Mount Everest 珠穆朗玛峰

About Mount Everest

For a sightseeing visit from Tibet, the northern Rongbuk valley provides the relevant orientation: the north face rises beyond a sparsely settled high valley, with Rongbuk Monastery forming a recognisable foreground. This page concerns that mountain-viewing setting. A summit marker identifies the mountain itself, while a visit begins far below on the managed access route and depends on cloud, weather and local access conditions.

An early Chinese record, the Kangxi-era (康熙) 'Huangyu Quanlantu' (皇舆全览图) of 1717, marked the peak as 'Zhumulangma Alin' (朱母朗马阿林). A 1733 Paris map by the French geographer d'Anville (唐维尔) rendered the name as Tchoumour Lancma, and the 1751 Qianlong-era atlas (乾隆十三排图) updated it to 'Zhumulangma' (珠穆朗玛). Britain's Royal Geographical Society (英国皇家地理学会) named the peak 'Mount Everest' in 1865, following data the Survey of India (英属印度测量局) had published in 1856. In 1952 China formally adopted 'Zhumulangma Feng' (珠穆朗玛峰) as the official name, replacing the earlier name (额菲尔士峰).

The 1961 China-Nepal boundary treaty fixed the border along the line running through Everest, Lhotse (洛子峰) and Makalu (马卡鲁山), with Chinese territory to the north and Nepalese territory to the south; the north slope lies in Dingri County (定日县) in Tibet, and the south slope lies in Solukhumbu District (索卢坤布县) in Nepal. The area records an average annual temperature of about -29 degrees Celsius and is sometimes called the earth's 'third pole', alongside the north and south poles.

Nepal's Sagarmatha National Park (萨加玛塔国家公园), on the mountain's south side, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. In 1988 China established the Qomolangma National Nature Reserve (珠穆朗玛峰国家级自然保护区), covering Dingri, Nyalam (聂拉木县), Gyirong (吉隆县) and Tingkye (定结县) counties in the Tibet Autonomous Region, with a total area of 33,800 square kilometres.

What to look for

• The north face of Everest, visible from permitted viewpoints in the Rongbuk valley when skies clear.
• Rongbuk’s terraced chorten and monastic buildings against the Himalayan backdrop.

The surrounding area

A separate western urban centre anchored by Tashilhunpo, suitable for a considered extension from Lhasa.

Location & getting there

Getting to Mount Everest

Plan the sightseeing approach through the Tingri/Shelkar area towards Rongbuk Monastery on Everest’s northern side.

• Arrange current local access and transport before departure; the summit coordinate is not a road destination or visitor entrance.