Nepal's 2026 Budget Bets Big on Far-West Trekking: New Danphe Route, Api Himal & the Great Himalayan Trail

The FY2026/27 budget puts Rs 7.34 billion into tourism and backs a string of new trekking routes across Nepal's remote far-west — the next frontier beyond crowded Everest and Annapurna.

LR By Laxman Rawal · Jun 27, 2026 · 3 min read

Api Himal and the remote far-western Himalaya of Nepal

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For a decade Nepal''s trekking economy has leaned on the same two regions — Everest and Annapurna. Nepal''s FY2026/27 national budget is the clearest sign yet that the government wants to change that, putting real money behind a string of new trekking routes across the remote far-west and beyond. For adventurous trekkers, it is an early map of where Nepal''s next great trails are being built.

Key facts

Rs 7.34 billion allocated to culture & tourism; Rs 2.93 billion to civil aviation
New trekking routes backed: the Danphe Route (Sudurpaschim & Karnali), Api Himal, Dordi Himal, Tinjure–Pathibhara, plus sections of the Great Himalayan Trail
New cycling trails planned in Gandaki Province
A new “wellness tourism” concept to attract higher-spending visitors
Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle: the aim is to draw high-value visitors via better Himalayan safety systems and aviation standards

The new routes — and where they are

Trekking routes backed in the FY2026/27 budget
Route	Region
Danphe Route	Sudurpaschim & Karnali (far-west)
Api Himal	Sudurpaschim (far-west)
Great Himalayan Trail (sections)	Across the Himalaya, east–west
Dordi Himal	Lamjung, Gandaki
Tinjure–Pathibhara	Eastern hills
Cycling trails	Gandaki Province

Api Himal, far-west Nepal — the new frontier the 2026 budget is backing.

Why the far-west, and why now

The far-west — Sudurpaschim and Karnali — holds some of Nepal''s most dramatic, least-walked mountains, yet sees a tiny fraction of the country''s trekkers. The budget push lines up with two other 2026 moves pointing the same direction: the government waived climbing royalties on 97 far-western peaks, and the prime-ministerial spotlight on Api Himal put the region on the national map. Around Api (7,132 m) and Saipal, a genuine trekking circuit is taking shape — see our Api Himal base-camp guide.

It is also a decongestion play. With Everest setting record permit numbers and the Annapurna trails busier every year, spreading visitors — and tourism income — into Karnali and Sudurpaschim is both a commercial and a community strategy. The budget pairs the routes with homestay expansion across Madhesh, Karnali and Sudurpaschim, aimed at Dalit and Indigenous communities.

What this means for trekkers

If you have already done Everest Base Camp and Annapurna, the far-west and the remote rain-shadow trails are the next frontier — empty, raw, and culturally distinct. The catch: infrastructure is still thin, so these routes reward going with an operator who knows them. The closest things on the ground today are the great remote circuits — Dolpo, Upper Mustang and Nar Phu — wild Karnali/trans-Himalayan trails that capture exactly what the budget is trying to grow.

Budgets are promises, not finished trails, and Nepal''s have a habit of outrunning delivery. But the direction is unmistakable: the next decade of Nepal trekking will be written in the far-west. The trekkers who go early will have it almost to themselves. We run the remote Dolpo, Mustang and Nar Phu circuits today — permits, licensed guide and logistics handled end to end.

Source: Government of Nepal FY2026/27 Budget (Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle), as reported by The Kathmandu Post and The Rising Nepal, June 2026.

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

Source: The Kathmandu Post

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