410 climbers allowed to scale 16 mountains in Nepal

Kathmandu: A total of 410 mountaineers from 55 countries and regions have received permission by Tuesday to summit 16 peaks in Nepal in the fall season.

Among the climbers including 90 women, 308 are allowed to climb Mount Manaslu, the world's eighth highest peak at 8,163 metres, and 14 for Mount Dhaulagiri, the world's seventh tallest at 8,167 metres, according to the Department of Tourism.

"The number of permit seekers is increasing," Rakesh Gurung, Director at the department, told Xinhua news agency.

The Nepali government has earned 309,853 US dollars in royalty fees through issuing the permits, the department said.

The department records showed that 61 climbers are from China, followed by 38 each from Russia and the United States.

The fall climbing season in Nepal starts in September and runs until November.