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Mountain · Tibet

Mount Everest (Qomolangma)

珠穆朗玛峰 (Zhūmùlǎngmǎ Fēng)

The highest mountain on Earth, seen from its northern side

Mount Everest, called Qomolangma (Chomolungma) in Tibetan and 珠穆朗玛峰 in Chinese, is the highest mountain on Earth at 8,848.86 metres, the height announced jointly by China and Nepal in 2020. Its summit lies on the border between the Tibet Autonomous Region and Nepal; the northern side, in Tingri county, is protected by the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve, a UNESCO biosphere reserve since 2004.

  • National nature reserve (Qomolangma)
  • UNESCO biosphere reserve (Qomolangma) · 2004

Key facts

Height
8,848.86 m (2020 China–Nepal survey)[1]
Range
Himalaya (Mahalangur section)[2]
First ascent
29 May 1953 (south); 25 May 1960 (north)[2]
UNESCO biosphere reserve
Qomolangma, 2004[3]
Location
Tingri county, Shigatse, Tibet, on the border with Nepal
8,848.86 m above sea level · highest point: Summit (2020 China–Nepal survey)

Overview

Everest rises at the heart of the central Himalaya, surrounded by other eight-thousanders: Lhotse, Makalu and Cho Oyu stand within sight of it, and Shishapangma lies wholly in Tibet to the west. The northern side is a broad, dry world of glaciers, moraine and stony valleys, very different from the wetter Nepalese south. From the Rongbuk valley the mountain appears as a single great pyramid of rock and snow at the head of the glacier — the view that made the north face famous.

The Tibetan name Qomolangma is commonly translated as “Goddess Mother of the World”; the English name honours George Everest, a British Surveyor General of India, and was adopted in 1865. The Chinese name is a transliteration of the Tibetan. Since the 1920s the northern side has been one of the two main approaches to the summit, and it is the route of the first ascent from the north in 1960.

How the landscape formed

Everest is made of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks that were once the floor of the Tethys Ocean; the summit pyramid consists of Ordovician limestone containing marine fossils, lifted more than eight kilometres by the collision of India with Eurasia, which still continues. The mountain has three faces and three main ridges. On the north side, the Rongbuk Glacier and its tributaries, the East and West Rongbuk glaciers, flow north from the mountain, with fields of ice pinnacles (penitentes) on the East Rongbuk. The high Himalaya casts a rain shadow over the Tibetan side, which is markedly drier and colder than the south.

Highlights

  • Rongbuk Monastery

    绒布寺 (Róngbù Sì)

    A Nyingma monastery at about 5,000 m below the north face, often described as the highest monastery in the world.

  • Rongbuk Glacier

    绒布冰川 (Róngbù Bīngchuān)

    The great glacier that flows north from Everest, with the East Rongbuk leading to the North Col.

  • North Base Camp

    珠峰大本营 (Zhūfēng Dàběnyíng)

    The climbers' base camp at about 5,200 m at the snout of the Rongbuk Glacier; visitors see the north face from a viewpoint nearby.

  • North Col

    北坳 (Běi'ào)

    The saddle at about 7,000 m between Everest and Changtse, the gateway to the northern route.

  • Gawu La pass

    加乌拉山口 (Jiāwūlā Shānkǒu)

    A pass on the road to Rongbuk with a panorama of several eight-thousanders, including Makalu, Lhotse, Everest and Cho Oyu.

Plants and wildlife

The Qomolangma reserve spans an extraordinary vertical range, from the humid forested gorges of the southern valleys near the Nepal border to the high cold desert of the north and the summit. It protects high-altitude grassland, glaciers and forests, and species adapted to both the Himalayan south and the dry plateau.

Plants

  • Snow lotus

    雪莲 (xuělián)

    Woolly Saussurea species growing on scree near the snowline.

  • Cushion plants

    垫状植物 (diànzhuàng zhíwù)

    Compact plants hugging the ground on the windswept high plateau.

Wildlife

  • Snow leopard

    雪豹 (xuěbào)

    A rarely seen predator of the high valleys and cliffs.

  • Blue sheep

    岩羊 (yányáng)

    The main prey of the snow leopard, often seen on the slopes above Rongbuk.

  • Kiang

    藏野驴 (Zàng yělǘ)

    The Tibetan wild ass of the open plateau north of the mountain.

Culture and legend

For Tibetans the mountain is the abode of the goddess Miyo Lobsangma, one of the five Sisters of Long Life of Himalayan Buddhism. Rongbuk Monastery, founded in 1902, became a place of blessing for early British expeditions in the 1920s and again for later climbers. Sherpa and Tibetan climbers have been central to every era of Everest mountaineering.

  • Rongbuk Monastery

    绒布寺 (Róngbù Sì)

    Founded in 1902, damaged in the 20th century and since rebuilt; a place of pilgrimage and of prayers for climbers.

  • Tingri

    定日 (Dìngrì)

    The county and old trading settlement on the plain north of Everest, historically a stop on the route to Nepal.

History

  1. 1865

    The name Everest adopted

    The Royal Geographical Society adopted the name for Peak XV, identified by the Survey of India as the highest in the world.

  2. 1921–1924

    British expeditions from Tibet

    Three expeditions explored the northern approaches; in 1924 George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared high on the north-east ridge.

  3. 29 May 1953

    First ascent

    Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit from the Nepalese side.

  4. 25 May 1960

    First ascent from the north

    A Chinese expedition reported the first ascent by the north ridge, by Wang Fuzhou, Gonpo and Qu Yinhua.

  5. 1975

    Phanthog on the summit

    The Tibetan climber Phanthog became the first woman to reach the summit from the north, with a Chinese survey expedition.

  6. 1988

    Qomolangma reserve established

    The Tibet Autonomous Region created the Qomolangma Nature Reserve, later raised to national level.

  7. 8 December 2020

    New height announced

    China and Nepal jointly announced a snow height of 8,848.86 m after surveys from both sides.

Through the seasons

  • Spring

    April and May are the main climbing season on the north side, and the peak is often visible in clear, cold weather; high winds ease late in May.

  • Summer

    The monsoon brings cloud, and the summit is hidden on many days; the valleys are at their greenest.

  • Autumn

    October and November give clear, stable weather with some of the best views of the north face.

  • Winter

    Extreme cold and violent winds at altitude; clear skies but harsh conditions at base camp.

Routes and ways in

  1. Road to North Base Camp

    A mountain road from the Tingri area over the Gawu La pass leads up the Rongbuk valley to the monastery and base camp area.

  2. North Col–North Ridge route

    The standard climbing route from the north, via the East Rongbuk Glacier, the North Col and the north-east ridge with its Second Step; open only to authorised expeditions.

  3. Kangshung valley

    A remote trekking route to the eastern (Kangshung) face, through forested valleys; requires a guided expedition and special permits.

Practical notes

  • The base camp area lies at about 5,000–5,200 m; acclimatisation over several days, including time in Lhasa and Shigatse, is essential.
  • Foreign visitors need a Tibet Travel Permit, arranged through a registered travel agency with a guided itinerary, and additional permits for the Everest border area; see the visa section for general entry rules.
  • The reserve is protected: stay on designated roads and paths, and take all rubbish away.
  • Nights are below freezing in every season, and wind makes the viewpoints bitterly cold.

Cities to start from

Frequently asked questions

Sources

  1. China, Nepal jointly announce height of Mount Qomolangma at 8,848.86 m — Xinhua (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  2. Mount Everest — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  3. Qomolangma — Man and the Biosphere Programme — UNESCO (retrieved 27 September 2026)
  4. People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region — People's Government of the Tibet Autonomous Region (retrieved 27 September 2026)

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