Peak Climbing Permit in Nepal
Being a mountainous country, Nepal is undoubtedly a premier mountaineering and climbing destination for thousands of climbers and mountaineers testing their skills on the lap of Himalayas.
Every year thousands of climbers and mountaineers come to Nepal with a motive to test their skills and challenge themselves in fulfilling their desire of summiting adventurous Himalayan Peak.
A peak climbing is a high-altitude climbing adventure, which is usually both technically and physically challenging. Peak climbing provides you a great probability to climb the Himalayas and taste the wilderness of being in the Snow.
Passing through beautiful Sherpa settlements and witnessing their different rituals, colorful lifestyle and vibrant culture is what makes peak climbing in Nepal worth taking a risk. Peak climbing being a technical sport required several considerations before one can actually perform this climbing activity.
The government of Nepal has imposed several rules and restrictions for peak climbing activities in order to maintain solace in terms of economic, safety, environmental and cultural concerns. Therefore, anyone wishing to trek or climb in Nepal needs to have a valid Permit.
The Permit required depends on the trekking region, mountain, and the destination.
The Mountaineering Section of the Ministry of the Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has given authority to Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) for providing climbers with the peak climbing permits.
The government has recently updated the Royalties of Mountain Climbing permits in Nepal. The changed royalty structure has been applied since the 1st of January 2015.
The purpose of restructuring the royalty fees is in order to inspire climbing tourism to make competitive with neighboring counties, to promote mountain climbing in remote locations and to encourage mountaineering/climbing all year round.
The characteristics of recently changed royalty fees are:
The permit fees were reduced to 50% for autumn expeditions than spring and to 25% for winter and summer expeditions.
The maximum number of expedition members allowed per expedition was raised from 12 to 15.
The individual or small size group is more advantageous with the changed structure.
Climbing royalty was waved for a period of 5 years for peaks located in mid and far western regions. See royalty Free Mountains.
An incremental royalty system was implemented, whereby the royalty fee is relative to a number of expedition members replacing the previous flat fee per expedition.
Given below are a few questions that would delightedly help every trekker who plans to challenge themselves on a Peak climbing expedition in Nepal.
1. What do you mean by NMA peaks?
Out of 33 peak permits previously managed by NMA, there are 27 peaks regulated by the Nepal Mountaineering Association on the present day. The NMA controlled peaks are termed as “Trekking Peaks” and they are technically very demanding. The other 6 peaks with the altitude less than 5800 meters are termed as royalty fee peaks by the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
2. Is permit essential to climb NMA Peaks?
Yes, a Permit issued by Nepal Mountaineering Association with an authorized signature is required for climbing NMA peaks. If any trekker is found involved in some illegal climbing activities, he/she is bound to face prosecution as per the laws of the Mountaineering Regulation of Nepal Tourism Act.
3. Who checks the Permits?
The Nepal Mountaineering Association has authorized its representatives at various regions to check the issues permits.
4. Does NMA provide permits for the Mount Everest expedition?
As mentioned above, the Nepal Mountaineering Association is only responsible for issuing permits for NMA peaks. Besides these, the permits for other open peaks are issued from the Ministry of Tourism.
5. Are there any training courses conducted by NMA?
The NMA is known to conduct an annual training program called Basic Mountaineering Course (BMC) and Advance Mountaineering Course (AMC) during the month of June and December. Besides training for Peak climbing, the Nepal Mountaineering Association also organizes training programs for Rock Climbing, Artificial Wall climbing, Mountain Rescue Training and Female Outdoor Leadership Training.
6. What is some additional information about the courses provided by NMA?
The duration of both the training is 45 days divided into 15 days theory class held at Kathmandu and one month of practical training at Langtang.
The minimum number of students required for this course is 4 with a maximum limit of 32.
The cost for the Basic mountaineering course is 7,500 Nepalese Rupees per student whereas for Advance Mountaineering course is 10000 Nepalese Rupees per student.
The cost includes food and accommodation but does not include the personal stuff of the trainees.
- Permit Fees of NMA Peaks
- Group “A” NMA Peaks
- Name of the Peak
- Region
- Height
- For Foreign Nationals
- For Nepali Citizens
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
- Cholatse
- Khumbu
- 6,440 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs.1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Kyazo Ri
- Mahalangur
- 6,186 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Phari Lapcha
- Mahalangur
- 6,017 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Nirekha
- Mahalangur
- 6,159 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Langsisa Ri
- Jugal
- 6,427 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Ombigaichen
- Mahalangur
- 6,340 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Bokta
- Kanchenjunga
- 6,143 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Chekigo
- Gaurishankar
- 6,257 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Lobuje West
- Khumbu
- 6,145 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Larkya Peak
- Manaslu
- 6,010 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- ABI
- Mahalangur
- 6,097 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Yubra Himal
- Langtang
- 6,035 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Group “B” NMA Peaks
- Name of the Peak
- Region
- Height
- For Foreign Nationals
- For Nepali Citizens
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
- Spring
- Summer
- Autumn
- Winter
- Himchuli
- Annapurna Himal
- 6,441 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Singu Chuli
- (Fluted Peak)
- Annapurna Himal
- 6,401 m
- $400
- $100
- $200
- $100
- Rs.5,000
- Rs. 1,250
- Rs.2,500
- Rs. 1,250
- Mera Peak
- Khumbu Himal
- 6,470 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Kusum Kanguru
- Khumbu Himal
- 6,367 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Kwangde
- Khumbu Himal
- 6,011 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Chulu West
- Manang District
- 6,427 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs. 4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Chulu East
- Manang District
- 6,584 m
- $400
- $100
- $200
- $100
- Rs.5,000
- Rs. 1,250
- Rs.2,500
- Rs. 1250
- Imja Tse( Island Peak )
- Khumbu Himal
- 6,160 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Pharchamo
- Rolwaling Himal
- 6,187 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Lobuje
- Khumbu Himal
- 6,119 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Ramdung
- Rolwaling Hima
- 5,925 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Pisang Peak
- Manang District
- 6,091 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Khongma Tse (Mehra Peak)
- Khumbu Himal
- 5,849 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Ganja La Chuli ( Naya Kanga )
- Langtang Himal
- 5,844 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
- Paldor Peak
- Langtang Himal
- 5,896 m
- $250
- $70
- $125
- $70
- Rs.4,000
- Rs. 1,000
- Rs.2,000
- Rs. 1000
Note: As per the recent updates brought to the royalty fees, the maximum number of members in one team is 15.
Garbage deposit for NMA regulated Peaks
A fee of $500 is necessary to be submitted to the Nepal Mountaineering association for obtaining the permits for NMA regulated peaks. However, there shall be refunds on the amount you pay as per the NMA provisions.
Preparation for Peak Climbing
Preparing for climbing a trekking peak is definitely a lot simpler than any expedition the reason being the lesser duration. Since the climbing period for trekking peaks is less than any expedition, few base camp equipment is sufficient for Peak climbing.
The complexity of climbing is less because it’s a low altitude. Therefore, preparing oneself for climbing a peak is a lot comforting than any other climbing expedition.
The peak climbing in Nepal is one of many praised activities as though being labeled as easy and small expedition, it requires a lot of experience for safe and risk-free climbing. For this reason, the trekkers need to have really sound knowledge on Peak climbing permits. I hope this article helped to clear your doubts about peak climbing in Nepal.
However, it would be better if you opt for good trekking agencies who will make every arrangement for your peak climbing Journey.
So do you gave enthusiasm, dreams and on top of it “interest” to touch the top of Peaks in this beautiful Himalayan Country? If yes, Nepal will always welcome you with open arms.
Have a safe time in the Land of Himalayas. Namaste from the top of the world!!