About International Mountain Day
International Mountain Day is observed on 11 December, and in 2026 it falls on Friday, 11 December 2026. The UN General Assembly created it after the International Year of Mountains in 2002, and the first observance was in 2003. The FAO runs the day through the Mountain Partnership. In India it covers the Himalaya, the Western Ghats, the Aravalli and the hill ranges of the Northeast and the Deccan.
Mountains supply water to people who will never see them. The Ganga, the Indus, the Brahmaputra, the Sutlej and the Kaveri all begin on high ground, and the farms and cities they feed lie hundreds of kilometres downstream. That distance is the reason a day like this exists.
What is International Mountain Day and why 11 December?
International Mountain Day is a UN observance on 11 December. The General Assembly declared 2002 the International Year of Mountains, and at the end of that year set 11 December as an annual day from 2003 onwards. The FAO runs it through the Mountain Partnership, a group of governments and organisations based at its Rome headquarters, and announces a theme each year. The theme for 2025 was about glaciers and the water, food and work that depend on them.
The UN's figures for the day: close to 2 billion people depend on water that comes off mountains; glaciers and ice caps hold roughly 70 per cent of the world's fresh water; and five of the last six years have set records for glacier retreat.
Which mountains does India have?
More than the Himalaya, though that is what most people picture.
| Range | Where | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Himalaya | Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir across to Arunachal Pradesh | The youngest and highest range; still rising as the Indian plate pushes north |
| Karakoram | Ladakh | Holds some of the largest glaciers outside the poles, including Siachen |
| Purvanchal hills | Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura | Eastern extension of the Himalayan system; Mawsynram and Cherrapunji sit on its slopes |
| Western Ghats | Gujarat down to Kanyakumari | Older than the Himalaya, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2012, and the reason the monsoon falls where it does |
| Aravalli | Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi | Among the oldest fold ranges on earth, worn down to hills, and a barrier against desert sand moving east |
| Satpura and Vindhya | Central India | The old dividing line between north and south India, and the catchment of the Narmada and Tapi |
| Eastern Ghats | Odisha to Tamil Nadu | A broken chain rather than a wall, cut through by the Mahanadi, Godavari and Krishna |
| Nilgiri and Anaimalai | Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka | Shola grassland and forest mosaic; Anaimudi at 2,695 m is the highest peak in peninsular India |
The government treats the Indian Himalayan Region as a separate planning category. It spreads across 13 states and union territories, from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh through Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and the northeastern states, with the hill districts of Assam and West Bengal, and runs about 2,500 km end to end.
India's mountain protected areas include Nanda Devi and the Valley of Flowers in Uttarakhand, the Great Himalayan National Park in Himachal Pradesh and Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim, all inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
What is changing in India's mountains?
Glaciers are thinning, and the lakes that form behind their debris are growing. On 4 October 2023, part of the moraine wall above South Lhonak lake in north Sikkim collapsed into the water. The wave that followed breached the lake's natural dam and sent a flood 385 km down the Teesta, destroying the Teesta III dam at Chungthang along with bridges and roads. Dozens of people died and many more were never found. Later studies linked the collapse to thawing permafrost, the frozen ground that had been holding the slope together.
The National Disaster Management Authority now runs an expedition-based programme to survey and lower risky glacial lakes across the Himalayan states. Other pressures are closer to daily life: hill towns built for a few thousand residents taking tens of thousands of visitors a season, springs drying up, land subsidence of the kind recorded at Joshimath in January 2023, and young people leaving villages because there is no work.
Do
- Travel in smaller groups and stay longer in one place rather than covering five towns in four days
- Carry your non-biodegradable waste back down; many hill towns have no way to process it
- Pay guides, porters and drivers the local rate without bargaining it down, and ask about their load limits
- Buy food, wool and produce from local shops and cooperatives rather than bringing everything up with you
Avoid
- Avoid plastic water bottles where refill points exist, and never leave them on a trail
- Avoid driving into fragile high valleys when a shared taxi or a walk will do
- Avoid treating a village as a backdrop; ask before photographing people, homes or shrines
- Avoid loud music and drones near monasteries, pastures and nesting cliffs
What to write on International Mountain Day
Happy International Mountain Day. Hope the winter is kind, the road stays open and the water line doesn't freeze.
On International Mountain Day, thank you for carrying more than your share and knowing the weather before it arrives. Safe season ahead.
Happy Mountain Day. Your home state is more than the two weeks a year the rest of us visit it. Tell me what we always get wrong.
Happy International Mountain Day. May your knees hold, your tea be hot and the clouds lift for ten minutes at the top.
Happy Mountain Day. The photo of you in Kullu with that awful sweater is still my favourite one in the house.
Happy International Mountain Day. Here's to fieldwork at 5,000 metres and data that reaches the people living downstream.
Related days on this site: International Day of Forests on 21 March, World Water Day on 22 March, and World Tourism Day on 27 September, which is where a lot of the pressure on hill towns comes from.
How to wish someone on International Mountain Day
Hill states are visited by far more people than live in them, so a mountain message from a tourist can sound careless to a resident. Write about the place, not the view. For friends in the hills, ask about the winter, the road and the water supply. For trekkers and guides, wish them a safe season and thank the porters by name.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is International Mountain Day in 2026 and 2027?
International Mountain Day is on 11 Dec every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is International Mountain Day in 2026?
International Mountain Day 2026 falls on Friday, 11 December 2026.
Why is International Mountain Day on 11 December?
The UN General Assembly declared 2002 the International Year of Mountains, and at the close of that year designated 11 December as an annual International Mountain Day from 2003. The FAO coordinates it through the Mountain Partnership and sets a theme each year.
Which states are part of the Indian Himalayan Region?
Thirteen states and union territories: Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, and the hill districts of Assam and West Bengal. The belt runs roughly 2,500 km from west to east.
Which is the oldest mountain range in India?
The Aravalli range in Rajasthan and Haryana is the oldest fold mountain system in India, formed long before the Himalaya existed. It has been worn down to low hills, and still acts as a barrier slowing desert sand from spreading east.
What is a glacial lake outburst flood?
It is a sudden flood caused when a lake held back by ice or loose glacial debris breaks open. The Sikkim disaster of 4 October 2023 began when a slope collapsed into South Lhonak lake, sending a wave over the natural dam and a flood 385 km down the Teesta river.
How do mountains affect people who live in the plains?
Most of India's large rivers rise in mountains, so hill snow, glaciers and forests decide how much water reaches farms and cities downstream. Mountains also steer the monsoon: the Western Ghats wring rain out of the southwest winds, and the Himalaya blocks cold air from central Asia.
What is a respectful way to visit a hill town on this day?
Stay longer in fewer places, use shared transport, carry your plastic waste back down, buy from local shops and pay guides and porters the local rate. Ask before photographing people or shrines, and keep drones and loud music away from monasteries and pastures.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .