Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586 m), is widely recognized as the world’s third highest mountain and the second highest mountain of Nepal. But a lesser known fact about this mountains is that around its vicinity lies one of the most beautiful trekking routes (Kanchenjunga base camp trek ) in Nepal. The name Kanchenjunga means, The Five Treasure of Snow in the Tibetan language. The location of Mt. Kanchenjunga has regularly caused confusion among visitors, and we often get to hear people questioning whether its located in Nepal or India?
Actually, Mt. Kanchenjunga is located inside the territories of both Nepal and India. But the extension of the protected reserve also shares a small portion with Bhutan. The center, main, and the south peaks are located in Nepal within the district of Taplejung, while the North peak lies within the Indian state of Sikkim.
Kanchenjunga National Park is famous for being one of the most crucial ecological sites near the Himalayas with hundreds of unique flora and fauna. The regions around the vicinity of the peak is filled with snow all year round. The Kanchenjunga National Park is habitat of more than 1,600 species of reptiles, mammals, amphibians, birds, and insects.
KANCHENJUNGA NATIONAL PARK
The regions surrounding Kanchenjunga is served by a massive nature reserve, combined from 14 different protected regions that spans the borders of four countries, including Nepal, India, China and Bhutan. The total area of the reserve is 6,032 square Kilometers, where 2,035 square Kilometers lies in Nepal, 1,784 square Kilometers lies in India, and 609 square Kilometers lies in Bhutan.
This park is considered a crucial ecological site of the Himalays, with hundreds of unique flora and fauna. The climate in the trans-border protection regions varies greatly from warm tropical weather to cold alpine conditions over a relatively small distance of 100 Kilometers.
The region’s protected areas are devoted to the conservation of some of the world’s endangered species like the Red Panda, Snow-Leopard, Blue Sheep, Serow, Takin, Himalayan Tahr, Tiger, Himalayan Musk Deer, and Asian Elephants.
The famous Kanchenjunga Conservation Area is located in the Taplejung district in Nepal and bordered by Sikkim (India) in the east and Tibet (China) in the north. Nearly 65% of the area is covered by rocks and ice and remaining 35% of the area is covered by woods (14.1%), shrublands (10.1%), meadows (9.2%), and agricultural lands (1.6%). The region includes three famous valleys; the Simbua Khola Valley, Ghunsa Valley, and Tamur Valley.
KANCHENJUNGA CLIMBING ROUTES
Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586 m) has four climbing routes, and Nepal three of them passes through Nepal, which include, the South-West, North-West, and North-East routes. The remaining one North-Eastern is from Sikkim, India. The most popular and the safer routes are North-West and South-West. However, the climber need to know that the trail is not easy and includes technical climbing, off-beaten paths, isolated regions, and slippery glaciers.
The route from Sikkim, India has only three recorded successful summits to date. Since 2000, the route has not been approved for further expedition by the Indian Government.