Gangkhar Puensum, widely regarded as the world's highest unclimbed mountain, is located in which country?

The correct answer is Bhutan. Gangkhar Puensum, standing at 7,570 metres, lies in northern Bhutan near its border with China's Tibet Autonomous Region, and it is widely recognised by mountaineering authorities as the highest mountain in the world that has never been climbed to its summit. Several expeditions attempted the peak in the 1980s from both the Bhutanese and Tibetan sides, but none reached the top, and in 1994 Bhutan formally banned mountaineering on peaks above 6,000 metres, partly out of respect for local spiritual beliefs that regard high mountains as the abode of protective deities, effectively closing off Gangkhar Puensum to future summit attempts. Nepal is incorrect because, although Nepal is home to the world's tallest mountain, Mount Everest, and several other very high, extensively climbed peaks, Gangkhar Puensum itself lies entirely outside Nepalese territory. China (Tibet) is incorrect because while the mountain sits very close to the China-Bhutan border and some approach routes have historically come from the Tibetan side, the summit and the greater share of the massif lie within Bhutan, which is internationally credited as its location. India is incorrect because India, despite having several high Himalayan peaks of its own in regions like Sikkim and Uttarakhand, does not contain Gangkhar Puensum, which lies further north and belongs to Bhutan. A common exam confusion arises from mixing up 'highest mountain in the world' (Everest, Nepal-China border) with 'highest unclimbed mountain in the world' (Gangkhar Puensum, Bhutan), a distinction examiners often use to trip up candidates who read questions too quickly. The revision takeaway is to firmly separate these two superlatives: Everest is the tallest overall, Gangkhar Puensum is the tallest unclimbed, and the two lie in entirely different countries.