Nanda Devi

Nanda Devi
Highest point
Elevation	7,816 m (25,643 ft)  Ranked 23rd
Prominence	3,139 m (10,299 ft)  Ranked 74th
Isolation	389 kilometres (242 mi)
Listing	Ultra List of Indian states and territories by highest point
Coordinates	30°32′33″N 79°58′15″E / 30.54250°N 79.97083°E / 30.54250; 79.97083Coordinates: 30°32′33″N 79°58′15″E / 30.54250°N 79.97083°E / 30.54250; 79.97083
Geography
Nanda Devi Location in India
Location	Chamoli District, Uttarakhand, India
Parent range	Garhwal Himalayas
Climbing
First ascent	29 August 1936 by Noel Odell and Bill Tilman
Easiest route	south ridge: technical rock/snow/ice climb

Nanda Devi is the second highest mountain in India, and the highest located entirely within the country. (Kangchenjunga, which is higher, is on the border of India and Nepal.) It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world. It was considered the highest mountain in the world before computations in 1808 proved Dhaulagiri to be higher. It was also the highest mountain in India before 1971 when Sikkim, the state in which Kangchenjunga is located, joined the Republic of India. It is part of the Garhwal Himalayas, and is located in the state of Uttarakhand, between the Rishiganga valley on the west and the Goriganga valley on the east. The peak, whose name means "Bliss-Giving Goddess", is regarded as the patron-goddess of the Uttarakhand Himalaya. In acknowledgment of its religious significance and for the protection of its fragile ecosystem, the peak as well as the circle of high mountains surrounding it—the Nanda Devi sanctuary—were closed to both locals and climbers in 1983. The surrounding Nanda Devi National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988.

Nanda Devi is a two-peaked massif, forming a 2-kilometre-long (1.2 mi) high ridge, oriented east-west. The western summit is higher, and the eastern summit is called Sunanda Devi formerly known as Nanda Devi East is the lower one. The main summit stands guarded by a barrier ring comprising some of the highest mountains in the Indian Himalayas, twelve of which exceed 6,400 m (21,000 ft) in height, further elevating its sacred status as the daughter of the Himalaya in Indian myth and folklore. The interior of this almost insurmountable ring is known as the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, and is protected as the Nanda Devi National Park. Sunanda Devi lies on the eastern edge of the ring (and of the Park), at the border of Chamoli, Pithoragarh and Bageshwar districts.