Kathmandu, 28 October (H.S.): Nepal has granted climbing permits to 1,410 mountaineers from 76 countries to scale 44 Himalayan peaks during the autumn climbing season. A total of 161 expedition teams have received permission to undertake mountaineering expeditions this season.

Sudha Regmi, a section officer at Nepal’s Department of Tourism, said that the permits had been issued to 1,069 men and 341 women for climbing the 44 peaks. The department has collected royalties amounting to 318,050,778 Nepalese rupees from the climbers for issuing the permits.

Mount Manaslu, standing at 8,163 metres, has attracted the highest number of climbers among the permitted peaks. A total of 500 mountaineers belonging to 43 expedition teams have obtained permits to climb the mountain, including 373 men and 127 women. The department has collected royalties of 225,857,189 Nepalese rupees from these expeditions.

Similarly, 37 climbers from six teams have received permits to scale Dhaulagiri I, generating royalties of 8,473,650 Nepalese rupees. Three climbers from a single team have been granted permission to climb Mount Makalu, bringing in revenue of 688,050 Nepalese rupees.

According to the department, permits issued for the Himalayan peaks have generated royalties of USD 2,089,584, equivalent to approximately 318.05 million Nepalese rupees.

Regmi said that 121 mountaineers from 12 expedition teams had obtained permits to climb Mount Himlung, generating royalties of 7,427,720 Nepalese rupees. Meanwhile, 386 climbers from 32 teams had received permission to scale Ama Dablam, contributing 57,699,650 Nepalese rupees in revenue.

The department has also issued permits for expeditions to several other Himalayan peaks, including Putha Hiunchuli, Danga Hiunchuli, Baruntse, Gangapurna West (Langchenal), Thorong Peak, Norbu Khang, Annapurna IV, Chamlang, Lamjung Himal, Pumori, Saribung, Thapa Peak (Dhampus), Pokhar Khang, Ardang, Jugal and Pheri, among others.

Chinese nationals account for the largest number of climbers granted permits, with 141 applicants. They are followed by climbers from France (130), the United States (119), Russia (108) and the United Kingdom (96).

The list also includes 47 climbers each from Switzerland and Italy, 41 from Poland, 40 from India, 35 from Japan, 33 from Nepal and 31 from Spain.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar