Special permits & restricted areas
The places where a visa is not enough: who issues the permit, whether you can apply yourself or need a licensed operator, how early to start, and roughly what it costs.
Fees, quotas and closures change often. Every figure here is a range marked check, last checked September 2026: confirm on the official site before you pay for flights.
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26 of 26 permits, the ones to sort out earliest first.
- AntarcticaExpedition rules
Antarctica: treaty permits and operators
Under the Antarctic Treaty, each visit needs a permit or advance notification from a national authority; tour operators file these for their passengers.
- Lead time
- 6 months+
- How
- Licensed operator only
No separate permit fee for passengers; cruises roughly US$7,000–20,000+ per person (check).
- AmericasTimed entry or quota
Havasupai Falls reservations
A compulsory multi-night reservation to hike to Havasu Falls on Havasupai tribal land; no day hikes.
- Lead time
- 4 months+
- How
- Apply yourself
About US$455 per person for the standard 3-night campground stay (lodge about US$2,300 per room for 3 nights); early-access sales add a fee (check).
- AmericasClimbing & trekking
Inca Trail permits
A named daily permit to walk the classic Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, capped at about 500 people a day including porters and guides.
- Lead time
- 4 months+
- How
- Licensed operator only
Permit folded into the tour; classic 4-day treks typically US$700–1,500 per person (check).
- AsiaClimbing & trekking
Everest and Himalayan peaks: climbing permits
A mountaineering royalty permit per climber and peak, with a liaison officer, garbage deposit and park fees, arranged through an expedition operator.
- Lead time
- 3 months+
- How
- Licensed operator only
Nepal's Everest royalty (normal route) is US$15,000 per climber for spring since 1 September 2025, US$7,500 autumn, US$3,750 winter and monsoon; full guided expeditions typically US$45,000–100,000+ (check).
- AfricaTimed entry or quota
Gorilla trekking permits (Rwanda and Uganda)
A named daily permit to spend one hour with a habituated gorilla family, with strict group sizes.
- Lead time
- 2 months+
- How
- Yourself or an operator
Rwanda about US$1,500 per person; Uganda about US$800, with lower rates reported in the April, May and November low season (check).
- AsiaTour onlyAdvisory
North Korea: tour-only entry
Entry only on a state-approved tour with government guides at all times; tourism for most Western visitors has been largely shut since 2020.
- Lead time
- 2 months+
- How
- Licensed operator only
Tours historically cost several thousand US dollars for a week (check).
- AmericasTimed entry or quota
Machu Picchu timed tickets
A timed entry ticket for one set circuit, with a daily cap; a guide is required inside.
- Lead time
- 4 weeks+
- How
- Apply yourself
PEN 152 base price for foreign adults plus a PEN 11 conservation fee since May 2026 (about PEN 163), about PEN 200+ with Machu Picchu Mountain or Huayna Picchu; bus and guide extra (check).
- AfricaClimbing & trekking
Mount Kilimanjaro climbing fees
Park conservation, camping or hut, rescue and crew fees for every day on the mountain; climbs are allowed only with a licensed operator and guide.
- Lead time
- 4 weeks+
- How
- Licensed operator only
Park fees alone usually US$800–1,300 for a 6–8 day climb (conservation fee US$70 a day, huts US$60 or camping US$50 a night, rescue US$20, plus 18% VAT on the published 2023–26 tariff); full climbs typically US$2,000–5,000 per person (check).
- AsiaRestricted areaAdvisory
Myanmar: restricted and closed areas
Large parts of the country are closed to foreigners or need special permission, and fighting since 2021 means the open list changes without notice.
- Lead time
- 4 weeks+
- How
- Licensed operator only
Varies; agency and guide fees on top (check).
- AsiaTour only
Tibet: travel permits and the tour rule
A Tibet Travel Permit to enter at all, an Aliens' Travel Permit for most places outside Lhasa, and military or border permits for areas such as Mount Kailash and the far west.
- Lead time
- 4 weeks+
- How
- Licensed operator only
Permit fees are folded into the tour price; guided trips run roughly US$150–350 a day per person depending on group size (check).
- AsiaPark or area fee
Bhutan: Sustainable Development Fee
A per-night Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) paid on top of a visa, plus a licensed guide for sightseeing beyond Thimphu and Paro.
- Lead time
- 2 weeks+
- How
- Yourself or an operator
SDF US$100 per adult per night (reduced rate set to run to 2027; children 6–12 pay half, under-6s free) plus a US$40 visa fee; SDF US$100 is fixed until 31 August 2027 (check).
- AsiaRestricted area
India: Arunachal Pradesh Protected Area Permit
A Protected Area Permit for foreign visitors to the whole state, valid for named districts and a set number of days.
- Lead time
- 7 days+
- How
- Licensed operator only
Permit fee about US$50 per person, separate from the tour (check).
- AsiaPark or area fee
Mount Fuji: trail fee and reservation
A per-climber trail fee on all four summit trails, online reservation or registration, and a gate that shuts to climbers without a hut booking in the afternoon and night.
- Lead time
- 7 days+
- How
- Apply yourself
¥4,000 per climber on all four trails, unchanged for 2026; Yoshida Trail capped at 4,000 climbers a day, and Shizuoka trails need online pre-registration (check).
- AsiaRestricted area
Nepal: restricted-area permits (Upper Mustang, Upper Dolpo, Manaslu)
A Restricted Area Permit for border districts, issued only for organised treks, in addition to the conservation-area permit.
- Lead time
- 7 days+
- How
- Licensed operator only
Upper Mustang and Upper Dolpo about US$500 per person for the first 10 days, then about US$50 a day; Manaslu about US$75–100 for the first week depending on season, then US$10–15 a day (check).
- OceaniaPark or area fee
Uluru and Aboriginal land permits (Northern Territory)
A park pass for Uluru-Kata Tjuta, and separate permits from the land councils to enter or cross Aboriginal land such as Arnhem Land or the Mereenie Loop.
- Lead time
- 7 days+
- How
- Apply yourself
Uluru-Kata Tjuta pass about A$38 per adult for 3 days; land-council permits free to small fees (check).
- AsiaClimbing & trekking
Nepal: trekking permits, TIMS and park fees
A national park or conservation-area entry permit for each trekking area, the TIMS card where it is still required, and (since 2023) a licensed guide for foreign trekkers in national parks and conservation areas.
- Lead time
- 2 days+
- How
- Yourself or an operator
Park and conservation-area permits about NPR 3,000 each; Khumbu municipality fee about NPR 3,000; TIMS about NPR 2,000 where required (check each).
- AmericasTimed entry or quota
The Wave (Coyote Buttes North) lottery
A daily permit lottery for a small number of hikers to Coyote Buttes North, home of The Wave.
- Lead time
- 2 days+
- How
- Apply yourself
US$6 per lottery application plus US$7 per person (or dog) if you win (check).
- AmericasPark or area fee
Galápagos: transit card and national park fee
A Transit Control Card bought before the flight from the mainland, and a national park entrance fee paid on landing.
- Lead time
- 1 day+
- How
- Yourself or an operator
Transit card US$20; park fee US$200 for most foreign adults since August 2024, less for Andean Community and Mercosur citizens (check).
- AsiaRestricted area
India: Ladakh Protected Area Permit
A Protected Area Permit for foreigners to visit Nubra, Pangong, Tso Moriri, Dah-Hanu and other areas beyond Leh; Leh town itself needs none.
- Lead time
- 1 day+
- How
- Yourself or an operator
Environment, wildlife and Red Cross fees add up to roughly ₹600–1,000 per person, plus agent commission (check).
- AsiaRestricted area
India: Sikkim permits
A Restricted Area Permit to enter Sikkim, and a Protected Area Permit for border areas such as Tsomgo Lake, Nathu La, Yumthang and Dzongri.
- Lead time
- 1 day+
- How
- Yourself or an operator
Entry permit free; protected-area permits usually bundled into agent tours (check).
- AsiaPark or area fee
Komodo National Park fees
Daily park entry, ranger and activity fees for Komodo, Rinca and the surrounding marine park; a ranger guide is required on the dragon islands.
- Lead time
- 1 day+
- How
- Yourself or an operator
Reported as a flat Rp250,000 per day entry for foreigners in 2026 (earlier Rp150,000 weekdays), plus ranger, trekking and snorkelling fees; online booking and a daily visitor quota were reported from April 2026 (check with your boat operator).
- AmericasTimed entry or quota
US national parks: timed entry and non-resident fees
Seasonal timed-entry or peak-hours reservations at a few busy parks (in 2026 Rocky Mountain, plus Haleakalā sunrise), and from 2026 a non-resident surcharge at 11 of the busiest parks, on top of the park entrance fee.
- Lead time
- 1 day+
- How
- Apply yourself
About US$1–2 booking fee per vehicle plus entry (US$20–35 per vehicle). From 1 January 2026 non-US residents pay US$250 for the annual pass (US$80 for residents), or US$100 per person aged 16+ on top of entry at 11 busy parks including Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion and Glacier (check).
- AsiaRestricted area
Vietnam: border-area permits
Some districts along the China and Laos borders ask foreigners for a border-area permit or registration; rules differ district by district and have changed after the 2025 province mergers.
- Lead time
- 1 day+
- How
- Yourself or an operator
Free to about ₫200,000 where a paper permit is still issued (check locally).
- AsiaRestricted area
India: Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Most visitor islands no longer need a Restricted Area Permit, but tribal reserves, the Nicobar group and some islands stay closed to foreigners.
- Lead time
- On arrival
- How
- Apply yourself
No permit fee for open islands; park and forest entry fees extra (check).
- AsiaPark or area fee
Raja Ampat marine fee
An environmental service fee (the Raja Ampat entry tag) for every visitor, valid for a year, that pays for the marine protected areas.
- Lead time
- On arrival
- How
- Yourself or an operator
About Rp700,000–1,000,000 for foreign visitors (check).
- EuropeExpedition rules
Svalbard: field rules and notification
No permit for Longyearbyen, but trips outside the settlements need polar-bear protection, some areas need notification to the Governor, and protected areas have tight limits on landings, drones and distance from wildlife.
- Lead time
- On arrival
- How
- Yourself or an operator
No fee for town visits; guided trips extra; independent expeditions must carry search-and-rescue insurance or a guarantee (check).