National park fees: Rara, Khaptad, Shey-Phoksundo and Api Nampa

West Nepal’s protected areas list an entry fee by visitor type: Nepali, SAARC national or foreigner. This page gathers the fees for the four protected areas that trekkers into Karnali and Sudurpashchim meet most, plus the Terai parks on the far-west road, and explains how to pay. Other permits are on the permits hub.

Fees at a glance

In October 2026 the Nepal Tourism Board’s park entry-fee table listed these amounts, each per person per entry¹. The Rara, Khaptad, Shey-Phoksundo and Api Nampa rows add “Below 10 yrs free”¹.

The three mountain national parks (Rara, Khaptad and Shey-Phoksundo) share one price. Api Nampa, a conservation area, is cheaper for SAARC nationals and foreigners¹. In October 2026 the three Terai parks charged SAARC nationals NPR 750 and foreigners NPR 1,500¹.

For comparison, the same table listed Sagarmatha National Park at NPR 100 for Nepalis, NPR 1,500 for SAARC nationals and NPR 3,000 for foreigners, and Chitwan National Park at NPR 150, NPR 1,000 and NPR 2,000¹. The far-west mountain parks therefore cost the same as Everest’s park in the October 2026 table¹.

The rule

The Nepal Tourism Board puts the requirement in one line:

Park entry permit must be obtained to enter protected areas¹

Fees are paid in one of two places. The Nepal Tourism Board says park entry fees may be paid at the Tourist Service Center in Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu, or at the entry points¹.

Booking online

The Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) runs an online ticketing portal where visitors can book entry tickets, vehicle permits and event tickets without visiting the park office first².

On the Entry Ticket tab each card is a ticket type: Nepali, SAARC or Foreigner, with prices shown per day, per person, per entry².

Two payment options are offered²:

• Counter Payment Request: reserve now and pay in person at the gate².
• QR Payment: pay online with a QR code².

Once a QR payment succeeds the ticket status changes to “Paid & Confirmed”, and the QR code on the ticket is the entry ticket².

Vehicles

A separate tab covers vehicles. Vehicles are grouped by type (cycle, motorcycle, car, public vehicle, truck, and government or NGO vehicle), and each type has its own fee².

The parks, one by one

Rara National Park

Rara covers 106 km2 in the Mugu and Jumla districts and is the country’s smallest national park³. Its lake, the largest in Nepal, has a surface of 10.8 km2³. The district page for Mugu covers getting there, and the Rara Lake trek covers the route.

Khaptad National Park

Khaptad was established in 1984 on the advice of Khaptad Baba and covers 225 km2 across Bajhang, Bajura, Achham and Doti⁴. See Khaptad National Park for the park in detail.

Shey-Phoksundo National Park

The park was established in 1984 and covers 3,555 km2 in the districts of Dolpa and Mugu⁵. Shey Gompa, established in the 11th century, is one of several gompas inside it⁵. The route to the lake is on the Phoksundo Lake trek page.

Api Nampa Conservation Area

Api Nampa covers 1,903 km2⁶. It is named after the peaks Api and Nampa and was established to conserve the biodiversity and cultural heritage of the area⁶. Its own page is Api Nampa Conservation Area.

Before you pay

The Nepal Tourism Board’s table is organised in four columns: Nepali, SAARC, Foreigners and child discount¹. Every figure above carries the month in which it was seen. The online portal uses the same three visitor categories: Nepali, SAARC and Foreigner². Park tickets are separate from the restricted-area trekking permits covered in restricted-area permits and from the TIMS card on the TIMS card page.