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Ella es muy humilde, pero ha llegado a la cima.

Ella es muy humilde, pero ha llegado a la cima.
She is very humble, but she has reached the top.
From Lesson 379:Gradual change (llegar a ser)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Ella es muy humilde, pero ha llegado a la cima.

The current lesson is about llegar a ser. Why does this sentence just say ha llegado a?
Llegar a ser means "to become" after a long process or effort. However, this woman didn't become the top itself; she arrived there. When you want to say someone reached a physical or metaphorical destination, you just use llegar a followed by the noun, without ser.
Why is cima used for "the top" here?
La cima literally translates to the peak or summit of a mountain. In Spanish, it is the standard word used for the figurative "top" of a career, society, or success. You wouldn't use words for the physical top of an everyday object, such as la parte superior.
Could I use está instead of es with humilde?
You could, but it changes the meaning. Using ser (es humilde) defines her personality; she is a humble person by nature. If you used estar (está humilde), it would imply she is just acting humble in a specific moment, which weakens the contrast this sentence is making about her enduring character despite her success.
Why use the present perfect (ha llegado) rather than the preterite (llegó)?
In Spain, the present perfect (ha llegado) is heavily used for past actions that are still directly tied to the present. Her reaching the top is a completed action, but it represents her current, ongoing status. If you said llegó, it would sound more like a detached historical event.

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