The ten highest summits on Earth, ranked by surveyed elevation above sea level.
Quick answer: 1. Mount Everest, 2. K2, 3. Kangchenjunga, 4. Lhotse, 5. Makalu, 6. Cho Oyu, 7. Dhaulagiri I, 8. Manaslu, 9. Nanga Parbat, 10. Annapurna I.
Every summit on this list clears 8,000 metres — the elite club of the fourteen eight-thousanders — and all fourteen stand in the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges of High Asia. Their first ascents read like a decade-long golden age of mountaineering: Annapurna I in 1950, then Everest, K2, and the rest through 1960, each by a different national expedition. This page ranks the ten highest of those peaks by surveyed elevation above sea level, with each mountain's range, home country (or countries), and first-ascent date alongside. If you want the full eight-thousander set, the next four — Gasherbrum I, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum II, and Shishapangma — continue the ranking just below Annapurna I.
The roof of the world, confirmed at 8,848.86 m by the joint China–Nepal survey of 2020 after decades of competing measurements. First summited on 29 May 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, it straddles the Nepal–China (Tibet) border in the Mahalangur Himalaya; its Tibetan name, Chomolungma, means "Goddess Mother of the World."
Second-highest at 8,611 m and, by wide consensus, the hardest of the great peaks: steeper, more remote, and battered by violent Karakoram weather. First climbed on 31 July 1954 by Achille Compagnoni and Lino Lacedelli of an Italian expedition; no one stood on its summit in winter until a Nepali team finally did so in January 2021.
The world's third-highest peak at 8,586 m, and the highest mountain standing partly in India. First summited on 25 May 1955 by George Band and Joe Brown of a British expedition, who deliberately stopped just short of the true summit out of respect for local beliefs that hold it sacred.
At 8,516 m, the fourth-highest peak sits just south of Everest, linked to it by the South Col, and Everest expeditions routinely cross its steep Lhotse Face. First summited on 18 May 1956 by Fritz Luchsinger and Ernst Reiss of a Swiss expedition.
A near-perfect pyramid of 8,485 m standing 19 km southeast of Everest, famous for its isolated position and knife-edge ridges. First climbed on 15 May 1955 by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy of a French expedition.
The sixth-highest at 8,188 m and often called the most accessible of the fourteen eight-thousanders, which made it a classic early training ground for Everest aspirants. First summited on 19 October 1954 by Herbert Tichy, Joseph Jöchler, and Pasang Dawa Lama.
The 8,167 m "White Mountain" rises almost sheer from the Kali Gandaki gorge — one of the deepest on Earth — and was believed to be the world's highest peak from 1808 to 1838. First climbed on 13 May 1960 by a Swiss–Austrian expedition including Kurt Diemberger.
At 8,163 m, the "Mountain of the Spirit" is the eighth-highest peak in the world. First climbed on 9 May 1956 by Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu of a Japanese expedition — the first eight-thousander summit achieved by an Asian team.
The 8,126 m "Killer Mountain" of Pakistan, home to the Rupal Face — among the largest mountain faces on Earth, rising some 4,600 m from base to summit. First climbed on 3 July 1953 by Hermann Buhl, who pushed on solo after his partners turned back.
At 8,091 m, Annapurna I closes the top ten — and it was the first eight-thousander ever summited, on 3 June 1950 by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal of a French expedition. It remains the deadliest of the great peaks by fatality rate, with unstable seracs and avalanche-prone faces.
| # | Name | Country | First ascent | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mount Everest | Nepal / China | 29 May 1953 | Mahalangur Himalaya |
| 2 | K2 | Pakistan / China | 31 July 1954 | Baltoro Karakoram |
| 3 | Kangchenjunga | Nepal / India | 25 May 1955 | Kangchenjunga Himalaya |
| 4 | Lhotse | China / Nepal | 18 May 1956 | Mahalangur Himalaya |
| 5 | Makalu | Nepal / China | 15 May 1955 | Mahalangur Himalaya |
| 6 | Cho Oyu | China / Nepal | 19 October 1954 | Mahalangur Himalaya |
| 7 | Dhaulagiri I | Nepal | 13 May 1960 | Dhaulagiri Himalaya |
| 8 | Manaslu | Nepal | 9 May 1956 | Manaslu Himalaya |
| 9 | Nanga Parbat | Pakistan | 3 July 1953 | Nanga Parbat Himalaya |
| 10 | Annapurna I | Nepal | 3 June 1950 | Annapurna Himalaya |
Ranked by elevation above mean sea level in metres, using the rounded survey figures in Wikipedia's List of highest mountains on Earth; Everest uses the 8,848.86 m figure from the 2020 joint China–Nepal survey. Only independent summits with at least 500 m of topographic prominence are considered, so subsidiary peaks (e.g. Lhotse Middle) cannot displace true mountains. The ten highest qualifying summits are all eight-thousanders; Gasherbrum I (8,080 m) is the first peak below the cut. Heights from different surveys can differ by several metres — the ordering above follows the cited reference list.
Mount Everest, at 8,848.86 m above sea level. That figure comes from the joint China–Nepal geodetic survey published in 2020, replacing earlier measurements that ranged from about 8,840 m to 8,849 m.
Fourteen. Every one of them stands in the Himalaya or Karakoram ranges on the edge of the Indian and Eurasian plates, across Nepal, China (Tibet), Pakistan, and India. The ten on this list are simply the tallest of that group.
Yes. The Indian plate keeps pushing into the Eurasian plate, lifting the Himalaya by a few millimetres a year, and surveys periodically refine the official figure — Everest's listed height has moved several times between national surveys.
Annapurna I. Himalayan Database figures put its fatality rate around 3.6% of member expeditions — the highest of any eight-thousander — thanks to unstable seracs and avalanche-prone faces, despite it being the first 8,000 m peak ever summited (1950).
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