Annapurna II

Annapurna II stands at 7,937 metres, making it the second-highest summit in the Annapurna massif and one of the more remote peaks in the Nepali Himalaya, rising northeast of Pokhara. Its first ascent came in 1960 via a British-Nepali-Indian expedition led by Richard Grant — a technically demanding climb over glaciated ridges that remains a serious high-altitude undertaking today. Unlike the trekking trails of the Annapurna Circuit that loop around the massif, reaching the summit requires a full mountaineering expedition. Trekkers on the Circuit, however, encounter the peak's towering glaciated west face from the Marsyangdi Valley, where it forms one of the most dramatic skylines of the entire route.