Lenin Peak (7,134 m)

The most-climbed 7,000-metre peak in the world — soviet 'Snow Leopard' challenge summit on the Kyrgyz–Tajik border.

Lenin Peak (now officially Ibn Sina Peak in Tajikistan but still universally known as Lenin) is one of the most famous mountaineering destinations in the former Soviet Union. At 7,134 m it is the third-highest peak in the Pamir Range and one of the five so-called ‘Snow Leopard’ peaks — a Soviet-era mountaineering challenge for climbers attempting all five 7,000-m summits in former-USSR territory. The standard route up the northern (Kyrgyz) side is technically straightforward but physically demanding; success rates from the base camp at Achik-Tash (3,600 m) hover around 30%. The summit straddles the Kyrgyz–Tajik border. Even non-climbers can spend time at the base camp on the Kyrgyz side, with a dramatic 4×4 road climbing from Sary-Mogol village across the open Alai pasture; many EcoNomad tours include an acclimatisation hike from Tulpar-Kol up to the lower Lenin Peak base camp at 4,400 m for the best near-summit views.