Compare all 23 routes
Every route, one table, real numbers only. No invented risk percentages, no score out of 100, no route marked best — every figure below traces to a dated source.
Route comparison table
Permit fees are shown per currency and are never added together — NPR and USD are different currencies, and a route that pays in both (e.g. a restricted-area permit in USD alongside a park fee in NPR) has two separate totals, not one combined figure. Each total is what one trekker actually pays for that route; there is no region-wide total on this page.
WMS guideline breaches counts the nights on each itinerary that gain more than 500 m of sleeping altitude while already above 3,000 m, per the Wilderness Medical Society Clinical Practice Guidelines (2024) . WMS itself notes that terrain often makes strict adherence impossible on real Himalayan itineraries, so this is itinerary information, not a risk score — see each route's own Acclimatisation section for the night-by-night detail.
Focus two routes side by side
Pick any two routes below. Every figure shown is the same figure the full table beneath prints for that route — nothing here is invented or recomputed, and no route is marked better, easier, safer or recommended. Rows where the two routes differ are highlighted; that is not a ranking.
| Route | Region | Days | Difficulty | Highest sleeping altitude | Price from | Permits (NPR) | Permits (USD) | Sleeping nights | WMS guideline breaches | Best months | Trail line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghorepani Poon Hill | Annapurna | 5 | Easy-Moderate | 2,850 m | USD 450 | NPR 3,000 | — | 5 | 0 | 6 of 12 | Mapped |
| Mardi Himal | Annapurna | 5 | Moderate | 3,540 m | USD 450 | NPR 3,000 | — | 5 | 1 | 6 of 12 | Mapped |
| Everest View & Tengboche | Everest (Khumbu) | 7 | Easy-Moderate | 3,867 m | USD 750 | NPR 6,000 | — | 7 | 1 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Jomsom–Muktinath | Mustang & the far west | 7 | Easy-Moderate | 3,700 m | USD 550 | NPR 3,000 | — | 4 | 1 | 9 of 12 | Mapped |
| Langtang Valley | Langtang | 7 | Moderate | 3,870 m | USD 750 | NPR 5,000 | — | 7 | 1 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Pikey Peak | Everest (Khumbu) | 7 | Moderate | 3,640 m | USD 650 | None required | None required | 6 | 1 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Gosaikunda | Langtang | 8 | Moderate | 4,380 m | USD 780 | NPR 5,000 | — | 8 | 2 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Khopra Ridge | Annapurna | 8 | Moderate-Hard | 3,660 m | USD 650 | NPR 3,000 | — | 8 | 1 | 6 of 12 | Mapped |
| Tamang Heritage | Langtang | 8 | Easy-Moderate | 2,607 m | USD 700 | NPR 5,000 | — | 6 | 0 | 5 of 12 | No trail line published yet |
| Annapurna Base Camp | Annapurna | 10 | Moderate | 4,130 m | USD 800 | NPR 3,000 | — | 8 | 2 | 6 of 12 | Mapped |
| Gokyo Lakes | Everest (Khumbu) | 12 | Moderate | 4,750 m | USD 1,050 | NPR 6,000 | — | 10 | 2 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Tsum Valley | Manaslu | 12 | Moderate-Hard | 3,361 m | USD 950 | NPR 3,000 | USD 40 | 11 | 1 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Upper Mustang | Mustang & the far west | 12 | Moderate | 3,840 m | USD 1,500 | NPR 3,000 | USD 50 | 11 | 0 | 9 of 12 | Mapped |
| Everest Base Camp | Everest (Khumbu) | 14 | Moderate-Hard | 5,164 m | USD 1,200 | NPR 6,000 | — | 12 | 2 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Langtang-Gosaikunda-Helambu | Langtang | 14 | Hard | 4,380 m | USD 1,450 | NPR 5,000 | — | 11 | 3 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Manaslu Circuit | Manaslu | 14 | Hard | 4,460 m | USD 1,200 | NPR 6,000 | USD 100 | 13 | 2 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Nar Phu Valley | Annapurna | 14 | Hard | 4,150 m | USD 1,800 | NPR 3,000 | USD 100 | 11 | 1 | 6 of 12 | Mapped |
| Annapurna Circuit | Annapurna | 18 | Hard | 4,540 m | USD 1,400 | NPR 3,000 | — | 18 | 2 | 6 of 12 | Mapped |
| EBC via Gokyo & Cho La | Everest (Khumbu) | 18 | Hard | 5,164 m | USD 1,500 | NPR 6,000 | — | 15 | 2 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Lower Dolpo / Phoksundo | Mustang & the far west | 18 | Hard | 4,040 m | USD 3,500 | NPR 3,000 | USD 20 | 9 | 2 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Manaslu Circuit + Tsum Valley | Manaslu | 18 | Hard | 4,460 m | USD 1,500 | NPR 6,000 | USD 140 | 17 | 4 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
| Annapurna Circuit with Tilicho Lake | Annapurna | 20 | Hard | 4,540 m | USD 1,600 | NPR 3,000 | — | 18 | 2 | 6 of 12 | Mapped |
| Three Passes | Everest (Khumbu) | 20 | Hard | 5,164 m | USD 1,800 | NPR 6,000 | — | 18 | 2 | 5 of 12 | Mapped |
Every figure above is sourced: permit fees link to the issuing authority with the date we last verified them, and altitude and breach figures come from the same waypoint and acclimatisation data as each route's own page. This table ranks nothing — it lists routes by length only, shortest first, and marks no route as best, easiest or recommended.