Mountain · Bhutan
Gangkhar Puensum
Gangkhar Puensum in Bhutan is about 7 571 metres high and is the highest mountain on Earth that nobody has ever climbed — and by law, nobody is going to.
Picture credit: Christopher J. Fynn (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Gangkhar Puensum?
Gangkhar Puensum is part of the Kula Kangri Himal, Himalayas.
You will find it in: Bhutan.
Summit: 28.048° N, 90.454° E
The story behind it
In Bhutan the high peaks are held to be the homes of gods and protective spirits, and climbing on them is not something people there want strangers to do. In 1994 the country banned climbing any mountain above 6 000 metres, and in 2003 it banned mountaineering altogether. There is a practical reason too: the nearest mountain rescue is in another country, in India. Four expeditions tried the peak in 1985 and 1986 and all of them failed — the first one never even found the mountain, because the maps of the area were so poor that the team searched in the wrong place. Its height is still not settled: most sources give around 7 570 metres, but a British expedition measured 7 550. So the mountain keeps two secrets at once — exactly how tall it is, and what the view from the top looks like.
Find it on the globe
Gangkhar Puensum is there as a small peak with its own shape — a horn, a ridge, a volcano — standing on the surface. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.
Questions children ask
What is the highest unclimbed mountain?
Gangkhar Puensum in Bhutan, about 7 571 metres. Four expeditions tried in 1985 and 1986 and none of them succeeded; since 1994 climbing high mountains there has been against the law.
Why is climbing banned in Bhutan?
The high peaks are believed to be where gods and protective spirits live, so standing on them would be disrespectful. Bhutan banned peaks above 6 000 metres in 1994 and mountaineering altogether in 2003.
How tall is Gangkhar Puensum exactly?
Nobody is quite sure. Most sources say about 7 570 metres, but a British expedition measured 7 550, and the old maps of the area were poor. Without anyone standing on the summit with instruments, the number stays approximate.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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