The 6000m peaks of the Andes in order of height

This page last updated 17th January 2023.

NEW - I now have a (provisional) list of the climbers who have climbed the highest number of these 6000m peaks.

This is the list of the 100 six thousand metre peaks in the Andes as revised for the fifth English edition of The Andes- A Guide for Climbers, published in March 2020. The list has been revised to reflect recent research by myself (John Biggar) Eberhard Jurgalski, Edward Earl and Maximo Kausch using digital elevation data sources and photographic analysis.

Heights in red below have been revised due to the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) data, ASTER data, handheld GPS data or other recent information sources. Many thanks to Jonathan de Ferranti in 2004 and also to Eberhard Jurgalski, Edward Earl and Maximo Kausch in 2013-2015 for help with this. Click here for Jonathans list of the ten most prominent peaks in the Andes.

There are links to further information and pictures of all of the 6000m peaks in the Andes.

See also the 99% accurate 5000m peaks of the Andes This link is to the index page for eight further pages containing peaks from 5000m-5999m.

Patagonian Peaks A listing of the major summits in Patagonia.

We also now have a list of all the 300 or more peaks on this website in alphabetical order

HISTORICAL NOTES & CURRENT ISSUES

A list of 99 peaks was published in the 2nd Edition of my guidebook in 1999. There were three new additions to the list for the 3rd edition in 2005. 1. Chachacomani - new evidence suggested it was 6074m (rather than 5998m), 2. Volcan del Viento, a 6028m peak that doesn't appear (named) on any Argentine map, and 3. Laguna Blanca which was found on an Argentine 1:100,000 map by me, with a height of 6012m, a height supported by the SRTM data. Previous heights seen for Laguna Blanca were all under 6000m.

Two peaks have now been deleted from the list for the 4th edition, resulting in a list of exactly one hundred 6000m peaks. The two deletions are Tocllaraju and Caraz in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru, both now thought to be just under 6000m, and given provisional height s of c.5980m now. For Tocllaraju there is strong digital elevation evidence. For Caraz the evidence is from photographic analysis by myself and Edward Earl and is admittedly less strong.

The biggest current issues with this list are over the height of some peaks in Peru, particularly in the Cordillera Blanca. I have generally used the PIGM heights here, as SRTM data is often void. Note that Artesonraju, Caraz and Contrahierbas may eventually prove to be over 6000m whilst Tocllaraju is almost certainly under. There is also some doubt about whether Pucajirca is over 6000m or not. I feel that due to glacial/snow melt many snow-covered peaks in the Blanca may now be 10-20m lower than they were last century. In particular the height of Huascaran Sur is really in need of a good modern survey. See the NOTES at the foot of the table for more details about specific peaks.

Recent changes made for the 5th edition of "The Andes - A Guide for Climbers and Skiers" include revising Pucajirca's height downwards to an estimated 6010m and using a recent handheld GPS reading for San Francisco of 6038m (digital elevation data indicate 6030m or higher).

SELECTION PROCESS

The criterion used to select this list is a prominence height (re-ascent from the lowest col) of at least 400m from any higher peak. This figure was chosen for several reasons. Without greatly affecting the overall number of peaks, any larger prominence requirement eliminates some of the most notable summits in the Andes such as Jirishanca and Illampu while any lesser prominence criterion includes minor summits such as both the N and E peaks of Coropuna and up to five more Pissis peaks. In addition many surveys are not detailed enough to allow a prominence of less than 400m to be used with confidence. This cut-off is also remarkably close to the 7% rule, that Eberhard Jurgalski and others have been promoting as a worldwide "standard" for measuring the independence of a peak. Whether you use the 7% rule or the 400m rule you end up with the same list of 6000m peaks in the Andes, notwithstanding other uncertainties!.

By this criterion there are currently exactly one hundred 6000m peaks in the Andes. Of the total of 100 peaks, 15 are in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru and 39 are in the Puna de Atacama area of Chile and Argentina.

The peaks are arranged below in groups of ten. The grades given are for the easiest ascent route. An asterisk by the date of first ascent denotes a peak known to have had a Pre-Colombian ascent, or on which significant ruins have been found high up. Dates in brackets indicate a disputed or uncertain first ascent.

For a list of the 31 additional 6000m peaks with between 200m and 400m prominence see our Subsidiary 6000m peaks page.

All heights are in metres

The 6000m peaks of the Andes

All peaks have a link to an information page or at least a photograph on this website but you may need to use your browsers back button to return to this page.

	PEAK	HEIGHT	GRADE	AREA	COUNTRY	FIRST ASCENT
	1 to 10
1	Aconcagua	6959	F	High Andes	Argentina	1897 *
2	Ojos del Salado	6893	F/PD	Puna	Argentina-Chile	1937
3	Pissis	6793	F	Puna	Argentina	1937
4	Bonete	6759	F	Puna	Argentina	1970
5	Llullaillaco *	6752	F	Northern Puna	Argentina-Chile	1952*
6	Tres Cruces Sur	6748	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	1937
7	Huascaran Sur *	6746	PD/AD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1932
8	Mercedario	6710	F	High Andes	Argentina	1934*
9	Cazadero	6670	F	Puna	Argentina	1970
10	Huascaran Norte	6655	PD/AD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1908 (1932)
	11 to 20
11	Tres Cruces Central	6629	F	Puna	Chile	1973
12	Incahuasi	6621	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	1913 *
13	Yerupaja	6617	D/TD	Cord. Huayhuash	Peru	1950
14	Tupungato	6570	F	High Andes	Argentina-Chile	1897
15	Sajama	6550	PD	Cord. Occidental	Bolivia	1939
16	El Muerto	6510	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	1950
17	Nacimiento	6460	F	Puna	Argentina	1937
18	Antofalla	6440	F	Puna	Argentina	1954 *
19	Illimani	6438	PD/AD	Cord. Real	Bolivia	1898
20	Veladero	6436	F	Puna	Argentina	1986
	21 to 30
21	Ancohuma	6427	PD/AD	Cord. Real	Bolivia	1919
22	Coropuna	6425	F	Cord. Occidental	Peru	1911 *
23	El Condor	6414	F	Puna	Argentina	2003
24	Huandoy	6395	AD/D	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1932
25	Ramada	6384	F	High Andes	Argentina	1934
26	Cachi (Libertador)	6380	F	Northern Puna	Argentina	1950
27	Ausangate	6372	AD	Cord. Vilcanota	Peru	1953
28	Huantsan	6369	TD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1952
29	Illampu	6368	AD/D	Cord. Real	Bolivia	1928
30	Chopicalqui	6345	AD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1932
	31 to 40
31	Siula Grande	6344	D	Cord. Huayhuash	Peru	1936
32	Parinacota	6342	F	Cord. Occidental	Chile - Bolivia	1928
33	Ampato	6288	F	Cord. Occidental	Peru	1966 *
34	Pomerape	6282	F	Cord. Occidental	Chile-Bolivia	(1946)
35	Reclus	6275	F	Puna	Argentina	1986*
36	Salcantay	6271	AD	Cord. Vilcabamba	Peru	1952
37	Chimborazo	6270	F	Ecuador	Ecuador	1880
38	Majadita	6266	F	High Andes	Argentina	1996
39	Santa Cruz	6241	TD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1948
40	Tres Quebradas	6239	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	1937
	41 to 50
41	Pular	6233	F	Northern Puna	Chile	1960 *
42	Chinchey *	6222	AD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1939
43	Olivares	6216	F	High Andes	Argentina-Chile	1964
44	Solo	6205	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	(1949)
45	Palcaraju	c.6200	AD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1939
46	Copa *	6188	PD/AD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1932
47	Quemado (Palermo)	6184	F	Northern Puna	Argentina	1979
48	La Mesa	6180	F/PD	High Andes	Argentina	1934
49	Aucanquilcha	6176	F	Cord. Occidental	Chile	1935 *
50	El Toro	6168	F	High Andes	Argentina-Chile	1964 *
	51 to 60
51	Ranrapalca	6162	D	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1939
52	Tortolas	6160	F	High Andes	Argentina - Chile	1924 *
53	Hualcan *	6160	AD/D	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1939
54	Pucaranra	6156	AD/D	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1948
55	Alto (San Juan)	6148	n/k	High Andes	Chile-Argentina	1944
56	El Ermitaño	6146	F	Puna	Chile	1967
57	San Pedro	6145	F	Cord. Occidental	Chile	1903
58	Queva (Quehuar)	6140	F	Northern Puna	Argentina	1904 *
59	Sierra Nevada	6140	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	2000
60	Colanguil	6122	F	High Andes	Argentina	n/k
	61 to 70
61	Medusa	6120	F	Puna	Argentina	1986
62	Vallecitos	6120	F	Puna	Argentina	1999
63	Barrancas Blancas	6119	F	Puna	Chile	n/k
64	Callangate (Collpa Ananta)	6110	n/k	Cord. Vilcanota	Peru	1957
65	San Pablo	6110	F	Cord. Occidental	Chile	1910
66	Chacraraju	6108	ED1/ED2	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1956
67	Marmolejo	6108	F	High Andes	Argentina-Chile	1928
68	Jatunriti (Chumpe)	6106	AD	Cord. Vilcanota	Peru	1955
69	Chearoco	6104	AD/D	Cord. Real	Bolivia	1928
70	Famatina (Belgrano)	6097	F	Puna	Argentina	1947
	71 to 80
71	Aracar	6095	F	Puna	Argentina	1958 *
72	Jirishanca	6094	D/TD	Cord. Huayhuash	Peru	1957
73	Solimana	6093	n/k	Cord. Occidental	Peru	1970
74	Jatunhuma (Pico Tres)	6093	n/k	Cord. Vilcanota	Peru	1957
75	Huayna Potosi	6088	PD	Cord. Real	Bolivia	1919
76	Colorados	6080	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	1999
77	Chachani	6075	F	Cord. Occidental	Peru	1889 *
78	Chachacomani	6074	AD	Cord. Real	Bolivia	1947
79	El Plomo	6070	F	High Andes	Argentina-Chile	1910
80	Negro (Pabellon)	6070	n/k	High Andes	Argentina	1969
	81 to 90
81	Baboso	6070	F	Puna	Argentina	2000 - by us!!
82	Vicuñas	6067	F	Puna	Chile	n/k
83	Guallatiri	6063	F	Cord. Occidental	Chile	1926
84	El Fraile	6061	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	1956
85	Copiapo	6052	F	Puna	Chile	1937 *
86	Acotango	6052	n/k	Cord. Occidental	Chile Bolivia	1965
87	Socompa	6051	F	Northern Puna	Argentina-Chile	1905 *
88	Yayamari (Montura)	6049	PD/AD	Cord. Vilcanota	Peru	1957
89	Pili (Acamarachi)	6046	F	Northern Puna	Chile	1939 *
90	Chaupi Orco	6044	PD	Apolobamba	Bolivia- Peru	1958
	91 to 99
91	San Francisco	6038	F	Puna	Argentina-Chile	1913
92	Quitaraju	6036	AD/D	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1936
93	Palpana	6035	F	Cord. Occidental	Chile	1977 *
94	Peña Blanca	6030	F	Puna	Chile	1956 *
95	Salin	6029	F	Northern Puna	Argentina-Chile	1960 *
96	Volcan del Viento	6028	F	Puna	Argentina	1937
97	Hualca Hualca	6025	n/k	Cord. Occidental	Peru	before 1990
98	Laguna Blanca	6012	F	Puna	Argentina	2006 *
99	Pucajirca *	c.6010	TD	Cord. Blanca	Peru	1961
100	Uturunco	6008	F	Cord. Lipez	Bolivia	1955

***** NOTES

Heights in red above have been revised due to the SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) data, ASTER data or other recent information sources such as my own hand-held GPS readings. Many thanks to Jonathan de Ferranti in 2004 and Eberhard Jurgalski and Maximo Kausch in 2013-2014 for help with the SRTM data.

5 - Llullaillaco - The height is often quoted as 6739m (ChIGM and AIGM height), but recent satellite elevation data, plus handheld readings by myself and Maximo Kausch indicate a higher altitude of at least 6745m, (SRTM - Eberhard Jurgalski) and 6752m (GPS - Max Kausch). My own 2009 measurement indicates the 6752m figure.. Therefore Llullaillaco is probably higher than both Tres Cruces and Huascaran Sur, (see below).
7 - Huascaran Sur - There has been much debate about the height of Huascaran Sur recently. It is really in need of a good modern survey. The 1930's DAV survey gave 6768m, the 50's PIGM map gives 6746m and what little SRTM and ASTER data is available may indicate a height of only 6720m-6730m. A recent survey by INAIGEM (2017) using precise land based GPS obtained a height of 6757m but is no longer available to view online.
42 - Chinchey - Many maps, including the PIGM, show a height of 6309m, but analysis of several photos by Edward Earl suggest that it is quite a bit lower. The 6222m height appears on the original DAV survey from the 1930's.
46 and 53 - Copa vs. Hualcan - Some sources, including Eberhard Jurgalski believe that Hualcan is marginally higher than Copa, citing evidence from SRTM data. My own analysis of photos seems to indicate that Copa is marginally higher, but not by more than 10m. It is likely that Copa is slightly lower than the height quoted here.
99 - Pucajirca - The PIGM map is very vague, and does not give a spot height. There is a 6046m spot height on the DAV map, but that is believed to be inaccurate. Pucahirca may not be as high as 6000m, the 6010m height used here is an estimate form photo analysis. There is also some uncertainty about which of the three main peaks of the Pucajirca massif is actually highest.
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For a list of the 31 additional 6000m peaks with between 200m and 400m prominence see our Subsidiary 6000m peaks page.

For peaks number 101 downwards see our 5000m peaks of the Andes

SOME NOTES
Peak heights marked in red above are from the latest SRTM data, ASTER data, handheld GPS data, and photo analysis and research by Maximo Kausch, Eberhard Jurgalski, Edward Earl, myself and others. These entries are mainly peaks whose height we have raised slightly due to there being an SRTM cell altitude higher than the previously quoted summit altitude, plus one or two peaks, known to be fairly flat-topped, where the SRTM data make a lower altitude much more probable.

The SRTM data appear to show that the peak of Cienaga in the Argentine Puna near Salta and the peak of Los Gemelos 6196m do not have sufficient prominence to count as independent 6000m peaks on the above list., and that Muertito may or may not be over 6000m and may or may not have over 400m prominence. For now the former two appear in our subsidiary 6000m peaks list and the latter appears in our list of major 5000m peaks.

The following peaks, all sometimes quoted higher than 6000m have been omitted from the list because most are given less than 6000m on the best IGM maps. Where possible the SRTM data has also been checked to verify that they are not over 6000m. Artesonraju 5999m, Pumasillo 5991m, Tocllaraju c.5990m, Caraz c.5980m, Plata 5955m, Contrahierbas 5954m, Juncal 5953m (may be about c.6020m), Pilar de los Pailas (Luracatao) 5946m, Ameghino c.5940m, Lasunayoc 5936m, Polacos c.5935m, Chañi c.5930m, Nuevo Mundo 5929m, Galan 5912m, and Acay 5770m.

Sabancaya 5976m is now possibly higher than 6000m as it was erupting for many years in the 1990's!!

SOURCES FOR HEIGHTS USED ON THIS WEBSITE

In areas of South America the heights of some peaks are still subject to debate. Some Argentine peaks have AIGM survey heights that are 300m higher than the Chilean heights. The main areas for which no accurate survey maps exist are the Mercedario to Tupungato area of Argentina and the Patagonian ice-caps area. The heights given on this site are thought to be generally the most accurate figures taken from the following sources. Neate's book was sometimes used when no survey height was available. In some uncertain areas confirmation, or at least corroboration, of many heights has been sought from the SRTM data and/or from photographic analysis.

Venezuela and Colombia - Neate, confirmed where possible in Colombia by CIGM 1:100,000

Ecuador - IGM 1:50,000 newest sheet available.

Peru - IGM 1:100,000 sheets. The AV 1930's surveys of the Cordillera Blanca have been used where the PIGM sheets do not give a height (Note - the AV heights are mostly 20-30m higher than PIGM heights). Quite a few peaks have been checked (where possible) by photo-analysis. These are mainly mentioned in the notes and marked by a *

Bolivia - The AV maps for the Illimani and Ancohuma areas, otherwise BIGM 1:50,000 sheets or 1:250,000 sheets.

Argentina - mostly Argentine IGM 1:250,000 sheets. SRTM data was used to confirm or change many heights in poorly surveyed areas.

Chile and Chile/Bolivia and Chile/Argentina border peaks - Chilean IGM 1:50,000 or 1:250,000 sheets, which are generally much more modern than Argentine surveys in this area.

Patagonia - ChIGM 1:250,000 sheets where possible, Andes Patagonicos sheets for peaks on the icecaps, Fitzroy area and Cord. Darwin with some more important heights confirmed (where possible) by the SRTM data.

THE TEN MOST PROMINENT PEAKS IN THE ANDES

The ten peaks of any height in the Andes in order of prominence above any higher summit are listed here. Thanks to Jonathan de Ferranti and Eberhard Jurgalski and others for help with this list and many other height questions. See the Prominence website for more details. There is much debate about whether Pico Bolivar or Pico Colon is the highest point of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colon has been chosen here.

Name	Location	Height (m)	Prominence (m)
Aconcagua	Argentina	6959	6959
Pico Colon (or Bolivar)	Colombia	5730	5538
Chimborazo	Ecuador	6270	4125
Pico Bolivar	Venezuela	4979	3955
San Valentin	Chilean Patagonia	4058	3696
Ojos del Salado	Chile-Argentina	6893	3688
Ritacuba Blanco	Colombia	5410	3645
Mercedario	Argentina	6710	3333
San Lorenzo	Chile-Argentina	3706	3319
Volcan Lautaro	Chilean Patagonia	3580	3302

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