Last updated: October 2026 Β· 3 min read
Standing on the border of Nepal and Tibet (China), Mount Everest is the highest point on Earth above sea level. It has drawn adventurers for a century. Here are 10 incredible facts about the roof of the world.
10 incredible facts about Mount Everest
1. Its official height is 8,848.86 m
In 2020, Nepal and China jointly announced Everest’s height as 8,848.86 metres above sea level.
2. An Indian mathematician first measured it
In 1852, Radhanath Sikdar, a mathematician with the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, calculated that “Peak XV” was the highest mountain in the world.
3. It is named after a surveyor
The British named the peak after Sir George Everest, a former Surveyor General of India. Locally it is called Sagarmatha in Nepal and Chomolungma in Tibet.
4. Its summit was once under the sea
The rocks near the top contain fossils of ancient sea creatures, because they formed on an ocean floor before the Indian plate pushed them up.
5. It is still rising
As the Indian plate keeps pushing into Asia, the Himalayas, including Everest, continue to rise by a few millimetres each year.
6. The first summit was in 1953
Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary became the first climbers confirmed to reach the summit, on 29 May 1953.
7. Indian women have made history there
In 1984, Bachendri Pal became the first Indian woman to climb Everest. In 2013, Arunima Sinha became the first female amputee to reach the summit.
8. The air at the top is very thin
At the summit, each breath contains only about a third of the oxygen available at sea level, which is why most climbers use bottled oxygen.
9. Above 8,000 m is the “death zone”
At these heights the human body cannot acclimatise, and climbers can stay only a limited time before the lack of oxygen becomes life-threatening.
10. It is not the tallest mountain base-to-peak
Measured from its base on the ocean floor, Mauna Kea in Hawaii is taller, at about 10,000 metres, though most of it is under water.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries is Mount Everest in?
It sits on the border between Nepal and the Tibet Autonomous Region of China.
How long does it take to climb Everest?
Most expeditions take around two months, including weeks of acclimatisation.
Who was the first Indian to climb Everest?
Avtar Singh Cheema, part of the 1965 Indian expedition led by Captain M.S. Kohli, was the first Indian to reach the summit; Nawang Gombu, also on that expedition, became the first person to climb it twice.
Keep exploring
- The Himalayas: the world’s highest mountain range
- Layers of the Earth
- More Geography explainers on Tiwaripedia
- Browse all incredible facts
Facts are based on widely accepted scientific, historical and official sources at the time of writing. Spotted something that needs updating? Let us know.
