Nepal has opened 104 new, virgin peaks for mountaineers, taking the total number of peaks for climbing to 414, in an attempt to boost tourism that virtually ended after the deadliest avalanche on Mt Everest in April.
The tourism industry division of the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation said as many as 414 mountains will now be open to summit.
"Now onwards, there is no need to obtain climbing permit to all peaks below 5,800m," Joint Secretary Madhusudan Burlakoti was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times.
The newly-opened peaks, that include the 7,681-metre Hillary Peak and the 7,916-metre Tenzing Peak, have not been conquered before, meaning climbers have the chance to be the first to ascend them.
Nepal Mountaineering Association Chairman Ang Tshering Sherpa hailed the decision claiming that it would set the mountaineering world abuzz, according to the report.
The summer climbing season for the Himalayas usually lasts from April to May and the autumn season from late September to November. Nepal has eight of the 14 tallest peaks in the world.
On April 18, an avalanche on the world's highest peak led to the effective closure of the climbing season, a key revenue earner for the country.
Hundreds of climbers since then have abandoned plans to conquer Everest from the Nepalese side - the easiest and most popular route - after 16 local sherpa guides were killed in the deadliest disaster on the 8,850-metre peak.
The services of Sherpa guides are considered to be important for climbing mountains.
About 4,000 people have scaled Mt Everest since 1953 when Tenzing Sherpa and Edmund Hillary made it to the summit of the peak.
More than 250 people have died while attempting to climb the 8,848-metre-high summit.
Nepal government data shows there are 1,455 trekking and 1,884 travel and tour agencies registered in the country.
