Climbing in Asia

Nepal is where most people go for their first high mountain. The government’s royalty for a spring ascent of Mount Everest (8,849 m) by the South Col route rose from 11,000 to 15,000 USD per foreign climber in September 2025, and autumn permits now cost 7,500 USD. Those are permit fees only: a guided Everest expedition with oxygen, Sherpa support and two months on the mountain costs many times more. Lhotse, Cho Oyu and Manaslu are the usual “easier” 8,000 m peaks for building experience, and Annapurna I, the tenth highest, has one of the worst fatality rates of any major mountain.

K2 (8,611 m), the world’s second-highest mountain, sits at the head of the Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan’s Central Karakoram National Park. Expeditions fly to Skardu, drive to Askole and walk about a week up the glacier past Broad Peak and the Gasherbrum peaks. The climbing season is short, mainly June to August, and K2’s summit success rate is far lower than Everest’s. Trekkers can follow the same route to K2 Base Camp at Concordia. Nanga Parbat (8,126 m) stands alone further west, above the Karakoram Highway near Gilgit.

North of the Karakoram, Lenin Peak (7,134 m) on the Kyrgyz and Tajik border is one of the most climbed 7,000 m peaks in the world, with a well-supported base camp. See Climbing in Central Asia for the Pamirs and Tien Shan.

Mount Kinabalu (4,095 m) in Kinabalu Park, two hours from Kota Kinabalu, is the highest mountain in Malaysia and the classic two-day climb: about 6 km up to the huts at Panalaban (Laban Rata) on day one, then a 2am start for sunrise on the granite summit plateau. A licensed guide is compulsory, permits are tied to a booked bed at Panalaban, and both sell out months ahead in peak season. Budget roughly RM 400 (about 95 USD) for the foreigner’s permit plus the guide, insurance and hut, or book a package. Mountain Torq’s via ferrata, the iron rungs and cables on the summit cliffs, can be added on the descent.

Railay in Krabi is Asia’s best-known sport crag: overhanging limestone above the beach, hundreds of bolted routes from beginner slabs to hard tufa lines, and deep-water soloing off the cliffs by longtail. Next door, Ton Sai is the climbers’ base, both reached only by boat from Ao Nang. Half-day courses and gear rental are easy to find. The dry season, November to April, is the time to go; sea air corrodes bolts, so climb with a local shop that knows which routes are rebolted. Our rock climbing in Thailand page has the detail.

Yangshuo in Guangxi is China’s sport-climbing capital, with hundreds of bolted routes on the karst towers around the Li River, including the arch of Moon Hill; spring and autumn are cooler and drier than the humid summer. In Korea, the granite domes of Bukhansan above Seoul have multi-pitch routes on Insubong reachable by subway and bus. Huangshan in Anhui is a hiking mountain, not a climbing one: stone staircases and cable cars lead to the famous pines and sea of clouds. See Climbing in East Asia.

In India, the granite boulder fields around Hampi in Karnataka draw boulderers from about November to February, among the temple ruins.

Peaks in Nepal and Pakistan need permits arranged through a registered agency, and Nepal requires licensed guides on its mountains. Fees change often, so check before you go. Altitude is the main danger: climb slowly, follow the rule of sleeping no more than 300 to 500 m higher each night above 3,000 m, and descend at the first signs of altitude sickness. Make sure your insurance covers mountaineering to your summit altitude and helicopter rescue, which many standard policies exclude above 4,000 to 6,000 m. On tropical crags, check bolts and lower-offs, as salt and humidity corrode steel faster than in Europe. For the rest of the world, see Best Mountains for Climbing.