The tallest mountains in the world are measured in terms of their elevation from sea level. There are 109 Mountains in the World with an elevation higher than 7,200 meters (23,622 ft.) above sea level, but only fourteen are over 8,000 meters.

Mountains are the most extraordinary and grand creation of nature. Many people across the world dream to visit these tallest peaks once in their lifetime. Most of these mountains lie on the edge of the Indian and Eurasian continental plates in the Himalayas. Likewise, the Himalayan nation, Nepal, is home to the eight highest peaks out of ten in the World. As a result, it attracts many tourists each year, showcasing the highest peaks in the world.

Here’s the list of the top 10 highest mountains on earth.

Mount Everest -8,848.86 M (29,032 ft.)

Mount Everest is the Tallest Mountain in the World, with 8,848.86 m (29,032 ft.). The summit of Mount Everest marks the border between Nepal and China, which lies in Mahalangur Himal, a sub-range of the Himalayas in Nepal. Everest lies in the Sagarmatha National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Solukhumbu District of Nepal.

Its Nepali name is “Sagarmatha.” But Tibetans call it “Chomolungma,” or Holy Mother. Later, Andrew Waugh, the British Surveyor General of India, suggested the name of Mount Everest, so the Royal geographical Society gave it the name of Mount Everest.

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The first person to reach Everest’s top was Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953, AD.

Also, over 8,500 people have reached the summit of Mount Everest until 2019 AD. Mount Everest attracts many visitors for climbing and trekking purposes every year. Thousands of tourists book a trek to the Everest Base Camp through Namche Bazaar each year to glimpse the World’s tallest mountain.

K2- 8,611 M (28,251 ft.)

Mount K2 is the second tallest mountain in the World with an official elevation of 8611m (28,251 ft.) It lies on the borderline of Pakistan and India. The hill took its name from the notation used by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of British India. People started calling it K2, so the name stuck there. The name K2 also stands for the 2nd peak in the Karakoram Range.

George Bell, a climber on the 1953 American Expedition, said to reporters, “It’s a savage mountain that tries to kill you.” So, people more often call it a Savage Mountain. 

Mount K2 was first climbed by the Italian climbers Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni in 1954. They were the Italian Karakoram expedition team led by Ardito Desio. Till now, over 380 individuals have as of now climbed the top with about 90 deaths. One of the shocking facts is that it has the second-highest fatality rate per summit attempt of all mountains over 8,000 M.

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No one has climbed mount K2 throughout winter until 2019. But a team of mountaineers summited the second highest mountain in the world during winter in 2020, making it to a history of the first-ever winter climb of K2. 

On top of all, it is the hardest mountain to climb; it’s harder than climbing Mount Everest as it has a more extended range from the base to the peak.

Kanchenjunga- 8,586 M (28,169 ft.)

Kanchenjunga is the third tallest mountain in the world above sea level, with an official elevation of 8,586 M (28,169 ft.). It lies on the border of Nepal and India, 78 miles from Mount Everest. It is the highest mountain in India and the second highest mountain in Nepal. We also know Kanchenjunga as “The Five Treasures of Snows.” Because people believe the five fortunes of God that are gold, silver, diamonds, grains, and heavenly books honor it.

Joe Brown and George Band were the first people to reach Kanchenjunga’s summit on May 25, 1955. They were a part of a British expedition. There are four climbing courses to reach Kanchenjunga’s peak, three of which are in Nepal from the southwest, northwest, and upper east, and one from northeastern Sikkim in India.

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Kanchenjunga is the second least climbed mountain in Nepal.

Mount Kanchenjunga offers climbing expeditions and trekking around the region. And a significant number of tourists go trekking to Kanchenjunga Base Camp each year to see the third highest mountain on the earth.

Lhotse- 8,516 M(27,940 ft.)

Lhotse is one of the well-known mountains on any rundown of the top 10 highest mountains in the World, to a great extent because of its closeness to Mount Everest. Lhotse is the fourth tallest peak in the World with an official height of 8516m (27,940 ft.) above sea level. The summit of the Lhotse separates the border between Nepal and China from the Khumbu Region of Nepal. And Tibetan also calls it “South Peak.”

As Lhotse is near Everest, it does not get much attention as Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the World. Lhotse’s course is equivalent to that up Mount Everest from Everest Base Camp until you pass Camp 3. After that, you withdraw to the Reiss couloir from the Lhotse Face, from where you reach the pinnacle of Lhotse.

The Swiss team of Ernst Reiss and Fritz Luchsinger from the Swiss Mount Everest/Lhotse Expedition were the first people to reach the summit on May 18, 1956. There are three primary summits of mount Lhotse:–the main summit 8,516 meters (27,940 ft.), littler peaks Lhotse Middle (East) 8,414 m (27,605 ft.), and Lhotse Shar of tallness 8,383 m (27,503 ft.). Lhotse Shar was first climbed by Sepp Mayerl and Rolf Walter of Austria on May 12, 1970.

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Lhotse Middle was only climbed on May 23, 2001.

Eugeny Vinogradsky, Sergei Timofeev, Alexei Bolotov, and Petr Kuznetsov of a Russian expedition made it to the top of Lhotse’s middle.

Makalu- 8,485 M

Makalu is the isolated peak among the top ten tallest mountains in the World whose shape is a four-sided pyramid. It is the fifth tallest mountain in the World with 8,845 m (27,838 ft.) It is 12 miles away from Mount Everest in the Mahalangur Himalayas. Mount Makalu separates the border between Nepal and Tibet.

Mount Makalu has two subsidiary peaks, Makalu II (7,678 m) and Chomo Lonzo (7,804 m). The first person to ascend to the top of Makalu was an American team headed by Riley Keegan in 1954 AD.

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Makalu is a four-sided pyramid-shaped. 

Climbing Makalu is challenging because of its knife-edge; however, many people trek to the Makalu Base Camp to have magnificent views of the mountains and vegetation around. The Rhododendron forests and unique animals in the lower region attract many national and international tourists each year. 

6. Cho Oyu- 8,188 M (26,864 ft.)

Being the sixth highest mountain on Earth, Cho Oyo is 8,188 M (26,864 ft.) above sea level. It is the fourth and the last member of the 8,000 M club of the Everest Region. It lies on the borderline of Nepal and China. Tibetan calls it “Turquoise Goddess.” Besides, a popular trade route between Sherpa’s and Tibetans, Nangpa La Pass (5,716m/18,753 ft.) is a few kilometers farther from the mountain.

Although the team headed by Eric Shipton including Edmund Hillary, Tom Bourdillon, and George Lowe attempted to climb the mountain in 1952, the mountain was first climbed on October 19, 1954, through the northwest ridge by Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler, and Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama of an Austrian expedition.

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Cho Oyo is the most accessible mountain to climb among other mountains in the list of “top 10 tallest mountains in the world”. 

It is the most climbed mountain after Mount Everest and also has a very less fatality rate. Most people climb Cho Oyo during (Mar-May) and (Sep-Dec). Cho Oyo also offers different trekking routes in the Everest Region. We can also see many other eight thousand mountains while climbing the summit of Cho Oyo.

Dhaulagiri- 8,167 M (26,795 ft.)

Mount Dhaulagiri is the seventh tallest mountain in the World. It has a proper height of 8,167 meters (26,795 ft.) above sea level. Dhaulagiri lies about 34 Kilometers away from Mount Annapurna I. This Mountain is also the highest mountain within the borders of a single country (Nepal). It extends 70 miles from the Kaligandaki River west to Bheri. Dhaulagiri 1 is also the highest point of the Gandaki river basin.

Diemberger, P. Diener, Nyima Dorji, Nawang Dorji of the Swiss/Austrian/Nepali expedition, first reached the summit on May 13, 1960.

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Dhaulagiri took its name from Sanskrit in which “Dhawala” means dazzling, white, beautiful, and “Giri” means Mountain.

Dhaulagiri region offers stunning views of the snowcapped peaks. Therefore, it is also famous for trekkers around the World.            

Manaslu- 8,163 M(26,781 ft.)

Manaslu is the eighth tallest mountain in the World, with 8,163 meters (26,781 ft.) Above sea level. It lies just about 40 miles east of Annapurna in Mansiri Himal, a part of the Nepalese Himalayas. People also call Makalu the “Mountain of Spirit,” which comes from the Sanskrit word “Manasa,” which means “intellectual.” As Manaslu lies in the Gorkha district of Nepal, it is likewise the highest mountain in the area.

Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu were the first people to reach the summit of Dhaulagiri. They reached their peak on May 9, 1956, and were a part of Japanese Expeditions.

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Manaslu is also called the Japanese mountains as the first climbers were from Japan. 

Mount Manaslu spreads within the Manalsu Conservation Area, a home for many rare animals and plants. Further, the Manaslu Circuit Trek in the region is one of the best treks of the Himalayas, and a significant number of people visit the place each year.

Nanga Parbat- 8,126 M (26,660 ft.)

Nanga Parbat is the Ninth tallest Mountain in the World. It has an official elevation of 8,126 meters (26,660 ft.) above sea level. The mountain lies in the Diamer district of Pakistan, so it has a local name, Diamer, “Huge Mountain.” It is also the second-highest mountain in the country after Mount K2.

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Nanga Parbat is called “Killer Mountain,” as many people have died while climbing the mountain.

It is tough to climb, and many fail to reach the top. However, the first person to reach the summit of Nanga Parbat (Naked Mountain) was Hermann Bahl from Austria on July 3, 1953, AD. He entered the top through the Rakhiot Flank (East Ridge).

Annapurna I- 8,091 M (26,545 ft.)

Annapurna I is in the last position of the top ten tallest mountains in the World with a height of 8,091m (26,545 ft.) It spreads in the Gandaki Zone of Nepal.

Annapurna I was first climbed by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal, of the French Annapurna expedition headed by Herzog (including Lionel Terray, Gaston Rébuffat, Marcel Ichac, Jean Couzy, Marcel Schatz, Jacques Oudot, Francis de Noyelle) on June 3, 1950.

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Annapurna I is the highest mountain in the Annapurna Massive, which contains one peak over 8,000 meters, thirteen peaks over 7,000 meters, and sixteen over 6,000 meters.

Also, Annapurna I might be the tenth highest in the World, but in terms of natural beauty, it comes first. It offers a variety of trekking routes with panoramic views of the mountains in the east. Annapurna Circuit Trek provides a stunning view of the mountain peaks nearby, is very popular in the Annapurna Region. Rich woodlands to the snow-capped desert-like scene on the way to Annapurna Base Camp adds a feeling of alienation to the journey of the climb to the tenth highest mountain in the World.

I hope you enjoyed finding out about the Top ten tallest Mountains in the World. If you enjoyed reading and have settled on a choice to make a trip to these mountains at that point, remember to browse different handpicked best treks in Nepal by Heaven Himalaya and leave a message for us over there.