Nilkantha (or Neelakant, Neelkanth, Nilkanth, Nilkanta) is a major peak of the Garhwal division of 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 ...

, in the

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

region of the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n state of

. Although substantially lower than the highest peaks of the region, it towers dramatically over the valley of the

Alaknanda River The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In hydrology, the Alaknanda is considered the source stream ...

and rises above the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

pilgrimage site of

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham Hindu pilgrimage, pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgr ...

, only to the east.

Frank Smythe Francis Sydney Smythe, better known as Frank Smythe or F. S. Smythe (6 July 1900 – 27 June 1949), was an English mountaineer, author, photographer and botanist. He is best remembered for his mountaineering in the Alps as well as in the Himal ...

described the peak as "second only to

Siniolchu Siniolchu is one of the tallest mountains of the Indian state of Sikkim. The mountain is considered to be particularly aesthetically attractive, having been described by Douglas Freshfield as "the most superb triumph of mountain architecture an ...

in Himalayan beauty."''

American Alpine Journal The ''American Alpine Journal'' is an annual magazine published by the American Alpine Club. Its mission is "to document and communicate mountain exploration." The headquarters is in Golden, Colorado. Subtitled as a compilation of "The World's M ...

'', 1956, p. 77 The

Satopanth Glacier The Satopanth glacier is situated in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The river Alaknanda, one of the primary headstreams of the Ganges, has its origin in the Satopanth glacier. The glacier is one of the most popular glaciers in Uttarakhand amon ...

lies on the northwest side of Nilkantha, below a face of the peak. The Panpatia Glacier lies to the southwest, and feeds the Khirao Ganga, a stream running under the south side of the peak. Further away, to the west of the peak, lies the well-known

Gangotri Glacier Gangotri (Sanskrit and hi, गंगोत्री) is located in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India in a region bordering Tibet. This glacier, one of the primary sources of the Ganges, has a volume of over 27 cubic kilometers. The glaci ...

and its associated peaks. Across the Alaknanda valley lie the

Kamet Kamet ( hi, कामेत) is the second highest mountain in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand, India, after Nanda Devi. It lies in the Chamoli District of Uttarakhand. Its appearance resembles a giant pyramid topped by a flat summit area wi ...

and

Nanda Devi Nanda Devi is the second-highest mountain in India, after Kangchenjunga, and the highest located entirely within the country (Kangchenjunga is on the border of India and Nepal). It is the 23rd-highest peak in the world. Nanda Devi was consid ...

groups.

Etymology

(Sanskrit ; ''nīla'' = "blue", ' = "throat") is one of the Hindu deity,

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

's many epithets. In Hindu mythology, there was initially no mountain on the spot where Nilkantha stands today. There was an adage route between

Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarter. Kedarnath is the most remote of the ...

and

. The ''"Purahita"'' or the worshiper of the two temples worshiped them in one day. This continued for a long time until due to some sins of the worshiper,

became displeased with him and stood blocking the way as a huge sky-kissing mountain, which is said to be modern Nilkantha.

Climbing history

With its steep ridges and faces, Nilkantha resisted seven climbing attempts, beginning with Frank Smythe in 1937.Himalayan Index
(However note that this incorrectly lists the 1961 expedition as an attempt, not a successful ascent.) The peak was purportedly first climbed on 13 June 1961, by an expedition led by Col. Narinder Kumar, with Shri O.P. Sharma and Sherpas Lakpa Giyalbu and Phurba Lobsang reaching the summit. They placed their base camp on the

and ascended via the north face.''American Alpine Journal'' 1962, p. 272.
Online link
Jagdish Nanavati, Honorary Secretary of the Himalayan Club, Bombay, studied the ascent and came to the conclusion that the expedition had gravely underestimated the route and faltered far below the summit in bad weather. Nevertheless, a committee of the Indian Mountaineering Foundation ratified the ascent late in 1963, though they recommended the expedition to be repeated the next year to confirm the terrain and timing.

The generally accepted first ascent was made on 3 June 1974 by Sonam Pulzor, Kanhiya Lal, Dilip Singh, and Nima Dorje of the Indo-

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

an Border Police. The expedition was led by S. P. Chamoli. After unsuccessfully attempting the west ridge, they reached the summit via the north face, making three camps above base camp.''

'', 1975, p. 208 The second ascent of Nilkantha was only in 1993 by an international team under Col. H.S. Chauhan via the north-east ridge. No fewer than 32 climbers made the summit between 31 May and 2 June. A view of Neelkanth mountain

In 2000, five British climbers led by Martin Moran made the third ascent and the first ascent over the west ridge. In November 2001, the Slovenian climbers

Marko Prezelj Marko Prezelj (born 13 October 1965) is a Slovenian mountaineer and photographer. Prezelj received four Piolet d'Or awards. He won the inaugural "Oscar of mountaineering" in 1992 with Andrej Štremfelj for their new route on the south ridge of K ...

and Matic Jost repeated this route. In 2007, the Himalayan Club Calcutta claimed an ascent via the west ridge as well, but their climb was later shown to have stopped about 150 metres below the highest point on the mountain.Jagdish C. Nanavati (2001
Nilkanth Missed
The Himalayan Journal Vol 62. The

Indian Mountaineering Foundation Indian Mountaineering Foundation is an apex national body which organize and support, mountaineering and rock climbing expeditions at high altitudes in the Himalayas. The organization also promotes and encourages schemes for related adventure acti ...

(IMF) has not yet formally rejected the claim. The leader of the 2007 Himalayan Club Kolkata Section AVM (Retd) Apurva Bhattacharya had made detailed technical representation on their claimed ascent up to the Summit ridge of Nilkanth. An Internal Authentication committee was set us by IMF to study the contention of the 2007 team. On detailed analysis, the authentication committee concluded that the 2007 team had indeed reached the summit ridge of Nilkanth and deemed this expedition to be successful. Communication to this end was made by IMF to the Expedition leader vide letter dated 6 August 2014.

References

{{reflist Geography of Chamoli district Mountains of Uttarakhand Six-thousanders of the Himalayas