Once upon a time, Kanchenjunga was considered the highest mountain in the world. This was before the startling discovery by chief computers (today they were replaced by machines) that Peak XV was actually higher than Kanchenjunga IX. Later it became clear that Nine Peaks was actually only the third highest peak after Everest and K2 (Karakorum, Pakistan). It is located 128 kilometers east of Mount Everest.

The west is located in Nepal and the other is located in the Indian state of Sikkim. Kanchenjunga or Kangchenzonga means "The Five Treasures of the Great Snow" in Sikkim because the mountain has five prominent peaks. They are Kanchenjunga Main (8,586m), Yalongkang (8,505m), Kanchenjunga West (8,420m) and Twin Peaks (both 8,476m). Unlike most other Himalayan peaks, this mountain runs from north to south, where the Kanchenjunga Glacier joins the Tamur River, a tributary of Koshi. Many people considered climbing Kanchenjunga as early as 1882, but did not attempt it until 1905.