Climbers who want to scale Mount Everest are facing a steep hike in permit fees, as Nepal raises the price by more than 35 per cent.

A permit to climb the 8,849-metre (29,032ft) Everest will now cost $15,000 (£12,170), making the world’s tallest peak more expensive for mountaineers for the first time in nearly a decade.

Previously, the permits cost $11,000 (£8,925).

“The royalty [permit fees] had not been reviewed for a long time. We have updated them now,” said Narayan Prasad Regmi, the director general of Nepal’s tourism department.

Income from permit fees and other spending by foreign climbers is a key source of revenue and employment for the Himalayan nation, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, including Everest.