Trekking permits in India

Why permits exist

Most good treks in India cross a national park, a wildlife sanctuary, a reserved forest or a border district. A permit lets the forest department limit numbers and keep a record of who is on the trail, which helps if a search is needed. In border areas it also lets the government control who goes where.

There are two kinds of rules, and they often apply together:

• Forest and park permits. These come from the state forest department or the park office. They apply to everyone, Indian or foreign.
• Area permits. Under the Foreigners (Protected Areas) Order, 1958, the land between the “Inner Line” and the international border is a Protected Area. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) lists all of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim, and parts of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. Several northeastern states also run an Inner Line Permit (ILP) for Indian visitors from outside the state.

Wherever you trek, carry your original government photo ID and a few photocopies. Indiahikes tells its trekkers that the forest department needs ID, and a medical certificate signed by a doctor, before it will give permission for their treks.

Uttarakhand

Many Uttarakhand treks start inside or pass through protected forest. The Uttarakhand Forest Department’s website lists the parks it manages, including Nanda Devi, Valley of Flowers and Govind, and the Kedarnath sanctuary. It also offers online booking and a separate “Mountaineering Permission” service for climbing peaks.

What this means for you:

• Treks inside a park or sanctuary need forest permission. Get it online where booking is offered, or from the forest office at the start of the trek.
• A trekking permit does not cover climbing a peak. That needs mountaineering permission.
• Parts of Uttarakhand near the border are Protected Areas for foreigners (see below).

Himachal Pradesh

The rules are set park by park. The Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) is a good example of how strict a park can be:

• Entry is not allowed without prior permission.
• Permits for the core zone come from the head office at Shamshi and the range offices at Shairopa (Tirthan valley) and Ropa (Sainj valley).
• Multi-day trekkers must hire certified guides and porters, and a range officer has to approve the route before you enter.
• Firearms, hunting, fishing, pets and parties are banned. Fires are allowed only for cooking.

The park’s own page does not list fees and asks visitors to check with the park office. Parts of Himachal Pradesh are also Protected Areas for foreigners.

Sikkim and the Northeast (ILP, PAP, RAP)

Three abbreviations come up again and again:

• ILP (Inner Line Permit). For Indian citizens from outside the state. Arunachal Pradesh’s official portal says the eILP “is mandatory document to visit Arunachal Pradesh by Indian nationals”. As of October 2026 the portal lists the tourist eILP fee as ₹100 per person, and the fee is not refundable. A temporary eILP is valid for up to 30 days. Nagaland and Manipur run their own official online ILP portals.
• PAP (Protected Area Permit). In Sikkim, PAPs are issued to Indian tourists for protected areas such as Tsomgo Lake, Nathula and North Sikkim. Sikkim Tourism says trekking permits are issued from the Tourist Information Centres at Gangtok and Pelling, through a registered travel agency, after clearance from the Home Department, Army, Forest Department and police. Entry permits for national parks and sanctuaries come from the Forest Department in Gangtok. For children under 18, bring a birth certificate, the father’s Voter ID or a passport; Aadhaar is not accepted for them.
• RAP (Restricted Area Permit). For foreigners entering Sikkim. As of October 2026, Sikkim Tourism says the RAP is issued free of cost. It is valid for 30 days and can be extended, but the total stay must not go beyond 60 days.

Western Ghats

Southern states increasingly sell trek slots online through the forest department. Karnataka’s portal is Aranya Vihaara, the official trekking portal of the Karnataka Forest Department:

• Pick the district, trek, date and time slot. You can book up to 30 days ahead, and at least one day before.
• Reach the start point at least 10 minutes before your slot.
• Carry the original ID you used to book, because it is checked on the trek day.
• Under rules in force from 15 July 2026, you get 50% back if you cancel 8 or more days before the trek, and nothing within 7 days.
• The forest helpline listed is 1926.

Online booking grew partly out of overcrowding. In 2024 Karnataka closed the Kukke Subramanya–Pushpagiri trail, which includes Kumara Parvatha, from February to October, after about 1,500 trekkers queued at the entry counters on one weekend. Down To Earth reported that treks would be limited to 300 people a day and allowed only where there is a government online booking system. Trails can close for fire risk in summer and for slippery tracks in the monsoon, so check the portal before you travel.

Foreign nationals

The MHA’s rules are stricter for foreigners:

• Every foreigner except a citizen of Bhutan needs a special permit to enter a Protected or Restricted Area.
• Tourist permits are for groups of two or more. A permit for a single foreign tourist needs prior clearance from the MHA.
• The permit is valid only for the route and the entry and exit points written on it. Keep photocopies, because you may have to hand one over at each check post.
• Group tourists can apply at an Indian mission abroad, or, once in India, to an authority that has been given the power to issue permits.
• Citizens of Afghanistan, China and Pakistan need prior MHA approval.

In December 2024 the MHA brought the Protected Area regime back to Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland, so foreigners again need a PAP there. In Sikkim, foreigners may visit Tsomgo Lake and the Lachen–Lachung–Yumthang–Thangu valley, but not Gurudongmar. Sikkim Tourism says foreigners’ trekking permits for protected areas are issued free of cost (as of October 2026) by the Sikkim Tourism Office in Gangtok. A fitness certificate from a government medical officer is also needed.

How we show fees on trek pages

Permit fees change often, and many figures online are years out of date. Our rule is simple:

• We print a fee only when we have read it on an official government page. When we do, we say when we checked it, as in “as of October 2026”.
• If we cannot find an official figure, the trek page says “check locally”. That means asking the forest range office, the park office or the state permit office before you go.
• We never copy fees from blogs, forums or operator websites, even when they look precise.

If you see a fee on our site that no longer matches the official page, please tell us so we can fix it.