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.

In a bold new initiative to promote lesser-visited corners of the Himalayas, Nepal will waive climbing permit fees for 97 peaks over the next two years. The move is aimed at drawing international mountaineers to the remote Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces,

Nepal will waive climbing fees for nearly 100 peaks in the remote northwestern Himalayas for the next two years to try and lure more mountaineers to the less developed region bordering China, an official said on Monday.