However, precise calculations and meticulous measurements by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1849 showed that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, is actually higher.

They stopped just short of the true summit, keeping a promise given to Tashi Namgyal, the Chogyal of the Kingdom of Sikkim, that the top of the mountain would remain inviolate.

Kangchenjunga is the official spelling adopted by Douglas Freshfield, Alexander Mitchell Kellas and the Royal Geographical Society that gives the best indication of the Tibetan pronunciation.

South of the southern face of Kanchenjunga runs the 3,000–3,500 m (9,800–11,500 ft) high Singalila Ridge that separates Sikkim from Nepal and northern West Bengal.

[14] Until 1852, Kangchenjunga was assumed to be the highest mountain in the world, but calculations and measurements by the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India in 1849 showed that Mount Everest, known as Peak XV at the time, is actually higher.

[24] Although it is the third highest peak in the world, Kangchenjunga is only ranked 29th by topographic prominence, a measure of a mountain's independent stature.

The key col for Kangchenjunga lies at a height of 4,664 m (15,302 ft), along the watershed boundary between Arun and Brahmaputra rivers in Tibet.

[31] The Kangchenjunga transboundary landscape is shared by Nepal, India, Bhutan and China, and comprises 14 protected areas with a total of 6,032 km2 (2,329 sq mi):[32] These protected areas are habitats for many globally significant plant species such as rhododendrons and orchids and many endangered flagship species such as snow leopard (Panthera uncia), Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus), red panda (Ailurus fulgens), white-bellied musk deer (Moschus leucogaster), blood pheasant (Ithaginis cruentus) and chestnut-breasted partridge (Arborophila mandellii).

[32] There are four climbing routes to reach the summit of Kangchenjunga, three of which are in Nepal from the southwest, northwest, and northeast, and one from northeastern Sikkim in India.

The main feature of this face is the "Great Shelf", a large sloping plateau at around 7,500 m (24,600 ft), covered by a hanging glacier.

A British geological expedition in 1925 spotted a bipedal creature which they asked the locals about, who referred to it as the "Kangchenjunga Demon".

[66] For generations, there have been legends recounted by the inhabitants of the areas surrounding Kanchenjunga, both in Sikkim and in Nepal, that there is a valley of immortality hidden on its slopes.

In 1962, a Tibetan Lama by the name of Tulshuk Lingpa led over 300 followers into the high snow slopes of Kanchenjunga, to ‘open the way’ to Beyul Demoshong.