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The price to climb Mount Everest will soon increase for the first time in nearly a decade, as Nepal has announced a major hike in permit fees.
From September, those wanting to climb the world’s highest mountain in high season will have to pay $15,000 (£12,180), a 36% increase on the long-standing fee of $11,000, officials said on Wednesday.
Fees for those wanting to board outside of the April to May peak will also increase by the same percentage, meaning it will cost $7,500 for September to November and $3,750 for December to February.
Revenue from permit fees is an important source of income for Nepal, with mountaineering and trekking contributing more than 4% to the country’s economy.
Mountaineering experts often criticize the Nepalese government for allowing too many climbers to climb Everest, despite issuing around 300 permits a year for the mountain.
It is unclear whether the price hike that has been under discussion since last year will slow demand.
“Eroty (permit fees) were not revised for a long time,” Tourism Department Director General Narayan Prasad Regmi told Reuters. “We’ve updated them now.”
Regmi has not specified how the extra income will be used.
In April 2024, Nepal’s Supreme Court ordered the government to limit the number of mountaineering permits issued for Everest and other peaks, saying the ability of mountains “must be respected”.
The pre-order did not set a maximum amount, however.
Amid concerns over Everest’s overcrowding and climbers queuing in dangerous conditions to reach the summit, the Nepalese army in 2019 began an annual cleanup of the mountain, often described as the world’s highest garbage dump.
At least five clean-ups during that time have collected 119 tons of trash, 14 human corpses and some skeletons, according to the army, but estimates are that another 200 bodies remain on the mountain.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest.
