Nepal just put trek permits online — and trekking without a guide now costs you
From March 2026 you can apply for Nepal's restricted-area permits online before you even land — and the fine for trekking without a licensed guide is now NPR 12,000. Here's the new system.
At a glance
- Published · updated
- TopicPermits & Rules
- Verified againstThe Kathmandu Post
- Treks coveredAnnapurna Circuit Trek — 14 Days, Manaslu Circuit Trek — 14 Days, Upper Mustang Trek — 12 Days
Two quiet changes in 2026 have reshaped how you get onto Nepal's trails — one that makes life easier, and one that makes going it alone genuinely costly. Nepal's restricted-area permits can now be applied for online from your home country, using a visa application number rather than an active visa (trekking permits themselves went digital back in February 2024, when the Department of Immigration retired a 70-year-old paper system), and at the same time the penalty for trekking without a licensed guide has teeth: a fine of up to NPR 12,000, removal from the trail, and a cancelled permit. Here is what changed.
For the Annapurna region specifically, the fees and what the online portal actually covers are set out in our ACAP permit and TIMS card guide.
From the trail · Mustang
Key facts
- Online permit applications launched March 2026 — apply from your home country
- Solo trekkers can now get restricted-area permits (with a licensed guide)
- Trekking without a required guide risks a fine up to NPR 12,000
- Penalties also include removal from the trail and a revoked permit
This was one of six changes to Nepal trekking rules and access during 2026. The consolidated list is in the autumn 2026 Nepal trekking briefing.
The good news: permits from your sofa
The Department of Immigration's new digital platform, live since March 2026, lets foreign trekkers apply for restricted-area permits online — using your approved Nepal tourist visa number — and pay the fees in advance, before you arrive. For anyone who has queued in a Kathmandu permit office, this is a real upgrade. Paired with the March rule change that scrapped the old two-person minimum, a single traveller can now arrange a restricted-area trek (Manaslu, Upper Mustang, Tsum, Dolpo, Kanchenjunga) from home — provided they trek with a licensed guide through a registered agency.
| Area | The new rule |
|---|---|
| Applications | Online, from home, pay in advance |
| Solo restricted permits | Allowed (with a licensed guide) |
| Guide requirement | Still mandatory on most routes |
| Penalty for no guide | Up to NPR 12,000 + removal + revoked permit |
The catch: going guideless is risky now
The flip side is enforcement. On the national-park and conservation-area trails — Annapurna, Langtang, most of the Everest region — a licensed guide is mandatory, and checkpoints do verify it. Get caught without one and you face a fine of up to NPR 12,000, can be turned off the trail, and may have your permit cancelled. A handful of low routes near Kathmandu (the Nagarkot ridge, Shivapuri's lower trails, day hikes like Champadevi) remain fine to walk independently — but the big treks are not.
What this means for you
The smart move in 2026 is simple: sort your permits and guide before you fly. When you book a trek with us, every permit your route needs — applied for online, paid in advance — and your licensed guide are included in one price, so you arrive ready to walk, with no queues, no fines and no surprises at the checkpoint.
Source: The Kathmandu Post; Nepal Department of Immigration; The Himalayan Times (fine set by NTB from 1 April 2023); Department of Immigration, Nepal.
Cover photo: travelwayoflife via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).
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