Kathmandu, Feb 5 (IANS): Nepal has banned solo expeditions to all the mountains above 8,000 metres inside the country, including the world's tallest Mount Everest or Mount Qomolangma, an official said on Wednesday.

The government has made it mandatory for all climbers to be backed by a guide in the expeditions by amending the mountaineering regulations, said Liladhar Awasti, Director at the Department of Tourism.

"The move was taken to ensure the safety of the climbers on the peaks above 8,000 metres," Awasti told Xinhua news agency.

The South Asian country announced in January that it would raise climbing permit fees for Mount Everest which straddles Nepal and China, with the fee for foreigners hiked to 15,000 US dollars from 11,000 dollars from September 1 for the spring climbing season.

"The new rate will be effective on September 1, 2025," said Madhav Adhikari, an official from the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

For Nepali climbers, the fee has been doubled from 75,000 Nepali rupees (about $545) to 150,000 rupees (about $1,090).

Nepal, which has eight globally-recognised peaks above 8,000 metres, last revised the climbing permit fees on January 1, 2015.

Mount Everest attracts many climbers, including highly experienced mountaineers. There are two main climbing routes, one approaching the summit from the southeast in Nepal (known as the 'standard route') and the other from the north in Tibet. While not posing substantial technical climbing challenges on the standard route, Everest presents dangers such as altitude sickness, weather, and wind, as well as hazards from avalanches and the Khumbu Icefall.

Nepal is an ideal destination for adventure tourism because of its variegated, often formidable geography, inherently replete with rich, refreshing nature. Once in Nepal, one can enjoy a number of outdoor activities from Paragliding near the mountains to spotting the Bengal tigers in the dense forest of Chitwan.