Bangladeshi mountaineer Babar Ali has become the first person from Bangladesh to climb Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest mountain, according to expedition organisers Vertical Dreamers.
He reached the 8,485-metre, or 27,838-foot, summit at 5:45am Bangladesh time on Saturday after an ascent lasting about eight and a half hours.
The climb marks a historic achievement for Bangladesh in high-altitude mountaineering.
With the Makalu ascent, Babar Ali has now climbed five of the world’s 14 mountains above 8,000 metres. He is the only Bangladeshi mountaineer to reach this milestone.
Vertical Dreamers said the expedition is still continuing, as he must return safely to base camp before the mission can be considered fully complete.
Babar Ali has been involved in high-altitude mountaineering since 2014. His previous climbs include Mount Everest, Lhotse, Annapurna-I and Manaslu.
In 2022, he became the first Bangladeshi to summit Ama Dablam.
In 2024, he climbed Everest and Lhotse. Earlier in 2025, he became the first Bangladeshi to summit Annapurna-I and later completed Manaslu without supplemental oxygen.
Mount Makalu is located in the Mahalangur Himal range of Nepal. It is known as the “Great Black One” because of its steep pyramid-shaped structure and exposed black rock faces, which often become visible when strong winds clear snow from the peak.
