London, November 24 : Guinness World Records has officially recognized a Nepalese man who climbed the Mt. Everest at age 76 as the oldest to conquer the world''s highest peak.

Min Bahadur Sherchan, who is now 78 years, conquered the world’s highest peak in May 2008, in his very first attempt.

Until now, Japanese climber Katsusuke Yanagisawa, who scaled the peak at age 71, had held the record.

Sherchan received an official certificate earlier this week, following an appeal he made earlier this year.

Nepal’s Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and many other dignitaries congratulated Sherchan at a function in Katmandu.

"My main objective for climbing Everest was for world peace. I was determined to either climb the peak or die trying," the Telegraph quoted Sherchan as saying.

The achiever is a former soldier and little known in the climbing community.

Also, the youngest person to scale the 29,035-foot peak is a Nepalese. (ANI)