Dhaulagiri is the seventh highest mountain in the world. It forms the eastern anchor of the Dhaulagiri Himal, a sub range of the Himalaya in the Dhaulagiri Zone of north central Nepal. It lies northwest of Pokhara, an important regional town and tourist center. Across the deep gorge of the Kali Gandaki to the east lies the Annapurna Himal, home to Annapurna I, one of the other eight-thousands. Dhaulagiri means "White Mountain". Mount Dhaulagiri (8167m.) was first climbed by the Swiss in 1960. The mountain was sighted by British surveyors in India in the early 1800s and was mapped by one of the secret Indian surveyors, the pundits, in 1873, but the region remained largely unknown until a Swiss aerial survey in 1949. In terms of rise above local terrain, Dhaulagiri is, in fact, almost unparalleled in the world. For example, it rises 7000m over the Kali Gandaki gorge to the southeast in about 30km of horizontal distance. The Kali Gandaki is especially dramatic since Dhaulagiri and Annapurna both stand near the river, giving a unique example of two Eight-thousands facing each other over a deep valley. The South and West faces of Dhaulagiri both feature massive drops; each rises over 4000 meters from its base, and each has been the site of epic climbs.
