What is the highest mountain in Asia?

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in Asia, measured by elevation above sea level. Its summit rises 8,848.86 metres and sits on the border between Nepal and China, in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas.

Nepal calls the mountain Sagarmatha, while Tibetans call it Qomolangma. The English name honors George Everest, a Welsh surveyor who served as Surveyor General of India. In 1852, survey calculations identified the peak, then known as Peak XV, as the world’s highest; it was officially confirmed in 1856.

The first confirmed ascent took place on 29 May 1953, when New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit. Climbers still face thin air, extreme cold, avalanches, storms, and the dangerous Khumbu Icefall.

K2, Kangchenjunga, and Lhotse are also Himalayan or Karakoram giants, but all are lower than Everest. Claims that Mauna Kea is taller use a different measurement: base to summit rather than height above sea level.