Nanda Devi is the highest mountain located entirely within India’s borders.
The mountain rises to 7,816 metres in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal Himalayas. Its main summit is surrounded by a dramatic ring of peaks known as the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, a high-altitude basin reached through the Rishi Ganga gorge.
Nanda Devi was considered India’s highest mountain until the 1990s, when improved border surveying clarified that Kangchenjunga, although higher, lies on the India–Nepal frontier. That distinction explains why Nanda Devi remains the highest peak wholly within India.
The mountain has strong cultural importance in Uttarakhand and is associated with Nanda, a form of the Hindu goddess Parvati. Nanda Devi National Park, together with the Valley of Flowers National Park, forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The first confirmed ascent was made in 1936 by Bill Tilman and Noel Odell.