Kathmandu, February 11:

Government has named Lukla airport and route to Everest Base Camp (EBC) after pioneering mountaineers — Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, who first scaled the world’s tallest peak in 1953.

Following a cabinet decision on Sunday, the airstrip of Lukla, that Hillary built some 43 years ago, and the trekking trail from there to EBC will now be called — Tenzing-Hillary Airport and Tenzing-Hillary Route, respectively.

Confirming the government’s decision,Tourism Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung said that May 29, the day when the two climbers had reached the Everest Summit, would be observed as ‘International Mt Everest Day’ in the honour of the two mountaineering legends. New Zealander Hillary, who died last month at the age of 88, and Nepal’s Tenzing Norgay in 1986, climbed the 8,848-metre peak in 1953.

The government has also decided to name one of the Himalayan peaks after Hillary, Gurung told this daily, adding that the name of the peakc would be announced soon.

As per the request of Nepal Mountaineering Association, we plan to install the Hillary and Tenzing statues at the International Mountaineering Museum in Pokhara, he said.