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At 8,586 m, the highest mountain in India and the third highest on Earth.

Kanchenjunga is a giant of high-grade gneiss and schist, crust thrust up and stacked as India collided with Asia. Its five summits — the name means roughly “five treasures of snow” — straddle the Sikkim frontier and feed glaciers that source the Teesta.

The mountain anchors the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site spanning ice, alpine meadow and subtropical forest across a huge elevation range.

Sources

• Survey of India
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre

A short reference note: this summary draws on third-party sources such as the Geological Survey of India and Wikipedia. In time I plan to give every geological feature its own learning-oriented write-up — with custom diagrams, graphs, and study pointers — as I’ve already done for the 11 locations that have an Instagram reel.