At the tender age of five, Teghbir Singh, hailing from Ropar district in Punjab, has become the youngest Asian to scale the highest peak in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro.

According to reports, the young mountaineer, who is a 1st grade student at Shiwalik Public School, began his trek to Mount Kilimanjaro on August 18 and scaled the highest point of the mountain on August 23.

Singh has received a Mountain Climbing Certificate from the Conservation Commissioner of Tanzania National Parks, including Kilimanjaro National Park, reports say.

He shares his world record of summiting Mount Kilimanjaro at the age of 5 with Serbia boy Ognjen Zivkovic, who scaled the peak on August 6, 2023. Teghbir is the youngest in Asia to achieve this milestone.

In April this year, Teghbir had also trekked to the base camp of Mt Everest.

Teghbir Singh began his trek to Mount Kilimanjaro on August 18 and scaled the highest point of the mountain on August 23 (Photo: X/Raminder Pal Singh)

Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania stands tall at 5895 m. Singh achieved his feat despite a challenging altitude sickness with temperatures as low as -10°C.

According to reports, his coach Bikramjit Singh Ghuman helped him with the exercises related to cardiovascular health and increase in lung capacity to deal with altitude sickness. 

The statement adds that Singh used to go on weekly treks to different hilly locations. During the treks, he walked around 8-10 km every day and stayed in sub-zero temperatures for almost a week.

His father Sukhinderdeep Singh, who works as an administrator in a hospital, says that they stayed in temporary tents and took the Machame Route to reach the summit in six days. 

He says that on their first attempt, due to bad weather and a fierce snowstorm, the summit push was cancelled and they had to return mid-way. They reached the summit in their second attempt. Teghbir’s mother, Manpreet Kaur, who practices as a gynaecologist, says that Singh had to follow a very strict diet to maintain his physical stamina.

Singh’s entire crew comprised his father, two guides and two supporting staff. They will return to India on August 30.