Api Nampa Conservation Area: entry fee, permits and how to reach it

Api Nampa is a conservation area rather than a national park: it is named after the peaks Api and Nampa, and was set up to conserve the biodiversity and cultural heritage of the area⁴. This page covers the area itself, its entry fee and the permit row that applies in Darchula. The walking route to the foot of Api is on the Api base camp trek page, and fee tables for other protected areas are in the permits hub.

Where it is

The area lies in Darchula district and covers 1,903 sq. km in 21 VDCs⁵. It ranges in elevation from 518 to 7,132 m at the Himalayan peak Api and is part of the Kailash Sacred Landscape⁴. A grasslands plateau lies at the centre, mixed with various forest types⁴. About 54,358 people live in 8,966 households inside the area⁴.

Byansi and Shauka communities live in the area, with trans-border trade links to Tibet¹.

Wildlife

The Nepal Tourism Board lists the snow leopard, musk deer, clouded leopard, ghoral, Himalayan black bear and Himalayan tahr as found in the area⁵. Other mammals recorded include red panda, common langur and serow⁴. Birds include Himalayan monal, snowcock and blood pheasant⁴, and The Record counts 243 bird species⁸.

Entry fee

Entrance fees must be paid to enter protected areas of Nepal². In October 2026 the Nepal Tourism Board’s park entry-fee table listed Api Nampa Conservation Area as follows, with children under 10 free²:

In October 2026 the same table said entry fees may be paid at the Tourist Service Center in Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu, or at the entry points². The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation’s online ticketing system lists ticket types such as Nepali, SAARC or Foreigner, with prices shown per day, per person, per entry⁶. It also lists an Api-Nampa Conservation Area office among its field offices¹⁰. Tables for other areas are in national park fees.

Trekking permit

In October 2026 the Department of Immigration’s trekking permit table listed one Darchula row: USD 90 per person per week, then USD 15 per day beyond 1 week, for Vyas Rural Municipality ward 1³. See restricted-area permits for the rest of the table.

Visitor numbers

In June 2019 The Record reported that between September to October 2015 and November to December 2018 only 5 SAARC tourists and 59 non-SAARC tourists visited⁸. It described information on Api Nampa as scarce, and organising treks in Darchula as considerably harder than in more established areas because the tourism industry there was nascent⁸. It also reported little to no publicity around the area⁸.

When to go

Alpine Journeys names pre-monsoon, March to May, as the best season for Api base camp, when rhododendrons are in full bloom, followed by October and November with clear skies⁹. December to February is very cold with blockades due to snow, and the monsoon months of June to September bring rain that makes trails slippery and difficult⁹.

Getting there

In June 2019 The Record described the bus ride from Dhangadhi to Khalanga Bazaar, the Darchula district headquarters, as 18 hours⁸. Western Nepal Treks flies Kathmandu to Dhangadhi in almost 1 hour, runs a night bus from Attariya to Latinath of about 260 km and 13 hours, and starts its Api trek at Makarighad in Darchula⁷. Alpine Journeys describes the Api route as mostly a camping trek, with porters carrying tents⁹. For the district see Darchula.