Hkakabo Razi is believed to be the highest mountain in Myanmar. It is also the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia, standing 19,295 feet (5,881 meters) tall. The mountain is located in the northern part of Myanmar, in Kachin State, within a smaller part of the Himalayan mountain range near the border where Myanmar, India (Arunachal Pradesh), and China (Tibet Autonomous Region) meet. Recently, another mountain called Gamlang Razi, which is 19,258 feet (5,870 meters) tall, has been suggested as a possible taller peak. Gamlang Razi is located about 4.1 miles (6.6 kilometers) to the west-southwest of Hkakabo Razi, near the Chinese border.
Administratively, Hkakabo Razi is located in Dahangdan, Nogmung Township, Putao District, Kachin State. The mountain is protected within Khakaborazi National Park. The park is entirely mountainous and has different types of forests and environments based on altitude. At lower elevations, tropical rainforests with broad-leaved evergreen trees grow. Between 8,000 and 9,000 feet (2,400–2,700 meters), the area has sub-tropical forests. Above 9,000 feet, the forests change to broad-leaved, semi-deciduous trees, then to needle-leaved evergreen and snow forests. Above 11,000 feet (3,400 meters), the environment becomes alpine, which is different from the lower forest areas. At about 15,000 feet (4,600 meters), the area is cold, barren, and covered with snow and glaciers. At approximately 17,500 feet (5,300 meters), a large ice cap with several outlet glaciers is found.
Environmental protection
Hkakabo Razi was created as a natural reserve on January 30, 1996, and became a national park on November 10, 1998. The Khakaborazi National Park is an important area for protecting many types of plants and animals in Myanmar. The park has a wide variety of species, from those found in tropical lowlands to those living at high mountain elevations. These species have not been fully studied, and the park is a great place for students of botany, geology, zoology, and geography to learn through field research.
In 1997 and 1998, the Forest Department worked with the Wildlife Conservation Society of New York to study the area. The findings were shared at a workshop called "Sub-regional Consultation on Conservation of Hkakabo Razi Mountain Ecosystems in Eastern Himalayas," held in Putao, Myanmar, from October 25 to 29, 1999. In 2001, scientists from different fields, including the California Academy of Sciences, National Geographic Society, Harvard University, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Myanmar Forestry Ministry, conducted another study. On September 11, 2001, Joseph Slowinski, a herpetologist and team leader from the California Academy of Sciences, was bitten by a venomous krait and died in the field.
Between 2002 and 2003, P. Christiaan Klieger, an anthropologist from the California Academy of Sciences, and photographer Dong Lin returned to the area and completed the first anthropological survey of the Hkakabo Razi region. They walked to Tahaundam, the northernmost village in Myanmar, which is home to about 200 Khampa Tibetans, including mountaineer Nyama Gyaltsen.
Very few Westerners have visited Mt. Hkakabo Razi, the National Park, or areas near it. Captain B.E.A. Pritchard was the first Westerner to reach the Alun Dung valley in 1913.
Climbing history
In 1906, British botanist Frank Kingdon-Ward reached the source of the Irrawaddy River, which led British colonial officials to take interest in exploring nearby mountains. During colonial rule, the mountain’s height was measured twice. Petters estimated it as 19,269 feet from a distance, while a later survey near the mountain’s base, with help from local porters, found it to be 19,315 feet. In 1937, Kingdon-Ward tried to climb the peak but made a wrong choice in his path and ended up on the Dundi Yayway range instead.
In 1955, Burma sent a military group called the Yei Nwe Parr column to climb the mountain. They learned from local people that the mountain was called Ahtum Bum and that the locals saw no reason to climb it because it was steep, dangerous, and had no resources at the top. From Kingdon-Ward’s failed attempt, they believed the south face was too hard to climb, so they tried to approach from the Ransawam river valley. However, the group only reached 12,000 feet due to bad weather and rough terrain.
In 1996, Takashi Ozaki (Japan, 1951–2011) and Nyima Gyaltsen (Myanmar) made the first successful climb of the mountain. Ozaki had tried in 1995 but had to turn back because of bad weather. The journey to the basecamp is long (four weeks) and difficult, passing through a thick rainforest with many streams that have no bridges. The first successful climb happened later because foreigners were not allowed in the area until 1993.
In 2013, a nearby mountain called Gamlang Razi was climbed and measured at 5,870 meters (19,260 feet) using advanced GPS equipment, making it possibly the highest mountain in Myanmar. Earlier, Ozaki had measured Hkakabo Razi as 5,881 meters, but he did not have GPS equipment to confirm its exact height.
In August 2014, an all-Burmese team took a new path up the north face. Two climbers, Ko Aung Myint Myat and Ko Wai Yan Min Thu, reached the summit on August 31, placing a flag, plaque, and Buddha image there. After reaching the top, their equipment ran out of power, and they lost radio contact. When they failed to return to lower camps, a rescue operation began. The search continued into October and included a helicopter crash landing, which caused the death of one pilot. The other pilot and a mountaineer survived a 11-day journey through the wilderness.
In November 2014, a team sponsored by National Geographic Society and The North Face measured the height of Hkakabo Razi using the same GPS equipment as the Gamlang Razi team. The group was led by Hilaree Nelson and included climbers such as Mark Jenkins, Cory Richards, Renan Ozturk, Emily Harrington, and Taylor Rees. On November 7, 2014, Jenkins and Ozturk tried to reach the summit but turned back at 5,742 meters (18,839 feet). They estimated the summit was about 800 feet (240 meters) higher.
In August 2018, it was announced that three Myanmar climbers planned to climb the mountain that year. However, due to various reasons, the team postponed the climb and did not proceed.