Nepal to slash fees to climb Everest

Nepal to slash fees to climb Everest
By admin


Nepal will slash climbing fees for Everest and other Himalayan peaks to attract more mountaineers, despite existing concerns of overcrowding during the climbing season.

The government will cut licence fees for foreign individuals trying to scale the world's highest peak from $US25,000 ($A28,000) to $US11,000 from next year, tourism ministry official Dipendra Paudel says.

However, fees for group expeditions to Everest will go up, in a bid to discourage large numbers climbing together and to reduce tensions on the mountain during peak months, Paudel said on Friday.

Under existing rules, groups of seven climbers pay $US70,000 in total, which officials say encourages climbers of varying abilities to club together. But under the new fees, a group of seven pays $US77,000.

"The past rules led to a situation where a team had several members, not all of them equally competent," Paudel said.

"We also realised that this often resulted in clashes among the mountaineers. This format also hampered the rescue efforts," he said.

"We hope the new measure would help increase the number of climbers (overall)," Paudel added.

Everest is a key revenue earner for the impoverished country, with hundreds scaling the mountain every year, but many in the climbing community warn of the dangers of over-commercialisation.

A brawl last year between three European climbers and Nepalese guides on Everest made global headlines, raising concerns of overcrowding during the climbing months from March to May.

Photographs showing queues of climbers waiting their turn to reach the 8,850-metre high summit, as well as gathering mounds of rubbish, have also highlighted the problems on the "roof of the world".

The rise in the number of group expeditions with climbers of varying abilities has also raised worries about the risk of accidents.

Under the new fees, individual climbers tackling other 8,000-metre peaks will be charged $US1800 instead of the existing $US5000.

Hundreds of climbers scale Nepal's more than 100 peaks every year. Everest, straddling Nepal and China, alone contributes $US3 million to the country annually.

Latest News

  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]

  • Luxury

Malolo Island Resort opens brand new Spa

Fiji’s Malolo Island has added another string to its bow – opening its $1.3 million day spa on Thursday, 18th April 2024. (Lead Image: matriarch Rosie Whitton with spa staff) Located at the edge of the resort’s luscious patch of tropical rainforest, the new “Leilani’s Spa” adds another level of elevated experiences to Malolo’s already […]