Only after recognition by the International Federation of Mountaineering and Climbing will Nepal be known to the world as a country with 14 mountains over 8,000 meters high.
What you should know
There are currently only 14 mountains in the world that are higher than 8,000 meters. Eight of them are in Nepal.
Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho-Yu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Annapurna are the mountains above 8,000 meters in Nepal. The remaining 6 are in the Tibet region of Pakistan and China. Ketu, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II are in Pakistan, while Shisapangma is in the China-Tibet region.
But in recent years, Nepal has expanded the list of traditional 8 8,000-meter high mountains by identifying 6 new peaks above 8,000 meters and including them in the official list.
The Department of Tourism has officially recognized these new mountains by adding them to its peak profile about 10 months ago.
The new 6 mountains have not yet been recognized by the international community. Among these new mountains, two are major subsidiary peaks of the Lhotse range in the Khumbu region. Lhotse Sar (8,400 meters) and Lhotse Center (8,410 meters). Similarly, four new peaks have been identified in the Kanchenjunga region in Taplejung. These are Kanchenjunga Center (8,473 meters), Kanchenjunga South (8,476 meters), Yalungkhang (8,505 meters) and Yalungkhang West (8,077 meters).
Since all these peaks are above 8,000 meters, Nepal now claims to have a total of 14 8,000-meter high mountains.
However, these mountains are classified as subsidiary peaks. A few years ago, after technicians identified these mountains, the Nepal Mountaineering Association formed a special study team. The team has been conducting technical evaluations of these subsidiary mountains, collecting GIS data and studying climbing routes. Nepal Mountaineering Association President Fur Gelje Sherpa told Kantipur on Tuesday morning. ‘Nepal has included these mountains in the official list, now the association is active in getting international recognition. In a few days, we will discuss with Mukanda Prasad Niraula, Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and take the further process forward.’
He says that first the Nepal government should fully recognize these mountains. Only then will the International Union of Mountaineering and Climbing (UIAA) give approval. Only after the UIAA gives recognition, Nepal will be officially recognized in the world as a country with 14 8,000-meter high mountains.
IAA is a recognized federation of 94 alpine and mountaineering organizations from 73 countries around the world. The International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation UIAA is organizing an international conference in Nepal on October 25-26, 2026. Nepal's mountain tourism entrepreneurs say that the six new 8,000-meter mountains identified by Nepal should be given official international recognition at the international level.
According to the association and entrepreneurs, new opportunities will open up in mountaineering tourism in Nepal after these mountains are recognized. The attraction of climbers looking for new challenges will increase, and it is expected that the income from tourism will increase significantly.
