Nanda Devi

Description

Nanda Devi, whose name means Blessed Goddess, is the highest mountain in India. It is a great white double pyramid overlooking the sacred Garhwal region. Nanda Devi rises from a vast ring of high mountains that form the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, an amphitheater seventy miles in circumference and 6000m high, surrounding the Rishiganga valley. Only once in this giant cirque does the elevation drop below 5200 m. Repeated early efforts to reach the inner sanctuary failed. Bill Tilman finally reached the sanctuary in 1934 with Eric Shipton, then Tilman climbed to the summit in 1936 with Noel Odell. With this ascent, Nanda Devi became the highest peak attained by man, a record which remained until the 1950 ascent of Annapurna.