The five day Ghorepani Poon Hill trek is one of the most popular treks in the Annapurna Ranges, Nepal. Maxing out at a comparatively low elevation, with an excellent view, there will be hundreds of people on this route during the high season. Despite its popularity however, we found it difficult to research the true costs of doing this trek on a budget.
Once you account for permits, the cost of a guide, food, accommodation and transport, the overall cost of the trek does add up. We spent close to the bare minimum, choosing the cheapest food, carrying our own breakfast and having our guide negotiate down the price of our accommodation (the cost of the guide himself was well worth it). If you’ve got a bit of cash to spare, you can easily add levels of luxury to your trek, from choosing more expensive western food items on the menu, all the way up to hotel-level ensuite accommodation.
Here are our overall costs for the trek. Items in USD were quoted to us in USD. Conversions are rounded for easy reading.
Budget breakdown
Guide: 30 USD per day, 150 USD total for five days (read more: Finding a hiking guide in Pokhara)
Porter: n/a
2x required Permits: 45 USD per person as arranged by our company
Transport to and from Nayapul (starting point): 25 USD as arranged by our company (could have possibly negotiated on the street for cheaper).
Accommodation: 400rs (NZ5/US3) per night, as negotiated by our guide. Standard rate is 600rs (NZ8/US5).
Breakfast: Our own muesli, 2 bags purchased in Pokhara for 350rs (NZ5/US3) each + 150rs (NZ2/US1) for hot milk from the guesthouses.
Lunch: Veg Dahl Baht, 550-600rs (NZ 7-8/US 4-6). Veg fried noodles, 450-600rs (NZ6-8/US3-5). Everything else will be more expensive than this.
Dinner: The same
Water bottle refill (1L): 100rs (NZ1/US0.5)
Milk tea: 80-150rs (NZ1-3/US1) per cup. 180rs per cup at the viewpoint (worth it).
Hot shower: 100-200rs (NZ1-3/US1-2)per shower. Cold shower free.
Charge/wifi: 100-200rs per use. We took a power bank.
Hot springs entry: 100rs pp (NZ1/US0.5). Bring soap, you can shower here.
Trekking poles: 1 USD per pole, per day. 15 USD for three poles (1 for me, 2 for Geoff).
Upfront costs:
We paid for our guide, trekking permits, transport and pole hire upfront, which totaled 31,662rs (NZ429/US279).
Daily costs:
This left our daily costs on the trek. For breakfast we purchased our own bags of muesli in Pokhara, which I highly recommend if you’re trying to keep your costs down. A bowl of muesli from a guesthouse was 450-600rs per serve. We bought two bags in Pokhara for 350rs each, which lasted the entire trip. We purchased hot milk from our guesthouses to make the muesli palatable, which was generally around 100-150 per cup (we would share one cup between us). If you do take your own food though, make sure you also take something to eat it in. We bought two stainless steel cups and spoons with us. It would be rude to ask the guesthouse to supply you with utensils to eat your own outside food.
Breakfast: Our own muesli, 70rs per serve (150rs total) + 150rs for milk
For lunch and dinner I have tried to give an average for the cost of food. The menus at the guesthouses all have exactly the same items on offer, and all their prices are regulated and non-negotiable. Of course, these are the cheaper menu items, but you can order things like pizza and macaroni if your budget allows. As you get higher, or reach more remote villages, the prices get higher too.
Standard meal: Veg Fried Noodles ~500rs average. Veg Dahl Baht ~600 average.
Water bottle refill: 100rs
Two cups milk tea: 300rs
Total cost for a meal for two people: 1400-1600rs
Accommodation: The standard rate for accommodation everywhere we stayed was 600rs. We let our guide know at the start that we were hoping to only pay 400rs, and he consistently got us this price every night. If you’re on a budget too, it’s certainly worth mentioning it to your guide.
Extras: Showers, phone charging and wifi are all 100-200rs each. We didn’t use wifi, and bought a power bank for charging.
DAILY TOTAL: This bought our total daily spend to ~4000rs (NZ55/US36), which paid for our accommodation, milk at breakfast, lunch and dinner for both of us, two cups of tea and two showers.
