Like the microscopic bacteria, human beings too have learned to evolve and flourish in extreme conditions – from the scorching heat of the Sahara to the freezing tundra of Siberia. Even in inhospitable, high mountains where life supporting oxygen is low, humans have been living for millennia. Some 140 million people live permanently at high altitudes above 2,500 meters or 8,200 feet, in the Himalayas in Asia, the Andes in South America and in the Ethiopian Highlands of Africa, and some actually prosper in sprawling cities. Here we present 7 very high cities and settlements, each of which is located above 10,000 feet in elevation.

La Rinconada in Peru is an old gold-mining camp in the remote Peruvian Andes, that has grown to ‘major city’ status. Over 50,000 people live in this mountainous city at an altitude of 16,732 feet (5,100 m). It lays claim to the title of “highest city in the world.”