What is the tallest mountain on earth? There are actually many answers to this question.
If measured above mean sea level, Mount Everest at 8,849m, located on the border between China and Nepal, is clearly the highest mountain in the world.
However, if measured from the foot to the top, Mauna Kea, 10,211m high, located on the island of Hawaii, is the highest mountain.
There is another contender for the title of world's tallest mountain: Mount Chimborazo, a dormant stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Ecuadorian Andes.
When measured from sea level, Chimborazo is about 2,590m lower than Everest, at 6,263m. However, its summit is 2,072m farther from the center of the Earth than Everest. This makes Chimborazo the closest place to the stars.
The reason lies in Chimborazo's location. The mountain lies 1.5 degrees south of the equator, where the earth bulges out and away from its center. Mountains in the Himalayas and the Andes are both farther from the equator than Chimborazo.
Ecuador has started promoting Chimborazo as a new tourist destination. Unlike Everest or Aconcagua (the highest peak in the Andes), Chimborazo is geographically and financially easier for mountaineers to conquer.
Chimborazo is only the 39th highest mountain in the Andes, measured from sea level. For a brief period in the 19th century, it was considered the highest mountain in the world.
Today, about 500 climbers attempt to summit Chimborazo each year, according to Santiago Granda, Ecuador's deputy minister of tourism. He said just over half of them reach the summit due to a variety of factors, including altitude, preparation, and harsh weather.
The main climbing season is from late September to February, when the weather is milder and the mountains are often covered in a thick layer of snow. However, Granda said the appeal of the Ecuadorian Andes is that visitors can visit any time of year.
Most of the peaks in the Andes are easily accessible from highland cities like Quito or Cuenca. Chimborazo is also easy to reach. It usually takes two days to reach the summit, compared to about two months to climb Mount Everest.
“More and more people are starting to come to train and prepare for the big challenges at Chimborazo. You’re further away from the Earth’s core and closer to the stars – and that’s a big attraction,” said Granda.
Meanwhile, others come to Chimborazo for its unique alpine environment. Ecuador's Deputy Minister of Tourism revealed more about the visitors' experience on the mountaintop: "For some Ecuadorians, it was the first time in their lives they saw snow."
In addition, the mountain is home to 8,000 wild vicuñas, the ancestors of domesticated alpacas, and the world’s largest hummingbird, as well as forests of queuña, a tree species that can grow at higher altitudes than any other plant species.
