What is the highest mountain in South America?

Aconcagua is the highest mountain in South America. Its summit rises to about 6,967 metres in Argentina’s Mendoza Province, near the Chilean border, within the Andes mountain range.

Aconcagua is also the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres, the highest peak outside Asia, and one of the Seven Summits. Although its immense height makes it dangerous, the standard northern route is considered technically straightforward compared with many other high-altitude climbs. Altitude, cold, storms, and rapidly changing weather remain serious hazards.

The mountain was first climbed successfully in 1897 by the Swiss guide Matthias Zurbriggen, part of an expedition led by British mountaineer Edward FitzGerald. A common mix-up is Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador: Chimborazo is farther from Earth’s centre because of Earth’s equatorial bulge, but Aconcagua is higher above sea level. Aconcagua was also sacred to the Inca, who built ceremonial sites on the mountain.