Istor-o-Nal

{{Short description|Mountain in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan}}

{{Infobox mountain

| name = Istor-o-Nal

| photo = Tirich Mir and Falakser Peaks (Aerial).jpg

| photo_caption = Istor-o-Nalm, background far right

| elevation_m = 7403

| elevation_ref = {{efn|The height is sometimes given as {{cvt|7,398|m}}.}}
Ranked 68th

| prominence_m = 1025

| prominence_ref = {{cite peakbagger |pid=18698 |name=Istor-o-Nal, Pakistan}}

| listing = Mountains of Pakistan

| country = Pakistan

| range = Hindu Kush

| map = Pakistan

| map_caption = Location in Pakistan

| map_size = 240

| label_position = bottom

| coordinates = {{coord|36|23|13|N|71|53|21|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}

| coordinates_ref = {{efn|Other sources give slightly different coordinates.}}

| first_ascent = 1955 by Ken Bankwala, Joseph E. Murphy, Jr., and Thomas A. Mutch{{cite aaj|last=Murphy|first=Joseph E. Jr.|date=1956|title=The Ascent of Istor-o-Nal|article_id=12195606600|access-date=2016-01-22|pages=66–74}}[http://www.alpine-club.org.uk/hi/index.htm Himalayan Index]

| easiest_route = glacier/snow/ice climb

}}

Istor-o-Nal is the third highest mountain in the Hindu Kush, in the Chitral District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of Pakistan. It is the 68th highest independent peak in the world. It crowns a massif with eleven peaks of elevation more than {{convert|7000|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. The peak is located a few kilometres northeast of Tirich Mir (the highest mountain in the Hindu Kush), across the Tirich Glacier. Because Istor-o-Nal is behind the higher peak of Tirich Mir from many viewpoints, it is not easily visible and therefore not well known.

The word "Istoro Nal" means horseshoe in the chitrali language (Istor means "horse"). The origin of the name is unclear.

Istor-o-Nal was first climbed on June 8, 1955, by the Americans Joseph E. Murphy, Jr., and Thomas A. Mutch, led by Pakistani Major Ken Bankwala, on a Princeton Mountaineering Club expedition. They climbed the west ridge, starting from the south side of the peak on the Tirich Glacier. Their small, minimally financed expedition (by the standards of the time for high-altitude mountaineering) achieved what was then the second highest summit attained by Americans.