Nepal may offer 165 new peaks to scale this season

A government panel has recommended the names of 165 new peaks to be opened in Nepal for the upcoming adventure season, officials said Thursday.

A culture, tourism and civil aviation ministry subcommittee recommended the new expeditions in a report after extensive consultations with local people, tourism institutions and experts in the field, reports Xinhua.

"We conducted an in-depth study for preparing the report, and the government will take decisions after the detailed study," the coordinator of the sub-committee, Ang Tshering Sherpa, explained.

Ang Tshering, a former president of Nepal Mountaineering Association, said that if the initiative is implemented, it will boost the country' s tourism industry and uplift the local economy.

Currently, around 326 peaks are open for mountain expeditions and adventure sports in Nepal.

The highest peak in the new list is 8,000 metres tall above sea level. Also, there are a total of 143 of the peaks that are 6,000 metres tall.

The government opened 122 new peaks in 2003, and nine other peaks in 2004, but since then no new peaks have been opened for climbing expeditions.