Tallest Mountains In Tajikistan

The country of Tajikistan is located in Central Asia and was formerly a Soviet Republic in the Soviet Union before gaining independence in 1991. The country is most known for its rugged mountainous landscape, which makes it a popular destination for hikers and climbers from around the world. This notable point on Tajikistan launches perfectly into the subject matter of this article, the tallest mountains in Tajikistan.

The three tallest mountains in Tajikistan:

Korzhenevskaya

Korzhenevskaya is the third tallest mountain in Tajikistan, standing at a height of 23,310 feet tall. The mountain is found in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and its parent range is the Academy of Sciences Range that is part of the greater Pamir mountain range. Korzhenevskaya is one of the five snow leopard peaks in the former Soviet Union that a climber was required to summit in order to received the Snow Leopard award, the highest honor that a Soviet mountaineer could receive. This award is still recognized today by the Commonwealth of Independent States, a regional organization made up of nine of the former Soviet Republics. The mountain is named after Evgenia Korzhenevskaya, who was the wife of Russian geographer Nikolai Korzhenevskiy (1879-1958), the man who discovered the peak in 1910. The first ascent of the mountain was done in 1953 by A.Ugarov and his team of men.

Ibn Sina (Lenin Peak)

Ibn Sina, formerly named Lenin Peak, is the second tallest mountain in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, standing at a height of 23,406 feet tall. The mountain is found in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, sitting right on the border that Tajikistan shares with Kyrgyzstan. The parent range of Ibn Sina is the Trans-Alay Range that is part of the greater Pamir mountain range. Ibn Sina is also one of the five snow leopard peaks. The mountain was renamed in 2006 by Tajikistan to Ibn Sina. It is named after the Persian polymath Abu Ali ibn Sina (c.980-1037). The first ascent of the mountain was done in 1928 by Austrian Erwin Schneider (1906-87) and Germans Eugen Allwein (1900-82) and Karl Wien (c.1906-1937).

Ismail Somoni

Ismail Somoni is the tallest mountain in Tajikistan, standing at a height of 24,590 feet tall. Just like Korzhenevskaya, Ismail Somoni is also found in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and its parent range is the Academy of Sciences Range that is part of the greater Pamir mountain range. Ismail Somoni is the tallest of the five snow leopard peaks. In 1933 the mountain was named Stalin Peak, but was renamed in 1962 to Communist mountain as part of the de-Stalinization process in the Soviet Union. In 1998 Tajikistan renamed the mountain to be called Ismail Somoni after Isma'il ibn Ahmad (c.849-907), the man considered to be the greatest ruler of the Samanid Empire (819-999). The first ascent of the mountain was done in 1933 by Soviet mountaineer Yevgeniy Abalakov (1907-48).

Comparing Tajikistan's mountains to the wider world

The mountains of Tajikistan are among some of the tallest on Earth. The tallest mountain in Tajikistan, Ismail Somoni, stands as the 15th tallest mountain in Asia and the 50th tallest mountain on Earth. Mount Ibn Sina stands as the 42nd tallest mountain in Asia, while Mount Korzhenevskaya is the 47th tallest mountain in Asia.