Here's what a Manaslu Circuit trek really costs in 2026 now that solo trekkers can finally get the permit

A fully guided Manaslu Circuit trek costs roughly US$1,550 to US$2,100 per person in autumn 2026 — the lower figure if you walk in a group of eight, the higher one if you go solo with your own guide. That solo option is new: on 22 March 2026 Nepal scrapped the two-person minimum that used to make the Manaslu Restricted Area Permit impossible to buy alone. Here is the honest, line-by-line breakdown of where that money goes.

The permits: fixed by government, identical at every agency

Manaslu sits inside a restricted zone that only opened to trekkers in 1991, and the fees are set by the Department of Immigration and the conservation authorities — not by any operator, so they are the same whichever registered agency you book with. For the standard 14-day loop the restricted section, from Jagat to Dharapani, runs about a week, so most trekkers pay the US$100 RAP plus a couple of US$15 days if their itinerary runs longer. On top of that sit the Manaslu Conservation Area Permit and, because the trail exits over the Larke La into the Annapurna region, the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit — NPR 3,000 each, roughly US$20 apiece at late-2026 rates of about NPR 150 to the US dollar. Budget US$140 to US$180 in permits for a normal autumn itinerary.

Why solo just got cheaper — but not actually solo

Before March 2026 the RAP was issued only to a group of at least two people applying together. A lone traveller had to pair up or pay for a second permit they would never use, which quietly added a few hundred dollars and priced many solo walkers out. That minimum is gone across all of Nepal's restricted areas. The catch worth stating plainly: you still walk with a licensed guide from a registered agency. ‘Solo’ on Manaslu means you and your guide, not you and the trail. Anyone advertising a genuinely guideless Manaslu permit in 2026 is either mistaken or selling you a problem at the Jagat checkpoint.

What the rest of the trip actually costs

Permits are the smallest line item. The two real drivers are the guide's day-rate and the number of days you spend on the trail. TAAN sets minimum guide wages at roughly US$35 to US$50 a day for a restricted, high-altitude route like this, and that covers the guide's pay only — you also carry their food and lodging on the trail. A porter, carrying up to 20kg shared between two trekkers, adds US$20 to US$25 a day. Teahouse rooms are cheap low down and climb the higher and more remote you go, and once you add three meals, tea and a phone charge, most people spend US$30 to US$45 a day on food and a bed. Then there is transport: the jeep road now runs deep into the approach, so most trips begin with a long drive to Machha Khola and finish with a jeep out from Dharapani to Besisahar.

Figures are per person and exclude international flights, Kathmandu hotels, gear and travel insurance. A guide's cost is fixed per party, so it falls sharply the more people share it — the single biggest reason the same trek can vary by more than US$500 a head.

For the current rules across every restricted region, see our report on Nepal's 2026 solo restricted-area permit change, and the ACAP permit guide for the conservation fee you will also pay on the Larke La side.

Sources: Nepal Hiking Team, restricted-area permit update 2026; Himalayan Social Trek, Manaslu permit rules, March 2026 update.

Cover photo: Sunuwargr via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).