Machhapuchhre Rural Municipality of Kaski in Nepal has imposed a Tourist Fee for Tourists trekking in the area under their jurisdiction.

This fee has been imposed to fund the municipality's infrastructure development and maintenance according to a recent decision. There will be separate fees for domestic and international tourists.

The Machhapuchhre municipality hosts stunning landscapes and is the access point to the famous Annapurna and Machapuchare (Fishtail) Mountains. 

Foreign Tourists will be charged USD 4 and Domestic Tourists will be charged USD 0.80 if they chose to use the trails within the municipality. Reports say that this fee will support new construction as well as aid in maintenance of existing infrastructure such as waste management, solar lighting, information centres, etc that are deployed on the trails.

Ram Bahadur Gurung, Chairman of the Ward, said that this will also help in recording the number of tourists frequenting the four trekking routes in the municipality area and the funds will also be utilised in the rescue operations during accidents.

These are the famous treks in Nepal that require permits:

• Annapurna Circuit: Annapurna Conservation Area Permit (ACAP) and TIMS.
• Dhaulagiri Circuit Trek: ACAP & TIMS.
• Everest Base Camp: Sagarmatha National Park Entry permit and a Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) card.
• Gosaikunda Trek: Langtang National Park Permit.
• Kanchenjunga Base Camp Trek: Kanchenjunga Restricted Area Permit.
• Langtang Valley: Langtang National Park Entry Permit and TIMS.
• Makalu Base Camp: Makalu Barun National Park Entry & TIMS.
• Manaslu Circuit: Manaslu Restricted Area Permit and ACAP.
• Rara Lake Trek: Rara National Park Entry Permit.
• Upper Mustang Trek: Special Upper Mustang Permit, ACAP, TIMS.

Source: Media Reports