Mount Kailash - The Holy Center of Four Religions

Mount Kailash as one of the ten mountains in China is located in Burang County, in the far southwestern Tibet. Literally meaning mountain of God, Mount Kailash is a holy mountain worshiped by four influential religions, including Bön, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Like a tradition, every single year, a large number of Buddhist believers from all over the world traveling far here to kora around Kailash, especially in the horse year, the birth year of Shakyamuni. Apart from its religious influence, the nature of the snow-capped mountain is also worth-seeing. Reaching to 6,656 meters, its peak shows a peculiar brilliance under the sunshine. There are numerous lakes around Mt. Kailash, including the holy lake - Lake Manasarovar which is one of the three holy lakes together with Namtso Lake and Yamdrok Lake. Because of the mysterious legendary and breathtaking landscape, thousands of ordinary visitors are attracted here to explore Mount Kailash and Manasarovar.

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Each year, a large number of believers traveled from far away to worship Kailash. It has become a tradition to walk at least a round of Mount Kailash. Pilgrims believe that walking around Kailash can get rid of guilt and gets good fortune. The Hindus even believe that one should at least finish one pilgrimage walking around the Kailash during his lifetime. Pilgrims usually repeat the route three, five, seven, nine or thirteen times (odd number). The ultimate meditation needs one to finish the walking 108 times.

Mount Kailash Kora Route

The whole circled route is about 56km trekking. For some Tibetans, 15 hours will be enough to finish this kora, while it may take 2 nights and 3 days for most tourists on foot. Since every little element of this trip will be arranged well by our tour guide, your journey will be enjoyable. Below is the kora route during these days.

Note: Darchen, a village located in the right front of the mountain, is the entry of Kailash and the starting/ending point for Mount Kailash Kora.

Day One: Darchen - Chogu Gompa - Dirapuk Monastery; start from Darchen and stay overnight at Dirapuk Monastery, today you will trek about 20 km for about 6 hours. During the way, you will climb a slope to Chogu Gompa, and enter a long valley to reach Dirapuk of over 5000 meters high to witness the resplendent north face of the Kailash.

Day Two: Dirapuk Monastery - Drolma-la Pass - Zutrulpuk Gompa; after one day trekking, today you will finish 15 km road for about 7hours. During the way, you will encounter some Rocky road before coming to the Drolma-la Pass, which is most difficult part to walk. Over the Pass, there is about 10 km marsh road to enjoy the old-growth forest before get to Zutrulpuk Gompa to stay overnight.

Day Three: Zutrulpuk Gompa – Darchen; as the last day, you will trek over 14 km for about 5 hours back to Darchen in the clockwise direction.

On route, you will enjoy the stunning landscape of green valleys and crystal blue lakes. Also the views of Mt. Kailas’s are spectacular and majestic. The pyramids shaped mountain with four symmetrical sides, reaching sky by its glistening snow-capped summit, enveloped by white clouds is quite eye-catching.

Note: 1) for the Buddhists and Hindus, Mount Kailash Kora is taking along the clockwise, and for Bon adherents, the Kora is in the opposite direction; 2) most pilgrims will take a Kailash Mansarovar Yatra together when they pay a pilgrim to Ngari.

Manasarovar Lake: Located at the southern foot of Mount Kailash, as one of three holy lakes in Tibet, Lake Manasarovar is the highest freshwater lake with an elevation of 4590 meters, meaning eternal and invincible jade lake in Tibetan. Here originate four great rivers, and one of the sacred pilgrimage destinations. In the shape of pear for the widest part of 26km long, the lake water is very limpid and glimmering blue under the sunshine. Regarded as a place of divine together with Mt. Kailash by many people, Lake Manasarovar embraces thousands of visitors from Tibet, India, Nepal and other neighboring regions/countries to worship.

Guge Kingdom: Founded by the descendants of the Tobo Dynasty during the 10th century, the Guge Kingdom has a long history for over 700 years. It created a spectacular and advanced civilization and then disappeared mysteriously. The Site of Guge Kingdom is located in western Ngari Prefecture, about several hours’ driving distance to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar. The architectures of the ancient Guge Kingdom were piled up on the mountain slope at a height of 300 meters. On the mountain, there are golden relics of palaces, caves, monasteries, and houses, which witness the prosperity and decay of an ancient kingdom.

Lake Rakshastal: Lake Rakshastal is close to the holy lake Manasarovar, to the west of it, a beautiful crescent blue lake. Meanwhile, the shape of Manasarovar is like the sun. The area between the two lakes is the only way to get in and out of Purang county. Compared with the freshwater holy lake Manasarovar, Rakshastal, which is so close to it, is a lifeless saltwater lake. It's quiet and barren, and some people called it “ghost lake”. The holy lake and the ghost lake are not far away from each other, with waterways connected. Standing on the lakeside, you can see some small reddish islands in the blue water and the Holy Mountain Kailash not afar off.

● Necessary Permits

Apart from Tibet Travel Permit which is a must to Tibet, you need Alien’s Travel Permit, Border Pass and Military Permit as well, which are issued by local Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Tibet. All these permits can only be applied by travel agency on behalf of tourists(☛ contact us now). There are several check stations set on the road, and the staff will check all your permits, and sometimes you passport also. For Indians, the formalities may vary from other nationalities, so if you are Indians, please inform us in advance.>>More about Tibet Permits for Foreign Travelers

● High Altitude Sickness

The average altitude of Mt Kailash area is about 3,900 meters, but if you want to have a Mt. Kailash kora, you need to conquer the Dolma La, which has the highest altitude of 5630 meters. This means that people who already have been sick, had heart / lung diseases, or terrible altitude sickness in Lhasa and lower altitude area shall not carry out this challenging hike. To travel in the high altitude of Mount Kailash and make a good preparation, you may need to arrange your Kailash trip in the later part of your Tibet tour and adjust your physical conditions to do outdoor activities ahead of time as you ascend to a higher altitude.>>How to Avoid High Altitude Sickness in Tibet