How to get permits to trek Annapurna
If you want to trek Annapurna you are most likely to base yourself at Pokhara. We suggest lakeside, a beautiful lake area, very organized and well kept area. The permits You will be offered by many agencies to do your permits. They will charge you at least 4500-5000 rupees, making 500-1000 rupees extra. The best way is to either walk 20 minute or take a 5 minute taxi to the ACAP tourist information office (next to the police station) from where you will get the permits directly. From here you can get all the information required about the treks, leaflets about all the villages up in the mountains where you can stop to rest for the night, their altitude levels as well as the number of days for the treks. You need to take your passport and 4 passport size photos. Which if you do not have they will take them free for you. So do not pay the photo shops on the streets to take your photos. You need to get 2 permits here. The TIMS regulation card and the entry permit both of which cost 2000 rupees each, total cost for the permits would be 4000 rupees. These permits are unfortunately single entry only. So you can't exit the Annapurna conservation area after a trek and use the same permits to enter again to do another trek. The permit can be used once, no matter if you're doing a one day trek or a 21 day trek. This means you need to plan your treks wisely to avoid paying the permits several times.
Having said that, your treks need to be planned before doing the permit because the entry point and approximate amount of days are required to issue the permit. Note that treks should be planned in a way to climb 600m to avoid altitude sickness. From 2400m. More severe after 3600m. You need to carry these permits and a copy of your passport at all times during the trek.
The clothing and luggage If you travelled specifically to Nepal to trek then you are most probably equipped and sorted. But if you are like us, that is you didn't know that you'll be trekking, most likely you'll not have any warm clothes. Most will tell you that you can't rent but we have managed to find a store called Jomson who rented us all that we needed. Your luggage can be kept at your hotel at no charge. If you wish you can hire a guide to do the treks with you but treks are easily found and a guide is not necessary. For the princesses, You can also hire what they call porters to carry your bags during trekking and make your trek more comfortable. Important things to take
Permits, copy of passport, travel insurance
Credit card in case of evacuation
Iodine tablets to purify water when refilling at designated stations and water bottle
Altitude sickness pills
Sunscreen and lip balm
Insect repellent
Warm clothes, thermal wear, gloves, good boots
Some munchies. Food is super pricey. Get ready to pay at least 3x as much
Cash. There are no ATMs (only one in Jomson), around 1500NP daily per person.
Power bank- you need to pay to charge your electronics hence a power bank can come in handy
Cross the highest mountain pass in the world, Thorang-La Pass, Check how you can do the Annapurna Circuit in a few days. Make sure you check out tips for trekking in Nepal.
