Pakistan is home to K2, the world’s second-highest mountain.
K2 rises to 8,611 metres above sea level in the Karakoram range, near the Pakistan–China border. Its main climbing routes and the usual base-camp approach are on the Pakistan-administered side of the mountain, in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The mountain is called K2 because it was the second peak measured during a 19th-century British survey of the Karakoram. Unlike Mount Everest, it has no widely used local name that replaced the survey designation internationally. It is also known by the nickname “Savage Mountain” because of its steep terrain and severe weather.
K2 was first climbed successfully in 1954 by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio, with Lino Lacedelli and Achille Compagnoni reaching the summit. A frequent error is placing K2 in Nepal; Nepal contains Everest, while K2 belongs to the Karakoram region.