From the Matterhorn to Mount Everest, Musement shares 10 of the world’s most breathtaking mountain peaks.
While the mountains are beautiful year-round, there’s just something about this destination come winter. Maybe it’s their picturesque snow caps and the association with skiing?
So, with that in mind, here’s a look at ten of the world’s most astounding mountain peaks.
1. Mount Everest, Nepal and China
The world’s tallest peak, Mount Everest stands just short of 29,032 feet, two feet taller than originally reported. The Himalayan mountains are home to several indigenous peoples, one of the most famous being the Sherpas who lead the expeditions to the summit.
2. The Matterhorn, Switzerland
The Matterhorn, known for its distinct pyramid shape, presides over the border of Switzerland and Italy at an altitude of 14,692 feet.
3. Mont Blanc, Italy
The highest peak in the Alps, Mont Blanc reaches an altitude of 15,771 feet. It’s so exquisite that the late and great Percy Bysshe Shelley penned an entire poem about it.
4. K2, Pakistan
Located in the Karakoram Range of the Himalayas, K2 at 28,251 feet is the world’s second-highest mountain. Its name? This, along with Mount Haramukh, the range’s other peak, were noted as K1 and K2 respectively during the 19th century, and it stuck.
5. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
At 19,341 feet, Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain and the world’s tallest freestanding peak. Despite Toto’s song, it doesn’t rise “like Olympus above the Serengeti” — they’re about 200 miles apart. However, one of the best places to catch a view is Kenya’s Amboseli National Park.
6. Denali, Alaska
Denali, North America’s tallest mountain at 20,310 feet, is in its eponymous National Park, which was called Mount McKinley National Park until 1975. Locals referred to the peak as Denali for ages but in 1896 a gold prospector named it as such in support of a presidential candidate. The United States Department of the Interior decided to change it back to the original in 1975.
7. Monte Fitz Roy, Argentina and Chile
This Patagonian peak straddles Argentina and Chile and makes for one of the most dramatic landscapes you could possibly imagine. In the local Tehuelche dialect, the 11,171-foot mountain is called Chaltén, which means “smoking mountain,” a reference to the way clouds seem to always linger over its peak.
8. Kirkjufell, Iceland
Game of Thrones fans will recognize this as the “arrowhead mountain” north of the wall, though it translates to church mountain as it’s believed to resemble a house of worship. Kirkjufell stands at an altitude of 1,519 feet and is especially exquisite against the backdrop of the Northern lights.
9. Mount Olympus, Greece
One of the world’s most storied mountains due to mythology, Greece’s highest peak reaches 9,570 feet. Mount Olympus, which stands in Macedonia around 60 miles west of Thessaloniki, was home to the gods and goddesses. Its name is tied to the ancient Olympic Games held every four years in honor the Olympian gods who resided on the mountain.
10. Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand
New Zealand’s highest mountain, Aoraki (the Māori word for the mountain)/Mount Cook has an altitude of 12,316 feet. It’s part of the Southern Alps, the range that runs the entire length of South Island, and teems with local lore and legends.