Kangchenjunga (Nepali: कञ्चनजङ्गा, romanized: Kañcanajaṅgā, Sherpa: གངས་ཆེན་མཛོད་ལྔ ; Wylie: Gangs Chen mdzod lnga ) is the third-highest mountain in the world. Its summit lies at 8,586 m (28,169 ft) in a section of the Himalayas, the Kangchenjunga Himal, which is bounded in the west by the Tamur River, in the north by the Lhonak River and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. It lies in the border region between Koshi Province of Nepal and Sikkim state of India, with the West and Kangbachen peaks located in Nepal's Taplejung District and the Main, Central and South peaks directly on the border.
Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world. However, precise calculations and meticulous measurements by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1849 showed that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, is higher. After allowing for further verification of all calculations, it was officially announced in 1856 that Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world.
Kangchenjunga is considered a sacred mountain in Nepal and Sikkim. It was first climbed on 25 May 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band, who were part of the 1955 British Kangchenjunga expedition. They stopped just short of the true summit, keeping a promise given to Tashi Namgyal, the Chogyal of the Kingdom of Sikkim, that the top of the mountain would remain inviolate. The Indian side of the mountain is off limits to climbers. In 2016, the adjoining Khangchendzonga National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The brothers Hermann, Adolf and Robert Schlagintweit explained the local name (which they transcribed 'Kanchinjínga'), as meaning "the five treasures of the high snow", and originating from the Tibetan words gangs pronounced [k̀ʱɐŋ], meaning snow and ice; chen, pronounced [t͡ɕʰẽ] meaning great; mdzod pronounced [d͡zø], meaning treasure; and lnga pronounced [ŋɐ], meaning five.
The local Lhopo people believe that the treasures are hidden but reveal themselves to the devout when the world is in peril; the treasures comprise salt, gold, turquoise and precious stones, sacred scriptures, invincible armour or ammunition, grain and medicine.
Kangchenjunga is the official spelling used by the Indian Government since the late 19th century; Douglas Freshfield, Alexander Mitchell Kellas and the Royal Geographical Society adopted this spelling, which, it was concluded, provides the most accurate English rendition of the Tibetan pronunciation. Alternative spellings include Kanchenjunga, Khangchendzonga and Kangchendzönga.
The Kangchenjunga Himal section of the Himalayas lies both in Nepal and India and encompasses 16 peaks over 7,000 m (23,000 ft). In the north, it is limited by the Lhonak Chu, Goma Chu and Jongsang La, and in the east by the Teesta River. The western limit runs from the Jongsang La down the Gingsang and Kangchenjunga glaciers and the rivers of Ghunsa and Tamur. It lies in the border region between Koshi Province of Nepal and Sikkim state of India, with the peaks West and Kangbachen in Nepal's Taplejung District, and three of the five peaks, namely Main, Central and South, directly on the border.
Kanchenjunga rises about 20 km (12 mi) south of the general alignment of the Great Himalayan range, about 125 km (78 mi) east-southeast of Mount Everest in a straight line. South of the southern face of Kanchenjunga runs the 3,000–3,500 m (9,800–11,500 ft) high Singalila Ridge that separates Sikkim from Nepal and northern West Bengal. Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations and measurements by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1849 showed that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, is actually higher. After allowing for further verification of all calculations, it was officially announced in 1856 that Kangchenjunga was the third-highest mountain after Everest and K2 of Karakoram.
Kangchenjunga and its satellite peaks form a huge mountain massif. The massif's five highest peaks are listed in the table at the end of this section.
The main ridge of the massif runs from north-northeast to south-southwest and forms a watershed to several rivers. The main ridge intersects with other ridges running roughly from east to west to form a giant cross. These ridges contain a host of peaks between 6,000 and 8,586 m (19,685 and 28,169 ft). The northern section includes Yalung Kang, Kangchenjunga Central and South, Kangbachen, Kirat Chuli and Gimmigela Chuli, and runs up to the Jongsang La. The eastern ridge in Sikkim includes Siniolchu. The southern section runs along the Nepal–Sikkim border and includes Kabru I to III. This ridge extends southwards to the Singalila Ridge. The western ridge culminates in the Kumbhakarna, also known as Jannu.
Four main glaciers radiate from the peak, pointing roughly to the northeast, southeast, northwest and southwest. The Zemu glacier in the northeast and the Talung glacier in the southeast drain to the Teesta River; the Yalung glacier in the southwest and the Kangchen glacier in the northwest drain to the Arun River and Kosi River.
The glaciers spread over the area above approximately 5,000 m (16,000 ft), and the glacialized area covers about 314 km2 (121 sq mi) in total. There are 120 glaciers in the Kanchenjunga Himal, of which 17 are debris-covered. Between 1958 and 1992, more than half of 57 examined glaciers had retreated, possibly due to global warming.
Kangchenjunga Main is the highest elevation of the Brahmaputra River basin, which forms part of the southeast Asian monsoon regime and is among the globally largest river basins. Kangchenjunga is one of six peaks above 8,000 m (26,000 ft) located in the basin of the Kosi River, which is among the largest tributaries of the Ganges. The Kangchenjunga massif forms also part of the Ganges Basin.
Although it is the third highest peak in the world, Kangchenjunga is only ranked 29th by topographic prominence, a measure of a mountain's independent stature. The key col for Kangchenjunga lies at a height of 4,664 m (15,302 ft), along the watershed boundary between Arun and Brahmaputra rivers in Tibet. It is, however, the fourth-most-prominent peak in the Himalayas, after Everest, and the western and eastern anchors of the Himalaya, Nanga Parbat and Namcha Barwa, respectively.
The Kangchenjunga landscape is a complex of three distinct ecoregions: the eastern Himalayan broad-leaved and coniferous forests, the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows and the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands. The Kangchenjunga transboundary landscape is shared by Nepal, India, Bhutan and China, and comprises 14 protected areas with a total of 6,032 km2 (2,329 sq mi):
Nepal: Kanchenjunga Conservation Area
Sikkim, India: Khangchendzonga National Park, Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary, Fambong Lho Wildlife Sanctuary, Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary, Maenam Wildlife Sanctuary, Shingba Rhododendron Sanctuary and Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary
Darjeeling, India: Jore Pokhri Wildlife Sanctuary, Singalila National Park, Senchal Wildlife Sanctuary, Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary and Neora Valley National Park