Nepal announces it’s opening 97 peaks in Karnali and Sudurpaschim to international climbers for free as it hopes to diversify tourism away from the world’s highest mountain.

Nepal will make climbing permits free for 97 of its Himalayan mountains to create more tourism in some of its remote provinces.

For the next 2 years, nearly 100 mountains in the Nepalese Himalayas will be free to climb — no government fee required. This change to the country’s tourism policy, first reported by The Kathmandu Post last week, comes at the same time as several significant changes to regulations of Nepal’s most sought-after peaks.