Forbidden Mountain

The Forbidden Mountain with Mount Everest seen behind it.

**The Forbidden Mountain** is a (fictitious) mountain found in the Himalayas. It is the setting of Expedition Everest in Disney's Animal Kingdom.

## Description

The Forbidden Mountain is a 20,152 ft/6,143 metres tall mountain in the Himalayas, found north-west of Mt. Everest and east of Annapurna II.

In its shadow is the Asian kingdom of Anandapur, more specifically the village of Serka Zong. It serves as the dwelling for the Yeti, a legendary hominid referred by the people of the kingdom to be the protector of the mountain though these claims are dubious.

### Features

* **Yeti temple**: This was a temple devoted to the yeti in prayers of safe passage through the mountains.
* **Serka Zong**: Serka Zong is a village in the kingdom of Anandapur which is located at the base of the Forbidden Mountain.
* **Royal Anandapur Railway**: This railway was constructed through the mountain to Mt. Everest in the 1920s by the Royal Anandapur Tea Company. It was later shut down in the 1930s but repurposed in the 2000s by the company *Himalayan Escapes Tours and Expeditions* for tours of the Himalayas.

## History

The Forbidden Mountain is a mountain in the Himalayas which stands over the kingdom of Anandapur. It was considered forbidden due to its treachery and legends of it being protected by the mythical yeti of the forbidden mountain.

In the 1920s, the Royal Anandapur Tea Company built a tea train in the Southeast Asian village of Serka Zong to reach distant markets. The Anandapur Rail Services utilized the route throughout the 1920s and 1930s. However, beginning in 1933, the railway experienced difficulties in operating. Some blamed it on Western treks to Mount Everest, taking the train through the Forbidden Mountains. The train was forced to close down in 1934.

In the 1930s, the League of Adventurers attempted to build a Fixed Rope Traverse System trail through the Forbidden Mountains, as a shortcut to Mount Everest. They encountered the Yeti along the way, managing to take a picture of him before they escaped. The picture and an article about the encounter can be found on a board at Camp Discovery. In 1982, an expedition would be launched through the mountain only for it to never return and its members to never be heard from again. A destroyed camp and broken camera would be recovered which showed photographic evidence of the yeti from its violent attack on the mountaineers.

In 2005, the company *Himalayan Escapes Tours and Expeditions* refurbished the old Anandapur Rail Services track as a way to reach Everest base camp. Instead of a twenty-eight-day trek, staying at different tea shops, explorers took one thirty-hour train ride and they would reach the base camp. To do so, of course, they needed to go through the Forbidden Mountains. Despite warnings from the locals, they successfully rebuilt the train, opening it up to tourists though this would only lead to the yeti tearing up the recently active tracks as a means of attacking guests.

## Appearances and allusions

### Blizzard Beach

In the ice cave grotto of Cross Country Creek there are several carvings documenting the experiences of Blizzard Beach residents, predominately as a result of the freak snowstorm which hit Florida in its backstory. Amongst the carvings is one showing the Himalayas and the angered Yeti of the Forbidden Mountain as humans run in panic from it.

### Camp Discovery

A newspaper detailing the League of Adventurers' attempts to conquer the mountain can be found in this area of Adventure Isle.

### Kali River Rapids

The Forbidden Mountain is visible from a clearing in the forests of the Chakrandi River in this attraction.

## Connections

### Up

The Asia sections of the Wilderness Explorers Guidebook contains several allusions to, depictions of, and missions regarding the Himalayas, the Forbidden Mountain, and the Yeti. This includes using a telescope to note the height of the Forbidden Mountain and differentiate it from Mt. Everest, taking one of Himalayan Escapes' train-tours of the mountains, and studying the folklore and anthropology of the yeti outside of the Yeti Museum. The Wilderness Explorers are also connected to the history of Anandapur, namely in the Anandapur Royal Forest.

### Other Connections:

* **Matterhorn Bobsleds**: The Forbidden Mountain and the Matterhorn are both Disney Parks mountains which are home to territorial yetis.
* **Skipper Canteen**: A book found in the *Jungle Navigation Co. Ltd. Skipper Canteen* is labelled *Expedition Everest: Search for the Yeti* and is written by Harrison Hightower III, a late-member of the Society of Explorers and Adventurers from the 19th century. The title of the book might indicate that Harrison travelled to the Forbidden Mountain during his search for the yeti as it was the creature's home.

## Trivia

* The Forbidden Mountain shares its name with the fictional French mountain which is used as Maleficent's lair in the film *Sleeping Beauty* (1959).

## References

1. ↑ https://allears.net/2010/04/14/expedition-everest-legend-of-the-forbidden-mountain-part-two/
2. ↑ https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en\_CA/attractions/blizzard-beach/cross-country-creek/
3. ↑ http://www.mainstgazette.com/2017/06/cruise-through-grotto.html
4. ↑ https://www.wdwkingdom.com/kali-river-rapids-animal-kingdom-asia/