Highest 5 mountains on Earth

When climbers and geographers talk about the Highest 5 mountains on Earth, they are pointing to a tight cluster of giants in the Himalaya and Karakoram. All five rise above 8,400 meters, all sit on or near the border of Nepal, Tibet, India, Pakistan, and China, and all have shaped modern mountaineering in different ways.

These peaks are:

• Mount Everest – 8,848.86 m, Nepal / Tibet
• K2 – 8,611 m, Pakistan / China
• Kangchenjunga – 8,586 m, Nepal / India
• Lhotse – 8,516 m, Nepal / Tibet
• Makalu – 8,485 m, Nepal / Tibet

All five belong to the elite club of fourteen “eight-thousanders”, yet each has its own character. Everest draws the largest crowds. K2 has a reputation for being far deadlier. Kangchenjunga carries deep religious meaning. Lhotse and Makalu form part of the same high ridge system south of Everest, with steep faces that push climbers to their limit.

Highest 5: Quick Snapshot

Mount Everest (8,848.86 m) – On the Nepal–China border, first climbed in 1953 by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary via the South Col route. A magnet for commercial expeditions and a symbol of human ambition.

K2 (8,611 m) – In the Karakoram on the Pakistan–China frontier, first climbed in 1954 by an Italian team. Much harder than Everest, with a long record of accidents on steep, exposed slopes.

Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) – Straddling eastern Nepal and India’s state of Sikkim, sacred to local communities. First climbed in 1955 by a British team that stopped a few steps below the very top out of respect.

Lhotse (8,516 m) – Direct neighbor of Everest, sharing much of the standard route before branching off. First ascended in 1956 by a Swiss expedition. The South Face is one of the most formidable walls in high-altitude climbing.

Makalu (8,485 m) – A sharp four-sided pyramid southeast of Everest, first climbed in 1955 by the French. Isolated, cold, and known for difficult technical ground high on the mountain.

Mount Everest: Highest of the Highest 5

Mount Everest stands at 8,848.86 meters after a joint survey by Nepal and China in 2020, which refined earlier figures using modern GPS and radar techniques.

The peak sits on the border of Nepal’s Khumbu region and Tibet’s Qomolangma National Nature Preserve. To the south lie the Khumbu Glacier and busy trekking route to base camp. To the north, the Rongbuk Glacier flows into the Tibetan plateau. The Tibetan name Qomolangma is often translated as “Goddess Mother of the World,” while the Nepali name Sagarmatha carries the sense of “Goddess of the Sky.”

The English name honors George Everest, a former Surveyor General of India, whose work laid the groundwork for the Great Trigonometrical Survey that identified the mountain as the world’s highest in the 19th century.

Geography and prominence

Everest is part of the Mahalangur Himal subgroup of the Himalayas. Its enormous topographic prominence makes it the undisputed high point of the planet, with a summit that rises thousands of meters above surrounding ridges and saddles. The summit ridge connects to Lhotse through the South Col, a windy pass at around 7,900 meters, and to Changtse in Tibet through a complicated network of ridges and icefalls.

Climbing history

The story of Everest is long, but the key turning point came on 29 May 1953, when Tenzing Norgay of Nepal and Edmund Hillary of New Zealand reached the top via the South Col route as part of a British expedition led by John Hunt.

Earlier attempts from the Tibetan side in the 1920s and 1930s pioneered the North Col route but never reached the true summit. During those years, climbers like George Mallory and Andrew Irvine vanished high on the mountain, feeding decades of debate about whether they might have stood on the top before modern expeditions.

Today, the usual routes are:

• South Col route from Nepal, passing through the Khumbu Icefall, Western Cwm, and Hillary Step region
• North Ridge route from Tibet, rising from the Rongbuk Glacier through a series of rock steps and high camps

Both routes involve extended time in the “death zone” above 8,000 meters, where the body struggles to function.

Modern Everest: crowding and change

Everest has seen a huge spike in commercial expeditions. Hundreds of people reach the summit in good seasons, not only the peak but also Everest Base Camp, assisted by fixed ropes, supplemental oxygen, and a large support force of Sherpa climbers who carry loads and maintain the route.

That popularity brings concerns: overcrowding at bottlenecks, growing waste at high camps, and questions about risk management for inexperienced clients. At the same time, local economies in Khumbu and Tibet depend heavily on trekking and climbing traffic, so any change in access or permit systems touches many livelihoods.

K2: The Harshest Peak in the Highest 5

K2 rises to 8,611 meters, making it the second-highest mountain on Earth and the highest point of the Karakoram Range. It stands on the border between Pakistan-administered Gilgit–Baltistan and China’s Xinjiang region.

The name K2 came from the Great Trigonometrical Survey, in which surveyor Thomas Montgomerie labeled prominent Karakoram peaks as K1, K2, and so on from a distant vantage point. Masherbrum later received its local name, but K2 never gained a widely accepted indigenous term, so the survey code stuck.

Over time, climbers have given K2 a set of vivid nicknames: “The Savage Mountain”, “The Mountaineers’ Mountain”, and “The Mountain of Mountains”, reflecting its steep faces, violent weather, and high fatality rate.

Geography and character

K2 stands out for its sharp pyramid profile. It rises more than 3,000 meters above the glacial valleys at its base, especially on the north side above the K2 (Qogir) Glacier. The slopes are steep in every direction, with long, exposed ridges and hanging ice cliffs that frequently shed ice and snow.

Unlike Everest, which lies cresting the main Himalayan ridge, K2 sits deep in the Karakoram, reached by a long approach up the Baltoro Glacier and the Concordia basin. Weather can change abruptly, and storms often pin climbers down for days.

Climbing history and key routes

Serious attempts began in the early 1900s, with Prince Luigi Amedeo, the Duke of Abruzzi, exploring the south side and spotting what became the standard route, the Abruzzi Spur, on the southeast ridge. Later American expeditions in 1938, 1939, and 1953 pushed higher, suffering storms, illnesses, and tragic accidents.

The first successful ascent came on 31 July 1954, when Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni of an Italian team reached the summit via the Abruzzi Spur. Their climb used fixed ropes and supplemental oxygen, with vital support from climber Walter Bonatti and Hunza porter Amir Mehdi, who carried extra oxygen to around 8,100 meters at great personal cost.

Most ascents still follow the Abruzzi Spur, which involves:

• Steep mixed ground including a narrow rock corner known as House’s Chimney
• A complex section called the Black Pyramid
• The broad Shoulder leading toward the summit
• The infamous Bottleneck, a steep couloir beneath towering overhanging seracs that have claimed many lives

Other notable routes include the North Ridge, the Magic Line, and the Polish Line, with extremely demanding terrain.

Risk, records, and winter success

For many years, K2’s fatality rate hovered around one death for every four summits, much higher than Everest. As of 2023, estimates suggest about 800 successful ascents and around 96 deaths, with slightly improved safety statistics in recent seasons due to better forecasting, equipment, and route fixing.

A historic milestone came on 16 January 2021, when a team of ten Nepali climbers completed the first winter ascent of K2. They climbed together to the summit, and one member, Nirmal Purja, reached the top without supplemental oxygen. Several other climbers died on K2 that same winter, highlighting how unforgiving the mountain remains.

Kangchenjunga: Sacred Peak of the Highest 5

Kangchenjunga stands 8,586 meters high, making it the third-highest mountain in the world. It lies on the border between Koshi Province in eastern Nepal and Sikkim state in India, with several satellite peaks such as Yalung Kang and Kangbachen forming a massive cluster.

The name is usually interpreted as “The Five Treasures of the Great Snow”, referring to its five main summits. Local communities connect those “treasures” with spiritual gifts like grain, precious metals, scriptures, and medicine.

Geography and protected areas

Kangchenjunga sits slightly south of the main Himalayan crest, with deep river valleys and broad glaciated basins radiating in four directions. Major glaciers include:

• Zemu Glacier
• Talung Glacier
• Yalung Glacier
• Kangchen Glacier

These ice bodies feed the Teesta, Kosi, and Brahmaputra river systems. The wider Kangchenjunga region includes protected areas like Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim and the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area in Nepal.

These parks shelter snow leopards, red pandas, Himalayan black bears, and rare alpine plants.

Climbing history and the “inviolate” summit

The first ascent took place on 25 May 1955, when Joe Brown and George Band of a British team reached the top via the southwest side. In keeping with a promise to the Chogyal of Sikkim, they stopped a few feet below the true summit, leaving the very top untouched out of respect for local beliefs.

On the Indian side, climbing is now banned, and the summit is considered sacred. On the Nepal side, permits are available, yet Kangchenjunga still sees far fewer expeditions than Everest or K2 due to its remoteness and difficult access.

Routes and difficulty

Kangchenjunga has four main climbing lines:

• Southwest Face (Yalung Face)
• Northeast Spur
• Northwest routes
• Ridge connections between its major summits

The mountain carries high avalanche danger and long, exposed passages. Its fatality rate remains serious even in recent decades.

Myth, story, and literature

Legends around Kangchenjunga include tales of yeti-like beings and hidden valleys that appear only to spiritually worthy visitors. The peak also features prominently in Himalayan literature and travel accounts from the colonial era to modern day.

Lhotse: Sharpened Wall of the Highest 5

Lhotse, at 8,516 meters, stands directly south of Everest. The Tibetan name means “South Peak”, reflecting its position relative to Everest. Lhotse, Everest, and Nuptse form a giant horseshoe around the Western Cwm and Khumbu Glacier, with the South Col as the link between Everest and Lhotse.

Lhotse includes several summits: Lhotse Main, Lhotse Middle, Lhotse Central II, and Lhotse Shar, all above 8,300 meters.

Climbing routes and the Lhotse Face

The standard Lhotse route shares the path from Everest base camp through:

• Khumbu Icefall
• Western Cwm
• Lhotse Face

Above Camp 3, the routes split. Everest climbers turn left toward the South Col. Lhotse climbers turn right and proceed toward a slender gully called the Reiss Couloir.

The Lhotse Face is a sheet of hard glacial ice at 40 to 50 degrees, crossed with fixed ropes that help climbers ascend.

First ascent and later milestones

The main summit was first climbed on 18 May 1956 by Fritz Luchsinger and Ernst Reiss of a Swiss team.

Key achievements include:

• 1970 – First ascent of Lhotse Shar by an Austrian group
• 1979 – Climb without oxygen by Polish climbers including Jerzy Kukuczka
• 1988 – First winter ascent by Krzysztof Wielicki
• 2001 – First ascent of Lhotse Middle by a Russian team

By late 2008, only 371 summits had been recorded, with about 20 deaths during attempts.

The South Face and modern challenges

Lhotse’s South Face is one of the biggest vertical walls on Earth. Attempts on this face have ended in success but also tragedy, including the fatal accident of Jerzy Kukuczka in 1989.

In 2018, Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison completed the first full ski descent from Lhotse’s summit, descending through the Lhotse Couloir.

Makalu: The Sharp Pyramid of the Highest 5

Makalu reaches 8,485 meters, placing it fifth among the Highest 5. It stands about 19 kilometers southeast of Everest, on the Nepal–Tibet border.

Makalu has a distinctive four-sided pyramid shape. Two satellite peaks flank it:

• Kangchungtse (Makalu II) at 7,678 meters
• Chomo Lonzo at 7,804 meters

These are connected to Makalu by the Makalu La saddle.

Makalu-Barun Valley and conservation

On the Nepal side, the Makalu-Barun Valley stretches into forests and deep ravines inside Makalu Barun National Park. This region holds dense biodiversity with alpine, temperate, and subtropical zones in a compact vertical range.

Trekkers encounter steep cliffs, waterfalls, bamboo forests, and eventually bare rock and ice as the trail rises.

Climbing history and first ascent

The first serious attempt on Makalu came in 1954 from an American expedition that tried the southeast ridge but stopped around 7,100 meters due to storms. A French reconnaissance that same autumn climbed Kangchungtse and Chomo Lonzo.

The first successful ascent came on 15 May 1955, when Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy reached the summit via the north face and northeast ridge, followed by other team members over the next two days.

Routes and technical difficulty

Makalu’s main route involves:

• Crossing crevassed glacier terrain
• Climbing steep snow slopes
• Negotiating sharp ridges near the summit

Important later climbs include:

• 1970 – Southeast Ridge by a Japanese team
• 1971 – West Pillar by a French team
• 1980 – West Pillar repeated without oxygen or Sherpa support by Americans
• 1981 onward – Major technical ascents on the South Face by European teams

These climbs cemented Makalu’s reputation as a technically demanding peak.

Winter ascent and recent records

On 9 February 2009, Simone Moro and Denis Urubko made the first winter ascent of Makalu.

In 2022, Karl Egloff set a speed record of 17 hours 18 minutes from base camp to summit without oxygen or support. Also in 2022, Adrian Ballinger completed the first ski descent from near the summit to the glacier.

Why the Highest 5 Still Matter

The Highest 5 mountains influence climate patterns, glacial meltwater, and regional cultures. Their glaciers feed major rivers supporting millions of people. Each peak carries scientific value, cultural history, and mountaineering legacy.

From Everest’s crowded ridge to K2’s unforgiving couloir, from Kangchenjunga’s spiritual height to Lhotse’s icy walls and Makalu’s angular summit block, these mountains continue to challenge, inspire, and humble those who approach them.