SOLUKHUMBHU: The Department of Tourism (DoT) has issued the highest number of permits for mountaineering expeditions to the Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, this season.

The DoT has issued permits to 365 members of 39 different expedition groups as of last Tuesday.

As April and May are the times when the weather condition is often at its best for expedition, more and more climbers are arriving at the DoT to obtain the permit to scale the 8,848-metre-high mountain, according to Information Officer (IO) Durga Dutta Dhakal at the DoT.

IO Dhakal shared that that was the highest number of climbing permit issued for the Everest Expedition since the first successful ascent of the Everest in 1953. He said a total of 289 climbers from 34 groups had obtained permit in the same season last year.

Dhakal estimates that the number of climbers could surpass 365 as the permit could be obtained until the last of April.

As many as 294 members from 31 groups have already set on the journey towards the Everest Base Camp after receiving another permit from the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) in Namche Bazaar, the gateway to Mt Everest.

While most of the climbers opt for flight from Kathmandu to Lukla and trek from there to the Everest Base Camp, some enthusiastic travellers tend to tread the traditional route – Jiri – Salleri - Everest base camp - chosen by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, the first persons to set their foot atop the Mount Everest.

With an increase in number of climbers, the world's highest peak is likely to witness jam. To ease the congestion, the Nepal Mountaineering Association President Ang Tshering Sherpa assures that Association is working towards effective crowd management on Mount Everest.