The highest peak in the world was not always called Everest. Tibetans have always called it Chomolungma, which means ‘Goddess mother of the world’. The Nepali name for this peak is Sagarmatha, which means ‘Goddess of the sky’.
Westerners first spotted this peak in 1852, during the British-sponsored Great Trigonometrical Survey of the Indian subcontinent. They discovered that this snow-laden pinnacle was indeed the highest in the world and called it Peak XV.
In 1856, Andrew Waugh the Surveyor General of India proposed that it be named Everest after his predecessor, Sir George Everest. Sir George himself objected to this saying that local names should be considered for local places.
However, as the members of the Survey were unaware of local names and had been barred from entering Nepal, the name Everest was finally chosen for the peak in 1865.
It is interesting to note that for a long time the Tibetans and the Nepalese did not allow any foreigner to approach Mount Everest. They considered the mountain to be sacred.
Finally, Sir George Everest had to recruit local Himalayan traders to secretly gather enough information so that accurate maps could be made of the region.
Picture Credit : Google
