Mardi Himal trek cost for Nepali trekkers in NPR

The Mardi Himal trek costs a Nepali trekker roughly NPR 11,000 to 18,200 for the five-day trek from Pokhara, about NPR 14,600 in the middle, if you walk without a guide or porter. Food and lodging at NPR 2,000 to 3,000 a day (average 2,500) come to NPR 10,000 to 15,000, the ACAP entry fee is NPR 0 to 200 depending on the source, and the ride to Kande and back from Siding is a line we hold at NPR 1,000 to 3,000 because no verified fare exists. Foreigners pay NPR 3,000 for the same permit. A group of five splits the vehicle and any guide. Whether a guide is required for Nepali citizens is not settled in writing, so ask at the checkpoint. Prices and rules were checked on 21 October 2026; where sources conflict we show a range and say so.

How much does Mardi Himal cost for Nepali trekkers?

Mardi Himal is the budget favourite of the Annapurna region: a ridge walk from Pokhara with four nights in simple lodges and a viewpoint at about 4,500 m. Foreign-language guides price it in dollars with a NPR 3,000 permit and a guide. A Nepali trekker pays a much lower permit fee, and the lodge and food prices are the same for everyone. This table is for one Nepali trekker on the five-day plan in our Mardi Himal itinerary, with no guide and no porter. All figures are NPR.

The daily band comes from the same price tables behind our cost calculator. The road line is a placeholder, not a published fare. For the foreign-trekker view in dollars, with guide and porter, read our Mardi Himal cost breakdown.

Lodging on the ridge is simple. Our data puts a room in this band at NPR 500 to 1,200 and a dal bhat at NPR 700 to 1,200, and everything is carried up the ridge, so prices rise towards High Camp. Our guide to teahouse prices by altitude explains why. If your food bill runs above NPR 3,000 a day, the usual reasons are snacks, hot drinks and charging, not the dal bhat.

What is the ACAP fee for Nepali citizens?

Mardi Himal is inside the Annapurna Conservation Area, so the ACAP permit applies. Our ACAP permit guide explains what it covers. For Nepali citizens we found three different answers.

• Nepal Tourism Board: NPR 100 for Nepali citizens, NPR 1,000 for SAARC nationals and NPR 3,000 for foreigners (checked 21 October 2026). No VAT note is given.
• A 2026 operator page: Shikhar Adventure says Nepali citizens pay nothing if they show a national ID.
• An older guide: The Longest Way Home lists NPR 200 for Nepalis, and a foreigner price that has since changed.

We use the official page as the main figure and show NPR 0 to 200 as the range. The NTNC e-permit portal is the issuing body, but we could not read a Nepali fee from it, so confirm at the ACAP counter in Pokhara. Other guides note that a permit issued at a check post costs double for foreigners, so buy at the counter before you start. We do not know whether a Nepali pays double there and we do not guess.

TIMS. Nepali citizens do not need a TIMS card, so there is no TIMS line in the table. TIMS is for foreign trekkers (NPR 2,000, or NPR 1,000 for SAARC nationals). See the TIMS card explainer.

Carry your citizenship certificate and two passport photos. The permit paperwork checklist lists what the counter asks for.

Do Nepali trekkers need a guide for Mardi Himal?

The written rule does not mention Nepali citizens, so we can only report what it says. Our guide-rule record, last checked on 19 October 2026, reads: a licensed guide through a registered agency is required in restricted areas (Department of Immigration) and, under the Nepal Tourism Board rule of April 2023, in national parks and conservation areas, where 2026 operator reports say checkpoints enforce it in Annapurna and Langtang but not in Khumbu. Mardi Himal lies in the Annapurna Conservation Area. We found no notice that exempts Nepali citizens and none that applies the rule to them. Ask at the ACAP counter, show your citizenship certificate and write down the answer with the date. The guide rule page keeps the current position.

The trail is short, but the ridge is exposed and the last stretch from High Camp to the viewpoint is the highest part. Mardi Himal is short enough that many people carry a light pack and skip the porter, which is what the low and average columns assume. If you do hire a guide, Annapurna rates in our data are NPR 2,700 to 4,000 a day, from market ranges in 2026 operator guides with no official minimum found. Over five days that is NPR 13,500 to 20,000 for the guide, or NPR 2,700 to 4,000 each in a group of five. A porter is NPR 2,100 to 3,400 a day. See splitting guide and porter costs and guide versus porter roles.

How do you get to Kande and back?

The trek starts with a road ride from Pokhara to Kande, about an hour by road in our route data, and ends at Siding, from where a jeep or bus returns to Pokhara in about 2.5 hours according to operator itineraries. The Mardi Himal route does not finish where it starts, so arrange the pickup. Our guide to the Annapurna trailheads from Pokhara shows where each trek ends.

We found no published NPR fare for either leg. The only comparable figures are for Nayapul, which is the Poon Hill trailhead: a local bus is about NPR 200 to 300 in one guide and NPR 270 to 670 in our own table. We therefore hold the two legs at NPR 1,000 to 3,000 and tell you to agree a fixed price before leaving. The sources conflict and none is for this road, so use our figure only as a planning buffer. See jeep and bus costs to trailheads and shared jeep versus private jeep versus bus.

A private jeep costs the same for one trekker or five, so this is where a group saves most.

What does a group of five save?

A group of five still buys five permits, five beds and five meals a day. What sharing spreads is:

• The vehicle. One price to Kande, one pickup at Siding, divided by five.
• A guide. NPR 2,700 to 4,000 each in a group of five, against NPR 13,500 to 20,000 alone.
• A porter. One porter for two people halves the day rate.
• A buffer day. Weather on the ridge can close the view; a group can agree a spare day at the start.

Our cost calculator defaults to a group of five and shows each person's share.

Mardi Himal or Annapurna Base Camp, which is cheaper?

Mardi Himal is shorter, so it is cheaper by the days. Five days at NPR 2,500 is NPR 12,500; the seven days of Annapurna Base Camp are NPR 17,500. The difference, about NPR 5,000, is in lodging and food and is not a permit saving, because the ACAP fee is the same. Our Annapurna Base Camp cost for Nepali citizens post has the seven-day table, and Annapurna Base Camp versus Mardi Himal compares the two walks, with Poon Hill versus Mardi Himal as a third choice. See also cheapest treks in Nepal.

What else costs money?

Hot showers, device charging and Wi-Fi cost extra and rise with altitude; see hot showers, charging and Wi-Fi. A night in Pokhara before the walk is a real cost if you come from Kathmandu. We have no Nepali-specific price for these extras, so we do not invent one. A buffer of about 10 percent of the trek total, near NPR 1,500, is our rule of thumb, not a published rate. Carry rupees, because cards rarely work on the ridge. Insurance is the line we would not skip; see trekking insurance.

Where do you find people to share the trip with?

Our pillar guide, trekking in Nepal for Nepali citizens, covers the whole picture. To find a group, read how to find a trekking partner in Nepal safely. If you already have a date in mind, post a trip free on FindTrekkingPartner and other Nepali trekkers can ask to join; contact details stay hidden until both sides agree. Our trekking partner page explains the matching, and the Mardi Himal partner page lists the route.

What should you check before you go?

Rates change and Nepali figures are scattered. Before you go, confirm the ACAP fee at the counter, ask whether a guide is expected at the checkpoints, and agree a fixed price for the Kande and Siding legs. Take a citizenship certificate, photos and small notes. We will update this post when we find an official schedule that names Nepali citizens.