Poorna Malavath
Poorna Malavath is an Indian mountaineer. On 25th May 2014, Poorna climbed the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest at the age of 13 years and 11 months and became the youngest Indian female in the world to have reached the world’s highest Mountain.
Her mountaineering journey did not stop after Mount Everest; she went on an expedition to climb seven tallest mountains in each of the seven continents, The 7-Summits.
She successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa in the year 2016, and Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Russia and Europe, on 27 July 2017. It was a proud moment for her when she unfurled a 50ft long Indian tricolor and sang Indian National Anthem at the top of Mt. Elbrus. Her feat of climbing continued with Mount Aconcagua (South America, 2019), Mount Carstens pyramid (Oceanian region, 2019), Mount Vinson Massif (Antarctica, 2019), and other few Indian mountains. She Successfully completed Mt. Denali (Alaska, North America) on 5th June 2022 and completed “The 7-Summits.”
Poorna was born on 10th June 2000 in a tiny village, Pakala in the state of Telangana, India. Coming from poor family background, both her parents are agricultural laborers. She graduated from Telangana social welfare residential school (TSWREIS) and went to Minnesota state university, USA as an exchange student. She studied Political sciences to understand and fight for woman empowerment.
A film based on Poorna’s life story was released in 2017 named “Poorna” (Courage has no limits). A book, “Poorna the youngest girl in the world to scale Mount Everest,” is also published on Poorna’s life journey. The book captures Poorna’s journey from her hometown Pakala, a village in Nizamabad district of Telangana, to climbing Mt. Everest. The book is an inspiration for people to achieve their dreams despite life challenges. Poorna was listed on the “Forbes Indian List” of “Self-made Women” in 2020.
She has received many awards and appreciations from the government and different organizations across the world. Some of the notable awards she received are the Ruby Jubilee Healthcare award from the then President of INDIA Sri APJ Abdul Kalam, The excellence award by the president of India shri Pranab Mukherji, the Amazing Indians Awards 2016 from the Prime Minister Sri Narendra Modi, and the JFW Awards 2018.
She is an inspiration to young women across the world. Poorna’s achievement has stopped child marriages in her community and parents have realized the potential of sending the Girls to school. The schools have increased the number of girls students after her achievement from rural / tribal regions.