Climbing Mount Everest becomes more expensive in bid to tackle overtourism
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The changes will come into effect from September. Nepal is set to increase the cost of climbing Mount Everest, marking the first price hike for the world’s highest peak in nearly a decade. The permit fee will jump by 36%, rising from $11,000 to $15,000, according to Narayan Prasad Regmi, director general of Nepal’s Department of Tourism.
![[Bright yellow tents in Mount Everest Base Camp, Khumbu glacier and mountains, Sagarmatha national park, Nepal, Himalayas]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/07/02/09/iStock-1292532931.jpg)
This move is expected to generate significant revenue for the nation, which heavily relies on income from mountaineering tourism. For Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest, the influx of foreign climbers provides a crucial source of income and employment opportunities. The increased fees will apply to those seeking to summit the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak.
“The royalty (permit fees) had not been reviewed for a long time. We have updated them now,” Regmi told Reuters. The new rate will come into effect from September and apply for the popular climbing April-May season along the standard South East Ridge, or South Col route, pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Fees for the less popular September-November season and the rarely climbed December-February season will also increase by 36%, to $7,500 and $3,750 respectively. Nepal is often criticised by mountaineering experts for allowing too many climbers on Everest and doing little to keep it clean or to ensure climbers’ safety.
