Manaslu Circuit Trek Cost: Budget Breakdown

Quick answer: The Manaslu Circuit Trek costs US$750 to US$1,150 per person with Places Nepal, a local agency in Kathmandu, for the full 12-day itinerary including all permits, a licensed guide, teahouse accommodation, three meals a day, and ground transport. Joining a fixed group departure is the cheapest way to trek Manaslu (from US$750 per person in larger groups). A fully private trek for one person costs US$1,150. The same trek with an international operator typically runs US$2,200–$3,000.

We are a TAAN-registered trekking agency based in Kathmandu, and our guides walk this circuit every season. The prices below are the actual 2026 rates we charge — not estimates — plus honest numbers for everything the package doesn't cover, so you can budget the whole trip without surprises.

Trek the Manaslu Circuit Trek

A remote and off-the-beaten-path Himalayan adventure in Nepal. The trek covers roughly 160 km (100 miles) and involves 5–7 hours of hiking per day through villages, forests, and the Larkya Pass

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How Much Does the Manaslu Circuit Trek Cost? (At a Glance)

All Places Nepal prices above are for the standard 12-day Manaslu Circuit itinerary — roughly 160 km (100 miles) from Machha Khola to Dharapani, crossing Larke Pass (Larkya La) at 5,106 m. Permits, guide, teahouse beds, all meals on the trek, and Kathmandu–trailhead transport are included. Personal expenses like drinks, hot showers, Wi-Fi, tips, and insurance are not — we break those down further below (budget an extra $150–$250 for the whole trek).

Trek the Manaslu Circuit Trek

A remote and off-the-beaten-path Himalayan adventure in Nepal. The trek covers roughly 160 km (100 miles) and involves 5–7 hours of hiking per day through villages, forests, and the Larkya Pass

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Group Joining vs. Private Trek: Which Costs Less?

This is the single biggest decision affecting your Manaslu Circuit trek price, so let's be straightforward about it.

Group Joining Price (Fixed Departures)

If you're a solo traveler or a couple, joining one of our fixed group departures is the cheapest way to do the Manaslu Circuit — you save up to 10% and share the group rate with other trekkers on the same date. Depending on how many people end up in the departure, the group joining price lands between US$750 and US$980 per person. Departures run through the main trekking seasons: March, April, and May in spring, and September, October, and November in autumn.

The trade-off is honest: you trek on set dates with people you haven't met yet, and the itinerary is fixed. Most trekkers find the group energy is actually a highlight — especially on the 3:00 AM Larke Pass morning.

Private Trek Price

A private trek means your own guide, your own dates, and your own pace. The per-person price drops as your group grows:

So a couple pays $980 each privately — the same as the standard group rate — which is why most pairs simply book private. Solo trekkers pay the $1,150 single rate because the guide, transport, and logistics costs aren't shared with anyone. If that stretches your budget, join a departure instead and the price comes down immediately.

Our honest advice: traveling alone on a tight budget → group joining. Two or more of you, or you want acclimatization flexibility → private. The mountain is the same either way.

Trek the Manaslu Circuit Trek

A remote and off-the-beaten-path Himalayan adventure in Nepal. The trek covers roughly 160 km (100 miles) and involves 5–7 hours of hiking per day through villages, forests, and the Larkya Pass

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What the Package Price Includes (and What It Doesn't)

Included in the $750–$1,150 price

• All mandatory permits: Manaslu Restricted Area Permit (RAP), Manaslu Conservation Area Permit (MCAP), Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP), and the Chumnubri Rural Municipality fee

• Licensed, English-speaking Manaslu region guide (salary, insurance, meals, and accommodation covered)

• 11 nights of teahouse accommodation on the trail, twin-sharing

• All meals on the trek: 11 breakfasts, 12 lunches, 11 dinners

• All ground transport as per itinerary — Kathmandu to Machha Khola, and Dharapani back to Kathmandu

• Free airport pick-up and drop-off

• All local government taxes and service charges

Not included — budget these separately

• Nepal tourist visa ($30 for 15 days, $50 for 30 days, $125 for 90 days)

• Travel insurance with helicopter evacuation coverage up to 6,000 m (mandatory — roughly $150–$180 for a 2-week policy)

• Porter service (optional, around $240–$300 for the trek; one porter carries for two trekkers, so a pair splits this)

• Drinks, snacks, hot showers ($4–$5), Wi-Fi ($3), and device charging ($2–$3) in teahouses

• Tips for guide and porter (customary 10–15% of the trek cost)

• Private jeep upgrades ($250 per vehicle to Machha Khola, seats 6–7)

• International flights to Kathmandu

Manaslu Circuit Trek Permit Cost 2026

Manaslu is a restricted area, so you need four permits — and all of them must be arranged through a registered trekking agency like Places Nepal. Freelance guides cannot issue restricted area permits. If you book a package with us, every permit below is already included in the price and arranged before you leave Kathmandu.

Total permit cost for the 12-day itinerary: around $215 per person in autumn (RAP covers Jagat to Dharapani, roughly 10 days in the restricted zone, so $100 + 3 extra days) and around $175 from December to August. A TIMS card is not required for the Manaslu Circuit — if anyone tells you otherwise, they're adding a cost you don't need to pay.

Tsum Valley add-on permit

Only if your route includes Tsum Valley: $40 for the first 7 days plus $7 per extra day in autumn, and $30 for the first 7 days plus $7 per extra day the rest of the year.

For the full paperwork walkthrough, see our guide to the Manaslu Circuit Trek permit.

Trek the Tsum Valley with Manaslu Circuit Trek

Into the Hidden Valley of Tsum and Around Manaslu.

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Can You Trek Manaslu Solo? (Updated Rules)

Yes — since the regulation update of March 2026, solo trekkers can do the Manaslu Circuit with a licensed guide. The old two-trekker minimum no longer blocks solo travelers; permits are now issued for groups of 1 to 7 trekkers accompanied by a licensed Nepali guide, arranged through a registered agency. What has not changed: fully independent trekking without a guide remains prohibited in the restricted area. For a solo trekker, the private rate is US$1,150 — or join a fixed departure from US$750 and skip the single supplement entirely.

Guide and Porter Cost for the Manaslu Circuit

If you're pricing things out separately rather than taking a package, here's what professional staff cost in 2026:

• Licensed guide: $35–$40 per day, including their salary, insurance, meals, accommodation, and transport. Over 12 days that's roughly $420–$480.

• Porter: $20–$25 per day, carrying up to 20–25 kg — about $240–$300 for the trek. One porter typically serves two trekkers, so a pair pays $120–$150 each.

• Guide-porter (one person doing both jobs): $25–$30 per day. Cheaper, but expect a lighter carry limit and more variable English.

Our package price already covers the guide. The porter is an optional add-on, and honestly, most trekkers are glad they took one — the days between Deng and Dharamsala are long, and Larke Pass day is 8–10 hours. Tipping isn't mandatory but is customary: around 10–15% of the trek cost, given at the end.

Transportation Cost: Kathmandu to the Trailhead and Back

The trek starts in Machha Khola (890 m), about 160 km northwest of Kathmandu, and ends in Dharapani. There are no flights — road is the only way, and it's included in our package. If you're budgeting independently:

The private jeep to Machha Khola is the most popular upgrade we sell — split between 4 people it's about $60 each for a faster, far more comfortable ride on the rough post-Arughat road.

Food Cost on the Manaslu Circuit

Meals on the trail come from teahouse kitchens, and prices climb with altitude because everything above the roadhead arrives on a mule or a porter's back.

• Dal bhat (lunch/dinner): $5–$10 per plate — and refills are usually free, which is why "dal bhat power, 24 hour" is the unofficial motto of every trekking guide in Nepal

• Breakfast (Tibetan bread, eggs, porridge, tea/coffee): $4–$8

• Independent daily food budget: $15–$25 per day, so roughly $180–$300 for the trek

With a Places Nepal package, all three meals a day on the trek are included, so your only food spending is extras — chocolate bars, bakery stops in Namrung and Sama Gaon, and the occasional celebratory drink in Dharapani (altitude and alcohol don't mix higher up, and your guide will say so).

Accommodation Cost: Teahouses on the Trail

You'll sleep in locally run teahouses the whole way — twin rooms, thin mattresses, warm blankets, shared bathrooms in most villages. If paying independently, rooms run $5–$10 per night at lower elevations and $15–$25 for attached-bathroom rooms where they exist (Machha Khola, Jagat, Namrung, Sama Gaon). Package trekkers have all 11 nights included.

Extras that are never included, whoever you book with:

• Hot shower: $4–$5 (price rises with altitude)

• Wi-Fi: about $3 per night where available — patchy above Namrung, don't rely on it

• Device charging: $2–$3 per device — bring a 20,000 mAh power bank and charge fully in Sama Gaon, because Dharamsala (4,460 m) has no in-room charging at all

Kathmandu accommodation before and after the trek is your own arrangement: Thamel guesthouses from $10, boutique hotels $30–$70, luxury from $200.

Gear and Packing Costs

You don't need mountaineering equipment for the Manaslu Circuit — no ropes, no ice axes — but you do need proper cold-weather trekking gear for Dharamsala and the pass. Buying everything new costs $720–$1,620. Renting the big items in Thamel is far smarter for a one-time trek:

Renting the major items for 12 days adds roughly $80–$150 to your budget. Buy boots and base layers at home; rent the bulky down items in Thamel. Microspikes are worth carrying for Larke Pass outside of the driest months — your guide will advise based on conditions.

Insurance and Visa Costs

Travel insurance is mandatory for the Manaslu Circuit, and it must explicitly cover trekking up to 6,000 m including helicopter evacuation — Larke Pass sits at 5,106 m, above the ceiling of most ordinary policies. Expect $150–$180 for a two-week high-altitude policy. We check your policy before the trek; it's not bureaucracy, it's the thing that gets a helicopter to Samdo if you need one.

Nepal visa on arrival: $30 for 15 days, $50 for 30 days, $125 for 90 days, paid in cash at Kathmandu airport. Pre-fill the form at nepaliport.immigration.gov.np to save queue time.

Total Manaslu Circuit Trek Cost: Three Real Budgets

Add your Nepal visa and international flights on top. Even the comfort budget with a local agency lands well under the $2,200–$3,000 an international operator charges for essentially the same teahouses, the same trail, and — quite often — a subcontracted local team anyway. Booking directly with a Kathmandu agency typically saves over $1,000 per person, and more of your money stays in the villages you walk through.

Manaslu Circuit Cost vs. Other Nepal Treks

A common question: is Manaslu cheaper than Everest Base Camp? Yes — mainly because there are no flights involved.

Other Manaslu region trek prices

7 Honest Ways to Lower Your Manaslu Circuit Trek Cost

1. Join a fixed departure. It's the single biggest saving — from $1,150 solo down to as low as $750 per person.

2. Trek December–August for cheaper permits. The RAP drops from $100 to $75 for the first week. Just know what you're trading: winter means serious cold on the pass, monsoon means leeches and landslide risk on the lower trail. March–May is the sweet spot for value and conditions.

3. Share a porter. One porter carries for two trekkers — $120–$150 each instead of $240–$300.

4. Rent bulky gear in Thamel instead of buying: $80–$150 total versus $700+ new.

5. Carry a water filter or purification tablets. Bottled water at altitude costs $2–$4 a bottle and adds up to $50+ over the trek — and the plastic has to come off the mountain somehow.

6. Bring a power bank and charge fully in Sama Gaon. Charging fees of $2–$5 per device compound over 12 days.

7. Eat where you sleep. Teahouses discount rooms for guests who dine in — and it's the etiquette of the trail anyway.

One thing we'd tell you not to save on: your guide, your insurance, and your acclimatization days. The trekkers who get in trouble on Larke Pass are almost never the ones who spent too little on Wi-Fi.

Carry NPR 30,000–40,000 in cash (roughly $250–$350) for on-trail spending — the last ATM is well before the trailhead and nothing on the circuit takes cards.

Trek the Manaslu Circuit Trek

A remote and off-the-beaten-path Himalayan adventure in Nepal. The trek covers roughly 160 km (100 miles) and involves 5–7 hours of hiking per day through villages, forests, and the Larkya Pass

View Trip

Manaslu Circuit Trek Cost: FAQs

How much does the Manaslu Circuit Trek cost in 2026?

US$750–$1,150 per person with a local agency like Places Nepal for the full 12-day package including permits, guide, meals, accommodation, and transport. Budget an extra $150–$250 for tips, insurance, and personal expenses. International operators charge $2,200–$3,000 for the same route.

What is the cheapest way to do the Manaslu Circuit Trek?

Join a fixed group departure ($750–$980 per person), trek between December and August for lower permit fees, share a porter, and rent gear in Kathmandu. A realistic all-in budget floor is about $1,150 including insurance and extras.

How much are Manaslu trek permits?

Around $215 per person in autumn (September–November) and $175 the rest of the year for the standard 12-day itinerary, covering the Restricted Area Permit, MCAP, ACAP, and the Chumnubri municipality fee. All are included in our packages. No TIMS card is required.

How much does a guide cost for the Manaslu Circuit?

$35–$40 per day for a licensed, English-speaking guide — about $420–$480 for the 12-day trek, including their salary, insurance, food, and lodging. A guide is legally mandatory in the restricted area.

Can I trek the Manaslu Circuit without a guide to save money?

No. Manaslu is a restricted area and independent trekking is prohibited. Since March 2026, solo trekkers can get permits with a licensed guide (groups of 1–7), but nobody trek here guide-free — checkpoints at Jagat, Philim, and Dharapani verify permits and guide credentials.

Is the Manaslu Circuit cheaper than Everest Base Camp?

Generally yes. Manaslu is road-accessed on both ends, so there are no Lukla flights ($400+ round trip). Manaslu's restricted permits cost more than Everest's, but the overall trip still comes out cheaper for a similar duration.

How much should I tip my guide and porter?

Tipping is customary but not mandatory — 10–15% of the trek cost is the usual benchmark, given on the last evening. Tip the guide and porter separately.

How much cash should I carry on the trek?

NPR 30,000–40,000 (about $250–$350) in small denominations. There are no ATMs on the circuit and no card payments anywhere past the trailhead.

Does the price change by season?

The package price stays the same year-round, but the Restricted Area Permit is $25 cheaper per week from December to August, and teahouses are more negotiable off-season. Autumn (September–November) is the busiest and the permit is at its priciest — it's also the best weather, which is why it's busy.

What does the 12-day itinerary cover for the price?

Kathmandu → Machha Khola by road, then Jagat, Deng, Namrung, Shyala, Sama Gaon (with an acclimatization day and optional Manaslu Base Camp hike), Samdo, Dharamsala, over Larke Pass (5,106 m) to Bhimthang, down to Dharapani, and back to Kathmandu by road. Full details on the Manaslu Circuit Trek page.

Ready to Budget Your Manaslu Trek?

The numbers above are the real numbers — the same ones we quote over the counter at our Thamel office. If the Manaslu Circuit fits your budget, have a look at the full 12-day itinerary and departure dates, or talk to our team and we'll price your exact dates, group size, and add-ons. And if it doesn't fit your budget this year — honestly, the Langtang Valley Trek at US$490 is a beautiful alternative that won't leave you stretched thin.