3. Kangchenjunga
Elevation: 8,586 meters
This Himalayan giant stands at the border of northern India and eastern Nepal, around 50 miles from the Indian town Darjeeling. The name is thought to mean ‘five treasures of snow’, as the mountain has five distinct peaks (its main peak, unsurprisingly called ‘Kangchenjunga Main’, is the one we discuss here). Until the mid-1800s, Kangchenjunga was considered to be the world’s tallest mountain, and it was not until results from India’s comprehensive Great Trigonometrical Survey came through that it was declared ‘merely’ the third-tallest. The area surrounding Kangchenjunga has long been associated with mythical beings, and back in 1925, a British expedition examining the geology of the region claimed to have sighted a ‘bipedal creature’, spotting 15 footprints in the snow. Locals assured them they had seen the ‘Kangchenjunga Demon’, although some claim it is ‘proof’ of the yeti. Perhaps it was merely a Himalayan yak, as seen below…
