Liangkang Kangri (also known as ''Gangkhar Puensum North'' and ''Liankang Kangri'') is a mountain peak in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

on the border between

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, as well as at the southeastern end of territory claimed by both countries. Liangkang Kangri is high. To the south, a ridge leads to the

Gangkhar Puensum Gangkhar Puensum ( dz, གངས་དཀར་སྤུན་གསུམ་, translit=Kangkar Punsum, alternatively, Gangkar Punsum or Gankar Punzum) is the highest mountain in Bhutan and the highest unclimbed mountain in the world, with an ele ...

to the south-southeast. Due to the low saddle height of , Liangkang Kangri is not regarded as an independent mountain. Westward a ridge leads to the high Chumhari Kang. The Liangkanggletscher on the northwest flank and the Namsanggletscher on the eastern flank of Liangkang Kangri form the headwaters of the Lhobrak Chhu, a source river of

Kuri Chhu The Kuri Chhu, also known as the Lhozhag Xung Qu (tib. lho brag gzhung chu) or Norbu Lag Qu (tib. nor bu lag chu), is a major river of eastern Bhutan, that has formed a scenic valley with high peaks and steep hills. Kuri Chhu is a tributary of th ...

. The glacier on the southwest flank belongs to the catchment area of Angde Chhu. The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of Liankang Kangri was by a 5-member party led by the Japanese mountaineer Kiyohiko Suzuki on 5 May 1999. According to them, Liankang Kangri was the second

highest unclimbed mountain An unclimbed mountain is a mountain peak that has yet to be climbed to the top. Determining which unclimbed peak is highest is often a matter of controversy. In some parts of the world, surveying and mapping are still unreliable. There are no co ...

in the world, after Gangkhar Puensum. Team member Tamotsu Nakamura commented to the BBC after the party's success, “As I cannot disclose an inside story behind the sudden cancellation, I write only the reason why the permit was withdrawn because of a political issue with heBhutan government. (...) I regret that Liangkang Kangri is not an outstanding summit."

References

{{reflist Mountains of Bhutan Mountains of Tibet Bhutan–China border International mountains of Asia Seven-thousanders of the Himalayas