Kangchenjunga

Kangchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world. It rises with an elevation of 8,586 m in a section of the Himalayas called Kangchenjunga Himal that is limited in the west by the Tamur River and in the east by the Teesta River. Kangchenjunga is located on the boundary between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim. The Geological Survey of India indicates the summit of Kangchenjunga at 8,598 m. It is the highest peak in India and the easternmost of the peaks higher than 8,000 m. It is called Five Treasures of Snow after its five high peaks, and has always been worshiped by the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim. Two of the five peaks are in Taplejung District, Nepal. The other three peaks – main, central, and south – are on the border of North Sikkim and Nepal. Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations based on various readings and measurements made by the Great Trigonometric Survey of India in 1849 came to the conclusion that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, was the highest. Allowing for further verification of all calculations, it was officially announced in 1856 that Kangchenjunga is the third-highest mountain.