'Rolwaling Himal' is a sub-range of the
Himalaya, located in north central
Nepal and extending into south central
Tibet. The highest mountain in the range is
Melungtse (7,181 metres), located on the Tibetan side.
Gauri Sankar (7,145 m) is the second highest peak of the range, and is located on the Nepal-Tibet border. About 20 km to the northeast of the Rowaling Himal is the
Khumbu Himal which includes
Mount Everest (8,850 m) and
Cho Oyu (8,201 m).
The range is bounded on the south by the Rolwaling Valley which contain several small villages and
Beding, the largest town in the area. Access to the valley and the mountains of the range is made on foot through an established trail system starting at
Charikot (80 km east of
Kathmandu). A western style trek from Charikot to Beding will normally take seven to ten days.
The first western exploration of the area was made by
Eric Shipton in 1951 during the reconnaissance of Mount Everest.