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the mountain Kangchenjunga |
the mountain Kangchenjunga
is the third highest mountain in the world (after Mount
Everest and K2), with an elevation of 8,586 metres (28,169 ft).
the mountain Kangchenjunga translated means "The Five Treasures
of Snows", as it contains five peaks, four of them over
8,450 metres. The treasures represent the five repositories
of god, which are gold, silver, gems, grain, and holy books.
the mountain Kangchenjunga is also called Sewalungma in local
Limbu language and considered sacred in Kirant religion.
Three of these five peaks (main, central, and
south) are on the border of North Sikkim district of Sikkim,
India and Taplejung District of Nepal, while the other two are
completely in Taplejung District. Nepal is home to the Kangchenjunga
Conservation Area Project run by the World Wildlife Fund , in
association with HMG in Nepal, the sanctuary is also home to
the Red Panda and other snow animals, birds and plants. India's
side of Kangchenjunga also has a protected park area called
the Khangchendzonga National Park.
Although the mountain Kangchenjunga is the official
spelling adopted by Douglas Freshfield, A.M. Kellas, and the
Royal Geographical Society that gives the best indication of
the Tibetan pronunciation, there are a number of alternative
spellings which include Kangchen Dzö-nga, Khangchendzonga,
Kanchenjanga, Kachendzonga, Kanchenjunga or Kangchanfanga. The
final word on the use of the name Kangchenjunga came from His
Highness Sir Tashi Namgyal, the Maharaja or chogyal of Sikkim,
who stated that "although junga had no meaning in Tibetan,
it really ought to have been Zod-nga (treasure, five) Kang-chen
(snow, big) conveyed the meaning correctly". Following
consultations with a Lieutenant-Colonel J.L.R. Weir (HMG political
agent to Sikkim), he agreed that it was best to leave it as
Kangchenjunga, and thus the name remained so by acceptance and
usage.
Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was
assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations
made by the British Great Trigonometric Survey in 1849 came
to the conclusion that Mount Everest (known as Peak XV at the
time) was the highest and Kangchenjunga the third-highest. Kangchenjunga
was first climbed on May 25, 1955 by Joe Brown and George Band
of a British expedition. The British expedition honoured the
beliefs of the Sikkimese, who hold the summit sacred, by stopping
a few feet short of the actual summit. Most successful summit
parties since then have followed this tradition.
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