KATHMANDU, AUGUST 28

The Department of Tourism (DoT) has commenced distribution of expedition permits for the upcoming autumn season.

According to the department, three expedition teams have received permission for altogether 15 foreign mountaineers to scale three mountains this autumn season.

Permits for three mountains ranging from 6,000 metres to 8,000 metres have been issued so far, which include Mt Manaslu (8,163 m), Mt Himlung Himal (7,126 m) and Mt Saribung (6,346 m). The largest number of permits have been issued for Mt Manaslu, that is for 11 climbers - nine male and two female climbers.

The lowest volume of permit is for Mt Saribung with only one male climber, while three male climbers will be attempting to scale Mt Himlung Himal.

'As the autumn weather is more favourable compared to spring, many climbers scale Mt Manaslu and Ama Dablam in this season than any other mountains,' said Surya Prasad Upadhyay, director of DoT.

'Unlike spring season, climbers prefer other mountains and peaks than Mt Everest,' Upadhyay added.

As per DoT, eight climbers from Argentina, two each from Germany, Italy and Japan, and one from Spain have received permits for autumn season.

Meanwhile, the DoT has collected $10,775 in revenue so far from issuing the autumn climbing permits.

As tourism activities are gradually returning to normalcy, the summer expedition went relatively well despite the escalation of Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to Upadhyay.

'The department expects the number of climbers to rise further,' he informed, adding the department is expecting more than 100 climbers this autumn season against 81 foreign climbers who had obtained climbing permits in the autumn season last year.

According to Nima Nuru Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), a number of foreign climbers are set to visit Nepal for the autumn expedition, as tourism is in gradual recovery.

'First of all, Nepal normally receives more foreign climbers for trekking and peak climbing during the autumn season compared to the spring. And this year, we expect more climbers than last year as the government has eased the COVID rules for vaccinated travellers,' he said.

According to Sherpa, NMA had issued peak permits to around 500 climbers last autumn.

'The expedition companies in Nepal have said that they have been receiving overwhelming queries via phone and e-mail from the clients for the autumn expedition. We're expecting the best season after the pandemic and are excited to welcome more climbers.'

A version of this article appears in the print on August 29, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.