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A permit to climb the world’s tallest mountain costs an eye-popping $15,000 — and that’s before you add in the price of airfare, gear and a guide.
But Nepal, which has long sought to diversify its tourism offerings beyond showpiece Mount Everest, has come up with a new plan to attract travelers to less expensive, less visited regions of the country.
The government announced it’s opening up 97 peaks in Karnali and Sudurpaschim, two states in far western Nepal, to international climbers for free.
“There are so many mountains (in Nepal),” Himal Gautam, a director in the Nepal Tourism Department, told CNN.
“Until now the government of Nepal has opened 462 mountains for commercial expedition. Out of them 102 mountains are still virgin, they are waiting for the first climbers.” He did not specify exactly which mountains are unclimbed.
Gautam added that due to the region’s remoteness and poverty, “those mountains have not been marketed properly.”
Karnali and Sudurpaschim border the Indian state of Uttarakhand on one side and China’s Tibet region on the other.
Gautam said that permits to climb these Himalayan peaks will be free for the next two climbing seasons. After that, the government will re-evaluate the plan. Seventy-seven of the mountains are in Karnali, and the other 20 are in Sudurpaschim.
“The government of Nepal wants to disseminate to the global mountaineering community that so many alluring and worth-climbing mountains are located in those two provinces. And there are many more other touristic destinations (there),” said Gautam.
Getting travelers to these areas isn’t easy. Sudurpaschim is 535 kilometers (330 miles) from Kathmandu, and Karnali is about 400 kilometers (250 miles) away. Both require three-hour flights from the capital. Once in Sudurpaschim and Karnali, roads are challenging and amenities sparse.
Tourism is big business in Nepal.
The country welcomed 1.15 million international tourists in 2024, and the tourism industry employs more than one million Nepalis.
Overcrowding at the world’s tallest mountain has caused increasing problems in recent decades. As a result, Nepal — which is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks — has made efforts to crack down on the number of unprepared climbers on Everest while redirecting tourists to other parts of the country.
The price of climbing permits went up 36% earlier this year, up from $11,000. And now, would-be Everest climbers must show proof that they have previously scaled at least one 7,000-meter-plus mountain in Nepal.
Several of the mountains on the new free-to-climb list fit the bill, offering an opportunity to practice, explore and set records.
EDITOR’S NOTE: CNN’s Esha Mitra contributed reporting.
