Annapurna Circuit Trek Cost: Package Price and Daily Budget

What the Package Includes

The package covers everything you need to walk the route except food and personal costs.

• Local bus Road transport for the whole route

• A licensed trekking guide

• Teahouse rooms every night on the trek

• Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP)

• Airport transfers in Kathmandu

• Government taxes

What the Package Excludes

Meals are the biggest cost the package leaves out, followed by a porter and tips.

• Meals, drinks and snacks (USD 15 to 25)

• Porter (USD 250)

• Tips for your guide and porter

• Private bus

• Nepal visa and travel insurance

• Wi-Fi, Charging, Hot showers, beverages and other private expenses.

• Jomsom to Pokhara flight (Subject to change: USD 175)

Group of Four Budget

In a group of four, each person pays the lowest package rate for a small group and shares two porters and all the tips.

Solo Trekker Budget

A solo trekker pays the one-person package price and the full cost for the porter, if required.

The lower number in each range assumes a basic daily budget. The higher number assumes a comfort budget and porter hire.

The package covers your guide, rooms, permit and road transport, so your main extra costs are food, a porter, tips and a visa. The table below lists every cost you will meet on the trek. Each line is explained in its own section further down.

Image: Dinner during Annapurna Circuit Trail in Manang.

Plan to spend NPR 2,500 to 4,500 a day on the trail, which is about USD 17 to 30. Over 13 days, that adds up to NPR 32,500 to 58,500, or about USD 215 to 390. Meals take most of this money. The rest goes on tea, drinking water, phone charging, hot showers and Wi-Fi.

Your daily spend grows as you climb. Food and fuel in upper Manang and around Thorong La have to travel a long way up the valley, so the same meal costs more at 4,000 m than at 760 m. Expect your cheapest days near Besisahar and Chame and your most expensive days between Yak Kharka and Thorong Phedi.

Basic vs Comfort Spending

A basic budget of NPR 2,500 a day covers simple local food and essentials. A comfort budget of NPR 4,500 a day adds hot showers, Western food and Wi-Fi.

Dal bhat is the smartest choice for most trekkers. It is a full meal of rice, lentil soup and vegetable curry, and teahouses usually offer a second helping. It gives you steady energy for long days such as the 8 to 10 hour crossing of Thorong La.

The Annapurna Circuit needs only one permit, the Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP). It costs NPR 3,000 (about USD 20) for foreign trekkers and NPR 1,000 for citizens of SAARC countries, with VAT included. If you pay online, a 2.9% payment gateway charge is added. ACAP is already included in our package, so you do not pay it separately.

The TIMS card (Trekkers' Information Management System) is not needed on the Annapurna Circuit right now. Permit rules in Nepal can change from one season to the next, so we check them again before every season.

Image: Annapurna Conservation Area Project Permit

A licensed guide is required on the Annapurna Circuit, and the guide is already included in our package price. A porter is optional and costs USD 250 for the whole trek. One porter carries up to 20 kg and is shared by two trekkers, so each person pays USD 125. If you trek alone and want a porter, you pay the full USD 250.

A porter makes the hard days much easier. The longest days are the 7 hour walks to and from Tilicho Base Camp (4,150 m) and the 8 to 10 hour crossing of Thorong La (5,416 m). Carrying only a small day pack on these days lets you walk at a steady pace and save energy for the altitude. When two trekkers share a porter, each person's share of the load is about 10 kg, so pack with that limit in mind.

Tipping Your Guide and Porter

Tipping is customary on treks in Nepal, and guides and porters usually expect it, but it is not compulsory. How much you give is entirely your choice and can reflect how happy you are with their work. Tips are not part of the package price or the sample budgets on this page.

The range below is only a suggestion, and you are free to give more, less or a different amount.

In a group, many trekkers put their tips together and give them as one amount, which keeps it simple. A solo trekker can decide on an amount that feels right for the help they received.

You can give tips at the end of the trek in USD or NPR. If possible, hand them over to the each guide and porter personally.

All road transport on the trek is included in the package, so you only pay extra if you choose to fly. The road journey takes about 26 hours in total across four days: Kathmandu to Besisahar, Besisahar to Chame, Muktinath to Pokhara, and Pokhara to Kathmandu.

• Jomsom to Pokhara Flight Cost: USD 175 - subject to change

• Pokhara to Kathmandu Flight Cost: USD 105 - subject to change

Two flights can shorten the journey, but neither is included in the package. A flight from Pokhara to Kathmandu takes about 25 minutes instead of the 7-hour, 200 km drive. A flight from Jomsom to Pokhara takes 20 to 25 minutes and would replace most of the long drive down the Kali Gandaki Valley. Ask us for current fares, because they change often.

The Jomsom flight is not reliable. Small 19-seat planes fly only in the morning, because strong winds blow up the Kali Gandaki Valley in the afternoon, and delays are common. Charter planes and helicopters still operate when regular flights stop.

Carry enough cash for 2 to 3 extra days on the trail, which is about NPR 7,500 to 13,500. Delays happen on this trek even in the best season. Every extra day means paying for another night's food and drinks.

The autumn of 2026 showed why a buffer matters. Thorong La was closed by weather from 30 September to about 6 October 2026. When a pass or road closes, trekkers wait in teahouses until it reopens or return back the same way. You need to keep paying for food and drinks for any extra days.

Carry all the cash you need for the trek from Kathmandu or Besisahar, because Besisahar has the last reliable ATM on the east side of the circuit. Manang has an ATM, but it often does not work. The next ATM is in Jomsom, which you only reach after crossing Thorong La. Teahouses on the trail work mostly in cash, in Nepali rupees.

For a 13-day trek, take NPR 32,500 to 58,500 for daily spending, plus NPR 5,000 to 13,500 for 2 to 3 extra days. Add the cash for tips if you plan to pay them in rupees. Bring a mix of small and large notes, because small teahouses may not have change for big notes.

Do not plan to rely on your phone for payments or money transfers. NTC and Ncell mobile networks work in the lower villages, but the signal is unreliable above about 3,500 m, which covers the area from Manang to Thorong La.

The Annapurna Circuit Trek cost depends mostly on your group size, with packages from USD 480 to 1,020 per person. On top of that, plan for NPR 2,500 to 4,500 a day on the trail, a porter if you want one, a visa and insurance that covers 5,416 m. Tipping your guide and porter is customary, but the amount is always your choice. Buy your ACAP before you start, withdraw your cash in Kathmandu or Besisahar, and keep a few days of spare money for closures on the road or at Thorong La.