Kathmandu, April 4

The number of climbers for this spring season is rising each passing day. Till Wednesday, the Department of Tourism (DoT) had issued expedition permits to 348 members of 39 expedition groups.

The permits have been issued for 15 different peaks among the peaks opened by the government for expeditions.

Every year, the DoT has been issuing the highest number of expedition permits to climbers for Mount Everest (8848m). A total of 161 climbers from 15 groups have received expedition permits for Mt Everest this season. Likewise, a total of 35 members from four groups have received permits for Lhotse (8516m).

Similarly, 30 expedition permits have been issued for Makalu (8463m), 23 for Annapurna (8091m), 22 for Kanchenjunga (8586m) and 16 expedition permits have been issued for Amadablam (6814m) so far.

Likewise, 12 expedition permits for Saribung (6346m), 11 for Pumori (7161m), 10 for Chamlang (7321m) and six permits for Gyalzen peak (6151m) have been issued. Besides, three permits for Kumbhakarna (7710m), two permits for Chhopabamare (6109m) and one for Thapa peak (6012m) have been issued.

With the issuance of these expedition permits, the DoT has collected a total of Rs 217 million expedition royalty till Wednesday. Of the total, royalty for Mt Everest is the highest and stands at Rs 192 million while for Mount Lhotse Rs 6.9 million has been collected. While DoT has collected royalty worth Rs 5.9 million for expeditions to Mount Makalu, it has collected Rs 4.5 million for Annapurna and Rs 3.9 million for Kanchenjunga till Wednesday.

The government levies $11,000 per person for foreign climbers to climb Mt Everest during the spring season, while Nepali climbers have to pay Rs 75,000 per person. Similarly, in case of other mountains, the government levies $1,800 on foreigners for peaks above 8,000 metres and Rs 10,000 for Nepali climbers.