Tilicho Peak(7,134 m)

Climb at a glance

Climb highlights

About this climb

Rising beyond Tilicho Lake in the Annapurna massif, Tilicho Peak is a quiet, seldom-climbed 7,000 m expedition — long glacier approaches and sustained snow slopes to a summit ringed by the Annapurnas and Dhaulagiri.

Tilicho Peak (7,134m) rises above Tilicho Lake — the highest glacial lake in the world — at the western edge of the Annapurna range, forming part of the dramatic ridgeline known as the Great Barrier. While it stands among the “easier” 7,000m peaks in Nepal, thanks to a wide summit shoulder that keeps avalanche risk low, the climb is still technical, combining rock, ice, and steep snow along the Northwest Shoulder Route — the same line first climbed by French mountaineer Emanuel Schmutz.

The approach winds through the heart of the Annapurna region: remote villages, pine forests, and high desert terrain leading to Base Camp on the shores of Tilicho Lake (4,920m). From there, climbers acclimatize through a series of higher camps before pushing for the summit, where the reward is a 360-degree panorama spanning the Annapurna Massif, Dhaulagiri, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Kali Gandaki Valley — the deepest gorge on Earth.

Tilicho also holds a place in mountaineering history. In 1950, Maurice Herzog's expedition arrived at

Tilicho Lake while searching for a route up Annapurna I, the first 8,000m peak ever summited. The 11-kilometer wall of rock and ice they found — La Grande Barrière — blocked their path and forced them to seek another approach, one that led to their historic first ascent.

Route: Northwest Shoulder Route

Base Camp: 4,920m, on the shore of Tilicho Lake

Camp I: ~5,600–5,800m

Camp II: ~6,100–6,300m

Summit: 7,134m