The Highest Mountains in Tibet, China

Tibet is filled with mountains, from the most famous in the world to the most sacred, and all are stunning sights for the eye to behold. Mount Everest towers above the rest of the massive Himalayas like a big brother standing guard over smaller siblings.

Everest is not the only high mountain that resides partially or wholly in China, and of the top ten highest mountains in the world, five are either partially or wholly in China, with four of those actually in Tibet Autonomous Region.

Gyachung Kang Mountain- 7,952 m (26,089 ft)

Gyachung Kang – 7,952 m (26,089 ft)

Lying on the border between China (Tibet) and Nepal, Gyachung Kang does not even come in the top ten of the world’s highest mountains. However, listed as Number 15 in the list, it rates a mention just for the fact that it is the tenth highest mountain in China, as well as the sixth highest mountain in Tibet and the highest mountain in the list below 8,000 meters.

Shishapangma Mountain- 8,027 m (26,335 ft)

Shishapangma – 8,027 m (26,335 ft)

The 14^th highest mountain in the world, Shishapangma comes in at number nine and is the fifth highest mountain in Tibet and the highest mountain that is wholly in Tibet. Also known as Gosainthan, Shishapangma was the last of the mighty 8,000+ meter peaks to be climbed, as its location within Tibet made foreign access to the mountain almost impossible for many years. A local legend says that the mountain was named after a particularly hard winter killed all of the local livestock, and all the people had to eat was the meat of the dead animals and the malty dregs of the last beer brewing.

Gasherbrum II/K4 Mountain- 8,035 m (26,362 ft)

Gasherbrum II or K4 – 8,035 m (26,362 ft)

First surveyed as K4, Gasherbrum 2 is the third highest peak of the Gasherbrum Massif and is located on the border between Pakistan and Xinjiang Province of China. Rated as the 13^th highest mountain in the world, ownership of the mountain has been long argued over, as it lies in the area of Xinjiang that is disputed with India.

Broad Peak Mountain – 8,051 m (26,414 ft)

Broad Peak – 8,051 m (26,414 ft)

Coming in at number seven is the world’s 12^th highest mountain, which lies on the border between Pakistan and China, just a short distance to the south of the famous K2. It was named as Broad Peak by the British explorer, Sir Martin Conway, in 1892, as the peak is more than 1.5 kilometers long and it vaguely resembles the Breithorn Mountain in the Swiss/Italian Alps.

Gasherbrum I Mountain- 8,080 m (26,510 ft)

Gasherbrum I – 8,080 m (26,510 ft)

Also known as “Hidden Peak”, the 11^th highest mountain in the world ranks as the sixth highest mountain in China, in the Gasherbrum Massif, just 4 kilometers southeast of Gasherbrum II. The name is often mistaken to mean “shining wall”, as a reference to the highly visible face of its close neighbor, Gasherbrum IV. However, the real name comes from the Balti dialect, which means “beautiful mountain”. It was named Hidden Peak by Conway in 1892, due to its extreme remoteness.

Cho Oyu Mountain- 8,188 m (26,864 ft)

Cho Oyu – 8,188 m (26,864 ft)

At number five comes the sixth highest mountain in the world, the stunning Cho Oyu. Which lies on the border between Nepal and Tibet. As Tibet’s fourth highest Mountain, Cho Oyu is one of the favored mountains for mountain climbing in Tibet and is rated as the easiest of the 8,000+ meter mountains to climb due to its moderate slopes. Often marketed as a “trekking peak” in Nepal, the mountain is still one of the most beautiful in the Himalayas to the summit.

Mount Makalu – 8,485 m (27,838 ft)

Mount Makalu – 8,485 m (27,838 ft)

The world’s fifth highest mountain, Mount Makalu is a popular trekking region in Nepal. The mountain lies on the border with Tibet. It is lying around 19 kilometers southeast of Mount Everest. Makalu is an isolated peak whose summit is shaped very much like a pyramid, with two notable subsidiary peaks, Kangchungtse and Makalu II. Makalu Peak is also the only mountain in the world to be named in the DC Comics world as well, being the legendary burial site of the super-villain, Apocalypse.

Mount Lhotse – 8,516 m (27,940 ft)

Mount Lhotse – 8,516 m (27,940 ft)

The fourth highest mountain in the world takes the number three spot in the highest Chinese mountains, and is part of the Everest Massif, lying on the border with Nepal. Connected to Mount Everest by the famous South Col, the name means South Peak in Tibetan and has two subsidiary peaks connected to it, Lhotse Middle to the east and Lhotse Shar to the north. One of the most stunning mountains in Tibet. It is visible from more than 100 kilometers away as tourists travel the route between Lhasa and Mount Everest.

K2 or Mount Godwin Austen – 8,611 m (28,251 ft)

K2 listed as the second mountain in the Karakoram Range that was surveyed. It is also known as Mount Godwin Austen, though locally it is called Chhoguri in Urdu. Rated as the second highest mountain in the world, there is some dispute as to its location, thanks in part to the border disputes between India and China. The actual location of the mountain is on the border between Chinese owned Kashmir and Pakistan owned Kashmir, which the Indian government claims are their territory. However, as there has been no internationally recognized resolution to this dispute. The realistic location of the mountain places it in China and Pakistan.

K2 or Mount Godwin Austen – 8,611 m (28,251 ft)

K2 is famous as it appears in many films and documentaries movies. It is also called as the Savage Mountain. It has claimed the lives of more than 25 percent of the people that have reached the summit. Never climbed in winter due to its extreme location. This dangerous mountain is only attempted in spring and fall as the weather is better. Four films have been made about the mountain, three of which have been documentary-style movies about some of the attempts to reach the peak.

Mount Everest – 8,848 m (29,029 ft)

Named as the world’s highest mountain in 1865 by Andrew Waugh, Surveyor General of India. He recommended to the Royal Geographic Society of Great Britain. Later the mountain was named after his predecessor and mentor, Sir George Everest by the Surveyor General of India. The mountain was first discovered in 1847 and first summited in 1953, by Sir Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa, Tenzin Norgay. Although this has been the subject of debate, as it is not known if the previous attempt, by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, succeeded. As both climbers died on the mountain, not far from the summit.

Mount Everest – 8,848 m (29,029 ft)

Mount Everest is one of the hardest mountains to climb, not because of its height, but due to the extreme and erratic weather patterns that flow around the peak. Making it hard to predict windows for the final ascent to the summit. Lying right on the border between Tibet and Nepal. It is also the most popular mountain for tourist and visits hundreds of thousands of people traveling by car and foot to the base camps in Nepal and Tibet.

Mauna Kea – World’s Tallest Mountain

Mauna Kea, the World’s Tallest Mountains from base to summit – 10,210 meters (33,496 ft)

While Mount Everest in Tibet may be the world’s HIGHEST mountain, in terms of altitude. But it is certainly not the world’s TALLEST! That honor goes to a mountain in Hawaii, which actually stands 10,210 meters (33,496 ft) tall, from base to summit. Mauna Kea, an inactive volcano, is only 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level but has over 6,000 meters (19,700 ft) of its slopes below the surface of the Pacific Ocean.