Nepal's 97 Royalty-Free Peaks: Karnali & Sudurpaschim (2025)

On 17 July 2025 (2 Shrawan 2082 BS) the Council of Ministers of Nepal decided to waive the mountaineering royalty on 97 peaks in the country's two far-western provinces for a period of two years. The decision was disclosed publicly on 3 August 2025 when the relevant Cabinet minute was released, and was implemented by the Department of Tourism (DoT) under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation. The waiver is temporary and, on its own terms, runs until roughly mid-2027.

All 97 mountains lie in the remote west: 77 are in Karnali Province and 20 in Sudurpaschim (Far-Western) Province. They span an elevation band from 5,870 metres up to 7,132 metres, so the list mixes modest trekking-style summits with serious high-altitude objectives. Crucially, the policy waives only the government royalty (the peak fee) - it does not make climbing entirely free, because the permit itself, expedition registration and a host of associated costs still apply.

The move is best understood alongside a parallel decision to raise the fee for the standard south-side Everest route from USD 11,000 to USD 15,000 per climber in the spring season, which took effect on 1 September 2025. Taken together, the two measures signal a deliberate push to disperse mountaineers away from the crowded Everest region and toward Nepal's least-visited ranges.

Three of the 97 peaks rise above 7,000 metres, and they are the marquee names on the list. Api (Api Himal) at 7,132 metres is the highest and the tallest mountain in the Yoka Pahar section of the Gurans Himal, a sub-range of the western Himalaya in Darchula District, Sudurpaschim. It is an ultra-prominent peak - its topographic prominence is about 2,040 metres - and its dramatic south face rises some 3,300 metres above its base. Api was first climbed on 10 May 1960 by a Japanese expedition of the Doshisha Alpine Society, with K. Hirabayashi and Gyaltsen Norbu Sherpa reaching the summit.

Nearby stands Api West at 7,076 metres, a distinct summit in the same massif that has seen far less traffic than its higher neighbour. The third 7,000er is Saipal (Saipal Himal) at 7,030 metres in Bajhang District, which was first climbed in 1963. These three peaks anchor the classic Api-Saipal region of the far west, a remote trekking and expedition zone crossed by the Great Himalaya Trail.

The remaining 94 peaks are all below 7,000 metres, and among them are many little-documented summits and several that are unclimbed or rarely attempted. This is the real draw of the waiver for exploratory mountaineers: the far west holds one of the largest concentrations of genuine first-ascent opportunities left in Nepal, in valleys such as the Salimor Khola where a number of 6,000-metre peaks remain virgin.

It is important to read the policy precisely. The government waives the climbing royalty, which for peaks in this height range typically ran between roughly USD 175 and USD 500 per climber depending on the peak's height and the season. That royalty is only one line item in the cost of a Nepal expedition, and often a small one.

Everything else that Nepali mountaineering rules require still applies. Climbers must obtain a climbing permit and formally register the expedition with the Department of Tourism, which handles safety, documentation and legal compliance. Foreigners cannot apply for a climbing permit directly: by law they must engage a registered Nepali trekking or expedition operator, whose service fees remain payable. For expedition-grade peaks, a government liaison officer and their insurance, plus insurance for guides, porters and cooks, add further cost.

On top of that come conservation-area entry fees where the route passes through a protected area, logistics of reaching one of Nepal's least-connected regions, and the usual expedition expenses of staff, food and equipment. In other words, the waiver removes a fee but not the expedition.

Karnali and Sudurpaschim are among Nepal's poorest and least-developed provinces, with weak road networks, few airports with reliable flights, and little share of the tourism economy that concentrates in the Everest, Annapurna and Langtang regions. The waiver is an attempt to redistribute mountaineering activity and its spending - on guides, porters, lodging, food and transport - into these communities.

The scale of the neglect is stark. According to the Department of Tourism figures reported by the Kathmandu Post, only 21 teams totalling 68 climbers attempted these 97 peaks over the preceding two years, generating just about Rs 1.4 million in fees. By comparison, in 2024 Nepal's climbing fees brought in about USD 5.92 million, of which Everest alone accounted for roughly USD 4.52 million - about 77 percent. The far west, in short, contributes almost nothing to royalty income, so waiving that royalty costs the treasury very little while offering a potential upside.

Officials framed the policy in exactly those terms. Himal Gautam, a director at the Department of Tourism, said of the peaks that 'these are some of the most remote parts of Nepal' and expressed hope that the new provision would help draw climbers and open the region's unclimbed mountains to the world. The second goal is congestion relief: steering some demand away from an increasingly crowded Everest.

For alpinists, the appeal of the far west is exploration rather than a bargain. The region contains numerous peaks that are unclimbed, seldom climbed, or lacking documented routes, making it one of the best remaining arenas in Nepal for first ascents and new lines. Waiving the royalty lowers one barrier to attempting them and gives the peaks welcome publicity.

But experienced observers, including ExplorersWeb, have cautioned that the peak fee is a very small share of a western-Nepal expedition's true cost. The British mountaineer Mick Fowler, who has climbed extensively in the region, has noted that the royalty is a minor line item next to the expense of simply getting there. The genuine obstacles are logistical: long, unreliable overland travel, weather-dependent flights, sparse infrastructure, and the need for a fully self-sufficient expedition in areas with little rescue capacity.

So the waiver is best read as a signal and a modest incentive rather than a transformative discount. It rewards the self-reliant, exploratory climber who was already drawn to remote objectives, more than the commercial client comparing headline prices. Whether it meaningfully shifts traffic will depend on infrastructure and marketing over the two-year window.

The process for climbing one of the 97 peaks is the standard Nepali expedition workflow, minus the royalty payment. It runs through a registered operator and the Department of Tourism, and the waiver does not change the safety, insurance or registration requirements.

Because access to Karnali and Sudurpaschim is difficult, expeditions should budget generous time for travel and weather contingencies, and confirm the current status of the waiver and the peak list with the Department of Tourism before committing, as such provisions can be extended, amended or allowed to lapse.