The Hiking World

Mountain guide · Peak · 2026

Makalu

A complete guide to the peak, from an adjudicated evidence sheet. Sourced or not recorded — never estimated.

Makalu from orbit, Nepal

This is a guide to the peak, not a trail record. Passes, lakes, forts, and base-camp walks stay on trail pages.

Quick Facts

Origin & Geology

  • Formation / geology

    Mahalangur Himal on the Himalayan orogen (Indian–Eurasian collision). Isolated four-sided pyramid. Peak-specific stratigraphy not extracted this pass.

    en.wikipedia.org · verified 2026-09-21

  • Name origin

    Not recorded

  • Cultural history

    Not recorded

Climbing History

First ascent recorded above. No further sourced milestones this pass.

Success & Statistics

Recorded in the Himalayan Database, but specific per-peak figures were NOT extracted this pass. The Himalayan Database (https://www.himalayandatabase.com/) maintains comprehensive expedition, summit, and fatality records for the Nepal Himalaya (and historically-tracked Tibet/Himalaya peaks). Populating total ascents, success rate, and fatality rate requires a direct query against that dataset (it is a licensed database, not a scrapeable page) or a rigorously-cited published analysis. We do NOT estimate these numbers.

Pros / Cons

Generic editorial notes. No peak-specific crowding, cost, or hazard claim is invented here.

For

  • A named summit is a distinct objective from any related walking approach.
  • Elevation, range, location, and first-ascent facts appear here only when the evidence sheet cites them.

Against

  • Altitude, weather, and terrain can turn a day. Hazards belong on the trail record where we hold them — not as invented peak-specific warnings here.
  • Permits, fees, and route grades stay Unverified on this page until an official source is cited. This is not a route plan.

Logistics

  • Best season

    Nepal DoT royalty seasons: spring, autumn, winter/summer (schedule effective 1 Sep 2025). Typical expedition windows are not separately certified here.

    tourismdepartment.gov.np · verified 2026-09-21

  • Routes and grades

    Unverified

  • Permit

    Nepal DoT mountaineering royalty for foreign climbers, peaks over 8000 m except Everest and Manaslu: USD 3,000 spring, USD 1,500 autumn, USD 750 winter/summer per person (effective 1 Sep 2025). Confirm live.

    tourismdepartment.gov.np · verified 2026-09-21

  • Fitness

    Unverified

These are expedition-grade mountaineering objectives, not trekking peaks; no trail record is implied.

Also in this desk: Mountain guides · Himalayan altitude · How we verify.