What you'll pay for ACAP + TIMS in 2026 (NPR + USD), where to get them in Pokhara and Kathmandu, what happens at the check-post, and the one fee you can avoid.
If you're planning an Annapurna Base Camp trek for 2026, you need exactly two permits. Not three, not one. The ops team has answered the same five-line email from trekkers a dozen times this season — here's the consolidated answer.
Mandatory for any trek inside the Annapurna conservation area, including ABC, the Annapurna Circuit, Mardi Himal, Khopra, and Tilicho. Fee structure for 2026:
All prices include VAT. Online payment via the NTNC ePermit portal adds a 2.9% gateway fee; counter payments are exact.
Two counters: NTNC Tourist Service Centre in Kathmandu (Bhrikuti Mandap, next to the Tourism Board) and the Pokhara branch (Damside, five minutes' walk from Lakeside). Both open Sunday to Friday, 10:00 to 17:00. Bring your passport plus two passport-size photos; you'll walk out with the permit in 15 minutes.
You can also do it online at epermit.ntnc.org.np — register, upload a passport scan, pay by Visa/MasterCard, receive the PDF by email. Print it or show it on your phone at the trailhead.
Permits issued at the trailhead check-posts cost double. Pay NPR 6,000 at Birethanti, Dhampus phedi, or Besisahar — or pay NPR 3,000 in Pokhara the morning before. The check-post double-fee is not negotiable. We've watched trekkers argue; the check-post staff have heard it all before.
The TIMS mandate has been on-and-off in the Annapurna region for three consecutive trekking seasons. In 2024 it was officially suspended for ACAP-covered areas. In 2025 the Tourism Board reinstated it. In 2026 enforcement is inconsistent — some check-posts ask, some don't.
Our position: get one anyway. The independent-trekker ("Green") TIMS costs NPR 2,000 for foreigners, NPR 1,000 for SAARC nationals. That's USD 15. The cost of arguing with a check-post officer who decides today they care is higher than that.
If you've booked the trek through a TAAN-licensed agency, you get the "Blue" TIMS instead — issued by the agency, usually bundled into the package price.
You'll pass through ACAP check-posts twice — at Birethanti (outbound) and again on your return, plus an internal log at Chhomrong. Staff stamp your permit, log your name in a paper register, let you through. Total time at each: 90 seconds if you have everything ready.
Carry the printed ACAP permit, your TIMS card, your passport (or a colour copy), and have your insurance details on your phone. If you lose any of these on trail, you pay the full re-issuance fee at the next ACAP office — no replacement discount.
For one foreign national trekking ABC in 2026, permits cost NPR 5,000 total (~USD 38) — ACAP NPR 3,000 + TIMS NPR 2,000. That's roughly 2% of a typical 9-day budget. Don't try to save here; the check-post double-fee is the most predictable way to waste money on this trek.