Location of Himalayan Mountains: Where is the Himalaya and How to Get There?

The Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world and home to most of the world’s highest mountains, includes many of the 8,000+ meter mountains such as Mount Everest, Mount Kangchenjunga, Mount Makalu, Mount Cho Oyu, and Mount Manaslu, to name a few.

It is not only the final destination for most mountain climbers and trekkers from all over the world, but also a great destination for many tourists who are keen on mysterious culture and amazing landscape of the Himalaya kingdoms.

Where are the mountains of Himalayas? How to get there and have a trip to the Himalayan Mountain regions? Here we offer you the detailed information about the location of Himalayan Mountains with useful travel guide to each region of the Himalaya.

Where Are The Himalayan Mountains?

The Himalayas form a huge mountain range made up of minor ranges and surround the western and southern edges of the Tibetan Plateau. Stretching from mainland China in the east to Pakistan in the west, across Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and northeast India, the range is the largest in the world, and exists wholly in Asia. Its western anchor lies in Pakistan, to the south of the Indus River, while its eastern anchor is Mount Namcha Barwa, to the west of the great bend of the Yarlung Zangbo River.

Location of Himalayas in Tibet

From Ngari Prefecture in the west to Nyingchi prefecture in the southeast, the Himalayas fringe Tibet in a huge arc along the region’s western, southwestern, and southern borders with India, Nepal, and Bhutan. Of the 14 world’s highest mountains that exceed 8,000 meters in the Himalayas, six are within the bounds of Tibet, with one 8,000+ meter mountain, Shishapangma, lying wholly within the region.

Within the bounds of Tibet, albeit shared with Nepal, lie Mount Everest, Mount Lhotse, Mount Makalu, Mount Cho Oyu, and Gyachung Kang. Known as the Himalaya to the western world, in Tibetan the name translates as “The Land of Snow”.

Highlights of The Himalaya Mountains in Tibet - Everest Base Camp

At the base of the world’s highest Mountain, Mount Everest, lies the famous Northern Everest Base Camp. One of the most popular places for Tibet tours, EBC has become a sightseeing tour in its own right, and the base camp has temporary structures set up in the main tourist season to cater for the thousands of visitors. These include restaurants, guesthouses, and other local businesses, all housed in Tibetan tents which are taken down and moved away when winter hits the region.

Trekking to Everest Base Camp to enjoy the stunning view of Mount Everest

Trekking to Mount Everest is one of the most popular treks in Tibet, and the 70-kilometer train is an awesome adventure that takes you over some of the higher passes in the area, and through some of the Everest National Park’s most beautiful countryside. The trek takes around four days to complete, and while it is not that hard, it is a fairly arduous route, especially in the high-altitude atmosphere of the plateau.

How to Get There

Getting to Mount Everest Base Camp requires you to be on a pre-booked tour with a registered tour operator such as Chinatibettrain.com. Since independent travel is not permitted in Tibet, the tour will take you from Lhasa or Kathmandu to EBC along the well-paved roads of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

From Lhasa, the route follows the Sino-Nepal Friendship Highway for most of the journey, traveling through Gyantse and Shigatse before ending at Rongbuk Monastery, the world’s highest monastery in Shigatse Prefecture. From there, it is a short jaunt of just 4 kilometers to EBC.

The Best Time to Go

The best time to visit Mount Everest and the other 8,000+ meter mountains in Tibet is from April to June and September to October. Spring and autumn in Tibet are the milder months, without snow and rain, and the clear skies make viewing the peaks much easier. While it can get cold at night in spring and autumn, it is bright and sunny during the day, and warm enough to still be comfortable without wrapping up too much.

Required Travel Documents

Getting to the Himalaya regions in Tibet des require a lot of documentation, in the form of permits and passes, which can only be obtained by the tour operator once you have booked your trip. The main permit is the Tibet Travel Permit, issued by the Tibet tourism Bureau in Lhasa and which is required to enter Tibet and travel around Lhasa. Obtained using your scanned passport and visa, the permit takes around 20 days to process, and is required to even board the train or flight to Lhasa, the Tibetan capital.

Aside from the Tibet Travel Permit, you will also need the Alien’s Travel Permit for travel outside Lhasa, and the Qomolangma National Park entry ticket to allow you to get to EBC itself. All of these are also obtained by the tour operator, and it should be noted that none of the permits or passes for Tibet are available to be applied for personally.

Location of Himalayas in Nepal

Running along the entire northern edge of the country, the Himalayas form the natural boundary between Nepal and China and form the border between the two countries. Of the many mountains of the Himalayan Range, Nepal is home to 31 of them, with eight of the fourteen 8,000+ meter mountains being in Nepal.

Mount Everest, Mount Lhotse, Mount Makalu, and Mount Cho Oyu are shared with Tibet and lie directly on the Sino-Nepal border while Kangchenjunga is shared with India and lies on the border with Sikkim in the east of Nepal.

Nepal has three of the 8,000+ meter mountains that lies wholly within its border, which are Dhaulagiri I, Manaslu, and Annapurna I. Ranked 7^th, 8^th, and 10^th respectively in the list of the world’s highest mountains, these peaks are popular trekking areas in Nepal and see thousands of tourists trekking around them every year.

Highlights of The Himalayas in Nepal

Mountaineering in Nepal is one of the most popular reasons to travel there, and it is from the base camp in Nepal that most expeditions set off to scale Mount Everest, as the route up the South Col is easier than the North Col in Tibet. It is also the route taken by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary on their record-breaking ascent to the summit of the world’s highest mountain.

Himalayan Mountains in Nepal

Nepal has a very extensive mountaineering tourism industry, which caters to all levels of climbers, from the most expert to the complete novice. There are such a wide range of peaks within the borders of Nepal that there is something for everyone, from the harder peaks of Everest and Kangchenjunga to the easier training peaks of Langtang Lirung and Langtang Ri. Climbing season is normally in late April and May as well as in late September and October, as these are the best windows of opportunity for good weather to climb above 6,000 meters.

Trekking, however, is the major tourism industry of Nepal and many thousands of tourists travel to the country every year to trek the route from Lukla to EBC alone. In total, around a million people travel to Nepal from all over the world every year to trek around the many trails in the Himalayas. Nepal is the location of several of the world’s best treks and many of the world’s most famous treks, such as the trek to EBC, as well as he Annapurna trekking trails.

With hundreds of trails to choose from, ranging from simple and easy to those that are for very experienced trekkers only, Nepal is the largest trekking location in the world, and caters to all kinds of trekkers. With eight of the world’s highest mountains in Nepal, as well as some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, trekking is, without a doubt, the most popular activity in the country.

Best Time to Go

The best seasons for visiting Nepal are when it is dry, as the country is subject to the Indian monsoon, and does not have the Himalayas to deflect the rains. Monsoon season is not advisable for trekking, and the best time is from March to June and from September to December. Temperatures at these times are warm enough to be comfortable and the weather is clear and dry. Winter in Nepal can be a good time to trek, but there is a possibility of heavier snow that can close some of the passes.

How to Get There

Nepal lies in the Himalayas in Southeast Asia and can be easily reached by flights from almost all the airports across Asia. From outside Asia, flights can be booked to fly from Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. For travelers from Europe, North America, and Australia, you will need to get a connecting flight to one of the airports that serves Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport first. Popular connecting airports to Nepal are Hong Kong, Singapore, Delhi, and Kuala Lumpur.

Location of Himalayas in Bhutan

Lying in the midst of the Eastern Himalayas on Tibet’s southern border, the Kingdom of Bhutan is a small Himalayan country that is the last real Shangri-La of the Himalayas. An almost unspoilt country, around 70 percent of the kingdom is kept as natural habitats and is prohibited from all kinds of construction.

Bhutan does not have anywhere near the number of mountains that are in Nepal and Tibet, as its Himalayan border with Tibet is just 470 kilometers in length. Of the world’s 110 highest mountains, which are all over 7,000 meters, only four lies in Bhutan, and all are on the border with China in Tibet. Gangkar Puensum is the highest peak in Bhutan at 7,750 meters, flowed by Kula Kangri (7,538m), Jhomolhari (7,326m), Tongshanjiabu (7,207m), and Kangphu Kang (7,204m).

Highlights of The Himalayas in Bhutan

While Bhutan does not have a large number of high peaks, the entire northern border is in the Himalayan Mountain Range and more than half of the kingdom consists of mountains and their foothills. Another great place for trekking, there are a number of great treks in Bhutan that extend into the Himalayas, and the kingdom’s Jigme Dorji national Park covers almost all of the northeastern area of the mountains. Some of the best treks in Bhutan can be found in the area of Punakha, the main center for Bhutanese trekking.

Best Time to Go

Bhutan is a monsoon country that is not protected by the Himalayan Mountains, and has a lot of rainfall in the southern areas in the summer months from June to September. October to December and March to May are the best times to visit Bhutan, as the skies are clear and the weather is bright and dry. January and February are a little colder, but pleasant enough to travel to the country, but are not possible for trekking.

How to Get There

The only way to get to Bhutan is to fly from one of the five Asian countries that have flights to Paro International Airport, the only international airport in Bhutan. Only Druk Air and Bhutan Airlines, the two Bhutanese carriers, are permitted to fly into Bhutan, and they operate flights from India, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, and Bangladesh.

Himalayas in India

For one of the largest countries in Asia, India has a relatively small area of Himalayan Mountains within its borders. Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh in the east have short areas of mountains on their northern borders with China, while Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the north have the longest section of mountains.

None of the 14 highest mountains in the world lie within India, although it does have 22 mountains in the Himalayas that are over 7,000 meters. India’s highest mountain in the Himalayas is Nanda Devi, which lies in Uttarakhand at an elevation of 7,816 meters.

Best Places to See The Himalayas in India

While Arunachal Pradesh does have a better range of mountain region than anywhere else in India, this disputed region is hard to get to, and the roads are not easily traveled. Uttarakhand in northern India is one of the best places to travel for the mountains and is a popular place for Indian tourists traveling within the country.