It lies on the China–Kyrgyzstan border between the Ak-Suu District in the Issyk-Kul Region of far Eastern Kyrgyzstan and Wensu County, Xinjiang, China.

It is 16 km (9.9 mi) southwest of Khan Tengri (7,010 m/23,000 ft), from which it is separated by the South Engilchek Glacier, where base camps for both mountains are usually located.

Its main summit is usually approached from the Zvozdochka (Russian for "little star") glacier, which is coloured red with rocks from Jengish Chokusu.

It is considered the most northerly 7,000-metre mountain in the world by geologists; the actual rock summit of Khan Tengri, the Tian Shan's third-highest peak, is 6,995m above sea level, though a thick layer of ice adds another 15m to its altitude, such that mountaineers consider it a 7,000m peak.

[4] A Soviet expedition mounted in 1938 to mark the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Youth movement Komsomol claimed to have climbed the highest peak in the area, the summit being reached on 19 September by L. Gutman, E. Ivanov and A. Sidorenko.