January 5: The number of tourists visiting Sagarmatha National Park has increased by more than three folds in the first five months of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period of last year.

According to the Namche-based office of Sagarmatha National Park, a total of 7,464 persons had visited the national park, which is home to the world’s highest peak Mt Everest, during the first five months of last fiscal year.

Meanwhile, 25,029 tourists visited the national park in the first five months of the current fiscal year, according to the national park’s information officer Manoj Mandal.

He said that a total of 21,853 foreigners and 3,176 Nepalis visited the Everest region during this period.

Among the foreign visitors, 1990 were from the SAARC countries while the remaining visitors were from other countries.

The national park collected revenue worth Rs 35.5 million in the first five months of the current fiscal  year.

The park charges Rs 3000 per person in case the visitor is a foreign national. Similarly, it charges Rs 1500 for visitors from SAARC countries and Rs 100 for Nepalis.

The number of visitors during last year was less due to the impact of Covid-19 and restrictions imposed by the government. After the restrictions were lifted, the number of visitors increased significantly, informed the park officials.

Sagarmatha National Park was established in 1976 and covers an area of 1148 square kilometers in Solukhumbu district of eastern Nepal.

Besides having the world’s highest peak Everest, the national park also boasts of other towering peaks such as Lhotse, Nupse, Cho Oyu, Pumori, Ama Dablam, Thamsherku, Numbur, Cholatse, Lobuche among others.