The third-highest mountain and the "Five Treasures"
Kānchenjunga Main rises to 8,586 m (28,169 ft). It is the third-highest mountain on Earth, the highest in India and the easternmost of the fourteen eight-thousanders. The massif is a giant cross of ridges with five main summits: Main (8,586 m), Yalung Kang or West (8,505 m), South (about 8,476 m), Central (about 8,473 m) and Kangbachen (7,903 m). The Kangchenjunga Himal around it holds 16 peaks over 7,000 m, including Jannu (Kumbhakarna) to the west.
The British surveyors of the 1840s took it to be the highest mountain on the planet. Calculations from the Great Trigonometrical Survey showed that Peak XV, later named Everest, was higher, and in 1856 Kānchenjunga was officially declared the third-highest. The brothers Schlagintweit explained the local name as "the five treasures of the high snow", from the Tibetan words for snow, great, treasure and five. The Lhopo people believe the treasures reveal themselves to the devout when the world is in danger. In Limbu the mountain is called Sewalungma, "the mountain to which thanks are offered", and it is sacred in the Kirant religion.
A sacred, untrodden summit
Kānchenjunga is revered on both sides of the border, and especially in Sikkim. Before the 1955 British expedition, its leader Charles Evans promised Tashi Namgyal, the Chogyal (king) of Sikkim, that the very top would not be stepped on. On 25 May 1955 George Band and Joe Brown reached the summit ridge by the Yalung Face and stopped just short of the highest point; Norman Hardie and Tony Streather followed the next day. The last metres pose no climbing difficulty, and many later summiteers have kept the tradition. Evans's book about the expedition is titled Kangchenjunga: The Untrodden Peak. The Indian government has banned expeditions from Sikkim, and the northeastern route from that side has been closed since 2000; it had been climbed only three times. Sikkim's Khangchendzonga National Park (1,784 km²) became India's first "mixed" UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016.
Where it is and how to get there
On the Nepalese side the mountain lies in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area (2,035 km², created in 1997), the first protected area in Nepal handed over to management by local communities. The usual gateway is Taplejung (about 1,820 m) in Koshi Province. Most people fly from Kathmandu to Bhadrapur in the eastern Terai and continue by bus or jeep to Taplejung, a long day's drive; Taplejung's own small airport at Suketar has had scheduled flights again since 2016. From Taplejung a jeep road leads up the Tamur valley to Sukathum (about 1,576 m), where most treks to the north side now begin. Treks to the south side start towards Yamphudin.
From India the mountain is best seen rather than reached: the view from Darjeeling, about 64 km away, made it famous in the 19th century, and in western Sikkim a trek from Yuksom to the Goecha La pass (4,940 m) leads to a close view of the southeast face.
Treks to the base camps
North base camp (Pangpema). The classic route follows the Ghunsa Khola through dense forest and a gorge to Amjilosa (about 2,310 m) and Gyabla (2,730 m), then past the Tibetan refugee village of Phale to Ghunsa (about 3,500 m), a Sherpa village with lodges, a health post and a small hydropower plant, where trekkers take a rest day. Above it the trail passes Khambachen (4,050 m) with views of Jannu, crosses a long landslide zone where rockfall is a real risk and reaches the stone shelters of Lhonak (4,780 m). A final day along the lateral moraine of the Kangchenjunga Glacier leads to Pangpema (5,143 m), the north base camp, facing the north face; an optional climb from here reaches a viewpoint of about 6,000 m. The return trip from Taplejung takes about two weeks, with walking days of up to nine hours.
South side (Yalung and Oktang). From Taplejung a separate route climbs through Limbu villages to Yamphudin and Tseram (Cheram) and up the Yalung Glacier towards the Oktang viewpoint and the south base camp below the Yalung Face, the side of the first ascent. A landslide has made part of the approach to Yalung dangerous, and porters with loads are advised against it. The north and south treks can be linked over the passes of Sele La (about 4,290 m) and Sinion La (about 4,440 m) to make a circuit of three to four weeks.
This is a much quieter region than Everest or Annapurna. Teahouses exist in most villages but are basic; Lhonak has very limited accommodation, and in Ghunsa tents can be rented from the conservation-area office. Some groups still camp.
Climbing routes
The normal route is the southwest face (Yalung Face) from the Nepalese side, the line of 1955. It rises about 3,000 m from the Yalung Glacier; its main feature is the Great Shelf, a sloping plateau of hanging glacier at about 7,500 m. The 1955 team placed six camps above base camp: two below the Shelf, two on it and two above. The route is mostly snow and ice with one icefall and a little rock on the summit ridge. The north ridge and north face from Pangpema were first climbed in 1979 by Doug Scott, Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker, without bottled oxygen. The northeast spur from Sikkim, which defeated German expeditions in 1929 and 1931, was climbed by an Indian Army team in 1977.
Permits, costs and rules
Kānchenjunga lies in a restricted area. Foreign trekkers need a Restricted Area Permit from Nepal's Department of Immigration (as of 2026 for the Taplejung areas: US$20 per person per week for the first four weeks, US$25 per week after that), the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area entry permit (NPR 2,000 for foreigners) and a TIMS card. Since 2023 the Nepal Tourism Board lists the Kanchenjunga treks among routes where a licensed guide is compulsory, and restricted-area permits are issued only through registered trekking agencies, traditionally for groups of at least two.
For climbers, the Department of Tourism's 2026 royalty for a foreigner on an eight-thousander other than Everest and Manaslu is US$3,000 in spring, US$1,500 in autumn and US$750 in winter or summer, plus a US$3,000 garbage deposit per expedition and a liaison officer. In spring 2025, 78 climbers in eight teams held permits for the main summit.
When to go and weather
Standing apart in the far east of Nepal, Kānchenjunga catches the monsoon early and hard and makes much of its own weather. The trekking seasons are April–May, when rhododendron forests bloom from Suketar upwards, and October–November, when the air after the monsoon is clearest. By mid-December snow closes the higher trails, which usually reopen from mid to late March. Expeditions climb mainly in spring. Expect cold nights at Lhonak and Pangpema even in season, and afternoon cloud.
Water on the trek
The trail follows rivers for most of its length, and teahouses in the villages provide boiled water and tea. Treat all stream and tap water with a filter, UV pen or tablets, or buy boiled water; bottled water is scarce and expensive this far from roads, so carry reusable bottles (two litres between villages). Above Khambachen there are few buildings: fill up in the mornings, because water sources on the moraine can freeze overnight. Do not linger near the landslide sections to collect water.
Mobile coverage and internet
Mobile coverage is good in Taplejung and patchy or absent in the upper valleys; do not plan on a signal above Ghunsa. Power is limited too: in Ghunsa trekkers have charged phones at the school for a donation. Carry a power bank, download offline maps, and for the high section consider a satellite messenger. Your guide and agency are the link for rescue. In Nepal dial 1144 (Tourist Police) or 100 (Police); in India the emergency number is 112.
Altitude, dangers and safety
Kānchenjunga is one of the deadliest eight-thousanders. Since the 1990s the death rate on the main summit has exceeded 20%, and Nepal's Department of Tourism counts only 710 summiteers by the end of 2025, a small number for the third-highest mountain. Avalanches on the Yalung Face, long summit days and storms are the main threats. On the trek, altitude rises quickly above Ghunsa to over 5,000 m, so acclimatise; rockfall and landslides between Khambachen and Lhonak and on the approach to Yalung are the specific hazards. Rescue is by helicopter from the few landing sites, weather permitting. In 2006 a helicopter crashed near Ghunsa, killing all 24 people on board, among them leading Nepali conservationists.
History
Joseph Dalton Hooker explored the valleys around the mountain in 1848–1849, and Douglas Freshfield and the photographer Vittorio Sella circled it in 1899. The first attempt, in 1905, was led by Aleister Crowley on the Yalung side and ended when an avalanche killed Alexis Pache and three porters. Paul Bauer's German teams attacked the northeast spur in 1929 and 1931, and John Kempe's 1954 reconnaissance found the line up the Yalung Face that succeeded in 1955. Later milestones include the first winter ascent by Jerzy Kukuczka and Krzysztof Wielicki on 11 January 1986 and the 1989 Soviet expedition led by Eduard Myslovsky, whose climbers traversed all four main summits. In 1993 a Ukrainian expedition reached the main summit by the east ridge from Sikkim. In 1998 the Briton Ginette Harrison became the first woman to climb Kānchenjunga and return.
Interesting facts
- Local legend in Sikkim and Nepal tells of Beyul Demoshong, a hidden valley of immortality on the mountain's slopes; in 1962 the lama Tulshuk Lingpa led more than 300 followers up the snow slopes to find it.
- The mountain is also home, in folklore, to the "Kangchenjunga Demon", a yeti-like creature reported by a British geological party in 1925.
- In 2014 the Spaniard Carlos Soria reached the summit at the age of 75.
- The painter Nicholas Roerich returned to Kānchenjunga again and again as a subject.
FAQ
How high is Kānchenjunga? 8,586 m (28,169 ft), the third-highest mountain on Earth and the highest in India.
How long is the Kānchenjunga base camp trek? About two weeks from Taplejung to the north base camp at Pangpema and back; a circuit taking in the south side as well needs three to four weeks.
How difficult is it? Strenuous: long days of up to nine hours, rough trails, landslide sections and a high point of 5,143 m, with basic lodges. The climb is a serious expedition with one of the highest death rates of the eight-thousanders.
Why do climbers stop below the summit? The mountain is sacred in Sikkim. The first ascent party in 1955 promised the Chogyal of Sikkim to leave the top untrodden, and many climbers keep the tradition.
What permits do I need? A Restricted Area Permit (as of 2026, US$20 per week for the first four weeks), the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area permit (NPR 2,000) and a TIMS card, arranged through a registered agency with a licensed guide.
Is there water on the trek? Yes, in villages and rivers, but treat everything you drink and carry reusable bottles; above Khambachen sources are few and may freeze.
Is there mobile coverage? In Taplejung, yes; in the upper valleys it is patchy or absent. Carry a power bank and consider a satellite messenger. Emergency numbers in Nepal are 1144 and 100.
When is the best time to go? April–May and October–November. Snow usually closes the high trails from mid-December to March.