Tucked away at the far western edge of the Dhaulagiri range, Putha Hiunchuli (7,246 m / 23,773 ft) doesn't get nearly the attention it deserves. Also known as Dhaulagiri VII, it's the last of the great 7,000-metre giants in the chain before the landscape gives way to the wild, dry hills of far-western Nepal. The name itself is a clue to its character,it translates roughly to 'Snow Mountain Behind the Village'  and its long, glacier-draped summit ridge, stretching over two kilometres, is genuinely one of the most striking skylines in the entire Himalaya.

The mountain has history too. It was first climbed on 8 June 1954 by Major J.O.M. 'Jimmy' Roberts and Ang Nyima Sherpa, tackling the northeast face during a wider exploration of the Dhaulagiri massif that was later written up in the mountaineering classic High Asia. More than seventy years on, Putha Hiunchuli remains one of the least-climbed 7,000ers in Nepal not because it's unclimbable, but simply because so few people make the journey out to it. And that journey is half the magic: the approach winds through the remote valleys of Lower Dolpo, the same wild, time-forgotten landscape that inspired Peter Matthiessen's classic The Snow Leopard.

From a climbing standpoint, Putha Hiunchuli offers something for everyone. There's a steep, technical line on the south face a Japanese-pioneered ridge route from the early 1970s and then there's the standard route up the northern snow slopes, where the angle rarely tips past 35 degrees. It's this gentler northern line that has made the mountain such a popular choice for climbers building toward their first 8,000metre objective. That said, don't mistake 'moderate' for 'easy' prior experience above 6,000 metres, solid aerobic fitness, and patience with the acclimatization process all go a long way here.

The trek in is every bit as rewarding as the climb itself. You'll be walking through Shey Phoksundo National Park,Nepal's largest protected area at 3,555 sq km, home to snow leopards, blue sheep, musk deer, the Tibetan wild ass, and the elusive red panda. Along the way, the villages you pass through still live very much as they have for centuries, following Bon and Tibetan Buddhist traditions, with weathered monasteries, mani walls, and chortens marking the trail at every turn.

And then there's the summit. On a clear day, the view from the top of Putha Hiunchuli takes in the entire Dhaulagiri chain,including the colossal 8,167-metre Dhaulagiri I, the world's seventh-highest mountain  along with Churen Himal (7,386 m), Gurja Himal (7,193 m), and the distant peaks of the Annapurna massif away to the east. Putha Hiunchuli has even made headlines in recent years as the setting for record-breaking high-altitude challenges, cementing its reputation as one of Nepal's great untapped Himalayan classics. For climbers looking for an authentic, uncrowded 7,000-metre adventure far from the crowds of Everest or Annapurna  this is about as good as it gets.