Cho Oyu

Cho Oyu, at 8,188 metres, is the world's sixth-highest mountain and, by reputation, the most approachable of the fourteen eight-thousanders. It stands on the Nepal–Tibet frontier about 20 kilometres west of Everest, a broad white dome presiding over the turquoise lakes of the Gokyo valley — a fitting throne for a peak whose name means "Turquoise Goddess".

The Turquoise Goddess

The name Cho Oyu is usually translated from Tibetan as "Turquoise Goddess", an origin often linked to the blue-green cast its enormous snow dome takes on in late-afternoon light. The shape matches the name: where Everest and Lhotse are sharp pyramids, Cho Oyu is a massive, rounded vault of snow — less dramatic from a distance, but among the most coveted summits in mountaineering. It is counted among the eight-thousanders of Nepal, even though its standard climbing route lies over the border in Tibet.

Height, rank and location

At 8,188 metres (26,864 feet), Cho Oyu ranks sixth in the world. It sits at roughly 28.09° N, 86.66° E, straddling the Nepal–Tibet border west of Everest, at the head of the Gokyo valley in the Everest region. Just west of the mountain lies the Nangpa La, an ancient glaciated pass at over 5,700 metres that for centuries carried trade — and the Sherpa people themselves — between Tibet and the Khumbu. From Cho Oyu's southern slopes the Ngozumpa Glacier, the longest glacier in Nepal, grinds down the Gokyo valley past the chain of glacial lakes that gave the goddess her colour.

The 1954 first ascent: a landmark climb

Cho Oyu's first ascent came on 19 October 1954, when Herbert Tichy, Sepp Joechler and the Sherpa Pasang Dawa Lama reached the summit for a small Austrian expedition. The climb was remarkable for its style: a tiny team moving in a lightweight, almost alpine manner, without the armies of porters and tiers of camps that defined the era's other Himalayan sieges. It was also the first eight-thousander to be first-climbed in the post-monsoon autumn season rather than the classic spring window. The ascent is still cited as a landmark of bold, economical mountaineering.

Why Cho Oyu is called the "easiest" 8,000er

Cho Oyu has long been labelled the easiest of the eight-thousanders — a claim worth unpacking. The standard north-west route from the Tibetan side climbs relatively gentle, broad slopes with few of the major technical or objective hazards that guard other 8,000-metre peaks: no notorious icefall, no knife-edge summit ridge. That is why it became the classic first eight-thousander and a favoured rehearsal for Everest. But "easiest" is strictly relative — the summit still stands deep in the death zone, where altitude, not gradient, is the killer. Routes on the Nepal side of the mountain do exist, but they are far steeper and are rarely attempted; when climbers talk about Cho Oyu, they almost always mean the Tibet-side line. For the route, season, cost and permits in detail, see our Cho Oyu expedition guide.

Where to see Cho Oyu in Nepal

For a peak whose climbers approach from Tibet, Cho Oyu gives Nepal's trekkers remarkably fine views:

• Gokyo Ri. The summit of Gokyo Ri (5,357 m) is the classic Cho Oyu viewpoint: the mountain fills the head of the valley, anchoring a border skyline that also takes in Everest and Lhotse above the Gokyo lakes.
• The Renjo La. From the Renjo La pass west of Gokyo, the peak appears across the valley in one of the Khumbu's great panoramas.
• The upper Gokyo valley. Trekkers on the Gokyo lakes trek who continue past the third lake toward the higher lakes walk ever closer beneath the mountain's southern flank.
• The Three Passes route. The demanding Everest Three Passes trek links Renjo La and Gokyo with the Everest Base Camp trail, collecting every one of these viewpoints in a single circuit.

No climbing gear is required for any of them — just acclimatisation and clear weather.

Climbing Cho Oyu today

Because the standard route lies in Tibet, expeditions climb on Chinese permits issued through the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) rather than a Nepali climbing permit, and access depends on the Chinese authorities opening the mountain — something that has varied from year to year, so always check the current situation. In practice most teams are still organised and staged from Kathmandu before travelling overland onto the Tibetan plateau. Expeditions typically run four to six weeks, mainly in autumn, and cost less than an Everest climb. The full picture — route, camps, season, cost and what the climb demands — is in the Cho Oyu expedition guide, with wider context in mountaineering in Nepal.

Fast facts