The highest mountains of the Himalaya stand in the central part of the range. The peaks shrink in size to the east and to the west until they rise suddenly at the two extreme ends. The western "end-peak" is the famous Nanga Parbat (8126m) in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. Less well-known and 2400km to the east stands Namcha Barwa, 7756m (25,446ft),
Also known as Namjangbarwa Feng, this easternmost mountain lies in Tibet, only a few kilometers north of the MacMahon Line, which was drawn in 1914 to separate Tibet from India. The border claimed by China runs further south of the mountain and encompasses the Indian state of Arunachal. Indian and Chinese troops are still stationed here. Few outsiders have ventured into Namcha Barwa's vicinity, or the gorge through which the Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo) river exits the Qinghai- Tibet plateau to enter the plains of Assam.
MOUNTAIN AND RIVER
Namcha Barwa's description is not complete without that of the Yarlung Zangbo, whose most "volatile" stage begins and ends in the vicinity of this peak. Rising in the Jiemayongzong (Chemayungdung) range north of Nepal's Karnali Zone, the river traverses a thousand kilometres across southern Tibet until, in the gorge, it abruptly turns north-east, then south-east, then south-west, completing a tight horseshoe bend around Namcha Barwa. Across the river to the north is the smaller mountain of Iialabaili, 7151m.