Govt Permits Over 2,000 Tourists To Climb 6,500m Peaks

News Desk

Islamabad: As many as 2,200 permits are issued to foreign adventure tourists to climb peaks above 6,500 meters in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), including five 8,000ers: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-I, Gasherbrum-II and Nanga Parbat.

GB Tourism Department Deputy Director Sajid Hussain stated that even more applications are being reviewed to allow foreign climbers to climb the peaks. The number of requests for permission to climb the peaks this year is very high which is a new record, he added.

Sajid further said that the GB government is charging $12,000 per permit to an expedition group which usually has seven members

Last year, 1,937 foreign tourists visited GB to climb the peaks; the highest number of mountaineers visiting the region for mountaineering expeditions.

From 2007 to 2022, permits were issued by the GB Council Secretariat in Islamabad, but since last year, the GB tourism department has been given the authority to issue permits.

Deputy Director informed that in 2023, the income obtained from the permit is being deposited in the consolidated account of the GB government; earlier, this income was going to the federal account.

Moreover, 11 foreign mountaineers have successfully climbed the 8,052-meter Broad Peak and the 8,034-meter Gasherbrum II.

Over 200 climbers started their journey to reach the top of the 8,611-meter peak.

Seven Summit Treks said that seven climbers, including a Sherpa, reached the 12th highest peak in the world, called Broad Peak, on July 15.