Mount Everest will reopen to trekkers this fall as Nepal resumes tourism

Climbing the 29,035ft-high Mount Everest is a life ambition for many people, wbich is why its closure in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic will have come as such a disappointment to lots of adventurers. So the news that the world’s highest peak will reopen this fall will be welcomed by mountain trekkers who have it in their sights.

The world’s highest peak will reopen this fall © Bartosz Hadyniak/Getty Images

Nepal is planning to begin issuing permits for Mount Everest and other Himalayan mountains for the autumn climbing season, which runs from September to November. Eight out of 14 of the world’s highest peaks are in Nepal, and they are Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Annapurna. International flights will resume from August 17, and the country's hotels and restaurants have already reopened. Both the trek to Mount Everest base camp and any attempt at scaling the mountain remain an important source of revenue for Nepal.

Mount Everest has captivated intrepid men and women since the 1920s, and the first climbing expedition to make it to the top was British mountaineer Edmund Hillary and sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. The two-week climb to Everest Base Camp is perhaps the world's most famous trek, and tens of thousands of people tackle the route every year. They train heavily and make huge sacrifices – many with their lives – in their own attempts to reach the summit. Trekking in the Everest region is a challenge because of the altitude, but the infrastructure for trekking is highly developed there.