map of nepal with mountains

Machhapuchhre mountain

Mount Machhapuchhre is incomparable, thanks to its fish-tailed pinnacle. This features makes it one of the most renowned mountains in Nepal Himalayan range. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the snow-blanketed, needle-pointed mountain is a visual feast, to be least said. Mafestically protruding out in the skyline, the view of the mountain provides wings to the thoughts of the poets. Climbing on the mountain has been restricted, for it is considered sacred by the locals. Machhapuchhre mountain is known not only in Nepal but all over the world for its magnificence. Machhapuchhre' means fishtail and comes from two Nepali words Machha (Fish) + Puchhre (Tail).

Overview

Location	Pokhara, Western Himalayas
Height	6,993 m
Climbing	Not allowed
Range of Mountains	Annapurna Range
Attraction	Majestic View

Striking Features
Considered to be sacred by the local inhabitants, the Fish tail mountain is a treasured spiritual site of the Nepalese.

• Machhapuchhre or Fishtail is the second highest mountain of the Annapurna Range.
• It has supposedly never been climbed.
• It is considered holy by the people of Nepal as it has been untouched and therefore is pure.
• It lies across Modi Khola in Pokhara.
• Reflecting sunlight at early dawn, the holy mountain of Machhapucchre is an unforgettable sight.
• The Fishtail mountain lies only 28 killometres to Phewa Lake.
• It is one of the most photogenic mountains in the world .

Best View
For viewing Machhapuchhre from a close up, take a mountain flight from Pokhara that takes you on an aerial sightseeing tour of the Western Himalayas. Although the highest among the Western Himalayas is Annapurna I (8,091 m), it is Machhapuchhre which dominates all others in this neighborhood.

Annapurna

Annapurna, a collosal masiff is placed as the tenth tallest mountain in the world. Kali Gandaki river segregates Annarpurna mountain range from the great gorge that slices through the Himalayas. Range of Mount Annapurna holds huge glaciers on its slopes.
Fast Facts

Location	Central Nepal Himalayas
Altitude	8,091m
Importance	10th Highest Mountain In The World
Best Time To Visit	April To October

Major Peaks of The Annapurna Range

Annapurna I	26,545 ft.	8,091 m.
Annapurna II	26,040 ft.	7,937 m.
Annapurna III	24,786 ft.	7,555 m.
Annapurna IV	24,688 ft.	7,525 m.
Gangapurna	24,457 ft.	7,455 m.
Annapurna South	23,684 ft.	7,219 m.

Highlights The trek to Annapurna mountain takes the tourists very very close to nature. The trek is a marvellous combination of being spiritually soothing and highly adventurous. The following places are the trek's highlights.

• Pewa Lake Pokhara
• Gurung Villages, Langdrung and Gandrung
• Hinko Cave
• Bamboo Forests
• Machapuchare Base Camp
• Annapurna Base Camp

Trekking in Mountains

Peoples and tribes of himalayas

The population, settlement, and economic patterns within the Himalayas have been greatly influenced by the variations in topography and climate, which impose harsh living conditions and tend to restrict movement and communication. People living in remote, isolated valleys have generally preserved their cultural identities.  However, improvements in transportation and communication, particularly satellite television programs from Europe and the United States of America, are bringing access from the outside world to remote valleys. These outside influences are affecting traditional social and cultural structure.

Nearly 40 million people inhabit the Himalayas. Generally, Hindus of Indian heritage are dominant in the Sub-Himalayas and the Middle Himalayan valleys from eastern Kashmir to Nepal. To the north Tibetan Buddhists inhabit the Great Himalayas from Ladakh to northeast India.

In central Nepal, in an area between about 1,830 and 2,440 m (between about 6,000 and 8,000 ft), the Indian and Tibetan cultures have intermingled, producing a combination of Indian and Tibetan traits. The eastern Himalayas in India and nearby areas of eastern Bhutan are inhabited by animistic people whose culture is similar to those living in northern Myanmar and Yunnan province in China. People of western Kashmir are Muslims and have a culture similar to the inhabitants of Afghanistan and Iran.

For the mountain people living in these states of Indian Himalaya, the Himalayas continue to be the predominant factor in their lives. Having acted as a natural and political barrier for centuries, the Himalayas have isolated a number of communities, cultures and customs.

List of mountains in Nepal

Mountain/Peak	metres	feet
Mount Everest	8,848	29,028
Kangchenjunga	8,586	28,169
Lhotse	8,516	27,939
Makalu	8,462	27,765
Cho Oyu	8,201	26,906
Dhaulagiri	8,167	26,794
Manaslu	8,156	26,758
Annapurna	8,091	26,545
Gyachung Kang	7,952	26,089
Ngadi Chuli	7,871	25,823
Nuptse	7,861	25,790
Chamlang	7,319	24,152
Langtang Lirung	7,227	23,711
Baruntse	7,220	23,688
Chamar	7,187	23,326
Melungtse	7,181	23,555
Pumori	7,161	23,494
Gauri Sankar	7,134	23,405
Api	7,132	23,399
Tilicho Peak	7,134	23,405
Salasungo	7,110	23,326
Machapuchare	6,993	22,943
Kang Guru	6,981	22,904
Dorje Lakpa	6,966	22,854
Kanjiroba	6,883	22,580
Ama Dablam	6,812	22,349
Cho Polu	6,735	22,096
Num Ri	6,677	21,906
Thamserku	6,623	21,729
Khumbutse	6,640	21,725
Taboche	6,501	21,329
Mera Peak	6,476	21,246
Hiunchuli	6,441	21,132
Cholatse	6,440	21,128
Kusum Kangguru	6,367	20,888
Kongde Ri	6,187	20,298
Imja Tse	6,160	20,210
Pokalde	5,745	18,848
Kala Pattar	5,545	18,192
Nirekha	6,069	19 911
Baden-Powell Peak	5,825	19,111

Mount Everest

Mount Everest is so famous for being so high that you've probably heard of it before. It has been known the world over since the early 1950s when Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay first climbed to its awesome summit. Hillary surveyed Everest at the time and determined that it was 29,000 ft/8840m high - a figure amazingly close to the current reading of 29,035 ft/8850m, which was confirmed using radar and global positioning satellite (GPS) technology.

Using state-of-the-art technology Professor Brad Washburn of the Boston Museum of Science, the world's foremost mountain cartographer, and his team have calculated that earth's highest elevation is actually 7 feet higher than the previous record. That makes the official height 29,035 ft/8850m. Thanks to some engineering whizzes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who developed really light, high-tech gear, the work of Washburn was made easier because he was able to hand carry a radar device to the top of Everest where it could be positioned to measure the actual height of the mountain - underneath all that snow. GPS technology was also deployed near the summit, which uses satellite signal relays to take readings from the top of Everest. After months of crunching numbers Washburn's team arrived at the new, official world-record elevation.

They've also determined that the Himalayan Mountains are still growing higher, at a rate of about 2.4 in/6.1cm per year. That's twice as fast as previously thought. A growth rate of 2.4 in/6.1cm per year doesn't sound like very much. But, if you think about it, that means in the last 26,000 years the Himalayans have risen almost a mile into the upper reaches of the earth's atmosphere!