How much does Annapurna Base Camp trekking cost? The answer will depend a lot on whether you plan to carry your own bag, have a guide, share a room, etc. I’ll break everything down below so that you can plan accordingly. Something that stood out to me about this trek was that the teahouses charged for everything. Hot showers, Wi-Fi, drinking water, phone charging, etc. all had a fee. For those who want to stay connected, you’ll pay a bit extra. We also spent a lot more on water and tea than normal. The teahouses in this area don’t have fireplaces and it was cold at night, so we ordered a lot of thermoses of hot drinks.
Annapurna Base Camp Trekking Itinerary
Let’s start by talking about our itinerary. If you choose a shorter or longer itinerary that will change how much you should budget for this trip. We had originally planned a longer itinerary but ended up cutting a day out while we were walking. This itinerary is tough enough to make it challenging, but it’s not so hard that it’s discouraging.
Day 1 – Pokhara to Ghandruk by Jeep
Day 2 – Ghandruk to Chomrong
Day 3 – Chomrong to Dovan
Day 4 – Dovan to Machhapuchhre Base Camp
Day 5 – Machhapuchhre Base Camp to Annapurna Base Camp to Machhapuchhre Base Camp
Day 6 – Machhapuchhre Base Camp to Dovan
Day 7 – Dovan to Jhinu Danda to Pokhara by Jeep
ABC Trek Cost Per Day
*These amounts are per person.
Breakfast $5.76 – Per person, it cost us about $5.76 for breakfast. Walking long hours in the morning requires a lot of energy, so breakfast is important for me. I love a big breakfast so I usually order the set breakfast which includes coffee, toast, eggs, and potatoes. You can save money if you eat a smaller breakfast.
Lunch $5.56 – Lunch was cheaper than breakfast. I had vegetable dal bhat almost every day which was filling and delicious.
Dinner $5.86 – For dinner, we mostly had dal bhat. One or two days we opted to try something different like pizza at Machhapuchhre Base Camp and pasta.
Snacks $2.70 – We ordered a lot of tea on this trek, but not a lot of extra food because we packed trail mix and snacks in case we got hungry. The teahouses don’t have fires or heat and we were often freezing cold, so we drank twice as much tea as we do on other treks.
Accommodations $2.06 – Accommodations are almost always 500 rupees for a shared room which comes to 250 rupees per person. If you want your own room, then you should budget twice as much for accommodation.
Transportation $5.19 – We hired a private vehicle to take us from Pokhara to Ghandruk and from Jhinu Danda to Pokhara. It costs $75 round trip, however you can save money here if you find people to share with. On the way back we found two women to split the price with, but on the way there we had to pay the entire amount ourselves.
Permit $3.54 – The Annapurna Conservation Area permit costs about $25 USD per person. If you divide that over seven days, it comes to over $3 USD per day per person.
Other $0.70 – This depends entirely on how many comforts you want. Along this route, the teahouses charge for everything. Showers cost at least $1.00. Wifi and charging a device cost $1.00 – $3.00. If you want a shower, Wifi, and a phone charge every single day, you could spend $6 in some areas. I took one shower, charged my phone once, and never paid for Wifi, so I barely spent money on other items.
Optional Costs
Porter $18.00 – Porters charge about 2,000 rupees per day and it’s customary to tip 10%, therefore, you will spend about $18.00 a day (including tip) if you’d like someone to carry your bag. If you pack light, porters can typically carry two people’s bags and you can split this cost.
Guide $36.00 – Guides charge about 4,000 rupees a day, and it’s customary to tip 10% therefore you will spend about $36.00 a day if you would like a guide. This is the price per group, so if you are a group of five people, you would split this price five ways making it around $7.00 per person per day.
ABC Trek Cost Over 7 Days
*These amounts are per person.
Breakfast $36.36 – This does not include breakfast on the day that we left Pokhara. Breakfast was included in our hotel room price so we didn’t have to pay anything.
Lunch $38.92
Dinner $35.16
Snacks $18.92 – This was mostly spent on tea and hot water because we were cold most nights.
Accommodations $12.39 – If you share a standard room, you can pay as little as $13 USD for the entire trek. If you want a private room, it will cost closer to $26. This is the price for 6 nights and does not include the 7th night back in Pokhara.
Transportation $36.36 – We split the price of the jeep two ways on the way there and four ways on the way back. If you are traveling alone and can’t find anyone to split the price, then it’s about $100 USD round trip. The more ways you split it, the cheaper it gets.
Permit $24.79
Other $4.95 – If you want showers, Wifi, or need to charge your phone daily, budget for up to $25.00 USD.
Optional Costs
Porter $128 – It will cost about $133 to have a porter carry your bag for 7 days. If you pack light, you can usually share a porter with two people and split the cost.
Guide $255 – A guide will cost about $266 for 7 days. This price can be split between the group. The more people you have, the cheaper it is per person.
Total Annapurna Base Camp Trekking Cost
Suraj and I decided to hire a porter for this trek, so we spent about $265 each over a seven-day period. That comes to about $38.00 USD each a day. We could have spent less, but I’ve been having some knee issues and Suraj has back issues, so for us the extra money for a porter was worth it. We also couldn’t find anyone to split the Jeep with us to Ghandruk and had to pay the full amount ourselves, however we were able to split the jeep with two women on the way back.
$285 for Solo Travel – $185 per person + $100 for a jeep (with single room occupancy, no porter, no guide). Jeep cost would be split depending on how many people you travel with.
$415 with Porter –$185 per person + $130 for a porter + $100 for a jeep (with single room occupancy, no guide). Jeep and porter cost would be split depending on how many people you travel with and weight of luggage.
$540 with Guide –$185 per person + $255 for a guide + $100 for a jeep (with single room occupancy, no porter). Jeep and guide cost would be split depending on how many people you travel with.
$670 with Porter and Guide –$185 per person + $130 for a porter + $255 for a guide + $100 for a jeep (with single room occupancy). Jeep and guide cost would be split depending on how many people you travel with. Porter cost would be split depending on weight of luggage.
How much money should you carry on the ABC Trek?
How much you carry will depend entirely on how you book your trip and whether you choose to have a guide and/or porter. We paid our porter in advance because we know him well. Some trekking companies will require payment in advance, but if you hire a local guide sometimes you just pay them each day.
Regardless, you should carry about $150 – $200 extra with you. There are no ATMs along the route, and there is no way to easily get money. I’ve had to lend money to other travelers who did not bring enough with them. The last thing you want is to be stressed out and walking back to Kathmandu with an empty wallet and stomach.
Have any questions about the Annapurna Base Camp trekking cost? Ask me in the comments.
You might also like…
Michelle Della Giovanna
Writer at Full Time Explorer
I’m just your average New Yorker who quit her job in the fashion industry to explore the world. Come find out what it’s like to trade in five-inch heels for squat toilets.
Leave a Reply