The TIMS Card in 2026: Where It's Gone, Where It Still Bites
Nepal's old paper trekking card has quietly vanished from Everest and Annapurna — but it is alive and enforced elsewhere. Here is what you actually need this year.
Key facts
- The old paper TIMS card is effectively gone on the two busiest regions — Everest (Khumbu) and Annapurna.
- In the Khumbu it is replaced by a local municipality fee and a digital trek card, paid at Lukla or Monjo.
- In the Annapurna, checkpoints now ask for your ACAP permit, not TIMS.
- TIMS is still required and enforced in Langtang, Manaslu, Kanchenjunga and the far west.
Few things confuse trekkers planning a 2026 Nepal trip more than the TIMS card — the Trekkers' Information Management System permit that, for years, every visitor needed before setting foot on a trail. The short version from the checkpoints this season: on the big two regions it has quietly disappeared, but do not assume it is dead everywhere. Here is what our guides are actually seeing at the gates in 2026.
Region by region
In the Everest region, the national TIMS card is no longer required. Since the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality began collecting its own local fee at Lukla and Monjo, you pay that fee (around NPR 2,000) plus the Sagarmatha National Park entry permit, and carry a digital trek card that is scanned at checkpoints instead of the old paper card.
In the Annapurna region, TIMS is still technically on the books, but in practice the checkpoints on the Annapurna Circuit and Annapurna Base Camp routes are verifying your ACAP — the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit, NPR 3,000 plus 13% VAT — and not asking for TIMS.
Where it still bites: Langtang, Manaslu, Kanchenjunga, Rara and the far-western routes still require TIMS. It is now issued digitally (e-TIMS) and only through a registered agency — the old green independent card that solo trekkers once bought over the counter no longer exists.
| Region | TIMS needed? | What you actually pay |
|---|---|---|
| Everest / Khumbu | No | Khumbu local fee + Sagarmatha NP |
| Annapurna | Not enforced | ACAP permit |
| Langtang | Yes | TIMS + Langtang NP |
| Manaslu | Yes | TIMS + restricted permit + MCAP |
| Kanchenjunga / Far West | Yes | TIMS + restricted / park fees |
What this means for trekkers
The practical takeaway
Do not waste a day queuing for a TIMS card you do not need — but do not skip one you do. The rule that has not changed: since 2023, solo foreign trekkers must walk with a licensed guide arranged through a registered agency on the main routes, and every permit is now issued digitally. Book through an agency and the correct permits for your specific route are simply handled for you.
One caution worth stating plainly: TIMS policy in Nepal shifts from season to season and is enforced unevenly between checkpoints. We update our advice as the gates change, so when in doubt, ask before you fly.
Sorting permits for a 2026 trek? The full breakdown lives on our permits page, and every Annapurna Base Camp and Everest Base Camp departure we run includes all permits, arranged for you.
Source: Nepal Tourism Board — TIMS; Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality local-fee notices; operator checkpoint reports, 2026.
Source: Nepal Tourism Board
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