The highest mountains in the world – top 10. Discover the majesty of nature and incredible landscapes, these mountains amaze with their beauty and grandeur.! There are 14 mountains whose height exceeds 8,000 m. All of them are located in Central Asia and impress with their power and impregnability. Each has its own history and records.
Let’s consider the 10 highest mountains in the world – from Annapurna to Everest.
Everest:
- Everest: the highest mountain in the world. Everest is not only the highest mountain in the world, but also the most famous.
The mountain got its name in the 19th century in honor of George Everest, one of the heads of the surveying service of British India. However, the mountain has an older name with Tibetan roots – Jomolungma, which means “Goddess-mother of all mountains”.
The height of Everest: 8848 meters.
It is included in the list of seven peaks – the highest peaks of all parts of the world.
Scientists stated that the mountain is growing. As it turned out, from 2005 to 2015, Everest moved to the northeast at a rate of 4 cm per year and grew by 0.3 cm each year.
Chogori:
- Chogori: the second largest mountain in the world and the only one of the ten highest mountains located in the Karakoram. Others lie in the Himalayas.
Height: 8611 meters.
Chogori is so dangerous that it was conquered 17 times less than Everest. Chogori was nicknamed the killer mountain, only 300 people were able to conquer it. There were also women among the climbers. So, the first to climb the peak was Polish woman Wanda Rutkevich in 1986. And in 2011, the Austrian mountaineer Herlinde Kaltenbrunner conquered not only Chogori, but also other peaks, and she was the first to do it without an oxygen tank.
Scientists also call Chogori K-2, where “K” stands for Karakorum, and 2 is the peak’s serial number, which was assigned to it by British colonel Thomas Montgomery in 1856.
Kanchenjunga:
- Kanchenjunga: until 1852, the mountain was considered the highest mountain in the world.
Altitude: 8586 meters.
The Kanchejunga massif consists of five mountain peaks, four of which exceed 8 km.
Translated from Tibetan, the name of the mountain means “five treasures of great snows”. The Lepcha people living at its foot believe that the first people were created from the snow taken from the top of Kanchenjunga, they call themselves the children of the snow peaks.
Lhotse:
- Lhotse: the very last peak conquered by humans from the ranking of the highest mountains. This happened only in the 21st century.
Height: 8516 meters. More precisely, one of the peaks – Lhotze-Sednya – has the height, and there are three of them. The height of the other two also exceeds 8 km, and Lhotse-Sednya was included in the Guinness Book of Records until 2001 as the only unconquered peak above 8,000 m.
The highest mountain of the Mahalangur Himal range is located on the border of China and Nepal. It is separated from Everest by about 3 km, and some routes run so that climbers can conquer both peaks.
Makalu:
- Makalu is the fifth octogenarian of the planet.
The slopes of Makalu are so steep that the snow almost does not stay on them and from a distance it seems that the mountain is black. That’s why it got this name: translated from Chinese, it means “black giant”.
Altitude: 8485 meters.
The mountain was already known to Europeans in the second half of the 19th century, but they began to conquer it only 100 years later, in the 1950s.
Cho-Oyu:
- Cho Oyu: One of the most popular mountains for climbers due to its ease of ascent. Cho-Oyu is located only 20 kilometers from Everest on the border of Nepal and Tibet.
Height: 8201 meters.
In 2019, archaeologists discovered signs of an early Upper Paleolithic culture. The research took place near Everest and other eight-thousanders, including Cho-Oyu. As a result, specialists came to the conclusion that ancient people were active at an altitude of more than 4000 m above sea level.
Dhaulagiri:
- Dhaulagiri: A mountain range consisting of 11 peaks.
Height: 8167 meters.
The mountain massif consists of 11 peaks, but only the main one, Dhaulagiri I, has 8,000 m, the others are 7,000 m. Few manage to climb to the very top. Most climbers stop at an altitude of 7,000 meters. Steep, ice-covered slopes and avalanches, the risk of which is high here, threaten death.
Manaslu:
- Manaslu is a rose with a very diverse animal world.
Altitude: 8156 meters.
The second name of the mountain is Kutang, which means “mountain of spirits” in Sanskrit. Local residents believe that before climbing the mountain, one must get permission from an elder. Only in this case will the climb be successful.
In 1998, the Manaslu National Park was created around the mountain, which is now a hiking trail. During the hike, tourists can take impressive photos of the mountains. As well as see pangolins, red pandas, and blue sheep.
Nangaparbat:
- Nangaparbat is a mountain with an unpredictable character.
This is one of the most dangerous eight-thousanders in the world. Unexpected avalanches and storms, fogs and blizzards await conquerors.
Height: 8126 meters.
Nangaparbat, together with Annapurna and K-2, are among the three most dangerous eight-thousanders. Snow storms, fogs, avalanches start suddenly. All because Nangaparbat is located in the west of the Himalayas. And borders the plain, where the climate is quite warm. Warm and cold air masses collide and become the cause of sudden weather changes.
Annapurna:
- Annapurna is a mountain massif in the Himalayas. It is a mountain that grows.
Height: 8091 meters.
The mountain massif is part of the national park of the same name. The area of which is 7,629 square kilometers. There are many lakes in the vicinity, including one of the highest in the world – Tilicho. It is located at an altitude of 4949 m above sea level.
Like Everest, Annapurna is growing. According to scientists, as a result of the Nepal earthquake in 2015, the mountain increased by 20 cm.