Nepal hikes Mount Everest climbing fee by 36%
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth, reaching 29,031.7 feet above sea level. New Zealand's Ed Hillary and Nepal’s Tenzing Norgay are the first known people to reach the summit on May 29, 1953. The primary climbing seasons run from March to May and September to October. Every year an estimated 500 to around 1,000 climbers attempt to scale the mountain.
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KATHMANDU, Nepal - Starting in late 2025, the permit fee for climbing Mount Everest will increase by more than 36%, according to a private expedition group based in the Himalayas.
Under the revised fee structure set by the government of Nepal, climbers will be required to pay $15,000 to ascend Everest’s most popular route during the busy spring season, with more modest increases for other times of the year and smaller mountains.
Each year, an estimated 500 to 1,000 climbers attempt to summit Everest, which stands at 29,031.7 feet above sea level.
The first successful ascent of Everest was made on May 29, 1953, by New Zealand’s Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepal’s Tenzing Norgay.
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![In this picture taken on May 31, 2021 shows the Himlayan range as seen from the summit of Mount Everest (8,848.86-metre), in Nepal.]()
Image 1 of 4In this picture taken on May 31, 2021 shows the Himlayan range as seen from the summit of Mount Everest (8,848.86-metre), in Nepal. (Photo by Lakpa SHERPA / AFP)
![Tents of mountaineers are pictured at Everest base camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district on April 18, 2024 on the tenth anniversary of an avalance which killed 16 Nepali guides. Ten years ago on April 18, 2014, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain.]()
Image 2 of 4Tents of mountaineers are pictured at Everest base camp in the Mount Everest region of Solukhumbu district on April 18, 2024 on the tenth anniversary of an avalance which killed 16 Nepali guides. Ten years ago on April 18, 2014, Nepali mountain guide Dawa Tashi Sherpa was fighting for his life after being hit by an avalanche on Everest which was then the deadliest disaster on the world's highest mountain. (Photo by Purnima SHRESTHA / AFP)
![This photograph taken on May 31, 2021 shows mountaineers lined up as they climb a slope during their ascend to summit Mount Everest (8,848.86-metre), in Nepal.]()
Image 3 of 4This photograph taken on May 31, 2021 shows mountaineers lined up as they climb a slope during their ascend to summit Mount Everest (8,848.86-metre), in Nepal. (Photo by LAKPA SHERPA/AFP via Getty Images)
![In this photo taken on May 17, 2018, mountaineers make their way to the summit of Mount Everest, as they ascend on the south face from Nepal.]()
Image 4 of 4In this photo taken on May 17, 2018, mountaineers make their way to the summit of Mount Everest, as they ascend on the south face from Nepal. (Photo by Phunjo LAMA / AFP)
Despite its awe-inspiring views, the mountain has earned the nickname of "the world’s highest garbage dump."
Hikers say the terrain is littered with discarded oxygen bottles, cans, plastic wrappers and even human waste.
Clean-up expeditions are regularly held, but efforts are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of waste and a lack of strict enforcement of disposal regulations.
Everest’s thin air in combination with blizzard conditions make clean-up efforts nearly impossible, with hazardous weather attributed to at least a quarter of all deaths on the mountain.
According to the Himalayan Database, 18 people died on Mount Everest in spring 2023, making it one of the deadliest seasons on record.
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The required fees do not cover the costs for guides, gear, food and supplemental oxygen, which can add tens of thousands of dollars to a climber’s expenses.
lan Arnette, a famed U.S. climber who has summited the world’s highest peaks, estimates that most people pay between $40,000 and $60,000 with some climbers paying into the hundreds of thousands.
While the government of Nepal has not publicly stated how it plans to allocate the additional revenue from the permit increases, tourism is one of the Asian country's primary economic drivers.
The World Bank estimates that tourism contributes more than $2 billion annually to the country’s economy, with a large amount tied to the nation’s 400 peaks that are open to adventurers.
The new rates will go into effect in September, but most climbers are not expected to be impacted until the spring 2026 hiking season commences.
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