The initiative, according to Nepal's tourism department, is aimed at showcasing the "unexplored tourism Products & Destinations". Home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains, including its tallest peak, Mount Everest, mountaineering is a major revenue earner for Nepal. Fees from last year's climbers brought in $5.9m, all of which was handed to the government, and Everest is responsible for more than three-quarters of that figure.
Focus on Remote Provinces
These peaks are situated in Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces, the far west of Nepal. The mountains range from 5,970m to 7,132 m and are above some of the poorest and most underdeveloped areas in this country. Although the view is impressive, access is difficult, and this area receives almost no tourists or mountaineering traffic.
Officials are hoping the initiative will lead to job creation, revenue generation and economic development in the area. But lingering questions remain as to whether infrastructure and connectivity will be able to cope with all those additional climbers. Only 68 climbers have attempted these peaks in the last two years, as opposed to the 421 climbing permits that were issued for just Everest in a solitary year (2024).
Everest Rules and Rising Costs
In recent years, Mount Everest, which towers over 8,849m above the Himalayas on the China-Nepal border, has become notorious for overcrowding, environmental degradation and dangerous efforts to climb it. Last April, Nepal's Supreme Court ordered restrictions on the number of permits for Everest and other high peaks, saying that the mountains have their carrying capacity.
The cost of a permit to climb Everest has also skyrocketed. Outside of the April–May peak season, climbing is priced at $7,500 from September through November and $3,750 from December to February. As a new law is being debated in Nepal's parliament, under which the climbers will have to first summit any one of the 7000-meter-high mountains within the country before attempting Everest, peaks in areas like Karnali and Sudurpaschim double up as great training grounds.
