Do you need a guide?

The short answer

Plan on a licensed guide for any of the main treks inside the Annapurna Conservation Area. The Nepal Tourism Board requires one for a named list of protected-area routes, and it requires you to arrange that guide through a government-registered trekking agency. The agency issues the TIMS card that goes with the trek.

A friend who knows the trail does not meet the rule. A porter does not meet it either.

Two cases in this set of routes are different. The usual walk up Panchase stays outside the conservation area. And in September 2026 the Annapurna Conservation Area Project said a guide is not mandatory for travel to Jomsom, Muktinath, and Ghandruk. That is a short-trip exception. It does not take Poon Hill, Annapurna Base Camp, or the Circuit off the list.

Route	What applies
Annapurna Base Camp	Licensed guide required
Ghorepani / Poon Hill	Licensed guide required. A trip that only reaches Ghandruk is the short-visit exception
Mardi Himal	Licensed guide required
Khopra Danda	Licensed guide required
Annapurna Circuit	Licensed guide required
Tilicho Lake	Licensed guide required
Nar Phu Valley	Licensed guide required, plus a restricted-area permit
Panchase, usual hill route	Not required. The rule applies if you enter the conservation area

What the rule says

On 31 March 2023 the Nepal Tourism Board revised its TIMS rules. On specific routes inside protected areas, a trekker must be accompanied by a licensed trekking guide and must carry a TIMS card issued by a trekking agency.

The Annapurna routes on the Board’s list are:

• Annapurna Circuit
• Nar Phu with the Annapurna Circuit
• Mesokanto / Tilicho Pass
• Poon Hill–ABC
• Khopra
• Mardi Himal
• Sikleh Tara Hill

The Board’s instruction is to contact a government-registered agency, which arranges the guide and the card. The charge the Board publishes for that card is NPR 1,000 for SAARC nationals and NPR 2,000 for other foreign trekkers. Fees change. Treat those figures as the published rate, and confirm them when the agency applies.

The card is how the trek is registered: your name, the guide’s name, and the route. That is why an informal hire in Pokhara, the night before you leave, often fails the rule even when the person walking with you is excellent. The agency has to be able to put them on the card.

The September 2026 notice

On 27 September 2026 the Annapurna Conservation Area Project asked visitors to use a licensed guide on trekking routes in the conservation area. The reason given was practical: floods and landslides had made some trails risky. Reporting of that request is consistent on one limit. A guide is not mandatory for travel to Jomsom, Muktinath, and Ghandruk.

Read the place names narrowly.

Ghandruk is a village on the way to Poon Hill. Going to Ghandruk and turning around is the short trip ACAP named. Continuing to the viewpoint, or on toward Annapurna Base Camp, is the Poon Hill–ABC trek on the Tourism Board’s list.

Jomsom and Muktinath are often reached by road. A drive up, or a short walk from the road, is the exception. An Annapurna Circuit that passes through them is still a listed trek, and it still needs a licensed guide.

The same notice said entry permits for the conservation area were being issued again from noon that day, and only after staff had checked roads and weather. After heavy rain, confirm that permits are actually being issued for your trailhead before you leave Pokhara.

Panchase

The usual line up Panchase, through places such as Bhadaure and Panchase Bhanjyang, stays outside the Annapurna Conservation Area. There is no ACAP checkpoint on that hill, and the licensed-guide rule does not apply.

The moment the walk continues north into the conservation area, toward Australian Camp or Mardi Himal, you are on a route the rule covers. Check the line you will actually walk, not the name of the trip.

See the Panchase trek guide.

Nar Phu and other restricted areas

Nar Phu is on the Tourism Board’s guide list, and it is also a restricted area. You need a restricted-area permit on top of the Annapurna Conservation Area permit. Both are arranged through a registered agency.

On 22 March 2026 the Department of Immigration changed who can hold that permit. It can now be issued to one foreign trekker. Before that, restricted-area permits were only for groups of two or more. Travelling alone is allowed. Travelling without a licensed guide is not. The department also set a limit of one guide for up to seven trekkers, and it made the agency responsible for rescue. The same change covers Upper Mustang and the other restricted districts. Nar Phu is the restricted valley among the treks on this site.

See the Nar Phu Valley trek guide and Annapurna trekking permits.

Why people hire a guide anyway

The rule settles the legal question on the main treks. It does not describe what a good guide is for.

On Panchase, or on a night in Ghandruk, a local host is still the person who knows which homestay has space and where the path leaves the village. On Annapurna Base Camp, the Circuit, Tilicho, and Nar Phu the stakes are higher: sleeping elevation, a weather day at a pass, and a trail that is easy to misjudge once you are tired. A licence gets you through the checkpoint. Route experience is a separate question, and it is the one that changes the trek.

See How to choose a trekking guide.

A porter is not a guide

A porter carries the main pack so you walk with a day bag. A guide leads, sets the pace, and is the person named on the TIMS card.

Some trekkers hire one person as a porter-guide. That can work on a moderate route if the person holds a current trekking-guide licence and the agency can register them. A strong porter without that licence does not meet the rule, however well they know the trail.

Daily rates, and whether the quote includes the guide’s food and lodging, are covered in Annapurna trekking costs.

How to arrange one

Use a government-registered trekking agency. That is the path the Tourism Board describes, because the agency issues the TIMS card and, for Nar Phu, applies for the restricted-area permit.

Before you pay, agree:

1. The route and the dates, named specifically enough to match the permit.
2. That the guide is licensed, and will be the person on your card.
3. What the rate includes: the guide’s meals and bed, transport to the trailhead, and permits.
4. What happens to the fee if you turn back early because of weather or altitude.

Narayan is a licensed trekking guide. Tell us the route and the dates on the enquiry page, and we will check whether he can take the trek. A registered agency issues the TIMS card and the permits. That form does not book the trek.

Before you go

Match your route to the list, not to a package title. “ABC” and “Poon Hill–ABC” are covered. “A night in Ghandruk” is the short exception.

If the path might cross the conservation-area boundary, as Panchase can, decide the line first and then the paperwork.

For Nar Phu, budget the restricted-area permit and an agency even if you are the only trekker.

After heavy rain, ask whether ACAP is issuing permits for your entry point. The September 2026 notice tied new permits to a check of roads and weather.