
Our travel insurance guide covers this in more detail.
What does the Nepal visa cost?
The visa is your own arrangement; we give it here as information only. Nepal's tourist visa on arrival (multiple entry) costs USD 30 for 15 days, USD 50 for 30 days and USD 125 for 90 days. Indian nationals do not need a visa.
An extension costs USD 45 for the first 15 days and USD 3 for each extra day. Indian nationals need an accepted photo ID, such as a passport or an Election Commission of India card (NTB lists a few others); the Aadhaar card is not accepted. Check the official page, Nepal Tourism Board: tourist visa, before you travel. International flights are also your own arrangement; once you land in Kathmandu, we take over.
How do our five trek cost guides compare?
Our five trek cost guides put a whole trek at about USD 290 to 785 for Mardi Himal at the low end and USD 1,375 to 2,669 for Everest Base Camp at the high end. They do not all count the same things: three include the Nepal visa and two do not. They are market estimates, not our package prices.
| Trek | Bottom line per person (estimate, not our price) | What the total covers | Visa included? | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everest Base Camp | About USD 1,375 to 2,669 | 12 trail days from Lukla, independent trek with a guide | Yes | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Annapurna Base Camp | About USD 496 to 1,508 | 8 days from Pokhara, bus from Kathmandu included | Yes | 4 Oct 2026 |
| Annapurna Circuit | About USD 720 to 1,487 | 12 days from Kathmandu | No | 27 Oct 2026 |
| Manaslu Circuit | About USD 1,019 to 2,256 | 14 days from Kathmandu | Yes | 8 Oct 2026 |
| Mardi Himal | About USD 290 to 785 | Five walking days from Pokhara, bus from Kathmandu included; hotels not included | No | 28 Oct 2026 |
To compare like with like, take the visa off: USD 50 from both ends of the Everest Base Camp and Manaslu figures, and USD 30 from the low end and USD 50 from the high end of the Annapurna Base Camp figures, which use the 15-day and 30-day visa. Four of the guides also count tips for the guide and porter; the Mardi Himal guide does not. Each guide converts rupees at the rate on its own checking day, so small differences are partly the exchange rate.
How should you carry money and budget for delays?
Plan to pay for almost everything above the road head in Nepali rupees, in cash. Draw or change what you need in Kathmandu or Pokhara before you set off, and do not plan around finding a working cash machine on the trail. Keep money back for at least one spare day, because weather delays on mountain routes are common.
Nepal Rastra Bank's dollar selling rate was NPR 152.23 on 1 November 2026; check the current rate before you change money.
- Multiply your daily spend for the route (room, food, extras) by your trail days.
- Add a day or two at the same rate.
- Draw that total in rupees, including small notes for tea, water and charging.
Weather can close the Lukla runway for days: in October 2023 flights were cancelled five days in a row. Each extra day costs about USD 35 to 65 for room and meals in the Everest region, plus a guide's day rate.
How can you trek in Nepal cheaply without cutting corners?
The honest way to trek cheaply in Nepal is to choose a shorter route near Pokhara, travel by road where a road exists, buy permits before the trail and share a guide between two or more trekkers. Of our five cost guides, Mardi Himal has the lowest bottom line. Do not save on insurance, rest days or fair wages.
Ways to save that do not cost you safety
- Pick a short trek with road access. Treks near Pokhara have cheap jeep transfers, and the ACAP permit is the main fee. Ghorepani Poon Hill, topping out at 3,210 m, is one; our guide to easy treks in Nepal covers more.
- Take the bus where it makes sense. The tourist bus to Pokhara costs a fraction of the flight, at the price of most of a day.
- Carry water and purification tablets instead of buying bottled water up high.
- Rent bulky warm gear in Thamel rather than buying it for one trip.
Where not to save
- Insurance. One helicopter hour can cost more than a whole short trek.
- Fair pay. TAAN standard wages are what staff should be paid, so a price that cannot cover them is a warning sign.
- Rest days. An acclimatisation day costs a night's room and a day's food, and it is the cheapest safety you will buy.
Altitude illness can start from about 2,450 m. To stay safe:
- Go up slowly. Above 3,000 m, do not raise your sleeping height by more than about 500 m a night.
- Take a rest day every three or four days.
- Walk slowly, "bistarai, bistarai", and drink enough water, with no alcohol early on.
- Know the symptoms: headache, nausea, tiredness, poor sleep.
- Never go higher with symptoms. If they get worse, go down.
- Ask your doctor about preventive medicine before you travel.
Garlic soup is a comforting local habit that helps you drink more, not a proven cure. More in how to avoid altitude sickness.
Frequently asked questions
How much does trekking in Nepal cost overall?
Our five trek cost guides estimate a whole trek at about USD 290 to 785 for five days on Mardi Himal and about USD 1,375 to 2,669 for Everest Base Camp. These are market estimates, not our package prices, and some include the visa while others do not.
Are domestic flights in Nepal reliable for treks?
Not reliably on time. The UK Foreign Office warns that mountain flights can be delayed by poor weather and cancellations are common. In October 2024 more than 1,300 foreign tourists were stranded at Manthali after two days without Lukla flights. In the busiest months many Lukla flights leave from Ramechhap and depend on the weather. Build in a day or two of spare time.
How fit do I need to be for a Himalayan trek, and how should I prepare?
You need to walk most of the day, several days running, on steep ground. Fitness helps, but it does not protect you from altitude sickness; slow ascent does. As a baseline, the NHS recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity a week plus strengthening on two days. Add long hill walks with your daypack, and see your doctor first if you have a medical condition.
What is the cheapest trek in Nepal?
Of the five treks our cost guides cover, Mardi Himal has the lowest bottom line, about USD 290 to 785 per person for five days from Pokhara, without the visa or hotels. Short treks near Pokhara stay cheap: the jeep costs a few dollars and the ACAP permit is the main fee. Ghorepani Poon Hill is another short option there.
How much should I budget per day on a trek in Nepal?
One 2026 budget planner puts a budget trekker without a guide at about NPR 3,000 to 5,000 a day, roughly USD 20 to 33, and a mid-range trekker at NPR 5,000 to 8,000, roughly USD 33 to 53. Room and meals alone run to about USD 35 to 65 a day around Everest; a guide and porter come on top.
Plan your trek
Browse all our treks in Nepal, or look at the Ghorepani Poon Hill trek for a short first trek. We arrange the in-country permits, and a licensed guide walks with you on every trek we run; your visa, international flights and insurance are your own arrangements. Ask us on WhatsApp or through the enquiry form with your dates and group size, and we will tell you honestly what your trek will cost. For the rest of your trip, go back to our Nepal travel guide.
