The 10 Highest Mountains on Earth

Try to keep this in mind when noting how high each mountain is; the Empire State Building is 381m high. Compare this to the mountains and it seems tiny.

1. Everest

Mount Everest is a very well-known mountain and stands at a monstrous 8,850m (29,035 ft) in the Himalayas.

The first ascent was made by sir Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953. It has also been completed by a group of 40 who managed to reach the top in a day! (May 10, 1993).

2. K2

Mount K2 (Godwin Austin) stands at a monumental 8,611m (28,250 ft) and is the second highest point on the planet. It's not as well known as mount Everest as there's no prizes for second place. Still, this is a huge mountain non-the-less.

The mountain was named in 1938 by Rex Gibson and is part of the Karakoram mountain range.

3. Kanchenjunga

Third on the list is mount Kanchenjunga. It is an impressive 8,586m (28,169 ft) high and is located (like Everest) in the Himalayas.

Kanchenjunga is also the name of the section of the Himalayas and means "The Five Treasures of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over 8,450m (27,720 ft).

Until 1852, Kanchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world but calculations made by the Great Trigonometric Survey of India in 1849 came to the result that Mount Everest was no.1 and Kanchenjunga was no.3.

4. Lhotse I

In fourth place is Mount Lhotse I. At 8,516m (27,940 ft), Mount Lhotse I is certainly not something to scoff at and is interesting to know that it is connected to Everest via the south col.

Lhotse I has a 'I' after it's name as it distinguishes which summit is being identified. Lhotse has three summits; Lhotse I (8,516m), Lhotse II (8,414m), and Lhotse III (8,383m).

5. Makalu I

Mount Makalu I is 8,463m (27,766 ft) tall and lies also in the Himalayas. Makalu has two notable peaks; Malaku I (8,463m) and Malaku !! (7,678m).

Makalu is part of the 'eights thousanders' (which is a set of 14 independent mountains that all range at 8,000 + metres high,) and is an isolated peak.

6. Cho Oyu

Cho Oyu is the sixth highest mountain on Earth (8,201m (26,906 ft)) and more than 1000 people have stood at its summit, being the second most popular of Nepals mountains (missing out to Everest in first). 

Compared with the rest of the 'eight thousanders' however, Cho Oyu is a relatively ascent. It is located in the Himalayas.

7. Dhaulagiri

Dhaulagiri comes in at number seven and is 8,117m (26,795 ft) high. Dhaulagiri was first climbed on May 13, 1960.

The mountain's name from Sanskrit where (Dhaula) means dazzling, white, beautiful and (giri) means mountain.

8. Manaslu I

Manaslu (also known as Kutang) is 8,163m (26,781 ft) tall and is only 4 metres shorter than Dhaulagiri. 

Manaslu was first climbed on May 9, 1956.

It is the highest peak in the Lamjung District and is located about forty miles east of Annapurna. The Japanese consider this as their mountain, just as the British consider Everest as theirs.

9. Nanga-Parbat

Nanga-Parbat is the ninth highest mountain in the world (second highest in Pakistan, K2 being number one) and is among the 'eight thousanders' coming in at a total of 8,125m (26,660 ft).

Known as the "Killer Mountain", Nanga Parbat was one of the deadliest of the 'eight thousanders' for climbers in the first half of the twentieth century. It is located in the Himalayas.

10. Annapurna

 The final mountain in the top ten is Annapurna, and is 8,091m (26,545 ft) high.

Annapurna is separated from Dhaulagiri by the Kali Gandaki Gorge, which is considered as the deepest in the world.

The entire massif and surrounding area are protected within the 7,629 km² Annapurna Conservation Area, the first and largest conservation area in Nepal.

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