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UpToWhere · Can you see it?

Can you see Mount Everest from Kathmandu (Swayambhunath)?

No — terrain blocks it

164 km line of sight toward the east (bearing 79°), computed on 30 m Copernicus terrain with Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction.

Thousands of travellers land in Kathmandu expecting to see Everest from the city. The world's highest mountain is only 160 km away — so why do the tour operators keep driving everyone up to distant hill stations?

3D terrain view from Kathmandu (Swayambhunath) toward Mount Everest
Straight-line distance164 km
Direction79° east
Observer eye level1,408 m
Target elevation8,738 m
Curvature drop at the target1,828 m
Hidden below the sightline356 m

The line of sight from Kathmandu (Swayambhunath) toward Mount Everest dies 115 km along the path, where the Rolwaling Himal ridge rising to 6,403 m cuts across it. Behind that ridge, the target ends up about 356 m below the grazing sightline. To see Mount Everest, you would need a higher observation point — or a different angle entirely.

That is exactly why Kathmandu's classic Everest viewpoints — Nagarkot, Chandragiri, the mountain flight — all get you above or past the nearer ridges: from the valley itself, a 6,400-metre wall stands in the way.

The line on the map

Satellite map with the sightline from Kathmandu (Swayambhunath) to Mount Everest drawn in red
The 164 km sightline over satellite imagery, drawn as the great-circle path light would follow.

The terrain profile

5,000 m10,000 m normal dayeven in strong inversionKathmanduMount Everestblocked here 0 km164 km50100150
Elevation profile from Kathmandu (Swayambhunath) to Mount Everest. Like every elevation profile, the vertical axis is stretched (≈5× here) — but the geometry is real: mid-path, Earth's surface genuinely stands 525 m above the straight line between the two points. Light bends only slightly around that bulge, so whatever it covers stays hidden. Each ray runs solid until terrain cuts it, then continues as the faint ghost of the sightline you would need. Even the stronger-bending ray of a thermal inversion (k = 0.17) stays cut off.
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Frequently asked questions

Can you see Mount Everest from Kathmandu (Swayambhunath)?

No — not under standard atmospheric conditions. Across 164 km, the view is cut off before reaching the target (see the terrain profile above for exactly where).

How far is Mount Everest from Kathmandu (Swayambhunath) in a straight line?

164 km great-circle distance, on a bearing of 79° (east).

What exactly blocks the view?

High ground about 115 km along the path, rising to 6,403 m, cuts the sightline; the target ends up about 356 m below the grazing line.

How was this calculated?

UpToWhere walks the full terrain profile between the two points on 30 m-resolution Copernicus GLO-30 elevation data, applying Earth curvature and standard atmospheric refraction (k = 0.13) — the same physics surveyors use. You can run the same point-to-point check between any two places on Earth.

More famous sightlines

Wondering about a different pair?

The free calculator shows how far you can see from any point on Earth. Pro adds point-to-point checks — this exact analysis, between any two places you choose.

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