Nepal hits Everest climbers with higher permit fees

The cost to ascend Mount Everest will soon rise for the first time in almost ten years, as Nepal reveals a significant hike in permit charges.

Starting in September, climbers aiming to reach the highest peak on Earth during the prime season will need to pay $15,000 (£12,180), which marks a 36% increase from the previous fee of $11,000, officials announced on Wednesday.

Charges for individuals wishing to climb outside the peak period of April to May will also rise by the same percentage – indicating a cost of $7,500 from September to November, and $3,750 from December to February.

Revenue from permit fees is a vital income source for Nepal, with mountain climbing and trekking accounting for over 4% of the national economy. Mountaineering experts often criticise Nepal’s government for allowing too many climbers on Everest, however, with about 300 permits to the mountain issued per year.

It is unclear if the price increase, which was under discussion since last year, will slow demand. “The royalty (permit fees) had not been reviewed for a long time,” Narayan Prasad Regmi, director general of the Department of Tourism, told Reuters. “We have updated them now.”

Regmi did not detail how the additional funds would be allocated.

In April 2024, Nepal’s Supreme Court instructed the government to restrict the issuance of mountaineering permits for Everest and additional peaks, stating that the mountains’ capacity “should be honored.” However, the initial order did not establish a limit on the quantity.

In response to worries about congestion on Everest and climbers waiting in perilous situations to attain the peak, the Nepalese army initiated an annual clean-up of the mountain in 2019, often referred to as the highest garbage dump on the planet.

During that period, at least five clean-up efforts have gathered 119 tonnes of waste, 14 human bodies, and several skeletons, as reported by the military – yet it is believed that an additional 200 bodies are still on the mountain. Nepal hosts eight of the 14 tallest mountains in the world, with Everest among them.