Nepal Increases Everest Permit Fee (image: x.com/Jefersonnasa_)

Kathmandu, Nepal: First time in close to a decade, Nepal announced a sharp hike in permit fees to climb Mount Everest by 36 percent. The country has introduced a lot of welfare measures focusing on controlling garbage pollution on the world’s tallest mountain, officials said.

As per the revised fee regulations, the royalty fee for foreigners climbing Everest from the normal south passage in March-May (spring season) has been increased to $15,000 from $11,000 per person. Similarly, in September-November (autumn season) climbing fee has increased from $5,500 to $7,500. The permit cost per individual for the December-February (winter season) and June-August (monsoon season) has increased from $2,750 to $3,750.

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Arati Neupane, Director of the Tourism Board told that a cabinet decision to this effect has already been made. The revised rate to this effect will come into being in September, she added.

For climbers from Nepal, the fee has been increased two-fold, from 75,000 Nepali rupees (about $545) to 150,000 rupees (about $1,090).

The climbing permits, which earlier has been valid for 75 days, will now be reduced to 55 days. This limited days was meant to refining climbing activities.

In April 2024, Nepal’s Supreme Court announced the government to reduce the number of mountaineering permits issued for Everest and other peaks, stating that the mountains’ capacity “must be respected”.

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Hundreds of climbers try to ascend Mount Everest and several other Himalayan peaks and the country is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest.