Trekking in Pokhara: routes, permits and how to plan

Why Pokhara is the base for Annapurna trekking

Pokhara sits at roughly 820 metres beside Phewa Lake, directly south of the Annapurna massif. It has a domestic airport, a long road link to Kathmandu, and short drives to a ring of trailheads — Nayapul, Birethanti, Kande, Phedi, the Ghandruk roadhead and the Sarangkot road. Trekkers use it to arrive, buy or rent equipment, arrange permits and a guide, and reach the start of the walk the same day or the next morning.

Almost every route below begins, ends, or both, in Pokhara. They are ordered from a half-day walk to a two-week traverse. Read the full day-by-day plan on each route page before fixing a schedule — the headline number of days hides how much climbing and altitude a route involves.

Missing famous short walks like Ghandruk, Dhampus and Panchase? They run on the same trails and permits as Poon Hill — ask a registered agency to build one to your days.

Trekking routes in the Annapurna region lie inside the Annapurna Conservation Area, so entry requires an ACAP permit issued by the National Trust for Nature Conservation. Separately, Nepal Tourism Board keeps a list of routes that require a licensed guide and an agency-issued TIMS card — several Annapurna routes are on it. The two systems are independent: you can need ACAP entry, TIMS, or both.

• ACAP permit — all Annapurna routes, including the short ridge walks. Fees differ for foreign, SAARC and Nepali nationals.
• TIMS card + licensed guide — on the listed routes (Poon Hill–ABC, Mardi Himal, Khopra, Annapurna Circuit and more), arranged through a government-registered agency.
• Restricted-area permits — not needed for the standard Pokhara routes; they apply to Manaslu, Upper Mustang and similar.

Fees and the guide rule have changed more than once in recent years, so budget from the live pages, not an old blog: Nepal Tourism Board TIMS, NTNC ACAP, Department of Immigration. Full detail in the permits guide.

The two clear-weather windows — mid-autumn and spring — are also the busiest. A cloudy morning on any viewpoint is normal, not a failed trek. Higher routes hold snow into spring and from early winter.

How hard are the treks?

Our difficulty scale combines trail length, consecutive days, altitude and how remote a route is — from Level 1 (a lakeside afternoon) to Level 5 (a 5,400 m pass). Your fitness, the weather and how you acclimatise can make the same route feel very different.

Above about 2,500 m, treat feeling unwell as possible acute mountain sickness until proven otherwise, and do not climb higher while symptoms are present. Above 3,000 m, limit gains in sleeping altitude and build in acclimatisation days. The difficulty guide and altitude notes go into detail.

What a trek from Pokhara costs

The cost of a Pokhara trek is built from a few parts:

• Permits — the ACAP permit and, where required, the TIMS card are fixed government fees, higher for foreign nationals than SAARC or Nepali citizens.
• Guide and porter — paid a daily rate; a porter is optional on teahouse routes but has an agreed weight limit.
• Teahouses — a room per night plus menu prices for meals; hot showers, charging and Wi-Fi cost extra and rise with altitude.
• Transport — bus or jeep to and from the trailhead; a flight for Everest-region add-ons.
• Gear — down jackets and sleeping bags can be rented in Pokhara rather than flown in.

We do not publish package prices — this is a planning guide, not an agency. A government-registered trekking agency will give you a current all-in figure for your exact route and dates. Short routes keep every one of these lines small.