Bookings for trips to Mount Everest have risen two-fold in the run up to the 60th anniversary of the first recorded ascent, according to a leading adventure holiday specialist.
Tour operator World Expeditions has said that the unprecedented interest in Mount Everest treks over the last six months are partly down to the fact that visitors are keen to recreate the feat achieved by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgar in 1953.
The challenging ascent can now be achieved by travellers safely within a shorter time frame, according to the operator.
Visitor numbers are also said to have been boosted by the number of permanent camp sites that have now been established on the mountain.
World Expeditions has offered holidays to Nepal since 1975, with more than 60 itineraries in the Himalayas currently on offer.
To mark 60 years since the first accent, World Expeditions is offering a number of Everest treks in May next year.
They will end on May 29, exactly 60 years after the first ascent, at the Buddist Thyangboche Monestery, a staggering 3,800m above sea level.
The treks, which are open to travellers of all abilities, will include a minimum of five days at camp sites, giving participants the chance to acclimatise.
Treks to Mount Everest have been surrounded by controversy in recent months, with reports of overcrowding. This includes a photograph of 200 mountaineers waiting to reach the summit, published in The Telegraph in May.
More than 200 people have died on Everest since the first ascent, including ten deaths in 2012. Despite the danger, 3,500 climbers have reached the summit and the mountain still proves to be a draw for climbers the world over.
Recent high-profile attempts to climb the mountain include an attempt by a five-strong team of servicemen, walking for charity Walk With the Wounded.
However, the trek was called off due to adverse weather conditions. Prince Harry is a patron of the charity and although he could not attend the trek due to work commitments, he joined the team days before their Nepal departure.
(Images: Luca Galuzzi, Gail Morrison)
