Namcha Barwa, Summit in Tibet, China

Namcha Barwa is a mountain in southeastern Tibet and forms the easternmost summit of the Himalayan range at approximately 7,800 meters. The slopes are steep and heavily glaciated, and the area remains difficult to reach due to its remote location in the Pemako region.

British surveyors located Namcha Barwa in 1912, but the area stayed almost unvisited until Chinese alpinists began attempts in the 1980s. A 1991 Chinese-Japanese expedition reached 7,460 metres but lost climber Hiroshi Onishi in an avalanche. On 30 October 1992 a third joint expedition, using six camps on the South Ridge over Nai Peng, put eleven climbers on the summit.

Frank Kingdon-Ward recorded in the 1920s a Kongbo Tibetan prophecy that Namcha Barwa will one day fall into the Tsangpo gorge and block the river, which would then turn aside and flow over the Doshong La pass. The prophecy is kept in a book whose owner's image is said to be in the small gompa at Payi, in Pome.

Visiting requires special permits and extensive preparation because of the isolated location. Only experienced mountaineers with professional equipment should attempt a climb.

Namcha Barwa rises 5,000–6,800 metres above the Yarlung Tsangpo, which loops around it before turning south into India. Across the gorge, 22 kilometres to the north-north-west, stands its sister peak Gyala Peri, 7,294 metres high. Frank Kingdon-Ward recorded in the 1920s a Kongbo Tibetan prophecy that the mountain will one day fall into the gorge and dam the river.