Kathmandu: Nepal has honoured late Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa by renaming an airport that serves as the gateway to the world's highest peak after the two pioneer climbers.

Tenzing, a Nepali national who later took Indian citizenship, and New Zealander Sir Hillary, scaled Everest, the 8,448 mt. World's highest peak on May 20,1953.

Nepal Tourism Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung said the airport built in north eastern Lukla, at an altitude of 2,800 metre, would be known as the Tenzing-Hillary airport.

He said the trekking route from Lukla to the Everest base camp has also been named after the two climbers. The credit for building the airport at the hilly region of Lukla goes to Hillary, who also made valuable contributions in uplifting the life of local Sherpas of the region.

Hillary passed away at the age of 88 last month while Tenzing died in 1986 at the age of 72. Hillary helped to construct schools, hospitals, health posts and trails in and around Lukla in Solukhumbu district.

Nepal is also planning to install statues of Hillary and Tenzing at the mountaineering museum in Pokhara, the western tourist hub of the Himalayan nation, according to Ang Tsering Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association.

According to a report, the interim government was considering renaming one of Nepal's mountains as "Tenzing-Hillary peak."

Source : PTI